oletrucks
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [oletrucks] Is It Vapor Lock?

To: Bruce Damen <little-castle-contracting@cadvision.com>
Subject: Re: [oletrucks] Is It Vapor Lock?
From: ADvent@thuntek.net
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 18:28:22 -0700
using a non vented cap on a tank intended for a vented tank will callapse the 
tank
and ruin it if it doesn't starve the wengine for fuel.

Bruce Damen wrote:

> my understanding of vapor lock is that if you have a none venting gas cap on a
> gas tank that needs a vented gas cap you basiclly cause a vacum in the gas 
>tank
> and the fuel pump is unable to suck any more fuel.....   thats my version.
>
> Bruce
> 1949 chev 1/2 ton
>
> The Perfesser wrote:
>
> > Hello, list...
> >
> > I have a 1949 Chevy Pickup... I'd call it "original restored" - most of the
> > underpinnings are original, but the engine is rebuilt, and it has been
> > painted and re-upholstered.  You can see a picture online at
> > http://songs.com/pws/xmas99.html .  I've only had it about 3 months,
> > basically it looks great and runs great, but three times now it has "conked
> > out" and refused to restart, and on two of those occasions I've had to tow
> > it a fair distance to get it home.
> >
> > Each time it has 'conked out" like this, I have been unable to restart
> > it.  Starter works fine - one time it wore the battery down to zilch, hence
> > the tow-job - but there's no getting it to turn over.   So I've taken it to
> > a mechanic, who didn't get to it till the next morning, and each time, the
> > mechanic had no trouble starting it - even in the "dead battery" case.
> >
> > In the first two instances, I could see that there was no fuel in the
> > transparent fuel filter; also, I'd been experiencing some "surge" going up
> > hills and so suspected the fuel pump.  After the second instance, we
> > replaced the fuel pump, and it has in fact been running much more smoothly
> > ever since (not that I drive it all that much - like, twice since the pump
> > was replaced).
> >
> > This past Sunday, despite the new fuel pump, it conked out again and I
> > could not restart it.  Called AAA.  They towed me home... and as soon as he
> > lowers the truck in my driveway, I tried to start it and... fwhoomp... it
> > started right up.
> >
> > A neighbor who knows a little about old cars listened to my tale of woe and
> > suggested that my problem is caused by  "vapor lock"   I'm not really sure
> > what "vapor lock" is, though I've the phrase hundreds of times.
> >
> > Does this sound like "vapor lock" to any of you, or could there be
> > something more fundamental, like a failing magneto or something?  Are these
> > engines/carburetors prone to vapor lock?   And, can vapor lock be so total
> > that it would keep a truck from starting for over an hour?
> >
> > If it is "vapor lock," can anybody tell me a) how to prevent it in the
> > future and b) what to do about it if it happens again?
> >
> > If it's not "vapor lock," then how do I go about trouble shooting a problem
> > which only appears intermittently?  (I'm fortunate that, so far, it has
> > only happened in cases when it has been easy to pull off the road... that I
> > might not be quite so lucky next time makes me nervous every time I leave
> > my driveway.
> >
> > I confess I know little about old trucks or carburetors.  I wanted to take
> > auto mechanics in high-school but was supposed to be on a fast track to
> > college (lotta good THAT did me...) so, now that I need the knowledge, it
> > ain't there. I learned a lot about engines when I was a kid (anybody
> > remember the "Visible V-8" model?) but at this point I've forgotten more
> > than I never knew, and my knowledge of carburetors in particular is
> > non-existent.  Can anybody steer me toward a good book on carb fundamentals?
> >
> > I am grateful for this list... there are not a lot of vintage chevy truck
> > owners in my neighborhood, so it's nice to find a fellowship of like minded
> > folks out here on the Net.
> >
> > Look forward to whatever help anybody can offer... thanks very much.
> >
> > --PS
> >
> > ***************************************
> > Paul Schatzkin, aka The Perfesser
> > General Manager, songs.com unit of Gaylord Digital
> > shipping - 3927 Cambridge Ave #2 Nashville TN  37205
> > mail: P.O. Box 121616 Nashville TN 37212
> > ph:  615-298-1122 - fax: 615-298-4825
> > e-mail: perfessr@songs.com
> > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> > "Hard work has a future pay off.  Laziness pays off now."  -- (anon)
> >
> > oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959

oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>