Another thing to be on guard for and a lesson I learned the hard way...
In the search for adequate octane ratings in the mid '80s, I ran gasohol as an
alternative to leaded premium which had all but disappeared at the pump.
Look out for the possibility that "gasohol" has ever been run through the
system; ethyl alcohol has a corrosive effect on the inner coating of the fuel
tanks that causes flaking of the coating on the inside tank surface. The
accumulation of these flakes, which can be quite large, creates recurrent fuel line restriction and even a stoppage at the fuel line exit from rearmost tank
union on the later series' cars.
It is otherwise unnoticeable, but at higher fuel consumption, high speeds or climbing, it will starve the engine. I serviced and even replaced the fuel pump
once before tracing the real problem back to the source. Use a large pan
under the car to catch the fuel that will spill. DO NOT HAVE ANY OPEN
FLAME OR IGNITION SOURCE IN THE VICINITY. A 9/16" open end wrench
will break the connection; being careful that the gas cap is left closed; fuel will
especially pour forth if there is no blockage or once you cleared the junction. I
had to initally clear the junction with 18 gauge wire.
Due to the volatility of working with old fuel tanks, I have not removed them for
servicing to eliminate the problem. It has been over 14 years since this fuel was run in the car and this is still an infrequent nuisance.
It doesn't have any lasting deleterious effect to the mechanics that I have
seen, but it can be a real pain in the rear...literally.
> ----------
> From: Dobrowski, Robert S[SMTP:Robert.Dobrowski(at)JSF.Boeing.com]
> Reply To: Dobrowski, Robert S
> Sent: Monday, June 14, 1999 7:19 AM
> To: Alpine Mailing List; 'Sergio Dimarmo'
> Subject: RE: Fuel Pump
>
> I have been running those see through glass filters on a few of my cars
> without any fuel problems. I have a hard time believing that the meager fuel
> flow required by an Alpine would be restricted by one of those filters. I
> would be more suspicious of the fuel pump.
>
> > ----------
> > From: Sergio Dimarmo[SMTP:iwander(at)worldnet.att.net]
> > Reply To: Sergio Dimarmo
> > Sent: Saturday, June 12, 1999 2:24 PM
> > To: Alpine Mailing List
> > Subject: Re: Fuel Pump
> >
> > Kurt, I had this problem once before when I installed one of those little
> > see through glass in-line filters, you know the kind they sell at your
> > local
> > auto parts. The problem I had, I found out later, is that they restrict
> > the
> > volume of fuel required to the carbs at high speeds. I could drive on the
> > street all day without any problems but once I got on the freeway at
> > 60-70mph, the car would sputter and mis-fire as if it was running out of
> > gas. First I thought fuel pump but I went for the easy fix first by
> > removing
> > the filter. It worked! I returned that nice chrome filter and bought one
> > of
> > those plastic filters that old VW use and have not had this problem since.
> >
> > Sergio
> > 1967 Sunbeam Alpine
> > Series V 'AJNT 86'
> > still working on it but getting closer!
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Kurt Eckert <keckert(at)terascape.com>
> > To: Alpine folks <alpines(at)autox.team.net>
> > Sent: Saturday, June 12, 1999 8:24 AM
> > Subject: Fuel Pump
> >
> >
> > > I think I have nailed down the problem with my fuel system. When I run
> > at
> > > idle I am fine, however if I try to drive the thing, I run out of fuel
> > to
> > > the carbs in about 1 1/2 minutes. If I stop and use the manual lever on
> > the
> > > pump it works and I can run a few seconds more. I have a lot of bubbles
> > > appearing in the glass bowl. Could this be symptomatic of a leak that is
> > > causing the fuel low fuel pressure?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Kurt
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------->
> > --
> > > ----
> > > Kurt Eckert
> > > Sales Consultant
> > > Terascape Software
> > > Office: (888) 276-7972 x118
> > > Mobile: (781) 929-0020
> > > keckert(at)terascape.com
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
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