NY'er won't start - stuck carb float?

[Imperialist67]

re: '67 New Yorker will NOT start.

OK this will probably be a STOOPID questions to many of you, but carburetors are something that I stay away from as a rule. Have dealt with other carb issues before, but not THIS one.....

Hadn't taken the New Yorker out since late February, and went to re-awaken it lastnight. Turned the battery back on, starter cranked away no problem, but it is NOT firing up, no shuttering either. I never crank the starter more than a few seconds at a time.

Went to the "last resort" of squirting in a little starting fluid (I do NOT do this lightly, based on advice from this list.), and it fired up, but then promptly shut back off. Repeated this procedure, and had the same result. Seems like the carb just was NOT getting any fuel. Not seeing fuel seeping out from under the carb throat.

About half a tank of fuel is in it, so it isn't the "out of gas" issue (like I had with a Buick years ago). By chance did fuel sitting in the carb gunk up the float and it is now stuck? I have heard of this happening, but wasn't sure. The guy that works on mine thinks this is the case, and advised tapping on the carb to free it.

Any guidance or counseling here? I definitely don't want to damage anything on the carb, and don't want to just "whack on the side."

MANY THANKS.

 

[Davea Lux]

In recent years, there have been a lot of problems with fuel pumps going "dead" on cars fueled with ethanol blend fuels. This witches brew corrodes the internals of the fuel pump to where the check valve inside the pump does not seat and the pump in non-functional. Disconnect the fuel line at the carb and route the line into a capture container and see if you are getting fuel to the carb when you crank the engine.
If you are not getting fuel, you will probably need to replace the pump, check the fuel filter also to be sure it is not plugged up.

Most of the time if the carb is gunked up bad enough to make the float(s) stick, you will probably need to rebuild it. You can try tapping the top of the carb lightly once you are sure you have fuel to see if that helps.

Dave

 

[Pete Kaczmarski]

Lets assume you checked for spark and removed the fuel line from carb and fuel pump is working. Then I would look at the carb. was it ever rebuilt? my '59 Imperial would intermittently not start, what we found was the accelerator pump was not big enough for its housing and would not call for fuel. We had to order an oversize accelerator pump. This was a couple years ago and has not failed since.

 

[Imperialist67]

definitely getting a spark, as when I shoot in some of the starter fluid, it fires right up. I don't think the carb. (it has a Carter) has been rebuilt, but it worked fine until now, it may be time for a re-build......

 

[Carmine]

Sometimes it takes a LOT of cranking to re-awaken an old car. My advice is to fill a spray paint cap about half way with gasoline. Dump it in the carb and crank with the throttle open. It will likely run a few seconds. Repeat about 5-6 times. If it won't stay running on its own, investigate further.

This won't do any harm. I driveway full of infrequently used cars and they all have different personalities. The Magnum fires like you drove it yesterday. The Imperial takes lots of cranking and gas. Today I had to move both to continue my Menard's forest.

 

[Mike66Chryslers]

If it was me, the next thing I would do is remove the air cleaner. Then while leaning over the engine from in front of the car, hold the choke open with left hand, look down the throat of the carb and work the accelerator on the carb with my right hand. If you see fuel squirt out of the accelerator pump nozzles, you know the carb has fuel in the bowls and the accelerator pump is working. If not, it's likely your carb is dry. Then move onto the next step in diagnosing.

I haven't had a float get stuck closed as you have, but I had one get stuck open after sitting long enough that the fuel in the carb evaporated. The car started, then it began to run rough and then fuel started quirting out of the air bleeds onto the top of the engine! Thankfully the engine flooded and stalled without starting an engine fire. I probably could've freed it up by tapping on the carb body, but I removed the top plate of the carb and freed it up.

 

[stubs300]

Your car has sat for a while, fact!
Todays gas is a joke, fact!
Because of that, your fuel system has become depressurized of all fuel and evaporated. You either need to get a separate fuel pump to pressurize the system, crank the snot out of it to pressurize it that way, or squirt another shot down the carb and fire it again till the fuel pump has filled the carb. Only then will it run. Don't be afraid to put to much of a squirt down the carb as it will get burned off if you slightly flood the engine to get it started. Good Luck

 

[Carmine]

Use a little gas vs. an ether squirt and you won't have to worry about harming anything. And you'll spend $.02 vs. $1.50

It will also run a bit longer on gas and it's all about having the mechanical pump fill the bowls.

 

[Big_John]

Lets assume you checked for spark and removed the fuel line from carb and fuel pump is working.

I have only heard that spark was checked.

So, I'll ask. Has the fuel delivery been checked? It's a very simple and very necessary part of the diagnostic process. Unhook the fuel line at the filter and stick a hose from it in a plastic Coke bottle. Crank the engine over and see if it fills the bottle. No gas... then you start at the pump and work backwards to the tank.

 

[Imperialist67]

Sometimes it takes a LOT of cranking to re-awaken an old car. My advice is to fill a spray paint cap about half way with gasoline. Dump it in the carb and crank with the throttle open. It will likely run a few seconds. Repeat about 5-6 times. If it won't stay running on its own, investigate further.

This won't do any harm. I driveway full of infrequently used cars and they all have different personalities. The Magnum fires like you drove it yesterday. The Imperial takes lots of cranking and gas. Today I had to move both to continue my Menard's forest.

View attachment 180949

THANKS - I'll definitely try this.

 

[Imperialist67]

THANKS for the advice everyone - a little tap on the carb, a bit more force feeding, and the 440 has re-awakened, now running on its own.

 

[stubs300]

See, what'd we tell you? Glad you got it runnin!