Dodge W150 1985 360 Carb. Not Starting
#11
12-28-2019 | 08:55 AM
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Joined: Oct 2018
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Pics before & after starting:
- Before starting -
- When warming up -
#12
12-28-2019 | 09:15 AM
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From: Clayton MI
#13
12-28-2019 | 09:24 AM
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It sounds either lie a carburetor issue or a weak spark. I had one that required starting fluid after sitting.It started doing it overnight then every 8 hours, then every 4, then every time and it was low compression. Wild thought here, is the ballast resistor good? It's a little white porcelain thing on the firewall. These are notorious for causing problems. See if you can rent or borrow a vacuum gauge and see what kind of vacuum you're pulling. With the miles and suddeness of the problem, I think you're good there, but check to make sure.
What is the cfm on your carburetor? Is the accelerator pump working good? If your accelerator pump or power valve has gone bad from ethanol in the fuel it may cause the sudden problem. So, check the vacuum reading then your carb. It's probably a minor problem, possibly fairly cheap to fix. You just have to find it.
What is the cfm on your carburetor? Is the accelerator pump working good? If your accelerator pump or power valve has gone bad from ethanol in the fuel it may cause the sudden problem. So, check the vacuum reading then your carb. It's probably a minor problem, possibly fairly cheap to fix. You just have to find it.
#14
12-28-2019 | 10:34 AM
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Joined: Jun 2009
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From: orangeville ontario
you might have been flooding it. usually 2-3 pumps tops and my vehicle would always start even at the coldest temps possible but i also usually run ethanol free fuel in my carbed engines. my 81 use to sit 12 hours in the sun while i would be at work and i could come back and fire it up with no prime/setting of the choke. i think running ethanol free fuel would biggest reason it would do this
#15
12-28-2019 | 12:53 PM
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From: S.W. Indiana
Definitely a flooding issue. Since the last carburetor was put on a car around 1990, the last 30 years has seen people forget how to deal with the little stinkers.When you use starting fluid, it fires right off and burns the gasoline out and the engine can run. Like others have said, pump once to set the choke. Another while cranking if it doesn't start. The repeated pumping is for a weak accelerator pump. It looks like yours is in good shape so you don't need to pump it a lot. If you've got Champion spark plugs in there, you might want to swap them out as they don't like to be gas soaked.
#16
12-28-2019 | 05:24 PM
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From: orangeville ontario
not necessarily. the fuel is not the same as it use to be and i believe some carter/edelbrock/thermoquad carbs sometime have issues with the float bowls being so small and fuel evaporating off. some carbs even almost require the engine being cranked a few times to top off the carb before it will fire. i am pretty sure my elcamino is one of them. even when i drive that thing every day it never starts as good as my dodge did with the holley 4bbl. i do have an adapter plate between the intake and carb on the dodge which likely helps keep some of the engine heat away from the carb along with pretty large float bowls.
#17
12-29-2019 | 10:12 AM
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I've run nothing but hollies on both small and big blocks(conventional design). Not familiar with the street demon but they seem to be a replacement for thermoguad or carter carbs. With the conventional designed carbs you have all kind of different options for accelerator pumps to suit you motor build. Everything from 50 cc pumps to different squirter cams. None of the hollies I've used did you need to push the pedal to the floor twice before starting. Usually "tap"(1/4 pedal movement) the pedal twice will work fine. Try different amounts of movements(not to the floor) and see what works best. One half throttle movement may work in you case.
Last edited by Moparite; 12-29-2019 at 10:14 AM.