Anti-project: The Cheap b*st*rd

[King_V]

You know what - it's little bits of tinkering . . and it's NOT really a project because I expect expenditures to be extremely minimal for this beast.

So, welcome to the Anti Project: The Cheap b*st*rd.

First introduced here to the delight, nausea, and losses of lunches to forum members everywhere, it has evolved exactly nowhere from that auspicious day!

Equipped with the underwhelmingly powerful 301 2-bbl, and the anti-performance oriented 2.41 axle ratio, as proclaimed on the still shiny, easy to read tag attached to the differential, it is truly a sight to behold!

Ahem, okay.

I asked a bit about fuel line sizes. I suspected a fuel leak was making it idle like crap.

So, here's what I've found:
1) The charcoal canister has a hole in it along the side but near the top. All hoses seem to be properly attached, though.
2) There are 3 hoses that come from the fuel tank and go up somewhere above the differential.
3) When looking at the end that goes from metal to rubber at the body (above the differential, NOT the end at the tank), one of them, the MIDDLE one, leaks. In fact, it irregularly sprays fuel out through the cracks in the hose, as if under a bit of pressure. Most times it just dribbles, though. It will also dribble for a while after the car is shut of.

Am I correct in assuming that the leaky hose, given that behavior, MUST be the return, or am I assuming incorrectly?

If so, is it supposed to be under pressure like that? I guess even a small amount of pressure might make that sort of spraying happen.

I guess never fully understood carbureted vehicle fuel flow - I always thought it was one way (not counting the charcoal canister stuff, of course) - where does the returned fuel come from, underhood?

I can find vacuum diagrams, but am having trouble finding a fuel diagram - tank to pump to carb and back, or what-have-you.

Any guidance?

 

[-83MONTESS-]

....when do we find out what kind of car it is?

 

[1evilregal]

nonetheless,

 

[King_V]

....when do we find out what kind of car it is?

and

nonetheless,

Aww, c'mon guys, I provided a link and everything! Yer breakin' my heart, here! Click the word "here" below. It's a 1978 Buick LeSabre 4-door with ALMOST no options. Rear defog, 301 2-bbl. AC. Vinyl seats, AM-only radio with wire-in-windshield style antenna.

First introduced here to the delight, nausea, and losses of lunches to forum members everywhere, it has evolved exactly nowhere from that auspicious day!

EDIT: Hmm, the worthless smiley-code didn't copy over correctly? Odd...

 

[King_V]

Oh, and FYI, from a friend's suggestion, The Cheap b*st*rd might be renamed to: The Blue Rajah

(bonus points for those who get the reference without looking it up)


Hopefully the weather warms up a bit this weekend - will likely drop the tank and replace the fuel lines there - but still dwelling on the question - is there supposed to be back-pressure on the return line at all (see symptom description above)?

 

[Josh Hanna]

 

[King_V]

The only pics I have thus far are in the first post in this thread.

Yeah, I know it probably wouldn't kill the servers for me to repost them in this thread, but I'm sort of obsessive about avoiding duplicate files.... comes from being an IT guy, I guess...

 

[King_V]

Fuel lines at tank....

Well, finally got my lazy butt in gear, and dropped the tank. Man, just WAY too tight in there to get to the clamps, and pull off and push on fuel lines.

Yeah... after 36 years, I guess it's not surprising that they were rock hard. Oddly, especially the biggest of the three. Also removed the sending unit, which looked to be in good shape, and even the nylon sock seemed perfect - not at all brittle or stiff. Were they black from the factory? In any case, if it IS the factory one, then I'm thinking the mileage on the car probably is legit.

Also cool, the tank's got no rust of any kind as far as I can tell - maybe a bit of a dusting of surface rust at the top of the tank. The downside, that undercoating/slime/whatever is sticky as hell and gets on everything. Lots of scrubbing with Palmolive (about as good as Gojo) and something abrasive to get it off my arms, etc.

Ok, so I have to get some 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8" fuel line. At least, that's what I and the parts clerk can make out from the VERY faded print on the lines. Lining them up SEEMS to confirm this. Oddly, the biggest of the three, which is marked as 3/8" seems to have a larger opening than the new 3/8" line. They do NOT have the spring-type clips, and space is tight for getting a screwdriver in for the screw-type hose clamps, so I go with the old clamps (which are in good shape).

So, get the lines re-attached to the tank sending unit, put the tank back in. Keep in mind, I'm working with sockets/ratchets/extensions, a pair of pliers for the clamps, and my body. No matter how I try, I feel like I should NOT tighten the strap bolts all the way down - weird popping noises happening when I tighten more. But I can't figure why it doesn't go in QUITE as it originally did....

Alright, so, time to attach the other end of the new hoses. 1/4", no problem, 5'16", no problem, 3/8" . . uhhh . . hrmmm... it was something of a struggle to get it on the tank end. the end on the car over the axle is even more difficult.

Much swearing ensued. Much crap fell on my face. Uncomfortable popping noise when, in trying to push the line on, I saw the metal line bending.

I managed to get the hose on a little. JUST ENOUGH past the end so that I can put the hose clamp past the metal end that's larger (I can't rememeber what the enlarged end of the steel line is called!). So, there's enough rubber past the enlarged end to accommodate the clamp, and that's it.

Dammit, feels a LOT like that metal end is 7/16" and they ham-fisted 3/8" line onto it on the assembly line back in the 70s - that CAN'T be right, but the line is just so @#$%# tight.

Put some gas in the car, started, and drove. Thankfully, no leaks (the 1/4" line was the leaker). Car still runs crappy, though slightly less crappy. Still very irregular idle, and very smooth once past idle. Oddly, even when warm, it'll sometimes start right away when shut off, and sometimes need starting fluid.


Next steps (in no particular order):
- Find why the speedo isn't working and fix it
- Duct tape the hole over the charcoal canister (how full of charcoal should it be?)
- New wipers

Probably do the duct tape and maybe wipers today.

 

[King_V]

Addendum - I have to admit, there's something quite satisfying about driving around in a car that is arguably a classic, yet so cheap and disreputable that you're not all that worried about anything that happens to it.

 

[Intragration]

Addendum - I have to admit, there's something quite satisfying about driving around in a car that is arguably a classic, yet so cheap and disreputable that you're not all that worried about anything that happens to it.

Yep, this is part of the joy of these cars, you get the old-car experience, without the fear associated with driving an expensive classic car. "Duct tape the hole over the charcoal canister (how full of charcoal should it be?)" I'm assuming this is a trick question, as there shouldn't BE a charcoal canister, at least not after it is removed. But then, maybe you have strict emissions laws where you are. My cars lose all of their emissions stuff before they even get washed the first time.