Car Won't Start

[Arlen]

'74 2.0 motor in a '75--had some leaky fuel lines on the passenger side, where the tubing enters the engin tin in the direction of the passenger seat.

I ran the car after I hooked the lines back up--this is after they popped off from running hard, old engine, you get the idea, things seemed fine, shut it off, and re-started just checking things out and this time it started ruff as if it wasn't getting enough gas. I got lucky and it fired up, took it home, hasn't fired up since.

I have power, starter is good, fuel spits from the lines when I disconnected them--turned it over a few times, I couldn't think of a better way to check if my lines were plugged.

All new spark plugs as of 5 months ago, new points--new fuel line somewhere (between the fuel pump and the engine bay--but I have no idea how to get at that new line and check for kink/collapse).

Fuel pump has power, seems to buzz like normal--I read that an inffy ground connection can give you trouble? But I get gas, so I don't think this is the problem...

Help?

[DSPTurtle]

Well you say you are getting fuel... are you getting spark? I assume it is a D-Jet, correct? I would check for spark, maybe the coil wire popped off when you were changing the fuel line. There are about a million other things too... but make sure you have air - fuel - spark and it should go!!!

[Arlen]

Ya, I get a spark (I assume). I disconnect the center cap and wire from the distributer, turned it over, my roomate holding the wire got a shock...

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I suggest hooking up a fuel pressure gauge to see if you're getting enough fuel. It is not that hard to swap the supply and return lines when you change out the fuel lines.

It might be harder on a 75; I'm not sure as I haven't played with the fuel lines in a later car.

--DD

[Joe Bob]

Dave is right about fuel pressure......you need a guage....

First check and see if it IS a fuel problem.....take some ether aka "Quick Start" and use a short spray into the intake while some one is cranking the engine.

If it does NOT start, you have a spark problem. Probably points, condensor, cap, rotor, could even be the trigger points if you have D Jet Fuel Injection and not carbs.

If it DOES start, most likely it is fuel problem....check fuel pressure and work from there.

[3D914]

Arlen,

In addition to what others suggest, it would be informative to pull a couple of plugs to see their condition. Black plugs will indicate too much fuel (which may result in flooding). This can also be caused by a Cold-Start valve that is stuck open. I just fixed such a problem on a friends 2.0. It would run fine for about 5 min under load, then quit. Plugging the fuel supply to the cold-start resolved the problem. Don't forget, this is an injector similar to the others and will need regular maintenance as well.

Light brown plugs indicate that the problem is not too much fuel.
Fuel pressure gauge will be helpful as mentioned above.

Keep us posted.