57 FI no fuel from tank to fuel pump

[Dan H.]

Hi all, I'm helping a friend with his 57 FI car, won't start or even fire once. We checked for fuel at the nozzle line, float bowl fitting, fuel pump to filter line/fitting, and loosened the fitting from main fuel line at the rubber hose to fuel pump, all dry after cranking engine etc. Seems no fuel coming from gas tank, yes we added 5 gallons of gas in case gage was wrong, no effect. Is there some way the tank can become plugged, like a filter sock on supply line? This is a low mileage 250 HP FI car, ran well when parked in garage 4 months ago, any ideas are welcome, a real head scratcher. Thanks for any suggestions,
Dan

[Tim S.]

Re: 57 FI no fuel from tank to fuel pump

Have you tried to lightly pressurize the tank to push the fuel?

[Dan H.]

Re: 57 FI no fuel from tank to fuel pump

Not yet, worth a try.

[Dan D.]

Re: 57 FI no fuel from tank to fuel pump

Hi Dan,

To narrow down your problem, if you have a Mityvac, disconnect the fuel line at the fuel meter and connect your Mityvac to the gas line. If you don't have a Muityvac, go buy one. They are not that expensive and should be available locally. Harbor Freight is a good source.

Pump the Mityvac to see if you can get fuel that far. If you can't get fuel that far, and I expect you will not, then it is time to pull the gas tank cover and the sending unit. I don't know how new the tank and sender are, but if they are old, then there may be a whole bunch of ills there.

Another thing - what kind of gas is your friend using? If the answer is gas pump Ethanol, then you may have a host of problems.

I see you are in California, and I don't think pure gas is available in California.

If alcohol laced, it very well may have partially dissolved all the rubbers, from the sender, the fuel pump, the fuel meter and even the spider. I hope not.

Let us know how you make out.

Dannn

[David H.]

Re: 57 FI no fuel from tank to fuel pump

... and loosened the fitting from main fuel line at the rubber hose to fuel pump ...

Dan

Rubber hose - "..loosened.. " or removed when testing? Have hard gas lines been replaced or moved on the frame?

By any chance is the rubber flex hose new or just replaced? If replaced, any chance rubber hose has been crimped closed during attachment?

Dave

[John D.]

Re: 57 FI no fuel from tank to fuel pump

Dan etal, One time I drove about 150 plus miles round trip to solve an issue like yours.
The car was a '64 fuel car like yours also.
I had restored the unit which made matters worse.
To get to the point I noticed the gas gauge said less than 1/4 of a tank.
So I took the gas cap off to check the fuel level and almost lost my arm. It blew off as pressure had built up big time. The cap was rusty.
I told the good doctor to get me a rag. Meanwhile the car started up and was running perfect. We stuck the rag in the big hole in place of the gas cap and went for a ride.
If you can't solve this call me. John

[Dan H.]

Re: 57 FI no fuel from tank to fuel pump

Thanks all, will go back over next weekend and try some more on getting this 57 running again, going to fill the float bowl and get it running, should do the trick, it's a 50K car, ex Chip Miller 250HP three speed, never hit etc etc just being stubborn I guess !
Dan