![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Fuel Follies
Oct. 8th, 2013 10:03 pmLisa has been trying to get the Big Orange Van to start for the past few days. She really needs to move it more often or it will get flat spots on those big tires. Three days ago, she tried many things, but it wouldn't start. We've been working on tracing fuel-line problems since then, eliminating the source of the problem one step at a time working backwards from the carburetor to the gas tanks.
Late this afternoon, Lisa concluded that the fuel feed out of the rear gas tank has a hole in it and won't feed fuel from the rear tank. Using the forward tank has been problematic because there is a hole in the fuel filler neck; however, she had me pour the latest two-gallon can of gasoline (I've been getting small cans of gasoline each day that we've used in each test) into the forward tank. As expected, it dripped slightly, but not a huge amount, and at last the van would start! It doesn't run well at all right now, but at least it did start. She ran it around the block a bit and then parked it again.
We need to try to replace the line from the rear tank and the fuel filler hose into the forward tank. This is not easy. Getting parts for a 1970s E150 van is sometimes rather challenging, and getting mechanics to work on it is also difficult. The van isn't quite old enough to be considered a "classic," and it's too old for people who only want to work on vehicles made in the past few years and don't know what to do with something "that old." Unfortunately, we've never found anyone who can treat the Big Orange Van the way Cory and Fremont Wheel & Brake treats my minivan.
At least the Small Orange Pickup still runs.
Late this afternoon, Lisa concluded that the fuel feed out of the rear gas tank has a hole in it and won't feed fuel from the rear tank. Using the forward tank has been problematic because there is a hole in the fuel filler neck; however, she had me pour the latest two-gallon can of gasoline (I've been getting small cans of gasoline each day that we've used in each test) into the forward tank. As expected, it dripped slightly, but not a huge amount, and at last the van would start! It doesn't run well at all right now, but at least it did start. She ran it around the block a bit and then parked it again.
We need to try to replace the line from the rear tank and the fuel filler hose into the forward tank. This is not easy. Getting parts for a 1970s E150 van is sometimes rather challenging, and getting mechanics to work on it is also difficult. The van isn't quite old enough to be considered a "classic," and it's too old for people who only want to work on vehicles made in the past few years and don't know what to do with something "that old." Unfortunately, we've never found anyone who can treat the Big Orange Van the way Cory and Fremont Wheel & Brake treats my minivan.
At least the Small Orange Pickup still runs.
