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318 acting like it's not getting enough fuel

bwhite757

New member
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Location
Upstate, SC
Ok guys I'm stumped on this one. My truck starts up and idles fine however when I rev her up to about 3,000 RPM's and hold it for about 5 seconds, she chokes out like she's running out of gas. Same thing happens when I try to climb a hill at highway speed. As long as I get off the accelerator quick she'll recover and keep running. I've changed the fuel pump and filter now and still seeing the same thing.

Any other ideas out there you guys think I should try? Fuel line looks brand new, I'm assuming the previous owner changed it recently.
 

Bob H

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Location
Huron National Forest, Michigan USA
Todays fuels suck!
If you have any rubber fuel line that is more than a few years old it may be detieriorating and swelling on the inside, restricting flow.

30 some years of crud build up on the in tank fuel sock could also restrict flow.

and as mentioned a low float level can act that way too.
 

lacoda56

Member
775
7
18
Location
Rochester, Washington
My M880 318 acted like that. Turned out to be the ignition ecu on the left inner fender. I always thought they either worked or not but this one just got weaker as time went on. First noticeable at higher rpm's and heavier load.
 

Blythewoodjoe

Active member
985
56
28
Location
Blythewood, SC
One more thing to check is the rubber hose on the passengers side between the steel line from the tank and the steel line running forward. I had all kinds of trouble with fuel flow until I found that little rubber hose and replaced it. It let the fuel suck air. My truck is a M886 so it's a chance your truck will not have it.
 

Jones

Well-known member
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83
48
Location
Sacramento, California
If it has an inline fuel filter (one of those little universal application ones), change it out. I found out the paper elements inside fuel filters will trap water and once the paper gets saturated it won't allow fuel to go through.

lacoda56 is right about taking a look at the ECU.

Another problem that's hard to figure out is the ballast resistor on the firewall. One of it's tell-tale signs is that the truck will start but as soon as you let go of the key it dies. The ballast resistor cuts the run voltage to the coil but is bypassed during start for a hotter spark. When it goes out it'll start just fine but won't stay running.
 

bwhite757

New member
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Location
Upstate, SC
Thanks for the tips guys. Looks like I have a nice checklist to work with now. I'll get to work on this tomorrow and let you know what I find out.
 

bwhite757

New member
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Location
Upstate, SC
Ok, so I had a small piece of rubber hose coming from the metal fuel line by the fender well, to the fuel pump. I pulled this off, and brown rusted colored fuel came out of the fuel pump and line. Pulled the filter off and clear fuel came out from the carb side, but rusted colored came out from the pump side.

Obviously I had an issue with the gunk buildup breaking down from the tank to the fuel filter. (I threw in some Sea Foam a few weeks back and it appears that it may be doing its job, unfortunately it's just trashing the filter as soon as I replace it).

What I did was rigged up a drill pump where the line normally hooked onto the trucks fuel pump, I pulled all the gas through (with all the gunk break down) into 2 5 gallon gas cans. I then dumped 2 full cans of sea foam into 5 gallons of high octane gas, I poured that in my tank, pulled about a half gallon through the line with the drill pump, then let it sit overnight. I pulled the rest of the gas out this morning, and it was pretty much black. Through that back in the fuel tank and siphoned it straight back out, then put about a half gallon of clean gas in, siphoned it out, and at the end it came out clear. I then through 10 more gallons of high octane gas back in the truck, hooked up a universal clear inline filter, and drove the truck 65 miles to work. I inspected the filter once I got to work, and it's as clear as it could be.

I also used the old filter to filter the original 10 gallons I pulled out of the truck, and to my surprise, what once was orange, is now clear. I will use that fuel for my lawn mowers.

Probably not the best way to clean the tank, but it should hold me over until I actually have some time to drop the tank, clean it, and replace all the lines.
 

M543A2

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If and when you get into taking the tank down, check the filter at the end of the fuel pick-up tube in the tank. I have had them plug with crud also. If you have the fuel flow you need, don't worry about it for now. It must be clear enough it is no problem.
Regards Marti
 

citizensoldier

Active member
3,981
17
38
Location
Northern Michigan. Smelt City
Put your inline filter before the fuel pump to protect the diaphram.
Bob brings up a good point. On mine I replaced the rubber line that hooks to the tank steel line just behind the passenger door on the frame. I put a primary filter here so you don't choke out your fuel pump. And then kept the secondary between the pump and carb.
With all the stuff you mentioned coming out of the tank I would clean the carburetor out. I bet its full of gunk giving the float troubles.:)
 

bwhite757

New member
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0
0
Location
Upstate, SC
Thanks, will do on all of the above. Truck's running great now, hard to believe I gummed up a filter that quick, but hey, as long as it works...
 
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