QuestionHi, I have a 19965 t-bird. It stopped running with plenty of gas in tank. If I prime the carb. it will start. Does this sound like a fuel pump problem? Thank You for any and all help.
Charlie
AnswerThat is one possibility, but there are many others. All you really know now is that you have lack of fuel in the carburetor.
To sort out the problem further, disconnect the fuel line where it enters the carburetor, and temporarily connect a fuel hose out to an external container. Then, crank the engine on the starter to see if fuel gushes from the hose. If it does, your problem is internal to the carburetor, probably a stuck needle valve. These are becoming common because modern fuel compounding is damaging to older carburetor needle valves.
If you get no fuel gushing from the hose, you could have a blockage in the fuel line from the tank, a bad fuel pump or a clogged fuel filter. The next step is to disconnect the fuel line at the fuel pump inlet and blow back into the line - if you hear bubbles in the fuel tank (take the cap off and have someone listen), you know the fuel line is OK and the in-tank filter is not plugged. If you cannot blow back into the tank, you'll need to investigate that by disconnecting the line at the tank. If you can then blow through it, the problem is inside the tank.
If all is OK so far, remove the fuel filter and make sure that is not plugged, and if it is OK, you probably have a bad fuel pump.
Dick
