andrewunix

The 240 wagon sat with an empty gas tank overnight, and after adding 4
gallons to it, it still won't start. I think that there may be an air
bubble in the fuel line or something.

Anyone know how to tackle this?

Thanks in advance,
Andrew

--
agreenbu @ nyx . net andrew michael greenburg

Henry

andrewunix <agreenbu@nyx.net> wrote:

> The 240 wagon sat with an empty gas tank overnight, and after adding 4
> gallons to it, it still won't start. I think that there may be an air
> bubble in the fuel line or something.
>
> Anyone know how to tackle this?

I am reminded of C.W. Moss's classic line from 'Bonnie and Clyde' when
he had to deal with a similar problem involving Mr Clyde Barrow's Ford
(I believe it was always Fords that he stole).

'Dirt. Dirt in the fuel line. Just blowed it away'.

Anyway, that's one of the dangers of running dry, especially with an
older car. You can suck up crud from the bottom of the tank and clog the
line.

cheers,

Henry

Michael Pardee

"andrewunix" <agreenbu@nyx.net> wrote in message
news:slrnd2nd5p.eu0.agreenbu@nyx3.nyx.net...
> The 240 wagon sat with an empty gas tank overnight, and after adding 4
> gallons to it, it still won't start. I think that there may be an air
> bubble in the fuel line or something.
>
> Anyone know how to tackle this?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Andrew
>
Could be the in-tank fuel pump isn't running. That gem pushes fuel at low
pressure to the main pump, and there are a few possible reasons for it not
working. It may not be getting power because of a bad connection in the fuel
pump relay or the pump may be defective.

Now the devil's choice: your chances of getting fuel coaxed to the main pump
are better if you fill the tank all the way, but if you have to open the
tank and replace the fuel pump you need the tank less than half fuel. The
safe bet is to determine if you have voltage to the pump and if the pump is
running so you'll know if the tank has to be opened. (Access is through the
rear floor, IIRC)

Mike

Al Dente

why do you want the tank to be less than half full if you're going to
replace the in-tank pump?... I've done that twice on my '89 240, both times
with the tank a little less than full, and had no problems.

Michael Pardee

"Al Dente" <nobody@home.com> wrote in message
news:112p1fs44hjl2fc@corp.supernews.com...
> why do you want the tank to be less than half full if you're going to
> replace the in-tank pump?... I've done that twice on my '89 240, both
> times
> with the tank a little less than full, and had no problems.
>
>
Never tried it with the tank full - good to know it isn't a huge problem.

Mike

Franz Bestuchev

"Henry" <henry999@eircom.net> wrote in message
news:1gt1ifk.9qt8meeiragN%henry999@eircom.net...
> andrewunix <agreenbu@nyx.net> wrote:
>
>> The 240 wagon sat with an empty gas tank overnight, and after adding 4
>> gallons to it, it still won't start. I think that there may be an air
>> bubble in the fuel line or something.
>>
>> Anyone know how to tackle this?
>
> I am reminded of C.W. Moss's classic line from 'Bonnie and Clyde' when
> he had to deal with a similar problem involving Mr Clyde Barrow's Ford
> (I believe it was always Fords that he stole).
>
> 'Dirt. Dirt in the fuel line. Just blowed it away'.
>
> Anyway, that's one of the dangers of running dry, especially with an
> older car. You can suck up crud from the bottom of the tank and clog the
> line.
>
> cheers,
>
> Henry

At the bottom of the tank?? Where do you think the fuel intake is anyway?
Putting it at the top of the tank wouldn't exactly work. The crud is why
cars have fuel filters.

Mike F

Michael Pardee wrote:
>
> "Al Dente" <nobody@home.com> wrote in message
> news:112p1fs44hjl2fc@corp.supernews.com...
> > why do you want the tank to be less than half full if you're going to
> > replace the in-tank pump?... I've done that twice on my '89 240, both
> > times
> > with the tank a little less than full, and had no problems.
> >
> >
> Never tried it with the tank full - good to know it isn't a huge problem.
>
> Mike

It's different on a 240 vs 740. On a 240 the sender is mounted in a
horizontal surface at the top of the tank, so as long as the tank isn't
100% full, there's no problem. The 740 (and all 700/900) has the sender
mounted in a surface that is on an angle near the top, narrow part of
the tank. I wouldn't remove this sender unless the fuel level was down
around the half level, although you could probably get away with
anything less than 2/3.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

Mark

> >> The 240 wagon sat with an empty gas tank overnight, and after adding 4
> >> gallons to it, it still won't start. I think that there may be an air
> >> bubble in the fuel line or something.
> >>
> >> Anyone know how to tackle this?

Not exactly sure why, but running an older fuel pump dry can make it
fail where it may have lasted another few years otherwise. My guess is
that you will be replacing the fuel pump. When you pull it let us know
if it works out of the car and the problem was elsewhere, or if it did
indeed die on you.

Michael Pardee

"Mike F" <"mikef2316()"@allsttream.nett> wrote in message
news:422DAC9B.4EB2819B@allsttream.nett...
> Michael Pardee wrote:
>>
>> "Al Dente" <nobody@home.com> wrote in message
>> news:112p1fs44hjl2fc@corp.supernews.com...
>> > why do you want the tank to be less than half full if you're going to
>> > replace the in-tank pump?... I've done that twice on my '89 240, both
>> > times
>> > with the tank a little less than full, and had no problems.
>> >
>> >
>> Never tried it with the tank full - good to know it isn't a huge problem.
>>
>> Mike
>
> It's different on a 240 vs 740. On a 240 the sender is mounted in a
> horizontal surface at the top of the tank, so as long as the tank isn't
> 100% full, there's no problem. The 740 (and all 700/900) has the sender
> mounted in a surface that is on an angle near the top, narrow part of
> the tank. I wouldn't remove this sender unless the fuel level was down
> around the half level, although you could probably get away with
> anything less than 2/3.
>
> --
> Mike F.
> Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Thanks, Mike - that explains my confusion.

Mike

Al Dente

and mine!... didn't realize the 240 and 740 would have different shaped
tanks!