hard to start when hot!
 

Hey folks,
today i talked to an "expert" about the fact that my truck is hard to start when the engine is hot. He said that i should change the open airfilter at first to a closed one that wont suck the warm air in the enginecompartement and then take a carbspacer that won´t take the heat from the motor to the carb because that causes hot bubbles in the fuel and makes it start hard!
Should i get such an ugly airfilter from an original engine?
What do all the other people with open airfilters do?
Is there a carbspacer of any other material than aluminum or steel?
Many questions! Maybe somebody can help?!:smoke:
Volker

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

I know Edelbrock makes a spacer that's out of some sort of plastic.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-8711/

I have the same problem with my truck. I may try the enclosed air cleaner trick too... Good luck!

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

Explain "hard to start".. is the starter dragging or does the engine turn over a few times before it'll start?

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

thats what i was thinking my truck use to be hard to start ended up being the starter twice so i added a heat shield and that took care of the problem.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

the other thing is if the truck has headers sometimes it makes too much heat for the fuel line so youhave to move it so its not near the headers

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

this happened to mine, not only hard to start, but would cause vapor lock and the truck would just die on me randomly, used a transcooler i had in the garage, and made it into a fuel cooler, solved my prob, also added a heat shield to starter, it was getting fidgety

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

have as wooden carb spacer on mine . Suppopsed to be the best for heat reduction

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

There are another couple of possible things to look at too, the timing may be to far advanced, or a vacum line in the wrong place. Both of these things can also cause a hard start problem when hot. I would do a check on the timing, it is cheap and fast.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

The starter doesn´t make any problems and it runs fine when hot.
The headers are really hot but it´s only an issue when i try to start. I have to turn 10 to 15 seconds sometimes and then he comes on slowly.
Volker

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

Headers are heat-soaking the starter. Had the same exact problem with mine. I added a heat shield to the starter and painted the headers with high-heat ceramic paint. That fixed that problem.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

use a phenolic carb spacer. can order from summitracing for 30-40 bucks. are you using an aluminum intake, or cast iron?

if you ever have problems with your starter not working when the engine is hot, first use a heat shield over the solenoid, and second, put a relay at the solenoid. real simple solution, as a lot of the older chevys, or any vehicle for that matter, tend to have wiring breakdown after 10 or so years.
just a lil info from a 12Volt mechanic.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

The above suggestions are correct, but also check your battery cables for corrosion. It increases resistance and as the cable becomes hot..resistance is again increased....causing the starter to drag.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

I don't think he's having starter issues. Sounds like he's having flooding issues caused by heat. I have the same issues with mine...

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

That´s right! The starter works fine without any problems!
Volker

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

Yeah, I think that's my problem...no problem starting, but it does not want to idle after a hot start.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

Mine does that too every once in a while. You know, I just installed a 283 in my woman's '65 using a stock cast iron intake. I ran it for a while the other day, a hot day, and let it sit just to see if it would have the same starting issue. Fired right up no problem. I'm think about switching to a stock style intake on my '73 (until I collect all the TBI parts to convert it). It's more of a daily driver/cruiser..not really trying to get a lot of "performance" out of her. Both my '62 and '73 have aluminum Edelbrock intakes and they both are hard to start when hot due to flooding.

moneyeater, are you running an aluminum intake?

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

Before replacing the openning air cleaner my guess would be check the choke adjustment on the carb and or check the fuel line going into the carb it could be to close to the motor and creating vapor lock.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

hot air wont start haha ..do you have a edelbrock carb ?? I had a brand new one ..when you drove the car sometimes it would act like it was flooding out then run great and sometimes when it was hot it was hard starting oh no choke in 100+ weather i took the top off the carb and it had metal shavings in it i run a filter at the tank then one before carb it was brand new in the maching process it had pieces of that chrome crap in it

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

ha i had the same problem for a couple months i just fixed it by adding a mini high torque starter by hitachi works great bolts right up and is wayyyy lighter than the other one i had on there.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

heres a pic of both before i installed the mini. it says its 9 pounds and the old one was like 25 maybe 30 at least it felt that way on my chest as i tried to get it out from under the truck

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

Yes i´m running an edelbrock performer intake!
The thought about the fuelline getting hot is new but that could be the problem because it´s routed from the fuelpump next to the waterpump and then rests in the valley between the cylinderhead and intake and its hot there!
Maybe i should lift it or use some hardline to get air around it!
What problem can be caused by the choke?
Its an e-choke!
Volker

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

if your set up is like mine then the fuel line should be steel all the way up till the alternator when i installed the new chrome one i had to cut it and add the rubber style goodyear fuel hose. heres how i ran it to avoid any heat by it resting near the heads or the intake. it also served as a safety move in case the ac hose decided to slip off the alternator bracket and get mangled in the belts

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

Two of my trucks would vapor lock after header installs.One big block 76 and the truck I use for muding.The fuel line runs inside the right frame rail just Inches from the headers.I moved the fuel line to the outside of the frame.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

Chances are the headers are hotter than they should be because the engine is running lean.

If you haven't tuned the carb for the headers and intake swap so you have the proper air / fuel ratio then you will have higher than normal exhaust gas temperatures which will make the headers hotter than they should be.

This is causing the extra hot headers to heat soak the starter and heat up the air in the engine compartment more than it should. You may have a combination of a hot starter and a vapor lock issue because of it.

Get an air / fuel meter and jet the carburetor to match your combination before you go changing any parts.

Re: hard to start when hot!
 

That's a great idea! Never thought of that.

Hey Volker! Have you tried anything? Still having issues?