Fuel feed problem

[slikside]

How much engine cranking should it take to start pushing fuel out of the carb supply line after acomplete fuel system purge/ cleaning?

Truck specs in my signature line...

Tank was pulled and cleaned out due to disintegrated sock and other contaminants. Fuel supply lines blown out. Sock replaced, float replaced, sending unit reinstalled with new gasket. All lines reconnected as they were previously.

Per the manual, I put 6 gallons in the fuel tank, disconnected the 12v feed to HEI, put a hose on the output end of carb supply line to a can on the ground. I reconnected the battery, and have been cranking to put about 1/2 gallon into the can to purge the pump. I have cranked and cranked, but nary a drop has been put into the can. Am I missing something? Any ideas? Thanks all.

Oh, and I don't think my fuel guage is working now, but I can tackle that later. I'd just like to get the truck running again for now...

[Zeke's Garage]

If there are no leaks in the line from the tank to the pump, and the pump is working properly, it should pick up within 30 to 45 seconds of cranking.
You can pressurize your fuel tank from the filler neck, (No more than 5-10 psi), and see if you get fuel coming out of the line feeding the pump, this will ensure you don't have some kind of blockage in the line.

I'll usually fill the carb bowl with fuel through the vent so the engine will start and is running at a higher speed and will pull fuel much faster than just cranking.

[LongBox]

My technique for dealing with this is to get a small squirt bottle, fill it with gas, get a buddy to crank the engine while I squirt gas in the carb. Engine starts quickly, and because it is now going somewhere around 1000 rpm, pump pushes gas almost right away.

[jojomiamia]

I am a bit out of matter, but do you have another way to remove or install fuel sending unit in gas tank instead of using the tool J-23346 ?

Thanks,

[B. W.]

Originally Posted by jojomiamia

I am a bit out of matter, but do you have another way to remove or install fuel sending unit in gas tank instead of using the tool J-23346 ?

Thanks,

If you have a stock tank you can take a brass drift (or aluminum, something that doesn't spark) and tap the locking ring counter clockwise to remove

[jojomiamia]

Cool, thanks a lot !

[slikside]

Zeke, Longbox...

Thanks guys. Your suggestion, along with a neighbor's, to just try and start it worked. We did, and it did! My issue was trying to follow the procedure in the book for purging the pump of any debris BEFORE attempting to start it. The pump was simply not producing with cranking only. I hooked every thing back up, primed the carb, fired right up but died. Started it again, kept it running feathering the throttle till it would idle on it's own.

Neighbor (old mechanic/hot rod guy) said he'd heard about the purge procedure, but had never seen it work!(thanks GM!lol).

Any way, she's running now. Just need to change the carb filter. I guess I'm glad I hadn't done that yet.

Thanks again, guys! Always grateful for the knowledge found here and those willing to share it!

[slikside]

Yeah, that cam ring on the sending unit...getting it off was a lot easier that putting it back on with a new gasket!