I love my Buick. (Repeat 10x) My Buick was nice enough to wait to fail me until it was parked in front of my apartment. It could have left me on the side of the road. So if there is a sentience there, it is a kind one. Nonetheless, she is not moving. I checked to the best of my ability that all hoses are attached. I poured a little gas into the carb, and she tries to start... quickly choking and dying. I pump the pedal and no fuel appears or stinks up the carb. My first diagnosis is that the fuel pump has died. Honestly, I don't even know where to find that. The pump from Autozone is inexpensive $50. I am tempted to buy it as either a fix or to have as a back-up/inevitable fix. I suppose I could have a fuel line problem, but I don't see why that would happen without warnings. The only problem I had immediately before this is my generator light kept coming on, forcing me to high-idle rev my engine at stop lights to prevent the motor from dying. Again, unexpected and without serious previous warning. It has been suggested to look for proper grounding. Everything seems good. And back to the starting problem, the starter is working great. Suggestions?
I know it sounds dumb, but check to make sure the car has gas in it first. Sometimes the fuel gauges are inaccurate. Next check to make sure fuel is actually getting to the pump. If that checks out, disconnect the steel line going to the carb and put it in a plastic container like a 2 liter soda bottle. Wrap a rag around the opening, hold it tight and have someone crank the engine. if the fuel pump is good, fuel should shoot out of the line.
Thanks for the advice. I started to check the things you suggested and quickly realized that I have no confidence in myself regarding playing with a fuel system. I know many would not admit this, but I am a "air filter and top off fluids" kind of car owner. I plan on learning more and doing more... but I kept have visions of the Buick on the side of the road in flames after my attempt to fix and put back together the fuel system. So I will defer to the people who do this stuff for a living. There are other mechanical issues too, so she is in need of a professional checking her out too. I will get the carburetor rebuilt and tuned while she is there. Hopefully this guy is a true pro and not just BS-ing me about being skilled with pre-computer cars.
This isn't a 455 but the round gray item is basically what you are looking for. I don't know about 1973 but on my 1976 Electra, it was on the driver's side. Not a hard job, but can be dirty as if you have leaking valve covers, they can drip oil onto the pump and the surrounding area. Who ever replaced the fuel pump before I did it on my Electra used plumber's tape and the fuel lines were hard to get off but not impossible. If you don't prime the carburetor, does the engine just crank? Sure sounds like a fuel delivery issue. Good luck, that is a nice car. If you want to learn more, buy a 1973 Buick shop manual and a 1973 Fisher Body Manual...those should cover you for basically any repair. I learned a lot just from reading, even when not related to my repair at hand.
She's a 1973 Buick 455. Alas, it is in the hands of someone a bit more confident about their auto repair skills. The initial diagnosis was "sir.... you were out of gas." So in that scenario I am playing the role of the dingy blonde teenager calling a tow truck for a tow to the shop because she ran out of gas. I can handle that. We all do some embarrassingly stupid things at some point. Likely won't be my last. But I am waiting for the final determination as to whether it was absolute freak luck of it running out of fuel overnight (keyed lock on gas tank, so no thieves to blame) OR my sensor or gauge was faulty. I realize I should have dumped a gallon a gas into the tank before calling the truck. Write it off as an idiot fee. But thanks all for the suggestions as to fixing this. She is 38 years old and I plan on keeping her for decades more, so I probably will need to tackle a similar issue in the future.
I seem to recall suggesting that in post #2p Now, ask me why I suggested it!ou: Thats right, we've all been there. Glad you got it worked out. :beers2:
Your suggestion was the rational one. My decision for the tow to a mechanic was the "wake up, go downstairs, open hood, 'feck it', close hood, call mechanic." I would blame it on the coffee, but I don't remember having any that morning. For what its worth, this whole series of events has convinced me to enroll in a 4 month Saturdays course on auto repair at my local community college. It costs about as much as a typical single tow, so I figure it is worth it. And maybe after doing that, I will then have the courage to start putting fuel lines in 2 liter bottles to watch fuel fly. Am not quite there yet.
Good call Jason. Good for you. These older cars love plenty of attention and you will save a ton of money by learning basic matainence. And glad to hear you got it running.
She is back in the driveway and seems to float down the highway, even with a banged up muffler system. The rebuilt carb has brought about an amazing change. It turns out my initial idiot move of having her towed for the fuel issue landed me at a shop where the guy said (after many of my closing questions) that he'd love to sell me more services to the vehice, but there simply arent many, and definitely none that are pressing. And yes, he is in love with my Limited now too. I think all of the mechanics that helped work on it fell for her, as they showed me a few engine clean-up and minor improvements they did without asking... as if they just really wanted her to look good too. There is one small repair that is pending that is related to the fuel problem. The theory is that my fuel sensor is going out. It is not dead yet, but cannot be trusted. He didnt want to hold the Limited for that, so he suggested I go online and find a replacement one and either install it myself (highly not likely) of take it back to them. Until then, I will just pay attention to the fuel I should have in her before driving too far. Considering I am into gauges, is there a way to install a second sensor/float to have as backup? Sure, that is a bit paranoid, but I like fail-safes. If not, no problem. And is there a such thing as a better fuel sensor that I should look at getting rather than whatever one I may stumble across at a parts store?
http://tristarrradiator.com/ They will rebuild your oddball sending unit. If you can find a spare, send THAT to them so your car isn't out of commission for the week. Then have the units swapped when your new one arrives.
or buy a new one.... http://www.quantaproducts.com/product/6445/1973-76-Full-Size-GM-Passenger-Cars-w--AC/SUFG110B.aspx
