Thread: fuel starvation problem on a hill

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got a fuel problem, in a 85 camaro that originally came with a v6 my buddy put a 350 in. the car will run all day on level ground ...but half way up a hill it will start to fart a and stuff until the motor dies. when you lift the hood the fue filters empty, theres 2 fuel lines on this car 1 when you turn the key on squirts fuel and the other ones full of fuel

Denny, that's kind of what I was thinking, but I was lost about the 2 fuel lines. One squirts gas and the other one is just full of gas. That one I've not figured out. Is the wrong fuel line hooked up to the pump?

Glenn, is it possible that in the switch over from a V-6 to a 350 the fuel lines got reversed? Ie: you are now using the fuel return line for the fuel flow to you motor and the actual fuel in line as a return line.

If that were the case, it would definitely stop drawing fuel on a hill as the factory return line doesn't go far down in the tank. So it's not going to draw on a hill.

Just a thought. I'm not saying that is definitely the answer. Just food for thought.

well, i figured with both lines open and he turns the key on the fuel comes out one line so i figured that is the feed line, why would the return line be full of fuel,? denny the car sat for about 10 years never dropped the tank ,cut the connectors off the fuel pump and spliced the wires together, how do i check fuel pressure? see the v8 was in the car when i seen it so i dont know were those lines were originally, on the v6. could they both be feed lines on a v6 with fuel injection?
DENNYW KEEP ON TRUCKIN[if you know what i mean}
glenn

Once't upon a time I bought a new Mustang, 88 GT.

Ran great until I got a load of dirty gas.

The symptoms were similar to your pal's car except my probs would come in on level ground.
(Not many hills in Central California's San Joaquin Valley.)

The problem was the fuel filter was clogged.

After a few changeouts at about the 5000-10,000 mile mark (recommended is 30,000) the problem went away.

Try swapping the filter on the frame.

check fuel pressure as denny described... check volume, i'll check mitchell tomarrow for you to give you specs on how many ounces per second, also when checking pressure, turn the key on for when the pump does its initial prime of the fuel system, should spike up a bit, and then stabilize, if it drops back down, you've got a bad check valve in the fuel pump, very common problem that a lot of techs overlook.... if all that seems to check out then its probably a dirty tank..... also if your system has a little vacuum can hooked up to the fuel line, you could try disconnecting the vacuum hose and plugging it, should bring fuel pressure up a little and see if it still stalls on hills.... that'll then tell you you're not getting enough pressure

The last time I had that problem was a clogged fuel filter.