PerkHouse
Veteran Member
Since I got my J2K, I've had a lot of air bubbles in my sight tube. Over the past few weeks it seems to have grown worse, so I bought a new fuel filter. However, I didn't have time to put it on right away.
About 2 weeks ago, while climbing a smallish hill, the car began gradually decelerating. I pushed the go pedal a little harder, but no response. I turned my emergency flashers on and pulled over to the shoulder. I tried to restart it, but after turning over about 6 or 7 seconds, I quit. I called my 17 y/o daugher, hoping her boyfriend was still with her. They brought jumper cables, fuel, tools, flashlight. (Oh, did I mention it was dark? Why is there no light under the hood. My '91 crappy US made van has that! I digress.)
Well, by the time I got a flashlight, I could see fuel in line, but nothing was coming out the return line from the injection pump. I removed/checked/reinserted the fuses. (Yes, every one of them.) Nothing. Assuming I had a dead IP, I called my insurance company for a tow. Of course, the towing company wouldn't take plastic, so two daughters, one boyfriend, and wife went to find an ATM. Meanwhile, back at the Batcave... Oh wait, that's another story. Meanwhile, I thought, "What the #~!!, I'll turn it over until the battery's dead. What do I have to lose now?" So, I began cranking. After about the 20 seconds, starter slowing, the engine sprang to life! I immediately threw it in drive and, staying on the shoulder, began heading for home. About 2 miles down the road, I suddenly realized that even if the engine died again, the tow truck wouldn't find me. I called my wife. (Her wrath scares me a lot more than a towing bill for services I didn't receive.) Next I called the towing company, but by the time I got through to their dispatcher, I was almost home. I told them I got the car started and thanked them for their "kindness". Of course, my voice didn't carry the sarcasm I was really feeling.
Back at the Batcave... (There I go again. Sorry!) Back at my garage, I replaced the fuel filter (and both o-rings on the thermostatic T, including a special seal lube used in refrigeration). I used my refrigeration vacuum pump to draw fuel up into the filter; it worked beautifully. I cranked it up and could see a lot of bubbles in the line but figured I'd just drive them out.
The next day, cruising down the highway with my younger daughter and her boyfriend, the car died again. It acted just like it did before: like it was starving for fuel. We sat there on the side of the road for a few minutes, then I cranked it until it started. We got about 5 miles and it died again. Let it sit a few minutes and cranked 'til it started. I got home and noticed I had as much air in the sight tube as fuel. So, I came here and started reading every thread I could find on bubbles and/or fuel starvation and/or stalling. I decided to add a 3rd o-ring to the top part of the stem on the thermostatic T. I grabbed my metric o-ring kit and chose one a little larger than the o-rings in the slots. It was snug, but I didn't have to stretch it. Getting the "Mickey Mouse" clip back on was not easy though. I had to use channel locks. But afterward, there were much fewer bubbles. After reading the advice of others on this forum, "Don't worry about bubbles in the sight tube", I figured I had the problem solved… until… yep, the car died again just yesterday. As soon as it did, I pulled over jumped out and looked at the sight tube. There was no fuel in there at all. After a few minutes, I could see it refilling.
I remembered reading a long thread from my earlier searches about a "Cold Weather Flaw" regarding a check valve in the fuel sender restricting fuel flow. Since it could create a vacuum in the fuel line during cold weather, I wondered if it could do the same during warm weather. Well, I removed my fuel sender unit and blew through both the supply and return tubes: both ways to test the check valves. There was not much flow in the forward direction of the supply tube. So, I did the mod. It's amazing!!! I now have absolutely no bubbles in my sight tube and the car is no longer stalling.
So, if you're having stalling problems and/or bubbles in your sight tube:
About 2 weeks ago, while climbing a smallish hill, the car began gradually decelerating. I pushed the go pedal a little harder, but no response. I turned my emergency flashers on and pulled over to the shoulder. I tried to restart it, but after turning over about 6 or 7 seconds, I quit. I called my 17 y/o daugher, hoping her boyfriend was still with her. They brought jumper cables, fuel, tools, flashlight. (Oh, did I mention it was dark? Why is there no light under the hood. My '91 crappy US made van has that! I digress.)
Well, by the time I got a flashlight, I could see fuel in line, but nothing was coming out the return line from the injection pump. I removed/checked/reinserted the fuses. (Yes, every one of them.) Nothing. Assuming I had a dead IP, I called my insurance company for a tow. Of course, the towing company wouldn't take plastic, so two daughters, one boyfriend, and wife went to find an ATM. Meanwhile, back at the Batcave... Oh wait, that's another story. Meanwhile, I thought, "What the #~!!, I'll turn it over until the battery's dead. What do I have to lose now?" So, I began cranking. After about the 20 seconds, starter slowing, the engine sprang to life! I immediately threw it in drive and, staying on the shoulder, began heading for home. About 2 miles down the road, I suddenly realized that even if the engine died again, the tow truck wouldn't find me. I called my wife. (Her wrath scares me a lot more than a towing bill for services I didn't receive.) Next I called the towing company, but by the time I got through to their dispatcher, I was almost home. I told them I got the car started and thanked them for their "kindness". Of course, my voice didn't carry the sarcasm I was really feeling.
Back at the Batcave... (There I go again. Sorry!) Back at my garage, I replaced the fuel filter (and both o-rings on the thermostatic T, including a special seal lube used in refrigeration). I used my refrigeration vacuum pump to draw fuel up into the filter; it worked beautifully. I cranked it up and could see a lot of bubbles in the line but figured I'd just drive them out.
The next day, cruising down the highway with my younger daughter and her boyfriend, the car died again. It acted just like it did before: like it was starving for fuel. We sat there on the side of the road for a few minutes, then I cranked it until it started. We got about 5 miles and it died again. Let it sit a few minutes and cranked 'til it started. I got home and noticed I had as much air in the sight tube as fuel. So, I came here and started reading every thread I could find on bubbles and/or fuel starvation and/or stalling. I decided to add a 3rd o-ring to the top part of the stem on the thermostatic T. I grabbed my metric o-ring kit and chose one a little larger than the o-rings in the slots. It was snug, but I didn't have to stretch it. Getting the "Mickey Mouse" clip back on was not easy though. I had to use channel locks. But afterward, there were much fewer bubbles. After reading the advice of others on this forum, "Don't worry about bubbles in the sight tube", I figured I had the problem solved… until… yep, the car died again just yesterday. As soon as it did, I pulled over jumped out and looked at the sight tube. There was no fuel in there at all. After a few minutes, I could see it refilling.
I remembered reading a long thread from my earlier searches about a "Cold Weather Flaw" regarding a check valve in the fuel sender restricting fuel flow. Since it could create a vacuum in the fuel line during cold weather, I wondered if it could do the same during warm weather. Well, I removed my fuel sender unit and blew through both the supply and return tubes: both ways to test the check valves. There was not much flow in the forward direction of the supply tube. So, I did the mod. It's amazing!!! I now have absolutely no bubbles in my sight tube and the car is no longer stalling.
So, if you're having stalling problems and/or bubbles in your sight tube:
- Install a new fuel filter
- Install a 3rd o-ring at the top of the thermostatic T
- Drill out the check valve in the supply tube of your fuel sender