California Gas problem

[31Abone]

My two A's stop some times and I have to get out and tap on float chamber to get them going again , If I put in a carb cleaner in it seems to help.. gas gums up the needle valve..whats the best gas for A's and/or additive in California ?

[MALAK]

Odd. I live in SoCal and have never had that kind of problem. I do use Marvel Mystery Oil with each tank of gas.

[mike657894]

Im not in california. But have noticed in my motorcyle and a mini four wheeler a neighbor had me fix up. That The e-10 forms a Gel in the carb bowl on that stuff. I had the carb off the 4wheeler and in the bowl was a darker fluid when dumped in gas instantly dispersed. With the motor cycle it is a honda 600cc single and it needs to layed on its side for a ten count if its been more than a few days since started. If i dont I can kick it 50 times have it start and stall 10 times before I can run it. In the puddle that is 12in across I get a 4in puddle of this gel in the middle.

If your using e-10 you could try and use the bowl drain. but the gel is probably collecting in the bottom of the tank and working to the bowl when shaking. use a mason jar to catch the bowl fuel and inspect it.

If youre already using rec gas sorry to waste your time.

a fuel stabilizer like stabil may help no matter what your using.

or something like marvel may alter the fuel chemistry enough to fix you up too.

[Jerry in Shasta]

Sounds to me like you may have some old has tank sealer. Some the old stuff was alcohol soluble and would foul the carb.

Just my W.A. G at the problem
Jb

[duke36]

Originally Posted by 31Abone

My two A's stop some times and I have to get out and tap on float chamber to get them going again , If I put in a carb cleaner in it seems to help.. gas gums up the needle valve..whats the best gas for A's and/or additive in California ?

Using the ethanol stabilizer from Home Depot in our garden , other equip. and classic cars after having same issue as you.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I have NO GAS PROBLEMS, SOLD all my cars!
Bill Walkin'

[GPierce]

Ethanol will dissolve the resin in many fiberglass gas tanks if they were made with resins other than epoxy. The result is gooey mess in the carb..
Ethanol is also an excellent solvent. It dissolves the varnish build up older neglected fuel system. Once it dissolved all the old varnish it usually runs ok as long as you keep it fresh.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by GPierce

Ethanol will dissolve the resin in many fiberglass gas tanks if they were made with resins other than epoxy. The result is gooey mess in the carb..
Ethanol is also an excellent solvent. It dissolves the varnish build up older neglected fuel system. Once it dissolved all the old varnish it usually runs ok as long as you keep it fresh.

I think this is the solution to some of the problems we have with Ethanol. Modern "gas" doesn't keep as long as gas in the past because of the ethanol and lighter ends (butanes and pentanes) added to the gas.

[Chris Haynes]

A friend of mine came home to a garage floor covered with gasoline. The California gasoline had eaten a hole in her fuel line and the gas tank drained onto the floor.

[johnneilson]

MTBE was used in Cali for a while, all types or rubber hose failures during that time.

The current "eco-friendly, non-polluting, carbon emission-less, PC" summer blend has not been too bad this year. I still do add a little Sta-Bil to help with the lighter aromatics evaporation. Been driving the coupe every week but the tractor has been sitting.

John

[Lona]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

I have NO GAS PROBLEMS, SOLD all my cars!
Bill Walkin'

Bill,
At our ages, no cars does not mean we don't still have have gas problems.

Glen

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by johnneilson

MTBE was used in Cali for a while, all types or rubber hose failures during that time.

MTBE was found to be poluting the ground water. That's why they stopped using it. Otherwise we would still have that in our gas also.

MTBE was used in other states besides California. New York was another big user.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Lona

Bill,
At our ages, no cars does not mean we don't still have have gas problems.

Glen

Glen, I NEVER had problems with our gas, except for lower gas mileage. SO, we must get the GOOD STUFF!
Bill Happy

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

I have NO GAS PROBLEMS, SOLD all my cars!
Bill Walkin'

That doesn't mean YOU don't have gas problems!

[Mike V. Florida]

I feel you need to check into this further. If it were really the gas, every Model A in states with corn gas would have the same problem. Check and see what type of valve you have in the carb.

[TerryH]

I’ve had my Model A for almost 14 years now, and in California there are no options for non-ethanol gas. But there are thousands of Model A’s here, and I have never heard of one having major issues with the fuel. I don’t like it either, but it is an easy target to blame for all kinds of other ills....I do use MMO regularly.

[31Abone]

My neighbor's 28 just crapped out last week it was sticking float valve,I had two model A's that had the sticking float problem ,I put carb cleaner in and seemed to help ...tanks have no old sealer in them or rubber hoses..I think when an A sets for a week or two the fuel drys out in carb and makes needle valve stick kind of gummy type crap in the fuel....thats my opinion anyway.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by 31Abone

My neighbor's 28 just crapped out last week it was sticking float valve,I had two model A's that had the sticking float problem ,I put carb cleaner in and seemed to help ...tanks have no old sealer in them or rubber hoses..I think when an A sets for a week or two the fuel drys out in carb and makes needle valve stick kind of gummy type crap in the fuel....thats my opinion anyway.

When I park my car I shut off the gas and idle it until it quits. I also add Seaform in my gas at every fill up. Never a problem.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Seems that crap gas problems are more common in HIGH HUMIDITY areas. Along with points oxidizing!!
Bill Dryplace

[1928Mik]

My ball valve was sticking also and I carried a small ball-peen hammer to tap the side of the carb if it quit on me. Last winter I took the valve out and cleaned it with carb cleaner and a Q-Tip. Also I used Seafoam in the gas, but since reading on here of the wonders of Marvel Mystery Oil, I've been using that this year. No sticking issues so far.