mbryanr wrote:
Ok guys...hoping you may help me here. I have a '77 Dodge RV (360), which has run perfectly to this point. It has sat since the Winter, but I took care of the battery and the fuel system over the winter/spring. I haven't had much of chance to run it due to gas costs etc.
We took it out today in preparation of a trip. Started up perfectly. Went to pick up some oil and a fuel filter...and it cuts out on me. Begins to sputter (similar to losing electrical power/fuel) and dies. I let it sit for ~5 minutes, and it starts right back up. Travel ~ 4 miles and it repeats the same. Won't start unless I let it sit for ~5-10 minutes, at which point it fires right up. I finally get it back home with it cutting out at an increasing rate.
Thinking it could have been a bad fuel pump, I replaced it. Start it back up and it runs ~6 miles. Thinking "ok it is fixed!" - it hiccups and begins to cut out. If I don't push the accelerator it will idle perfectly, but once I hit the accelerometer...it cuts outs and stalls.
Any ideas on troubleshooting? I'm thinking electrical ground...but I'm probably way off. I would appreciate any help, let me know if you need more info.
Check every piece of rubber fuel line on the vehicle, and also drop the tank and see if the sock on the pickup line is clogged up. I had a 79 dodge with a 440 that did about the same thing. Every time there was a load on the engine, like pulling a hill...it sputtered and lurched and almost quit. I replaced the fuel filter located midways of the frame rail on the passenger side and thought that was the problem since it was so rusty on the outside. I cut it open and it was clean as could be. The motorhome had an electric helper pump out back next to the tank, so I pulled the fuel filter back off and used the pump to drain the gas into jugs. I then dropped the 30 gallon plastic tank, and found the main part of the problem as I was lowering the tank. The rubber hose going from the tank to the metal fuel line was rotten and letting air get sucked in. I pulled the pickup tube out of the tank and found the sock to be clogged as well. I cleaned out the tank to get any dirt out,and left the sock off. I added another inline filter before the helper pump, and used high grade hose to replace the rotten one. That fixed it, and I never had anymore problems. Good luck.
