Warning, don't pour

Warning, never pour fuel... into the throttle body air inlet opening in
an attempt to start your car. Could result in flash fire..."

I did this 2 or 3 times with carbureted cars, but I'm sure the same
warning would be given for those cars if they were sold new now.
However it worked well. I only needed to do this when I ran out of gas,
and after a few times, I learned** to turn the engine off the moment it
started to show signs of running out of gas, so that when I got a gallon
of gas and tried to restart it, there was still gas in the gas line and
it always restarted after a few seconds.

Clearly, wih a current, fuel injected engine, gas poured into the air
intake will not be injected into the cylinders, but it may be slightly
vaporized and sucked in with the air.

So my question is, will pouring a little gas into the air intake help to
start a car that has run out of gas


**Actually there were three stages:

1) At first, I'd pour the whole can of gas into the gas tank, and then I
might run down the battery or risk overheating the starter motore before
the car started. Maybe I had to get a jump, I can't remember.

2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
maybe less. That always worked well. I think I tried starter fluid
earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
on gasoline.

3) I learned to turn the engine off the moment it started to show signs
of running out of gas, and iirc I didn't need to pour anything after
that.

On 7/5/2017 7:45 AM, micky wrote:
> Warning, never pour fuel... into the throttle body air inlet opening in
> an attempt to start your car. Could result in flash fire..."
>
> I did this 2 or 3 times with carbureted cars, but I'm sure the same
> warning would be given for those cars if they were sold new now.
> However it worked well. I only needed to do this when I ran out of gas,
> and after a few times, I learned** to turn the engine off the moment it
> started to show signs of running out of gas, so that when I got a gallon
> of gas and tried to restart it, there was still gas in the gas line and
> it always restarted after a few seconds.
>
> Clearly, wih a current, fuel injected engine, gas poured into the air
> intake will not be injected into the cylinders, but it may be slightly
> vaporized and sucked in with the air.
>
> So my question is, will pouring a little gas into the air intake help to
> start a car that has run out of gas
>
>
> **Actually there were three stages:
>
> 1) At first, I'd pour the whole can of gas into the gas tank, and then I
> might run down the battery or risk overheating the starter motore before
> the car started. Maybe I had to get a jump, I can't remember.
>
> 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
> the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
> maybe less. That always worked well. I think I tried starter fluid
> earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
> on gasoline.
>
> 3) I learned to turn the engine off the moment it started to show signs
> of running out of gas, and iirc I didn't need to pour anything after
> that.
>

I pour gas into the intake of garden equipment, but have never found a
need to with a car. With a car, I pour the gas into the tank, turn on
the key, and give the pump time to fill the gas line, then start the car.

On 7/5/17 10:45 AM, micky wrote:
> Warning, never pour fuel... into the throttle body air inlet opening in
> an attempt to start your car. Could result in flash fire..."
>
> I did this 2 or 3 times with carbureted cars, but I'm sure the same
> warning would be given for those cars if they were sold new now.
> However it worked well. I only needed to do this when I ran out of gas,
> and after a few times, I learned** to turn the engine off the moment it
> started to show signs of running out of gas, so that when I got a gallon
> of gas and tried to restart it, there was still gas in the gas line and
> it always restarted after a few seconds.
>
> Clearly, wih a current, fuel injected engine, gas poured into the air
> intake will not be injected into the cylinders, but it may be slightly
> vaporized and sucked in with the air.
>
> So my question is, will pouring a little gas into the air intake help to
> start a car that has run out of gas
>
>
> **Actually there were three stages:
>
> 1) At first, I'd pour the whole can of gas into the gas tank, and then I
> might run down the battery or risk overheating the starter motore before
> the car started. Maybe I had to get a jump, I can't remember.
>
> 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
> the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
> maybe less. That always worked well. I think I tried starter fluid
> earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
> on gasoline.
>
> 3) I learned to turn the engine off the moment it started to show signs
> of running out of gas, and iirc I didn't need to pour anything after
> that.
>

On a fuel-injected car, (or any with an electric, in-tank fuel pump)
you should only need to turn on the ignition, wait a few seconds for
the pump to pressurize the line, and then start the motor.

You might even hear the pump running, and then stop when pressurized.

I had a 1956 Dodge p/u that had an electric, in-line pump, and it
would start almost instantly upon turning the key. Not like most
carbureated cars that would take 3 or 4 turns to start while the
mechanical pump re-filled the fuel bowl.

In rec.autos.tech, on Wed, 5 Jul 2017 11:33:39 -0400, Retired
> wrote:

>On 7/5/17 10:45 AM, micky wrote:
>> Warning, never pour fuel... into the throttle body air inlet opening in
>> an attempt to start your car. Could result in flash fire..."
>>
>> I did this 2 or 3 times with carbureted cars, but I'm sure the same
>> warning would be given for those cars if they were sold new now.
>> However it worked well. I only needed to do this when I ran out of gas,
>> and after a few times, I learned** to turn the engine off the moment it
>> started to show signs of running out of gas, so that when I got a gallon
>> of gas and tried to restart it, there was still gas in the gas line and
>> it always restarted after a few seconds.
>>
>> Clearly, wih a current, fuel injected engine, gas poured into the air
>> intake will not be injected into the cylinders, but it may be slightly
>> vaporized and sucked in with the air.
>>
>> So my question is, will pouring a little gas into the air intake help to
>> start a car that has run out of gas
>>
>>
>> **Actually there were three stages:
>>
>> 1) At first, I'd pour the whole can of gas into the gas tank, and then I
>> might run down the battery or risk overheating the starter motore before
>> the car started. Maybe I had to get a jump, I can't remember.
>>
>> 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
>> the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
>> maybe less. That always worked well. I think I tried starter fluid
>> earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
>> on gasoline.
>>
>> 3) I learned to turn the engine off the moment it started to show signs
>> of running out of gas, and iirc I didn't need to pour anything after
>> that.
>>
>
>On a fuel-injected car, (or any with an electric, in-tank fuel pump)
>you should only need to turn on the ignition, wait a few seconds for
>the pump to pressurize the line, and then start the motor.

Oh, yes. Great answer. The carbureted cars had mechanical fuel pumps.

By the time I got fuel injection, I'd learned not to run out of gas.

>You might even hear the pump running, and then stop when pressurized.

I'll listen.

>I had a 1956 Dodge p/u that had an electric, in-line pump, and it
>would start almost instantly upon turning the key. Not like most
>carbureated cars that would take 3 or 4 turns to start while the
>mechanical pump re-filled the fuel bowl.

Oh, yeah.

BTW, I never really inconvenienced myself by running out of gas. Once it
was on the BQExpressway and I just coasted to the next ramp and down the
ramp and into a gas station.

Twice it was on the Manhattan Bridge, and I just coasted down and across
Tillary into a gas station. (There arent' many gas stations in Manhattan
and I assumed they were more expensive than in Brooklyn) One of those
times, the guy behind me helped me push it about 10 feet to get over the
crest.

Another time I was going to a wedding in a town of 300 in western
Illinois, and I ran out of gas just as I crossed the sidewalk into the
town's only gas station. Coasted up to the pump.

Another time I just had to walk up the hill from the sunken xway and a
half block to a gas station, and it only took maybe 20 minutes, but the
worst part of that was I missed the action at work that morning. We
would start at 7 to avoid the heat between 3:30 and 4:30 and we still
had lunch at noon and one "coffee break" before that, so one guy used
to, on his own, I guess used to drive his chevy with the trunk filled
with ice and soda pop and sell them at store prices. One day, I was told
after the fact, the foreman told him to get his car out of there, and he
didn't move it, so the foreman said, "Move it by the time I get back or
your fired", and he walked a block or so to some other part of the job.
Apparently the guy with the car thought the foreman couldn't or wouldn't
fire him so he didn't move, and when the foreman got back, he fired him.

All that I missed, but I think I was there for act 2, even though I
didn't see it. The guy came back with a gun and threatened the foreman,
who then just walked up the hill from the sunken xway we were working
on, went to a payphone and called the police. When the police came and
carted him away, he was still threatening to kill the foreman, and the
foreman said if it werent' for that, he would have forgotten the whole
thing, but instead he stopped by before going to court a while later.
Instead of the work clothes and beat up pickup-truck, he was snazzy in a
suit and a red sports car.

Leon had been in a cave-in, and had broken his leg, his hip, and iirc
his back, and they told him he would never walk again, but he was in his
40's and tougher than any of the guys in their 20's. And he walked
fine. The last hour of the day, he would join in putting down the steel
rods, so that there were none left lying around.


The good part was that if the boss hadn't been busy with the soda
vendor, I might have been fired for being 15 minutes late. I was never
late again.

On 07/05/2017 07:45 AM, micky wrote:

> 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
> the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
> maybe less. That always worked well.

We always did that. Never a fire.

> I think I tried starter fluid
> earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
> on gasoline.

Long ago we bought a motorhome that had been sitting for quite a while.
We drove it home slowly, but it didn't have enough power (marginal
fuel pump, maybe?) to make it up the "hill" out of the railroad
underpass. BUT by feeding starting fluid direct to the carb (engine is
right there between the front seats) we made it out.

--
Cheers, Bev
"I can't stand this proliferation of paperwork. It's useless to
fight the forms. You've got to kill the people producing them."
-- Vladimir Kabaidze

In rec.autos.tech, on Wed, 5 Jul 2017 08:52:08 -0700, The Real Bev
> wrote:

>On 07/05/2017 07:45 AM, micky wrote:
>
>> 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
>> the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
>> maybe less. That always worked well.
>
>We always did that. Never a fire.
>
>> I think I tried starter fluid
>> earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
>> on gasoline.
>
>Long ago we bought a motorhome that had been sitting for quite a while.
> We drove it home slowly, but it didn't have enough power (marginal
>fuel pump, maybe?) to make it up the "hill" out of the railroad
>underpass. BUT by feeding starting fluid direct to the carb (engine is
>right there between the front seats) we made it out.

Wow, what a great story, and I'm impressed that you thought of it.

How long were you stuck in the underpass before you thought of it?

The closest I have is the '67 Pontiac, I think it was, that for a while
wouldnt' start on cold days. I'd get out, brush the snow off the hood
so it wouldn't shut again after I opened it, and spray in starting
fluid, and then rush back to the driver's seat to start the car before
the vapors escaped (not sure if that really happened, but seemed
likely.)

This was a nuisance, so I put a little plastic tube in some aquarium
tubing which went through the firewall into the glove comparment where I
put the can of starting fluid. This worked great for the whole cold
part of the winter.

On 07/05/2017 08:59 AM, micky wrote:
> In rec.autos.tech, on Wed, 5 Jul 2017 08:52:08 -0700, The Real Bev
> > wrote:
>
>>On 07/05/2017 07:45 AM, micky wrote:
>>
>>> 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
>>> the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
>>> maybe less. That always worked well.
>>
>>We always did that. Never a fire.
>>
>>> I think I tried starter fluid
>>> earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
>>> on gasoline.
>>
>>Long ago we bought a motorhome that had been sitting for quite a while.
>> We drove it home slowly, but it didn't have enough power (marginal
>>fuel pump, maybe?) to make it up the "hill" out of the railroad
>>underpass. BUT by feeding starting fluid direct to the carb (engine is
>>right there between the front seats) we made it out.
>
> Wow, what a great story, and I'm impressed that you thought of it.

I don't think it was me -- either hubby or friend.

> How long were you stuck in the underpass before you thought of it?

Minutes, if that.

> The closest I have is the '67 Pontiac, I think it was, that for a while
> wouldnt' start on cold days. I'd get out, brush the snow off the hood
> so it wouldn't shut again after I opened it, and spray in starting
> fluid, and then rush back to the driver's seat to start the car before
> the vapors escaped (not sure if that really happened, but seemed
> likely.)
>
> This was a nuisance, so I put a little plastic tube in some aquarium
> tubing which went through the firewall into the glove comparment where I
> put the can of starting fluid. This worked great for the whole cold
> part of the winter.

Excellent!

On a vacation with the '68 Dodge van it inexplicably lost significant
power, such that we couldn't make it up the on-ramp in Gallup, NM. A
convertible full of happy Indians volunteered to push us up onto the
freeway, and we were OK from then on. A little later we figured it
might be the fuel pump, so I sat in the back of the van with a can of
gas on my lap which fed into the carb by a long rubber tube (hi-tech
gravity feed!). Ultimately it was determined that there was a kink in
the fuel tank vent hose :-(

Good times...


--
Cheers, Bev
"I can't stand this proliferation of paperwork. It's useless to
fight the forms. You've got to kill the people producing them."
-- Vladimir Kabaidze

In rec.autos.tech, on Wed, 5 Jul 2017 09:09:49 -0700, The Real Bev
> wrote:

>On 07/05/2017 08:59 AM, micky wrote:
>> In rec.autos.tech, on Wed, 5 Jul 2017 08:52:08 -0700, The Real Bev
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>On 07/05/2017 07:45 AM, micky wrote:
>>>
>>>> 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
>>>> the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
>>>> maybe less. That always worked well.
>>>
>>>We always did that. Never a fire.
>>>
>>>> I think I tried starter fluid
>>>> earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
>>>> on gasoline.
>>>
>>>Long ago we bought a motorhome that had been sitting for quite a while.
>>> We drove it home slowly, but it didn't have enough power (marginal
>>>fuel pump, maybe?) to make it up the "hill" out of the railroad
>>>underpass. BUT by feeding starting fluid direct to the carb (engine is
>>>right there between the front seats) we made it out.
>>
>> Wow, what a great story, and I'm impressed that you thought of it.
>
>I don't think it was me -- either hubby or friend.
>
>> How long were you stuck in the underpass before you thought of it?
>
>Minutes, if that.
>
>> The closest I have is the '67 Pontiac, I think it was, that for a while
>> wouldnt' start on cold days. I'd get out, brush the snow off the hood
>> so it wouldn't shut again after I opened it, and spray in starting
>> fluid, and then rush back to the driver's seat to start the car before
>> the vapors escaped (not sure if that really happened, but seemed
>> likely.)
>>
>> This was a nuisance, so I put a little plastic tube in some aquarium
>> tubing which went through the firewall into the glove comparment where I
>> put the can of starting fluid. This worked great for the whole cold
>> part of the winter.
>
>Excellent!
>
>On a vacation with the '68 Dodge van it inexplicably lost significant
>power, such that we couldn't make it up the on-ramp in Gallup, NM. A
>convertible full of happy Indians volunteered to push us up onto the
>freeway, and we were OK from then on. A little later we figured it
>might be the fuel pump, so I sat in the back of the van with a can of
>gas on my lap which fed into the carb by a long rubber tube (hi-tech
>gravity feed!).

Excellent!

> Ultimately it was determined that there was a kink in
>the fuel tank vent hose :-(

I wonder how that happened.

>Good times...

One remmebers the bad things more than the good things, and if the bad
things aren't that bad, like these stories, they are good memories.

On Wednesday, July 5, 2017 at 5:52:13 AM UTC-10, The Real Bev wrote:
> On 07/05/2017 07:45 AM, micky wrote:
>
> > 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save some for
> > the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an eighth of a cup,
> > maybe less. That always worked well.
>
> We always did that. Never a fire.
>
> > I think I tried starter fluid
> > earlier, but maybe the car didn't run as long on starter fluid as it did
> > on gasoline.
>
> Long ago we bought a motorhome that had been sitting for quite a while.
> We drove it home slowly, but it didn't have enough power (marginal
> fuel pump, maybe?) to make it up the "hill" out of the railroad
> underpass. BUT by feeding starting fluid direct to the carb (engine is
> right there between the front seats) we made it out.
>
> --
> Cheers, Bev
> "I can't stand this proliferation of paperwork. It's useless to
> fight the forms. You've got to kill the people producing them."
> -- Vladimir Kabaidze

Sounds like you had a clogged fuel filter. I had a clogged fuel filter in my Mazda RX2. My solution was to drive real slow from Nevada to San Mateo at night. That was damn exciting! That tiny engine had a huge 4 barrel carb. It was hungry all the time.

On 07/05/2017 12:03 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> On Wednesday, July 5, 2017 at 5:52:13 AM UTC-10, The Real Bev wrote:
>> On 07/05/2017 07:45 AM, micky wrote:
>>
>>> 2) I learned to not pour eveything into the gas tank and save
>>> some for the carburetor. I'd guess between a quarter and an
>>> eighth of a cup, maybe less. That always worked well.
>>
>> We always did that. Never a fire.
>>
>>> I think I tried starter fluid earlier, but maybe the car didn't
>>> run as long on starter fluid as it did on gasoline.
>>
>> Long ago we bought a motorhome that had been sitting for quite a
>> while. We drove it home slowly, but it didn't have enough power
>> (marginal fuel pump, maybe?) to make it up the "hill" out of the
>> railroad underpass. BUT by feeding starting fluid direct to the
>> carb (engine is right there between the front seats) we made it
>> out.
>
> Sounds like you had a clogged fuel filter. I had a clogged fuel
> filter in my Mazda RX2. My solution was to drive real slow from
> Nevada to San Mateo at night. That was damn exciting! That tiny
> engine had a huge 4 barrel carb. It was hungry all the time.

Could be, it was a while back. 76 Southwind 27' monsterhome. Took it
across the country and back and up to Canada and back. 8mpg, 5 mph
uphill. First time we ever put more than $100 into a gas tank, and this
was back in 1988 or so.

Exciting: pushing the 78 Caddy with the blown rod from the top of Cajon
Pass to Pasadena at 2am with the van. Tied a tire to the front of the
van and pushed the Caddy up to as fast as possible and then let it
coast. Approach, push, repeat. Worst part was making a sharp left
turn uphill into the driveway. Amazed that we didn't see a single cop.

Exciting2: Coming back from the mountains with a shot clutch. Screaming
along at 15mph on I-10. Rode the shoulder all the way. Scary crossing
the on/offramps. Finally had to call AAA when I couldn't make it up the
hill at I-57. I just hated to admit defeat.



--
Cheers, Bev
You need only three tools: WD-40, duct tape and a hammer. If it doesn't
move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use duct tape.
If you can't fix it with a hammer you've got an electrical problem.