Engine Cut Out While Driving

[ConcordNH]

Greetings, first time posting here.

I scooped up my first Fiat a couple of months ago. A beautiful 1974 124 Spider 1800. It's an absolute joy and overall in great shape. This evening, I was driving along, running great when all of a sudden the engine cut out. After some poking around, here's what I found, but seeking second opinions.

Symptoms:
-The engine fired back up a few more times but only ran for a few seconds before cutting out
-Eventually, stopped firing at all, would only crank and crank
-The clear fuel filter housing up by the carburetor looks pretty dry, only a few drops of fuel in the bottom (I feel like I can usually see more fuel in there)
-I was on a busy road and couldn't hear if the fuel pump was running but when the ignition power was switched on, but I could feel the fuel pump torquing a bit (it's the electric fuel pump in the trunk)

Questions:
The clear fuel filter housing is normally ~50% filled with fuel right?
Is it possible that the fuel pump is getting power, producing some kind of movement but not working?
Any recommendations on the best place to start? Fuel sock? Electric? Pull the fuel pump?

Already have got a ton of good info on here. Appreciate any guidance!

Thanks,
Alex

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Questions:
The clear fuel filter housing is normally ~50% filled with fuel right?
Is it possible that the fuel pump is getting power, producing some kind of movement but not working?
Any recommendations on the best place to start? Fuel sock? Electric? Pull the fuel pump?

Hi Alex,
First off, welcome! Based on what you described, it sounds to me like a fuel starvation issue. Either the fuel pump is plugged (common) or the rubber hose between the gas tank and the fuel pump is either leaky, or plugged (also quite common) or the fuel filter itself is plugged (also common).

Shade-tree mechanic diagnostic: Pour a few teaspoons (not more) of gas down your carburetor throat. Or squirt some starting fluid down there. If the engine starts and runs for a few seconds and then sputters and dies, it's almost certainly a fuel issue and not an ignition issue.

After that, it's a question of finding out where the fuel issue is. Let us know and we can walk you through that.

-Bryan

[ConcordNH]

Shade-tree mechanic diagnostic: Pour a few teaspoons (not more) of gas down your carburetor throat. Or squirt some starting fluid down there. If the engine starts and runs for a few seconds and then sputters and dies, it's almost certainly a fuel issue and not an ignition issue.

After that, it's a question of finding out where the fuel issue is. Let us know and we can walk you through that.

-Bryan

Thanks for the reply, here's what I found:

I was able to blow the fuel left in the gas line into the carburetor using a turkey baster (saw it on my way out of the house and figured it could come in handy, it did!). The car fired right up, I knew the line was clear and the problem wasn't the ignition. I started focusing on the tank & pump.

Pulled off the sender to check the fuel sock, it looks pretty damn clean, but I accidentally tore the sock coming out of the tank, so I pulled it off.

The line between the pump and tank was clear too, so I pulled the pump. I was thinking about trailering it home to fix once I could get the right parts, but they had this "Mr Gasket 2-3.5 PSI Electric Gas Fuel Pump 42S" at AutoZone, I decided to try it out (cheaper than renting a Uhaul trailer). I hooked it up with a little extra fuel line and she fired right up! The pump also came with a filter attached to the inlet, so in theory, I shouldn't need the sock while I run this pump for a week or so, right?

It's a bit jerry-rigged (not mounted securely, the hot wire was not attached to the pump out of the box etc.), so I'm definitely going to order another Facet pump and fuel sock today to go back to normal. I'll keep this pump in the trunk just in case. Anything else you always keep in the trunk just in case?

Once again, this forum has already been a huge help for a few problems I've encountered (I've had a lot of fun with the electrical already ha), appreciate all of your knowledge!

[18Fiatsandcounting]

It sounds like you're well on your way to fixing this bad boy, and for short periods, you're likely OK without the sock on the end of the pickup tube. I wouldn't leave it that way, though. If you can't find a new sock, you can also just buy some very fine mesh metal screen and wrap it around the end of the tube and secure it with a small clamp or the like. The sock is really just meant to prevent large stuff like leaves and twigs and pieces of rust from getting sucked up into the tube.

I cleaned out the fuel tank (for the first time) on my '69 just a couple months ago, and there were some pieces of loose welding slag rattling around from the original manufacture of the tank. Nothing bad happened in all these years, but the pickup sock was still in good shape.

-Bryan