My car just shuts down....HELP!!!

[Super-G]

I tried taking my kids out last night for ice cream in the Challenger. I fired the car up and let it come up to temp in my driveway. Then we left and got about a mile from home. The car just shut completely off. Just died as I was driving it. My fuel guage was low and we were headed to get gas but I still showed a 1/4 tank.
I noticed that my see through fuel filter was empty and assumed that I had run out of fuel. So I ran home got a gas can and dumped 5 gallons into the tank. I then poured some fuel directly into the carb as a primer....she fired right up and made it about 1/4 mile before shutting down again!! So now I'm thinking it's not fuel.
I noticed that my filter was pretty dirty so assuming it was clogged, I removed it and hooked the fuel lines back up and the car made it about 1/2 mile before shutting off again. WTF??
I'm thinking 1 of 2 things....it's either something electrical or maybe my fuel pump is no good.
The fuel pump is a brand new NAPA unit that I bought because NAPA pumps are made by Carter and I trust that name.
The car does have electronic ignition and I'm wondering if this is a sign that my electronic control unit is going bad.
Any thoughts or previous experience??

 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Fuel filter empty, I'd look at the pump first.

 

[VeteranCosmicRocker]

How's the fuel tank sock ? Eliminate a fuel delivery problem by cranking with the fuel pump outlet hose into a large jar. Check if the carb needle/seat isn't sticking.

 

[challenger6pak]

Any rust in the fuel? Bad tanks will cause this. Put a magnet to the dirty filter and see if any of the dirt sticks to the magnent. As V.C.R. mentioned, the sock picks up dirt until it clogs. Then the gas stops flowing. When you shut down the motor the dirt comes off of the sock due to a lack of vacuum. Now the sock can flow fuel again. When you start the car up the dirt sticks to the sock until it clogs again and shuts the fuel flow off.

 

[moparleo]

Didn't say what the history was. Just got running? Just did repair work? What type of carb? Just got car? More info helps both of us. Thanks

 

[Super-G]

OK history on the car...

It's a 73 Challenger, it has a 69 440 HP motor with 906 heads, mild cam and electronic ignition. Don't know any exact specs on the motor because the previous owner passed away and left the car to his son. I bought the car from the son. Trust me not knowing much is a royal pain probably causing me more headaches than anything.

The car came with a 6 pack which I didn't feel like messing with so I removed it and stored it in my garage. It currently has a brand new Performer RPM intake, and a brand new Edelbrock Performer 750 CFM manual choke carb. I can tell you that currently the car runs rich. A firend recommended to me that I pick up the Edelbrock carb tuning kit with new metering rods to try to re-jet the carb.

The car sat for several years being started only 3-4 times a year. When I got the car I dropped and drained the fuel tank. I replaced all new lines and hoses along with a brand new fuel pump and 2 inline filters. The filter closest to the carb has been changed twice with minor silt in it. Currently on the 3rd filter with nice clean fresh gas.

My thoughts are that this car has to go into a shop to be looked at by a Mopar expert. I'm old school, tuning my cars with a vacuum gauge and a timing light. I can just tell that this car is not dialed in right and there might be other minor issues that I'm just not aware of as I have no previous Mopar experience.

Can anyone recommend a good Mopar guy in the Philadelphia suburban area?

 

[moparleo]

You have an old school set-up now. Back to basics. Spark, fuel, timing, compression. It usually isn't anything major. If you haven't already done it, pull the spark plugs and change if needed. Put the original Champions back in. Put a good quality cap, rotor and set of wires on it. Has it got the electronic ignition distributor ? Coil?
Check fuel supply/pressure. Vacuum gauge will do this. Carb should not be rich with this set-up. Pull the dipstick and smell the oil. Fuel ? Drain it right away. Change it
Check for vacuum leaks at intake/head , carb/base, p/b booster if equiped. Pcv valve. Compression test. These are all things that any shop would check and it won't cost you much plus now you will know all of these things personally. I would make up a check list like this and personally check these items your self. Don't assume anything. Check it for yourself even if it sounds dumb. Remember it is better than somebody else finding it and really feelin dumb. Basically all fluids cahnged. Oil at least once a year or more often if not synthetic. Fuel every 6 months or use a product like Stabil. Coolant and trans fluid/if auto every 2 years. Belts and hoses every 2-3 years. Filters air and fuel as often as needed. Oil filer every change. Quality filters.
All that any diagnostic work is, is checking the obvious first and then going through a checklist of everything possible until you find it. You can check most every thing without fancy tools or equipment. Just the basic, old school stuff works fine.
We have gotten used to extended service schedules on modern cars and forget that the old ones still need to be done more often.
That should keep you busy for a while ..and don't shortcut anything.
Keep us posted.:homework:

 

[Super-G]

All of that work has been done. I've changed everything over the course of the winter. New plugs, cap rotor, wires, I've changed all the fluids ect...

My issue is this: when I first started the car it ran fine. I made some basic adjustments to the carb and timing and the car pulled HARD but ran rich and had a low RPM stumble. (4 speed trans with 4:10 rear)

Just the other night it just completely shut down on me and I can't figure out why. I explained everything I went through in my first post. Something's not right and I'm just baffled.

 

[74 challenger]

do you have spark? take off fuel line after fuel pump and turn the engine over, if no gas now you can go from there. These cars are old school so dont give up just stop and think basics. Spark,fuel and air.I have been working on my car since last year and still not driving it and yes thought i would drop it off but i just have to take it one day at a time. Bought the car running and the wife wants a ride so i will keep asking and answering what people ask me.Alot of great people here and they will help you if you want. good luck

 

[74 challenger]

I have heard of coils working till they get hot and then the car dies.They cool off and the car will fire again..

 

[challenger6pak]

I have heard of coils working till they get hot and then the car dies.They cool off and the car will fire again..

This is true. It happens when the cooling oil leaks from the coil. Has the coil leaked oil?

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Same with the pick up coil in the dist & the ballast , they will work until they get hot & shut down
you need to determine if you have spark or fuel to at least narrow down 1/2 of the possibilites , if there is no fuel the fuel pump pushrod could be worn down & not fully cycling the fuel pump .

 

[moparleo]

Great. Its just that you have to keep checking things by system. One by one. If you try to change more than one thing at a time, you won't know what you did or didn't do to fix it. Sometimes it is a part, sometimes just an adjustment. These recommendations are not for any one personally, but give guys a guidline on what to check and do and in what order in case they are having a problem with their own cars. We may all be different ages and experience but our cars are the same to all of us. Thats why all of our cars live by the same rules, spark,fuel,timing.. That coil problem has happened to me. It looked ok to me but a friend checked it again and found my bug. Thats called experience. Check it again and recheck until you find your problem. Have you ever bought something new and it didn't work? I thought so. Don't assume that new means perfect.

 

[71droptop]

Had a problem with my 69 440 after rebuild. Shut down after hard run. Checked everything. Found metal in oil filter. WTF. Someone told me check fuel pump push rod. The rod was 3/8 inch shorter than original. Not hardened material- notenough fuel getting pushed into the carb.........

 

[74 challenger]

I agree with Moparleo you need to do a list, start with the gas then spark. Please let us know for the next guy.

 

[Super-G]

Ok so it's not spark. It fuel. I'm noticing that after a quick ride around the block that the see through filter that is inline between the fuel pump and carb was empty. I would assume fuel pump but it's brand new.

Does this sound like a fuel pump pushrod issue??

 

[VeteranCosmicRocker]

This is the same one as your other thread. Again, have you checked the sock ?

 

[74 challenger]

Does the filter have dirt in it? You could put gas in a can and hook it up to the fuel pump and run the car for 30 minutes and see if it dies.If it doesnt then i would say its the sock.I would just pull the tank out and look inside it. If its never been checked it proably has a bunch of junk in there. I dont think its your pump or pushrod to the pump.The only way to find out is pull the tank.Not fun but then you would know for sure.

 

[Ray]

Greg. Are you the same guy that's on the PY board from doylestown that just sold his challenger? Not that it matters just asking.