I'm having an odd and worsening issue with starting. The first start of the day usually takes a little more work, but is OK. If I shut it off, then try to restart I have to run the starter for a many seconds (15-20?) while trying to rev the engine up over 1500-2000rpm. If I can get it revved up and keep it there for a bit the truck runs totally normally. This AM, I pulled the truck out of the garage, then shut it off in the driveway. When I got back in it would rev, but died as soon as I stopped running the starter. The problem has started since I redid my fuel lines with steel. They're run outside the frame rail and are well away from all the exhaust components, and I'm pretty sure it's not vapor lock because it doesn't seem to be temperature dependent. One theory (Rox's I think) is that some crud from the new lines is holding the float open a little and making the engine flood a little when the engine is starting. Any ideas about where to start?

EFI is where I'd start. In all seriousness I would yank the carb and throw a quick rebuild on it after replacing any and all fuel filters. I'm betting Rox is on to something and it's just crud working it's way through things.

whats your wideband telling you?

I wish I had the $$ for EFI, that's where I'd start too! ZOSO, the wideband says I'm rich, but it shuts down during starting. I am seeing AFR readings of 7.5-8 right after I let off the key, but I'm not convinced it's accurate.

Willem's rig is experiencing similar problems since it turned cold. It's a bit tricky to start 1st thing in the morning, I'm going to have him rebuild the carb and replace his two fuel filters as a 1st step.

try and lean it out via the idle mixture screws. Is the choke electric? Is it turning off? or better yet is it turning on?

You know my extensive problems with similar issues this summer. Mine ended up being the fine fuel filter at the carb was clogged due to sediment from new fuel lines.

Thinking about it i would start with the choke. You are way rich even for a cold start. You could be fouling out the plugs. Try pulling a plug next time it doesnt start and see if they are soaked in fuel. Another thing is the idle mixture screws on an edelbrock like to turn over time so they might not be set right anymore either.

Also pull the fuel feed nipple out of the carb and clean the small filter in there.

If there's crud stuck in the floats then that can cause it to run very rich if it runs long enough for the bowls to overfill and spill out if the bowl vents, in my experience sometimes just tapping on the top of the bowl with the handle of a screw driver can free up the floats on an edelbrock, does it have an excessive fuel smell coming from the throat of the carb? If so and If tapping doesn't free it up, take the top off if the carb, and inspect for debris in the bowls, remove the needle and seat and blow a liberal dose of carb cleaner through them and their respective passages, you also might remove the screws from the idle circuit, counting the turns out so they go back where they were and blow carb cleaner through the idle circuit and clean the mixture screws, after all that put it back together, pump some of the fuel that's in the fuel line into a bucket and check that no more crud is in the fuel, if all checks out try to start it again, you may not need a rebuild, IFIRC didn't you rebuild it a year or two ago? Also while you have it apart make sure your accelerator pump is in good shape, most likely is but it's good to check while the top of the carb is off



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Thanks! I haven't rebuilt it since I got the truck. I've been meaning to, but it's been running fine so I haven't gotten around to doing anything beyond some needle and jet changes. A rebuild will be my next step, as it's long overdue whether it fixes the problem or not. It'll give me a chance to make some offroad-friendly changes anyway.

Odd and slightly baffling update. I picked up all the stuff yesterday to rebuild the carb and apparently that scared the truck into behaving. Just for giggles I pulled the air filter, set the choke, and started it up. took a decent amount of revving to get it to stay running, but ran like a top with normal AFRs for a cold start. Let it idle for a few minutes, then shut the engine down. Let it sit for a minute, then it fired right up, no problem. Shut it down again, let it sit for a few more minutes, then started it again with no issues. Thoughts on what could be causing the intermittent problem? I'm planning to rebuild the carb either way, but I'm really short on time this week and want to be able to go ice racing Friday if I can get the day off work. If the carb can wait it'll make a big difference.

Do you think part of it could be the fuel with all the ethanol in it.Have you tried running the fuel from Brads conoco.You live close to me.Claims not to have any ethanol in it.Works great in my T-bird

No idea. I usually fill up at the Sinclair on Jewell about a mile west of Kipling. Are you thinking that the ethanol could be evaporating and creating vapor lock issues, or problems with seal degredation?

I just know it melts the old rubber from the inside out .That can't be good.Brads is on union and Mississippi.

Could've been a chunk of crap in the needle and seat causing it to stick open that just broke free, could've been bad gas, those would be my thoughts


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Figured out the problem. Zoso nailed it. When I first cold start the choke closes just fine. I back the truck out of the garage, then turn it off to go shut the door (parking brake needs adjusting). The choke opens, and does not re-close even if I try to set it with the pedal. If I manually close the choke, it starts great. I need to do some research to see how the electric choke is activated on the Edelbrock 1406 and how to adjust the point at which it turns off, but at least I'm pointed in the right direction now.

Glad you found it. So if it's electric choke the choke needs constant 12v power when in the run position. Make sure it has a good ground. I'll dig out my book in a few and tell you what it says for the initial adjustment.

Cold start AFR should be around 12:1. It will take a bit of messing around to get it right.

Thanks. The Innovate AFR meter takes a little while to read accurately, so I'm not sure that my cold starts are read correctly. I'll check the ground, the wiring on the carb is one of the few things I haven't replaced.