This is about my daiy driver 85 Caprice with carb. On a long hill on the way home from work, the car loses power and stumbles after I've been going up the hill for about a minute, at 60 to 70 mph in Ovedrive. If I let off the gas a bit, it gets power back. My guess is that the fuel filter is clogged up just enough to restrict flow so that the carb bowl gets drained too much. I hope it isn't the trans going! I don't want to just go ahead and change the filter because it is a major pita on this car.

The car runs fine everywhere else except long hills.

Could this stumbling be due to gas filter clogging, or might it be something else ?

Thanks




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88 GTA Charcoal Grey Bone Stock except for loose muffler which makes it a bit louder than normal.

 

That sounds like a fuel delivery problem. The fuel filter is good place to start (cheap and easy); if that doesn't take care of it, it could be the fuel pump, or the pickup in the gas tank.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

Thanks. I am going to change the filter and see what happens.

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88 GTA Charcoal Grey Bone Stock except for loose muffler which makes it a bit louder than normal.

 

Thanks. I am going to change the filter and see what happens.

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88 GTA Charcoal Grey Bone Stock except for loose muffler which makes it a bit louder than normal.

 

Sounds liike your carb needs rebuilding or adjusting.

 

I would. The last time I checked a fuel filter was a LOT cheaper than a trasnmission. And a new fuel filter really can't cause any problems (well, unless it says "FRAM" on it).

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Later,
Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

I put a new filter in. I cut open the old paper filter after it dried out, and I was able to shake out some black dusty dirt, even without unfolding the paper folds of the filter. I drove it once already over the same hill that used to make it lose power and it had no power loss this time, so looks like it was the filter.

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88 GTA Charcoal Grey Bone Stock except for loose muffler which makes it a bit louder than normal.

 

Cool! See, it doesn't always have to be the difficult things...

Now that you've taken care of that part of neglected general maintenance, what about the rest of the list:





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Later,
Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

Vader,

Got everything in your list covered, with the exception of fuel tank inspection. I know it is rusting out a little bit, that's all I can tell by looking.

I let the fuel filter go because the metal fuel line going into the filter has been bent (before I got the car) and it binds against the hold-down nut as it is tightened / loosened, threatening to bend it even more. I took it to my mech and let him have the pleasure of ratcheting around with the thing.

I spose there were about, oh, 170,000 miles on this particular filter. Oh, yeah, I have an in-line plastic-mesh-inside-glass filter, which I change often, in front of the carb filter. One more excuse not to change the carb filter.




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88 GTA Charcoal Grey Bone Stock except for loose muffler which makes it a bit louder than normal.

 

If you already have the other filter try just running that filer only, just make sure to chnage it often, I did this and it increased the pickup a bit because the fuel was not being double filtered.




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1987 Firebird Formula
305 LG-4
GM Vortec heads 2.02x1.6 valves
Crane CompuCam 2030
700-R4 Trans
4 barrel quadrajunk remained by holley (this carb stinks!!!)
edelbrock performer intake
Hypertech Thermomaster Chip
Open Element Air Filter
No Cat with Straight pipe (Dynomax muffler rusted apart and fell off probably could not stand the heat )
Accel H/P Coil

- Soon to be installed
383 stroker (built and ready)
NO MORE COMPUTER CRAP
700R4 Lockup kit
Edelbrock TES
True Dual exhaust or 4 inch single pipe to dual 2 1/4"
Stall convertor