Big fuel problems

[blk84cab]

I am getting no fuel to my #1 injector. I pulled it to check why I have a miss & ran the engine with it out to see the spray & nothing came out.
The car runs bad & it deffinately isnt firing on #1. I pulled the spark plug & it is sparking etc.
I cracked the line at the fuel distribution box and it almost has nothing coming out at all.....just a few bubbles if that much.
I loosened the filter and it get fuel through but dirty fuel.
I wonder if so much crap came through the filter that it clogged the fuel distribution box so full of junk that it cant pass anything or if there is something actually wrong with it also.

Any ideas on how to fix the distribution box?
I was chicken to take it apart without more knowledge of what it does and how etc.
Any diagrams available?
Anybody have any other ideas?

Thank you,
Eric

[stevethefolkie]

Sounds like quite a mess - dirty fuel doesn't do any injection component a favor - here's what I'd do ... (for whatever that's worth).

1) replace the filter
2) remove the lines from the fuel distributor to the injectors at the injector end - place them in a PLASTIC container and turn on the fuel pump - carefully pull up on the airflow plate with pliers to get fuel through the distributor - this should pump most of the crap out of the fuel distributor.
3) remove the lines from the fuel distributor - clean them out with spray injector cleaner
4) remove the injectors - spray some injector cleaner through them
5) using FRESH COPPER CRUSH WASHERS put everything back together
6) start car - check for leaks - drive away

Remember - you're working with gasoline here - so it's really dangerous - watch for sparks (no smoking!) and keep a fire extinguisher handy - work outside (ventilation and - if a fire does start it'll just be your car - not your home - that burns up) and dispose of filthy gas properly (lawn mowers tolerate bad gas pretty well if you filter it through an old "T" shirt).

If you're not comfortable with the procedure then I suggest you take it to a pro and let them know what you want done. A Bentley manual for your car would be a really handy thing to have for this and other procedures, by the way.

Best of luck

Steve

[blk84cab]

Today I pulled the #1 & #2 injectors & turned to car over & no fuel came out of either one. Bone dry.
I pulled the banjo nuts out and cleaned the tint screens out on the distribution box and turned the car over with them out and almost no fuel came out at all.
I hadnt tried pulling up on the plate but I will try that next.
I replaced the main fuel filter before everything I did so far.

I am thinking that the distribution box is totally bad or the fuel pressure regulator is way way way way low or just plain bad.

Anybody have a new idea for me?
I can hear the fuel pump run when you turn the key. I can make the car run...although badly....... with everything hooked up. If I spray a little barb cleaner down #1 throught the injector port it runs pretty good.

I am wondering which to replace first.... the regulator or the distribution box?

What do you think?
Thanks for any help you can provide.............I need it.
Eric

[Magnum PI]

I would replace the distribution box first. But I am not a mechanic, just a weekend hacker with an 84 convertible.

[stevethefolkie]

I'd use a pressure gauge to check the fuel pressure on both sides of the FPR - to make sure your pump isn't dying. If I wasn't getting good fuel pressure on the pump side of the FPR I'd pull the pump and check that (if there is one) a pre-filter or screen isn't plugged and that the impellers in the pump (the widgets that actually move the fuel) aren't all clogged up.

If pressure was OK on the inlet side of the FPR but lousy on the outbound side, I'd replace it.

If the fuel pressure is OK then I'd remove the fuel distributor (being careful not to mangle anything) and back-flush it with carb cleaner - I'd then put everything back together and give it a shot. These old mechanical FI systems are pretty robust -