m35a fuel problem

From: Krogerma@aol.com
Date: Thu Mar 25 2004 - 13:16:14 PST


Hello all:

I hope this works.

I've tried to post a couple of times, but my AOL mail keeps getting rejected due to "MIME" content. Dave (L5 1940) told me to try posting from aol.com directly. So I'm trying it.

I'm an electrical engineer. I've wanted to respond to a couple of posts in the past about sizing air compressors, electric brakes on 24V systems and stuff like that. If this works, I'll try to help out again in the future.

At the moment, I need some help. My 1987 AM General (yes, I know it has to be a 70-something that underwent a refurbishment) is dead. I was towing a trailer home (Troy, NY) on the Massachusetts turnpike, just starting up the big hill going up over the Berkshire mountain range. The truck was purring beautifully and I was thinking about what a clever fellow I was to have acquired such a fine vehicle. The hill is quite steep and the trailer held a 6000 lb. generator, so I eventually had to downshift to third gear. The instant I did this, the truck completely lost all power. I had to be towed off the highway. We checked the fuel bleeder between the two filters on the engine. When the accessory switch was on, the fuel sprayed out the bleeder, so I assume the fuel pump was OK. Engine cranks fine and it ran fine when we sprayed ether into the mushroom. This is what I was expecting, anyway, since I hadn't heard any catastrophic clanking noises when it shut down. It just completely lost power as though the fuel had been cut off.

What I would like to know is if anybody knows of any "first" things to check on the multifuel engine fuel system. I'm assuming that the problem is in the injector pump or the equipment that precedes it. I've heard about a fuel density compensator and other units that are in there and I'm wondering if any of these things typically go whacky and what I can do to fix them. The weather is warm, so I'm going to go out and poke around for a while to see if I can see anything obvious. The truck broke in December, but it's been too cold to work on it 'till now.

Cheers!
Kurt Matis
Troy, NY



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