Chevy truck wouldn't start

37chief · Dec 10, 2011

When my 54 chevy flat bed sits for any lenght of time it is hard to start. To help it along I pour a little gas in the carb, and it fires right up. This time it didn't start at all. I thought that's funny it always starts. Got to checking on the problem. I was pouring water in the carb, not gas. I keep a little gas in a plastic water bottle. Next to it was the bottle with the gas. Lets see, this year I poured 5 gal of gas in my JD diesel. It ran just a little hot. A month later I was removing the pump for a rebuild. Now I tried to start my truck with water. Part of my problem is Iam always in a big hurry. Glad this year is almost over. I'll bet I am not the only one who has done something stupid. stan

cole in mo. · Dec 10, 2011

A long time ago this old farmer down the road from us had a JD A that had gotten water in the gas tank. His neighbor told him to get a bottle of heet and pour it in the tank, he poured it in the radiator.

Roy Ward · Dec 10, 2011

Don't feel to bad, it happens to all of us sooner or later.

Tom in TN · Dec 10, 2011

Chief,

I've done too many dumb things to list, but neither of us is the only one who does dumb things.

About a year ago I loaned my tractor to a neighbor. He said that the temperature guage starting running toward hot so he put a gallon of water into the radiator. The only problem was, he actually put it into the gas tank.

No damage done, but it took a while to drain the tank, carburetor, and lines, then dry the spark plugs and get the tractor started.

It's easy to make a mistake.

Tom in TN

pat sublett · Dec 10, 2011

Have an aquntance who has ruined 2 engines in the last 10 years. Twice he has drained the oil out of the engine and forgot to put new oil in.

fixerupper · Dec 10, 2011

Couple of years ago I drove up to the cardtrol to gas up the S-10. My neighbor was there too gassing up his Powerstroke. I brought it to his attention that he was putting gas in his diesel so he shut the nozzle off immediately and topped it off with diesel. The Powerstroke is still running today, saw it go by yesterday. Don't know how much gas he put in but he was pumping away when I turned the corner heading for the pump. Jim

Bus Driver · Dec 10, 2011

Permanent antifreeze was not affordable until well after WWII. A little methanol added to the radiator worked well for a short time until the methanol evaporated. Testing frequently and adding methanol was necessary. So some just filled the cooling system with kerosene in the winter. Worked rather well until a hose burst under the hood. Hose failure was rather frequent. The smarter ones installed new hoses whenever they changed from water to kerosene in the Fall.

Roy Ward · Dec 10, 2011

My dad use to pour a little water in the carb at times. He said it broke up the carbon on the valves and piston. I guess it worked never tried it myself.

Bob Huntress · Dec 10, 2011

As a teenager the smartest man I knew was named Dan. After reading the story, you will agree that I should have gotten out more. He mixed a five gallon gas can with diesel and two stroke oil for the chainsaws. He realized his mistake as soon as he started the saw, making me think he may have done that before. Obviously he wasn't proud of what he had done, so he didn't immediately run around telling us about the oil/diesel mix filling a gas can. Two days later, I needed some gas for the 8N ford. Let's be honest, who here doesn't know what's about to go into the gas tank of the 8N Ford? Blue and green smoke formed behind the tractor. Surprisingly, it did burn in the old flat head. After making me drain the tank, which is the only repair I made to the problem, He did admit to his error as well. A tank or so later the tractor ran fine. I am still somewhat amazed that the 2 stroke oil and diesel mix did burn in the engine. Have I ever mentioned that Dan was the smartest man I even knew?

PJH · Dec 10, 2011

My friend's wife had a little Dodge that she drove back and forth to her beauty shop - about 6 miles total per day. It had an oil consumption problem, and Tom told her to check the oil every day or she'd ruin it. She was faithfully checking it, but she was pouring it into the radiator. Seems it apparantly had a coolant leak also, or she wouldn't have been able to add a quart of oil every day. Anyhow - it didn't matter - she missed the driveway one night and turned it upside down in a deep ditch.

ShadetreeRet · Dec 10, 2011

Ain't it funny how we always tell on ourselves when we do something stu---er, make a mistake. Read my post on the subject of rain just above this one.
Some years ago when Son was young we were doing yard work one weekend. It happened that the two cycle oil I used turned the gas blue. Sent him to gas up the weedeater, gone and gone. I went around to the shed to check on him, he had poured anti-freeze into the fuel tank. Had to to a carb tear down and clean the entire fuel system. I took responsibility for not marking my containers better.

JayinNY · Dec 10, 2011

Strange, I would think u would see the water was clear, and the gas was yellow or golden in the bottle? Hope u get it started and running.

PJH · Dec 10, 2011

First saw I ever owned was a little McCulloh(SP) Mini-mac. Always in a hurry - I poured oil in the gas tank, and gas in the oil tank. Probably wouldn't have been a big deal if I had realized it before I cranked it. Spent the rest of the daylight cleaning out the carb.

redtom · Dec 10, 2011

In 78 my dad and I bought a 30 gallon barrel of Kendall rustproofing grease. The greasy kind that dries to a wax, I think the best kind. My dad loved to put a little on everything, so he needed a tub to put some in. He filled a Pennzoil wheel bearing tub with rustproofing, both products the same amber color. Well, a few years later I needed to pack my future wife's wheel bearings. You guessed it! That rustproofing worked until I got back to it and did it over!

Bob Huntress · Dec 10, 2011

The father was a good mechanic, so I assumed his adult sone was, also. I worked nights at a salvage yard on an Indian Reservation north of Buffalo, NY. One of the things that we did was a lot of gas tabk change outs. The salt on the roads would eventually eat leaks in the tank, so the owner would get tanks down south and we would change them out. The son once told me his plan. He figured that if CO2 would inert a fuel tank and prevent it from exploding when welding, he could run a hose from the exhaust of a running engine into the gas tank to prevent a fire while he welded any holes. I seriously had not known how stupid the son was until he said that. Fortunately his dad, who actually was an intelligent mechanic, never let him try his plan.

37chief · Dec 10, 2011

After I found the problem, a little fresh gas did the trick, and the motor was running again, a little rough at first. The truck is parked in a dark shed. I could just see something comming out of the bottle when it was pouring. Stan

JDseller · Dec 11, 2011

Welded many fuel tanks on the old 45,55,95 combines with just a car exhaust running in them. I had a metal flex hose that would just fit into the filler hole. I just stuck the other end up the exhaust on whatever car/truck was handy at the moment.

So the son was not that stupid. He was just using s different source for the CO2.

I just welded the bottom into a fuel tank off of my grand sons 1969 Galaxy 500 convertible. I did use the argon gas from my wire welder.

Some thing we have been doing for the last few years is to use the roll on bed liner on the fuel tanks. It has held up well so far.

Bob Huntress · Dec 11, 2011

You know how easy it is to have a hot partical fly out the exhaust. The reliability of your O2 sensor isn't enough to put your life on the line for. In a nut shell, you are pumping hot partically burnt fuel and hot O2 into your fuel tank.

My dad told me the story, though I have suspicions as to reliability. He tells me that my uncle Joe took his car to a shop to have the fuel tank leak repaired in the mid 1950's. He came to pick it up, but the shop and his car were no more. I realize that story may not even be true, and even if it is doesn't mean that the mechanic was using exhaust to inert the gas tank, yet it is a humorous story at family get togethers.

Mike (WA) · Dec 11, 2011

My teenage daughter called me at work, all frantic- she said she had just mistakenly poured some oil in the power steering pump- would that wreck the engine? I told her it would be OK, we'd sort it out that evening.

That night, she showed me where she had poured the oil- into the oil fill port.

Kind of like the old saying- I thought I made a mistake one time, but I was wrong.

36 Coupe · Dec 11, 2011

You sound like an old man who put his hearing aid and suppositories in the wrong places.

yallardeere · Dec 11, 2011

your carb is leaking gas while sitting....

JayinNY · Dec 11, 2011

Glad u got it running! I'd put some dry gas in the tank to, if the truck sit alot

Mark-Ia · Dec 11, 2011

I haven't seen yellow or orange gas for 30 years.

fixerupper · Dec 11, 2011

An older lady was pouring windshield washer fluid in her power steering at the local convenience store. A friend of mine tried to assist her but she got testy with him so he walked away and let her fill-er-up. Jim

JayinNY · Dec 11, 2011

Ya,lite yellow??or lite green?? maybe, not clear thought.

Todd Hovick · Dec 11, 2011

While working at a boat dealership several years ago, a man walked in the store and said he had a problem: He put $100.00 worth of gas in his boat with a 20 gallon tank and realized something was wrong...duh The fuel hose had come disconnected and he filled the bilge with gas...before coming in he parked on our new blacktop and removed the bilge plug to let the gas out, the owner was not a happy camper.

oldtanker · Dec 11, 2011

In 1976 we had one the the mechanics in my unit who was a control nut, young Sergeant, "Dan". When I retired to the states I was happy and thought I'd never see the guy again. In 1988 I did run into him. He was working as a mechanic at a local used car lot that was owned by another retired Sgt who we had been with in Germany. I traded our air cooled VW bus there on a Chevy wagon. I stopped in to see the owner, good guy, about 2 months later. Seems "Dan" was checking over that air cooled VW van and pulled the oil cap off that said both oil and had an oil can picture, thought it was for the radiator and filled it with antifeeze.......didn't make it too far on a test drive and he no longer worked there.

But so far in my 56 years I have yet to do something like that.

Rick

Janicholson · Dec 11, 2011

If you put an electric pump (Facet) in the hose and a push button on the dash, it will start every time. Push the button till the sound changes and start it up. Jim

Paul from MI · Dec 11, 2011

All this makes a case for having some basic knowledge about the machine you are running and labelling all the containers in your shop. A $2 paint pen can save a lot of aggravation. I keep one in the top drawer of my toolbox all the time.

Paul from MI · Dec 11, 2011

P.S. The pens are great for witness marking parts when you dis-assemble anything.

Chevy truck wouldn't start

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