Help, Car trouble....

[TheLadiesMan]

It was colder than hell this morning in Columbus, OH.

I wnt out to warm up the car, turned it on, and left it for 5mins...

Came back, got in, put the car in reverse, and it died. It wouldn't start back up. Battery is new, and the car was cranking.. it jsut wouldn't start up. ??????

Just kinda curious as to what it may be.... gas froze? ..but it started up, originally.

It's an old van... leaks oil, leaks radiator fluid.. but on a good day, it runs well.

Suggestions?

 

[dj_jazzybrad]

Gas freezes at -97 degrees, so I doubt it was that if it will crank, but won't start, I'm thinking either lines of fuel pump. Probably fuel pump. How cold are we talkin?

 

[ketostix]

A little more info would be helpful. What year, make, model, mileage is it? It sounds mostly likely that it's a fuel pump problem though. A carburetor or throttle body injected can freeze at the nozzle because of evaporation but very unlikely and it would likely start eventually. I doubt the van's old enough to have a carb anyway.

 

[horaholic]

Im VERY familiar with old vans, and they are VERY easy to fix.

Did you check the distributer for a spark? Did you see if fuel goes in the carb when you press the gas pedal? Those are the first things you do when it wont start. If both are fine, try tapping the carb with a hammer gently. One time, a float in my carb got stuck, but before I figured that out, I thought my engine blew. I got my van towed home, and it fired right up.

Also, replace your fuel filter. My old van actually had TWO of them, one by the tank, and one by the pump, for some reason, so check that.