no patience left (sierra)

[Brian (up north) Morris]

hi chaps. so after everything iv done to the sierra i still have a problem. starts very good. runs lovely. for about 20-30mins then starts to get roapy. fuel pump gets noisy (new pump). then it starts cutting out then dies. it will restart no problem...im baffeld and thinking about giving in with it.  its eaten all my money. and just does not want to behave ...any advice please :-(

[Brian (up north) Morris]

mmm sounds about right daryl. i did clean it out with petrol and stones. mmm i also fitted a sender with a fine gause on the end. 

[James Doulton]

Ha! That is a really good little boy trick.

[Brian (up north) Morris]

ill try that graham ...mmmmmm 

[Adrian Southgate]

If you are using the old escort van/estate tank then it will have a breather / overflow pipe on the sender unit. Where does this connect to at the moment. If it's open to the atmosphere thats ok, if it's closed or connected to anywhere in the fuel system then it could be a vacuum lock. Both of mine are open but have long hoses which are looped over higher than the inlet.

If you have cleaned the tank, sender lift pipe, and connecting pipes to the pump, replaced the pump etc... have you cleaned or replaced the rest of the fuel line?

[Brian (up north) Morris]

yes mine has the breather pipe so cant be vacuum ....and is same as yours. im not sure i cleaned the tank properly as when i had the old sender it had no gause on the end. but the pre pump filter got crap in it. iv never cleaned the pipes.   

[Adrian Southgate]

Sounds like you need to drop the tank and empty it into a bucket, see what comes out. Drop the pump and make sure its clear, also the pre pump filter. Then use new pipe upto the engine. IF its the original from the previous owner it will be soft inside and the new 'cleaner' fuel will be ripping little bits off and chucking them into the mix too.

[Steve Kerswell]

Happened to me with a thirty Bob petrol filter, used to block and stop the engine, five minutes later, fine. Took the bloody thing out and all was well. Tank was rotten, eventually the top fell in. Scrapped the whole thing. Stupid car.