Stalling problem on 170 cid OHV 1963 Studebaker 6

[edanna97]

I have a 1964 Studebaker Commander with a rebuilt 1963 Studebaker 170 cid OHV 1963 Studebaker 6 (rebuild 4 years and 10,000 miles ago) with automatic. The car runs on the highway very well and economically with no smoke or oil buring. After it warms up the car will stall out at a stop. It will restart but when I put the transmission into drive the motor stalls out. This is repeated until the battery is dead. The car is presently on it's 3rd rebuilt carburetor in 4 years. The newly rebuilt carburetor works well enough for a while but soon reverts back to this pattern. 3 mechanics have given up on debugging this problem. I'm wondering if Edlebrock makes a carburetor for this Stude 6 if that is indeed the problem? Sincerely, Ed

[Tom Bredehoft]

There is an inherent problem with forums. No one reads them, they come here and post their problems. If every member read every post, you would have encountered the advise below in several posts.

When was the last time your gas tank was cleaned out. In 41 years a lot of foreign material has accumulated in your tank, now it floats around and lodges in the tiny passages in your carburetor. Remove your fuel tank, have it cleaned, install a fuel filter at the tank, clean your carb again and try, try again.

[img=left]http://www.alink.com/personal/tbredehoft/Avatar1.jpg[/img=left]
Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe (since 1959)
'55 President (6H Y6) State Sedan
....On the road, again....
'05 Legacy Ltd Wagon
All Indiana built cars

[55s]

I would agree with Tom - the fact that it works for a while with the new carburetor indicates that it is getting gummed up by the crud in the tank. Alternately, they are replacing the fuel filter when they do the carb.

There are several threads on how to clean out and recoat the tank, or there are several shops (Gas Tank Renu) that specialize in doing it fairly reasonably, given the mess that might be in the tank.

Good luck.

Paul

[bige]

It's hard not to think the carb is the problem.

My experience with dirty tanks is that it doesn't take months to clog a carb more like hours or at the
most days. It's the time between issues that leads me believe there's something else going on.

Maybe, a metal line is slowly rusting from the inside out especially if it's after the fuel filter.

And a longshot would be to advance the timing a little then bring the idle back where it should be as an experiment. I've solved your type of stalling issue a few times by advancing the initial timing even if it was at factory specs to begin with.

I have a car right now that has a tank issue and will stall like yours. I have a clear plastic in line filter and you can see the filter element turn brown. If you don't have a clear fuel filter install one and observe the color. If it's not clean and clear your problem is fuel contamination but if it is clean and clear...vacuum leak or ignition, IMHO.



1988 "Beater" Avanti---R2 R5388 @ Macungie 2006

[edanna97]

Thanks folks, I'll bring these suggestions to my present mechanic and see what he thinks. The mechanic told me there is no problem with fuel not getting to the carburetor. The car had been driven often with new gas and sta-bul added as a precausion. There is also a S/P fuel filter in the line which appears clear and unobstructed. The jets squit fuel robustly into the carb.
I once had an old 1965 Cruiser that would stall if I let the gas get too low. The pickup would get clogged in gunk that had settled on the bottom. A new tank from SASCO fixed that problem. But, if it turns out their is no vacume leak we may have to drop and boil out the tank just to make certain.

A good Studie friend left me this suggestion below as my last mechanic just rebuilt the Studies automatic transmission:
Ed:
The problem on your engine also could be a simple as the wrong pressure on the transmission pressure relief valves. When I rebuild a Stude/Borg Warner auto transmission, I always use either stiffer springs or stretch them to make them tighter.


You could try either shortening the rod going from the throttle bellcrank (bolted at the back of the engine cyl. head) to the carb. - that bright silver rod. there is a stop nut that you loosen and then thread the rod to make it shorter.... try 3-4 turns, and see if that helps. You it it is better, try a few more turns to make it shorter... or if it didn't help, go back to what it was, and then make it 3-4 turns longer.
I think that it may need to be shorter, which will put more pressure into the transmission pressure relief valve, and increases the pressure in the main trans. valve body.
Lew

[edanna97]

I almost forgot. The car is equiped with a lionel Stone Studebaker breakerless electronic ignition system. Plugs, wires, cap and cap roter are new and the spark is strong. I'm afraid between work and club duties I just can't spend as much time on these tech forums as I'd prefer too. But I'm retiring soon and look out, I'll suddenly have the free time to do all the studie things my little heart desires and I've had to put off for so long.[8D]

[bige]

There was another thread about the trans adjustment and I believed it solved the problem, you never know!

ErnieR

[edanna97]

Something else that may be important. Early last year, with mechanic #2, I had him put on a SASCO NOS intake manifold with gasket to replace the original one that had cracked after 110,000 miles. Another SDC member told me to check for vacume leaks around that newly installed intake manifold with oil as the previous mechanic may not have installed it properly or the part or gasket may have a defect. If there is a vacume leak around the newly installed intake manifold it certainly is a small one as I hear no noise from blow as I would expect to hear. The car is so close to running perfectly, if I can just get it to stop stalling out when I put the transmission into drive after it's warm. These cars are so simple compared to modern vehicles yet a minor thing can cause a big problem when the owner and his mechanics can't finger the cause. Ed

[edanna97]

If the problem turns out to be the carb which has been rebuilt several times. Is there a modern carburetor such as an Edlebrock that drops right on top a 1963 170 cid OHV Studie 6? I checked Edlebrock's web site but found no clues if they offered something that might fit. I'd prefer to stay with the factory carb, but if I can't get that one to work, maybe a newer one is the answer? Ed

[unimogjohn]

Ed, I am a newbie and am only familiar with the Avanti that I am working on. But I had a stalling problem and a fuel problem.

First, I must admit that the list told me to pull the fuel tank when I first got the car. It had been sitting for 30 years. I resisted until yesterday. The day before my wife and I had to walk 2.5 miles home as the car just died. It had been running great, but I had been replacing plastic, see thru, gas filters every couple of weeks. Well, turned out the line was plugged with debris/rust, and the inside of the tank and the fuel sender were totally rusted. So the tank is off to the shop in a couple of days. That should finally fix my fuel problems.

Second, on stalling, on the Avanti with auto, there is a rod that connects to the transmission/throttle/etc. It has to be set at a certain measurement (its in the manual) or the pressure in the transmission will be to high to shift at low speed and will stall out every time. My adjustment was triple what it should have been, no wonder it did not run. So I would take a look at the manual and see if you have this adjustment. Also the throttle kicker, if you have one, needs to be set correctly also, or the engine cannot do its job of keeping running at low/idle speed.

Good luck. John in VA

1963 Avanti R2
Marshall, VA

[Kurt]

It would be a good idea to check the manifold for leaks. One thing you could do is to choke the car a bit when it's warm, and drop it in drive to see if it keeps running. If it does, that will tell you for sure if your problem is fuel related or not. The choke will richen up the mixture and keep it running when in gear.

66 Commander R1 Clone
51 Commander 4dr

[jackb]

1) Install a clear in-line gas filter before the carb and check for debris.
2) Spray carb cleaner all around the intake manifold (when running) and see if engine speeds up...if it does..leaks
3) If you have the RBS 1 bbl carb, which would have been stock...it is common knowledge that they are a piece of doo-doo. I had a 63' 37K Lark w/ that RBS...rebuilt it 2 times. Would start one time perfectly, but I couldn't turn it off for less than 2-3 hours (until cold) or it wouldn't start no matter what...

addendum: you can change to the much more reliable AS model carb of earlier vintage (I have one & a new kit)...Also, an aquantaince of mine got a 1963 Lark brand new from dealer. Had my same issues (your probably too)..after 3 months of no-start she got a Plymouth..simply from starting woes.....

[studebakerkid]

In addition to what Tom said I would suggest using a sediment bowl type fuel filter. You can purchase them after market. Price used to be about 35 bucks. I have one on my 65 and it has saved me countless times from crud in my fuel tank and water.

If you car is ugly then it better be fast.....

65 2dr sedan
64 2dr sedan (Pinkie)
61 V8 Tcab
61 Tcab 20R powered
55 Commander Wagon
54 Champion Wagon
46 Gibson Model A
50 JD MC