Jesus. If I had known it was this simple to fix I would have done this AGES ago. I've got an '87 Wrangler and I've been fighting vapor lock for years. You're a saint!
Thanks uncle tony for clarifying this common issue. I’m so privileged to be able to learn from you. As a union shop mechanic I have a lot of respect for the “old head” tricks of the trade. Thanks for not being a crusty old bastard and sharing your knowledge with us “young punks” 🙏🤘🏻👍🏻😉
As a society we sooo much need to return these basic all mechanical days. Please, no more computer modules or touch screen garbage. We Need OLD SCHOOL.
Thing is my 38-year-old battery charger died there is only 1 company that still makes non-computerized chargers(for F's sake) and they want 2x the price probably gonna pay it Some things are better (you can meter fuel and spark more accurately w computer) but most are way worse with digital anything
@Harry. B. Renner. jr. no todays cars are not easier. Scanners point you in the right direction, thats it. Without that scanner to see which system has the problem or if it's the communication network, your screwed. Also you still have to track down the electrical circuit and check to make sure there are not any other systems tied to that circuit(flow chart needed). You still may need to do your leg work with drivability and electrical. Today's cars are very intricate and can be very difficult even for a master technician, and THAT'S THE TRUTH. I'm speaking from experience. I could do EFI on my builds, but I love carbureted old school. There is nothing wrong with old tech if you know what your doing and you get great results with far less money. Plus with a basic setup it's actually much easier!!! No computers, sub systems excessive wiring and communication networks, etc. With old school cars you can figure out without a scanner with and understanding of what your dealing with.
@Harry. B. Renner. jr. try diagnosing today's cars without interfacing with a scanner!! It not happening buddy! I've been doing this for 26 years and today if a system develops issues you won't effectively know which direction to go without taking that first step after checking the basics. With old school all you need is a fundamental understanding of the system and a manual (repair book) and your all set. No high dollar scanners needed!! Sorry to burst your technology loving bubble but these are the FACTS!!!!👍 Especially in a grid down situation, no internet means no All data, or Mitchell on Demand!🤣😂 An old school carbureted sys with electronic ignition, or points you can get up and running with the proper BOOK style manual and the knowledge of the system. No scanners needed. Old school is easier and can be efficient with the proper know-how. Of course not many people have old school knowledge and most of them at the same time criticise not knowing what they are talking about.
@@erikturner5073 You can get service manuals and repair books for today's vehicles. Also you don't need a high dollar scanner, many get by with low-end scanners. As far as which is easier, old vs new, new is hands down easier. Computer diagnostics speeds up the diagnostic part of repair. Got a misfire, the computer will tell you what cylinder to look at. Before computers, you checked all the cylinders one by one.
You should have 100K subscribers. Always a lesson to take away, no matter what the subject of the video. Your fleet is mopar heaven and no trailer queens in the bunch, just honest cars. 👍☮️
I built and raced SBC dirt cars and have had quite a few daily small blocks. I considered myself pretty damn good with the old school from tips ive learned from around the track. You always humble me with your knowledge. Thank you for passing down this infromation so us younger guys can keep it from being "lost in time".
Everyone has a uncle in the family like this man, can fix anything, smokes while pumping gas and talking to your mom about granny getting arrested at the 8 liner
Great information, easy to understand and none of this "Hey guys! Be sure to slam that Like button and subscribe!" crap. Just common sense, a massive wealth of knowledge and straight to the point. Shirt and stickers are ordered.
In old times i drove (and loved) a '78 f-150 with the vapor lock issue. It took me a few years of trial and error, 'till i installed a layer of fiberglass insulation directly atached to the hood underside. It reduced the problem by 70% plus.
As a younger tech who's been only learning new school computer controlled systems you've helped me along! I greatly appreciate your content please keep it coming!
folks you cant learn this in school , all new mechanics should watch uncle tonys garage cause if one of these cars ever comes to a shop your working at you will know how to work on them , I was at a auto parts outside of my city not too long ago and I walked upto the counter and the young man behind the counter first off didn't know what Plymouth meant so yea all young mechanics should all subscribe to uncle tonys garage its great entertainment and the information you will learn is priceless
I put a 3/4” phenolic spacer under my Edelbrock carb along with blocked crossover intake gaskets and that did the trick for me. Another great tip, thanks Tony. 👍
I know this is an old video but I just wanted to say you're not a mechanic, you're a scientist. And your knowledge is very appreciated. I'm 29 and trying to keep up with two old Buicks that I don't want to sell, and your videos help a lot.
Thank you for the great videos. As a broadcaster the term "Vapor Lock" was used by the electrical engineers when they couldn't figure out why the station was off the air. Wow. It's a real thing.
I knew guys like you as a kid, with real knowledge. Now, everyone is just trying to sell crappy aftermarket parts that dont work or last. You just answered a question I've had for 10 years. I have a stock 8600# 1985 c20. With a return line on my fuel pump. One of the hoses had a quadrajet primary jet jammed in it. I didn't put it back when i changed all my hoses. Now i know why it was there. Im only the second owner, it was used by an old guy, and never modified, except for this. Awesome knowledge in your head.
I bought a '69 Lincoln Continental a few months ago. They are known for vapor lock, and people go to all kinds of great expensive lengths to cure it. Some go electric booster. Some go in-tank electric. Many insist on using an older style 3-port fuel pump that has a return line, but those pumps aren't available anymore, so it's a game of find and send out for refurb. It just so happens that the new pickup/sender I installed on it had a 3rd port, which I had capped off. Then I saw this video, and installed one of these filters pro-actively on the '69 Lincoln Continental before it got hot here in Phoenix. I ran the line back to that unused port on the pickup/sender. I am now driving this thing in 100-degree weather with zero vapor lock issues. Bravo, Uncle Tony!
Dude this is the besti information ever! I have a 1963 Lincoln Continentat Sedan. When I rebuilt the engine I was told it was not necessary to have the return fuel line. Having it not be reconnected gave me the vapor lock. If anyone knew what was going on they never said it to me. I could not figure it out. I am not a mechanic or have this as background but I have a very desirable car. I even had mechanics ask me if I wanted to sell the car. I feel so deceived. Thank your for this information. It means a lot.
Smart guy Mr Tony! I have the same talk with customers on corrosion and failure due to ethanol. Keep up the good work educating people who otherwise would deal with these terrible drivability issues due to ethanol.
SO THAT’S WHAT THAT IS FOR! I’ve owned carburated Jeeps for 30 yrs. & I never knew why the fuel filter had that 3rd nipple. I knew it went back to the tank, but I always thought about just plugging it off & putting a regular filter on. Not now! Thanks!
You started showing up in my feed recently. I'm an old guy too, build carbs, engines, transmissions, entire cars, plus I do EFI and other modern tech, often putting it in my 40+ year old cars. daily driver is a 65 GTO with a 455 that runs solely on E85 and E100 in it. I make E100 from tree sap and cattails, 10 cents a gallon lets me run my huge V8s with 13:1 around on the street all summer. Here is more info on the modern gas. The reason why it is boiling over far easier than it used to has to do with the multiple components that make up gasoline, the stuff that comes from oil. Ethanol has a 173F boiling point at sea level, it goes up with pressure like most other boiling points, but that is not what is causing the problem. Ethanol is somewhat counter intuitive if you know gasoline, its very different but raises octane considerably. That 10% ethanol they mix in raises the octane from 60/70 in the base gasoline to 87/93, depending on the mix of the gasoline components. The boiling points for what constitutes ethanol free gasoline has boiling points that range from 80F to 450F, flash points are equally varied and all over the place. Octane for each component tends to go up with boiling and flash points. So what they can do now is mix in the very light parts of gasoline that have a naturally low octane, and get it to run without knocking by adding 10% vodka to it. So that stuff boils in the lines or tank on a hot enough day. Where I live its rarely above 80F, so we get the really crappy stuff up here, and they charge us a fortune for it. That is the reason I got into making vodka to run my cars, because 87 octane gas was $5 a gallon until 2015, and now its nearly $3 a gallon for 87, and I am not even close to California. The gas you buy in Georgia or Texas is different than the gas we get in the far northern reaches of Michigan. We get the light crap, you get the slightly heavier stuff, but its all lighter than it used to be. They can sell you the worse crap because ethanol improves is so much. They used to use tetraethyl lead to raise octane, and that just might be why the boomers and their parents have such a huge problem with Alzheimers. Though nobody will look into it because the class action would kill the oil companies. That caused cancer and all kinds of other problems, so it was discontinued when I was a little kid. Then they tried MTBE, and that too was very carcinogenic and harmful. Meanwhile ethanol is consumed by millions world wide daily, used in de-icers and to remove water from fuel systems, so its harmless as long as you aren't addicted to it or drink too much and pray to the porcelain god the next morning. It cleans the hell out of your fuel system, removes all the varnish gasoline leaves behind, also it allows you to burn any water that condenses in the fuel tank rather than sitting on the bottom, causing corrosion and then making the engine not want to run when it gets sucked into the pick up. Ethanol when burned only makes Co2 and H2O, runs cooler, and can handle more compression or boost than gasoline can, all the while making more power. Its fun stuff in your car in high percentages, essentially a race fuel for the street. I have almost 1000 miles on the oil change in the 65 this year, and it is still clean. That engine has never been run on pump gas since I rebuilt it back in 2011. I have to run a 195 thermostat in it to get it warm enough even cruising around Nebraska in 105F weather. Nothing special in the engine and fuel system, its all basic parts store stuff and 1967 vintage 72cc 400 heads on a flat top 455 with an additional .04 stroke, and my Qjets run great on it, the FiTech EFI did very well too. No problems with vapor lock, even with mechanical pumps, here in Michigan or in Nebraska where my family lives. Yeah I road trip the thing too and have other cars I run on E85/E100. When they found they can sell the really low boiling/flash point stuff for profit, they took advantage of it. I do not blame them, but where I take issue is how they then blame ethanol for the problems the gasoline is actually causing. Business is business though, you do what you must to make a buck. I don't think its the companies themselves spreading that, but people who simply do not know much about it. Before 2007 I was building everything to run pump gas, race gas got too expensive in 2005 so I dropped compression in most of them. Then when gas got to where 87 was $5 I looked into making my own fuel just so I could drive my cars and not be stuck in a modern appliance. I got quite adept at tuning for pump gas, getting 20mpg from one of my 455s on a 1500 mile road trip, 2004R, 2.93 gears, 27" tall tires, Qjet, and enough wheaties to push that 4100lb GTO into the high 12s with the stock converter and those gears, on 87 octane with 8.8:1 compression. It was an engine I spent all of $1900 rebuilding with cast pistons and a mild cam. I love 455s. Cars that quick have a hard time getting a mechanical pump to feed them, so most of my 400 and 455 powered vehicles have electric pumps by the tank. That really helps with vapor lock, and I never had a problem with it. So yeah the ethanol is causing the problem in that it allows the oil companies to sell you a not nearly as good quality gasoline, but on its own, it is not a problem. The additives they put in the 10% stuff are also an issue, Jeff Smith from Hot Rod Magazine and Summit Racing wrote an article about that. www.onallcylinders.com/2018/05/25/ask-away-jeff-smith-e85-pump-gas-additives-not-ethanol-cause-corrosion/
That was a great read! Wish I could pick your brain for a few days. I always hated EFI but that was mostly because I didn't understand it. I've learned a bit more in recent years and am now looking to install a Holley Sniper kit on my 4x4 bus project (Ford 351w/C6 Trans/3.73:1 gearing/32" tires) mainly for the reliability, also for the tuneability and gas mileage. Overall, cool stuff you're doing up there!
@@donkEEpunch85 There is always more. I plan to start making some videos about cars, ethanol, producing energy yourself, and many other things I have found interesting over the years. I am not a hippy or tree hugger, more of a gearhead hot rodder. I got into ethanol fuels because it is 1 cheap and easy to make, and 2 makes more power than gasoline 3 runs cooler. Im working on building my house right now, and that takes up most of my time. I do everything myself, rarely have anyone to do things for me, but will pay them to help me out. If I need to do or make something, I learn how to do it. Every job I have had has been a dirty hands on technical job, and many things apply though they seem to be disparate. Once the house is done, I will start making videos and putting them on here and maybe some other platforms, since youtube has a penchant for censorship of late.
A while back one of my buddies brought his old New Yorker into the shop for stalling and not restarting when it got hot. So I'm just looking around under the hood following lines and whatnot, and he ran his fuel line under and through the headers!! Lol Another great video, thank you for all that you do. These are quick, to the point, and very informative!!
I want to say thank you!! You saved my 1980 Mastercraft Stars and Stripes boat. I’ve been through everything then I seen your video. I’ve had wix vapor separator for a month and it is awesome. Easy starting and never dies anymore. Thank you!!!
Thanks Tony, this was happening to me often last year while driving my 1986 buick regal 307 with a Rochester 4 barrel. You could feel the power dropping to the point of almost stalling. Will be tackling this fix so thank you very much!
This video reminded me of our family camping trips. My parents had a 31 foot or so Airstream travel trailer which was pulled using a 1968 Ford Country Sedan Station Wagon. The 390 CI engine would vapor lock in the mountains while pulling the trailer. His fix was to clip on wooden clothes pins to the rubber fuel lines in the engine bay. It provided enough heat sink action to stop the vapor lock. Worked like a charm. I think they were still there when they sold the car, LOL. thanks for the memory. Good video.
Thanks for this tip , you are a lifesaver. The mechanic I took my car to told me my carb needed to be rebuilt. My 1980 Land Cruiser did this all the time, its now cured:)
Thank you!! My daily driver is carbed.. 93 mazda b2200.. I deal with this issue everyday.. That makes sense. Will be doing this repair as soon as we open the shop in the morning.. Great info uncle Tony!!!! As always
I did this to my truck and it returned too much so I put a fuel shut off in the return and shut it half way works great now! Thanks man. Learn so much from your channel.
A lot of people never experienced this, but was/is a problem, rodders usually ran electric pumps (if not regulated properly caused severe headaches), but never had a ruptured diaphragm, fuel leak back into the oil, yes as a street peep, I preferred the electrics for oil contamination safety, great educational video as usual...👍👍👍
Wished I had seen this video 15 yrs ago. My 396 had terrible vapor lock and I went through hundreds of wasted dollars before I ran across a guy that knew how to get rid of it. And here in Texas it always stayed hot during the summer , even just taking it easy going down the road. The 11.25 compression didn't help. Great video. Smart fix.
Back in the 70's my 1970 440 magnum Plymouth Fury used to vapor lock on hot days when I parked it for a short time. All I did to cure it was to wrap my fuel line in aluminum foil. (From the pump all the way to the carb.) They ran those lines really close to very hot things and this insulated it by reflecting the heat from the line and it never happened again. It was not my idea, I think I read about it in Hotrod magazine or Popular Science or somewhere. I ran Ammoco 93 octane in it all the time and it had lead (ah, the old days) and no alcohol.
I have the stock 318 in my ‘73. Even with a new fuel pump I have this problem. I’ve had the car 14 years now. I’m telling you, the pump gas is getting worse and, worse over recent years! Only the past couple years I’ve had problems. Great info Tony thanks!
@@UncleTonysGarage if my Chevy 350 has a mechanical pump with a return line how do I go about installing the filter ? Do I cap off the the pump and just run the hose to the filter?
What about the old wooden carb spacer trick that boat racers used to do? The wood does a great job insulating the heat from the carb, and let's be honest in most cases the increase in manifold plenum it gives you increases hp too. Another little trick we use these days is with duel plane manifolds- the dividing wall at the point where the carb bolts on has a slight cut out in the middle with newer duel plane manifolds, it doesn't effect the way the manifold opperates at low to mid range RPM but allows it to breath a little better up top like a single plane does. It sort of becomes a hybrid manifold at this point. You only need to cut out 75% of the cross sectional area the dividing wall seperates (right in the middle of the dividing wall) and only needs to be around a 1/4" deep for best results. Just remember to stuff the inlet hole full of rags so the metal your machining away doesn't fall into the manifold- or you can remove it if your really concerned about not letting anything through the motor, which is tech the best way...
Had a couple of 60's era Plymouths. That problem always seemed to pop up when they had steel fuel lines. used to wrap aluminum foil around to fuel line crinkled up like a hydronic heater. worked like a charm.
My dad ran a giant coffee can with a coil of copper in it, we would fill it with ice before track day. It used to amaze me how many guys would suffer from vapor lock and not do anything about it. I know this isn’t a daily driver style fix, but Tony you make me think of so many things from back in the day, I had to share this story. And yes, we won many trophies and ribbons!
Wait, how would you run the coffee can in this instance? I'm not understanding how that would cool the fuel system in this instance. Did you run the fuel line THROUGH the coffee can?
@@eurekasevenwave2297 yes my dad fashioned a coil and added the can with the extra line. It was a Butler/McMasters engine and won many times. My dad did things others weren’t doing in his class, including let mom drive. She has the ribbons and trophies to earn some serious street cred with anyone who would love to have been a racer, including me!
Thanks for bringing this up. I've been using these filter/separators since the 80's. BUT what I've forgotten is that it's not common knowledge anymore. We take things for granted and everyone should already know this. Now they do!!😏
I used to have an 81 Honda Accord that HATED Gasahol. It would vapor lock like crazy on a hot day after it sat hot for a few minutes. I spent a lot of money at the Honda dealer before I discovered that changing the gas fixed the issue.
We used to get vapor lock here in the south decades ago before ethanol was a fuel additive and was imbibed instead. My understanding was that there were two formulas for gas back then. A summer blend and a winter blend. It was when summer arrived and we were still on winter gas that was the worst for vapor lock. That's when mama's clothes pins would go missing. Clothespins are effective and cheap but they ain't as pretty as that fancy vapor separator. Now I can take mama's clothespins off the '64. Thank's Tony.
I'm 25 had about 6 classic cars & never had a vapor locking problem.. was gonna pick up a 74 c10 today owner said it's been vapor locking I looked at him like wtf does that mean.. long story short didn't pick it up because of that now after watching this video will probably head out this weekend & scoop it up.. thank uncle 👍
You have addressed a problem, of which I had been explaining for years now (to no avail) because the excess heat vapor will be vented to the tank, will be adding more (minute amount, but still pressure vapor), and increasing fuel pressure to the fuel line, keeping a pressurized fuel line (minute, but still), & eliminating vapor lock. Nice to see people going in depth, & investigating these problems. Btw, I 'scribed!
Thank you Uncle Tony for helping me learn classic cars, I have no friends or family that know about these so I'm mostly learning the hard way, by making mistakes!
Uncle Tony; You're 100% correct. About 25 years ago I had a similar problem with a Chevy S10 pick up. I was having difficulty starting after a hot soak and after installing whats called a "spill pot", I was able to solve this issue. If memory serves me correctly I think it was a Mopar service part similar to what you describe. So again you are certainly correct and the pick up ran great ever since. Have a great day sir.
Good tip! Also, I like to run a phenolic resin carb spacer where I have room. This seems to help carb stay a good bit cooler and helps with vapor lock. Atleast in my climate here in SC this is sometimes all I need to help with vapor lock issues. Until you get into my BBCs. Good God they make stupid amount of heat... sometimes you have to throw the book at them. Half my fleet had a hard restart until I figured out it was vapor issues from the 10% ethanol gas.
I just did this on my 62 impala lowrider. It’s my daily driver and I live in hott ass south Texas. I’ve been stalled out many times when I was restoring this car once embarrassingly In a Wendy’s drive thru lol. I didn’t know what it was I thought I had dirt in carb. But a friend told me about vapor lock. Now it’s fixed and I’m crusin every chance I get :)
I just had to log in and comment. Thank you sir you solved my vapor lock problem! I have an entirely new fuel system on my 468 bbc and once it got hot it lost fuel pressure (mech fuel pump). It left me stranded several times and was very frustrating! Thank you again!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
That’s actually a really good fix I was taught that you needed to cool everything better if you experienced vapor lock but I have never owned a carbureted vehicle yet still want one for the cool factor 😎
Why should your mechanic know this? He doesn't work on these kind of cars!!! Most mechanics have never worked on these kind of cars!!! Mechanics only know about how to do fix it when it comes in their shop!!! I've been a mechanic for 30 plus years and I learned something today!!! Fuel injection doesn't have this problem!!! Plus when I was working on carburetors, we didn't have the ethanol in the fuel!!! So don't be so quick to judge the mechanic!!!
@@rockerpat1085 thanks for the reply actually he does work on these pretty much all he works on is vintage vets so the fact that he doesn't know this to me is disappointing
@@smokeyvette6107 Again if he's not experienced this he may not know the answer. Mechanics don't always know everything!!! And it's not fair to expect us to know everything!!! That being said, what year Vette do you have? I just posted a video of my Vette going on a good romp!!! Been having similar problems as explained in this video. My pump wasn't up to par,had to replace what is essentially a new pump (4 or 5 years old but zero miles) and fix a bad connection at the starter!!! Full frame off rebuild and working out the bugs!!! Check it out on my channel if you like old cars and loud guitars!!! Keep Rocking!!!
Okay I understand thank you I'm sure you're correct and there are plenty mechanics out there who don't know of a simple fix to a common problem for old cars and obviously even more mechanics out there that make excuses for why they don't know about simple inexpensive fixes for common problems. Fact is most of mechanics out there are nothing but Parts Changers not problem solvers it's unfortunate that if they can't plug their computer in and it tell him what" part to change" they don't have any idea where to go from there I'm sure you don't know anyone like that
Tony I have a 69 GTX that suffered from vapor lock so I did exactly what you did to your road runner and it worked . Thank you very much for the great advice. Ed
Excellent tip. I have an auxiliary electric pump near the tank to overcome the vapor lock when it happens, but I'm still wasting fuel when it's flooding the engine. Your fix is definitely worth a shot. Thanks!
So I'm having vapor lock myself. I have a 350 with vortec heads with 750 holley in my 84 trans am. I ordered that filter today, I knew I had vapor lock issues but after watching this video a few times lol I ordered one. Thanks man for this video.
I just did this mod to my buddies 68 Skylark 350 2 Bbl..., 5 yrs of ethanol related issues...!!! He did ignition,Electric pumps, changed Gas tank, Phenolic carb spacers...$100's of dollars, Fuckin' No Luck.... I drilled the Tank pickup cover and installed a 3/16" brake line fitting, adapted a 1/4" rubber fuel line back up to the AMC fuel filter you referenced. (Be sure to keep return line on filter 'UP')...3 yrs now..NO Issue !! As you said, the small chunk of 3/16 brake line at the pickup gave enough restriction to keep Fuel Flow Adequate to the carb, and stopped the Vapor lock probs. Cool,Non-Aerated fuel is the best. Up here in NH, they have Oxygenated (Ethanol added) and when he finally got the car running after 15 yrs, all we had was 10% ethanol fuel available. THAT's when the problems started...Thanks for your Video !!! Mopar Guys are good dudes, even us Ford guys know that... :)
I've never had a carburetor vehicle quit running in the heat, but here in Canada where I live maybe it don't get hot enough. which I'm OK with, I hate the heat.
Ohh thank you thank you. My challenger kept dying after a few minutes and would struggle to turn it back on. Took it to a performance shop, they ran me up 2k changing wires and tune up and didnt fix it. This $7.50 fix was the answer
Thanks Tony. I had seen the 3 way type filters on some F-Bodies I have owned but my '63 Dart has only the inlet/outlet type and yes...during the Summer months this happens to me too often. I end up raising the hood and let her sit for several minutes and she fires right back up. Trust me brother...this Summer will be a different story because I am going to apply your knowledge and experience very soon. Best wishes to you and yours.
I just have a fuel cooler rail added in front of the radiator. From the fuel pump, to the rail, to the filter, to the carb. No complaints, never been stranded on the road. It does it's job efficiently. I'm happy with my set-up.
An old farmer’s trick to avoid vaporlocking - clip a few wooden clothespins to the fuel line between the pump and carb (only works if it’s a metal line). The wooden clothespins act as heatsinks of sorts to draw the heat away from the fuel and keep it from vaporizing. I know it works because they’ve been on my ‘71 C10 for years and I’ve never had an issue after installing them!
I'm gonna throw this out there: When in doubt, use the type with an orifice. Liquids can only really flow as fast as the most restrictive part of the path. The flow rate across one .060 orifice is going to be close enough to identical to the flow rate across two of them.
Holy cow,. I've been struggling with vapor lock for a couple of years and have so much frustration over it. I'm going to make the change this weekend. Thanks in advance.
Hm... don't think I have this issue on my 300 straight 6, single brl carter... I removed all the emission shit. Been fine. But, if I do.....I'll tony it.
I Had a blue 68, RR. Taxi seats Cardboard roof liner, Rubber floor mats, am radio,ps,posi,383auto, I cut out hood scoops on a milling.machine, Wrecked it in Tennessee, left rear quarter, had it fixed, not replaced. I loved that car 140 feet of rubber then 10 feet in second. 3:23 rear end.......
About a week ago I subbed your channel. The straight forward way you put your information out to the viewer is very refreshing. My dad has a 1966 Olds 442 that vapor locks,there's an extra steel line that runs back to the tank. Now I know why! What was the part numbers for those Wix filters by chance? Just a side note, I'm into the Ford Falcons and you would not believe all the gripes about vapor lock on the forum sights. This is one video for sure I'm going to share on these sights. I've always wanted a late 60s 2 door Dart. My cousin last night tells me he has a lead on a clean 67/68 with a slant 6 in it for a reasonable price. Looks like it's time to squeeze more room out of the corral.........
Dude I know I am necroposting, but thank you again Tony for more invaluable information. I rebuilt an 84 caprice wagon as my family cruiser, and I drive the hell out of my cars. Like a LOT of miles. Got this thing on the road, and all the hot rod shit (basement head job, hedders, intake, points retrofit, etc) ran fine. Great in fact. Thought I even designed her well for vapor lock well with lots of exposed copper/nickel alloy line in big cooling loops in front of the fans, with regulation, and a mech pump with return line, and a phenolic spacer on the carb and mostly blocked off crossovers, but as soon as I switched her over to the 10% ethynol crap, I started getting boiling issues after the whole car, not just the engine - warmed up to real operating temp, like after 30 min or so of real driving. Anyway, I will be switching my return style mech pump over for a normal returnless, and rerouting that return line to the wix 33040 i'm picking up in the morn, along with a check valve near the tank on the main feed line. Then I am driving hundreds of miles with half the family. This thing *WILL* obey me and run right even at full temp on cheap gas.
And, yes I know boiling is my issue as I can see it boiling in my final stage glass filter, along with jumpy regulator output pressure - the filter which I will be replacing with the regrettably opaque wix filter. Good thing I still have a pressure gauge on the regulator to monitor the output. hopefully should be less jumpy as a verification of success.
I added this bypass filter and return line back to the filler neck of the tank and it solved my vaporlock fuel boiling issue. Thank you sir. Simple quick vheap affective fix.
Jamie 340: wondered bout dual carbs myself. Dont know if his is 383 or 440? Cast iron or alum? I got a 413 dual man. in garage that would fit my 440, no carbs...yet. I know duals on Hemi's work great. Had couple of em. Was plannin on it for 68 RR.
Learn so much on this channel. My first car was a 78 charger and this would happen all the time, but my 16 year old brain didn’t grasp the concept of vapor lock. Also helps this information is so easily accessible nowadays.
“Let’s talk about fuel systems.” He says with a lit cigarette in his hand. Love this guy. Such a wealth of knowledge.
😂😂 if I’m getting info from a guy under the hood with a lit cigarette I know it’s good
Ya can't start gas with a cigarette easily I really had to try
LOL
Imagine listening to a guy in the TH-cam comments section
Yep. That's how expert he is...
Jesus. If I had known it was this simple to fix I would have done this AGES ago. I've got an '87 Wrangler and I've been fighting vapor lock for years. You're a saint!
This is the type of stuff you don't learn in a book, I'll be ordering my shirt today!
My automotive book has it
Thanks uncle tony for clarifying this common issue. I’m so privileged to be able to learn from you. As a union shop mechanic I have a lot of respect for the “old head” tricks of the trade. Thanks for not being a crusty old bastard and sharing your knowledge with us “young punks” 🙏🤘🏻👍🏻😉
I like tips like this. No BS, and easy to understand what's going on.
Thanks
I love his knowledge on cars. Love that he shares it. I insta subbed him a while back
As a society we sooo much need to return these basic all mechanical days. Please, no more computer modules or touch screen garbage. We Need OLD SCHOOL.
Thing is my 38-year-old battery charger died there is only 1 company that still makes non-computerized chargers(for F's sake) and they want 2x the price probably gonna pay it Some things are better (you can meter fuel and spark more accurately w computer) but most are way worse with digital anything
@Harry. B. Renner. jr. I don't care about computer efficiency. Electronic sensors fail. I want old school simplicity.
@Harry. B. Renner. jr. no todays cars are not easier. Scanners point you in the right direction, thats it. Without that scanner to see which system has the problem or if it's the communication network, your screwed. Also you still have to track down the electrical circuit and check to make sure there are not any other systems tied to that circuit(flow chart needed). You still may need to do your leg work with drivability and electrical. Today's cars are very intricate and can be very difficult even for a master technician, and THAT'S THE TRUTH. I'm speaking from experience. I could do EFI on my builds, but I love carbureted old school. There is nothing wrong with old tech if you know what your doing and you get great results with far less money. Plus with a basic setup it's actually much easier!!! No computers, sub systems excessive wiring and communication networks, etc. With old school cars you can figure out without a scanner with and understanding of what your dealing with.
@Harry. B. Renner. jr. try diagnosing today's cars without interfacing with a scanner!! It not happening buddy! I've been doing this for 26 years and today if a system develops issues you won't effectively know which direction to go without taking that first step after checking the basics. With old school all you need is a fundamental understanding of the system and a manual (repair book) and your all set. No high dollar scanners needed!! Sorry to burst your technology loving bubble but these are the FACTS!!!!👍 Especially in a grid down situation, no internet means no All data, or Mitchell on Demand!🤣😂 An old school carbureted sys with electronic ignition, or points you can get up and running with the proper BOOK style manual and the knowledge of the system. No scanners needed. Old school is easier and can be efficient with the proper know-how. Of course not many people have old school knowledge and most of them at the same time criticise not knowing what they are talking about.
@@erikturner5073 You can get service manuals and repair books for today's vehicles. Also you don't need a high dollar scanner, many get by with low-end scanners. As far as which is easier, old vs new, new is hands down easier. Computer diagnostics speeds up the diagnostic part of repair. Got a misfire, the computer will tell you what cylinder to look at. Before computers, you checked all the cylinders one by one.
Man i needed something like this for the Ex Wife i swear she had Vapor Lock all the time..
Did she have three nipples too?
Steven Venette I’m guessing she had an orifice🤣
@@Dr.Danger.Communication just like the chick in total recall....😁
lock jaw is the best you can hope for...
I was wondering why that orifice was so small The way I caught my x is the air gap was too big
You should have 100K subscribers. Always a lesson to take away, no matter what the subject of the video. Your fleet is mopar heaven and no trailer queens in the bunch, just honest cars. 👍☮️
...aaaand it's November and he's at 99,600...
Aaaand he just hit 100,000!
105K First day here.
140k now.
150k now
I built and raced SBC dirt cars and have had quite a few daily small blocks. I considered myself pretty damn good with the old school from tips ive learned from around the track. You always humble me with your knowledge. Thank you for passing down this infromation so us younger guys can keep it from being "lost in time".
The 3 people that disliked the video are sitting in a parking lot with a vapor locked carb and a dead battery from trying to start it.
The people that dislike this channel is prob into high end stuff at least they think ther high end or they are jealous
Thay probably have gay electric cars....
yep only solution in pop the hood and wait for things to cool off or a garden hose to run on the fuel pump.
Vapor lock has not ever been much of a problem, even less since fuel injection showed, many years ago.
Dude...this guy is clearly prejudiced against people with three nipples! So uncool!
Mo nipples, mo better, I say. ;-)
Everyone has a uncle in the family like this man, can fix anything, smokes while pumping gas and talking to your mom about granny getting arrested at the 8 liner
"When you realize youre that uncle...😁"
Great information, easy to understand and none of this "Hey guys! Be sure to slam that Like button and subscribe!" crap.
Just common sense, a massive wealth of knowledge and straight to the point. Shirt and stickers are ordered.
In old times i drove (and loved) a '78 f-150 with the vapor lock issue. It took me a few years of trial and error, 'till i installed a layer of fiberglass insulation directly atached to the hood underside. It reduced the problem by 70% plus.
As a younger tech who's been only learning new school computer controlled systems you've helped me along! I greatly appreciate your content please keep it coming!
folks you cant learn this in school , all new mechanics should watch uncle tonys garage cause if one of these cars ever comes to a shop your working at you will know how to work on them , I was at a auto parts outside of my city not too long ago and I walked upto the counter and the young man behind the counter first off didn't know what Plymouth meant so yea all young mechanics should all subscribe to uncle tonys garage its great entertainment and the information you will learn is priceless
I put a 3/4” phenolic spacer under my Edelbrock carb along with blocked crossover intake gaskets and that did the trick for me. Another great tip, thanks Tony. 👍
I know this is an old video but I just wanted to say you're not a mechanic, you're a scientist. And your knowledge is very appreciated. I'm 29 and trying to keep up with two old Buicks that I don't want to sell, and your videos help a lot.
Thank you for the great videos. As a broadcaster the term "Vapor Lock" was used by the electrical engineers when they couldn't figure out why the station was off the air. Wow. It's a real thing.
I knew guys like you as a kid, with real knowledge. Now, everyone is just trying to sell crappy aftermarket parts that dont work or last. You just answered a question I've had for 10 years. I have a stock 8600# 1985 c20. With a return line on my fuel pump. One of the hoses had a quadrajet primary jet jammed in it. I didn't put it back when i changed all my hoses. Now i know why it was there. Im only the second owner, it was used by an old guy, and never modified, except for this. Awesome knowledge in your head.
Great tip for us in “Carburetor Country”! I’ve now been Stickered and Shirted with Unlce Tony’s garage! Futz onward and upward!
I bought a '69 Lincoln Continental a few months ago. They are known for vapor lock, and people go to all kinds of great expensive lengths to cure it. Some go electric booster. Some go in-tank electric. Many insist on using an older style 3-port fuel pump that has a return line, but those pumps aren't available anymore, so it's a game of find and send out for refurb. It just so happens that the new pickup/sender I installed on it had a 3rd port, which I had capped off. Then I saw this video, and installed one of these filters pro-actively on the '69 Lincoln Continental before it got hot here in Phoenix. I ran the line back to that unused port on the pickup/sender. I am now driving this thing in 100-degree weather with zero vapor lock issues. Bravo, Uncle Tony!
Great, clear explanation of the concept of the fix: explaining "why", so we can figure out "how". Always a pleasure. Subscribed today.
Dude this is the besti information ever! I have a 1963 Lincoln Continentat Sedan. When I rebuilt the engine I was told it was not necessary to have the return fuel line. Having it not be reconnected gave me the vapor lock. If anyone knew what was going on they never said it to me. I could not figure it out. I am not a mechanic or have this as background but I have a very desirable car. I even had mechanics ask me if I wanted to sell the car. I feel so deceived. Thank your for this information. It means a lot.
Smart guy Mr Tony! I have the same talk with customers on corrosion and failure due to ethanol. Keep up the good work educating people who otherwise would deal with these terrible drivability issues due to ethanol.
SO THAT’S WHAT THAT IS FOR!
I’ve owned carburated Jeeps for 30 yrs. & I never knew why the fuel filter had that 3rd nipple. I knew it went back to the tank, but I always thought about just plugging it off & putting a regular filter on. Not now! Thanks!
You started showing up in my feed recently. I'm an old guy too, build carbs, engines, transmissions, entire cars, plus I do EFI and other modern tech, often putting it in my 40+ year old cars. daily driver is a 65 GTO with a 455 that runs solely on E85 and E100 in it. I make E100 from tree sap and cattails, 10 cents a gallon lets me run my huge V8s with 13:1 around on the street all summer. Here is more info on the modern gas.
The reason why it is boiling over far easier than it used to has to do with the multiple components that make up gasoline, the stuff that comes from oil. Ethanol has a 173F boiling point at sea level, it goes up with pressure like most other boiling points, but that is not what is causing the problem. Ethanol is somewhat counter intuitive if you know gasoline, its very different but raises octane considerably.
That 10% ethanol they mix in raises the octane from 60/70 in the base gasoline to 87/93, depending on the mix of the gasoline components. The boiling points for what constitutes ethanol free gasoline has boiling points that range from 80F to 450F, flash points are equally varied and all over the place. Octane for each component tends to go up with boiling and flash points. So what they can do now is mix in the very light parts of gasoline that have a naturally low octane, and get it to run without knocking by adding 10% vodka to it. So that stuff boils in the lines or tank on a hot enough day.
Where I live its rarely above 80F, so we get the really crappy stuff up here, and they charge us a fortune for it. That is the reason I got into making vodka to run my cars, because 87 octane gas was $5 a gallon until 2015, and now its nearly $3 a gallon for 87, and I am not even close to California. The gas you buy in Georgia or Texas is different than the gas we get in the far northern reaches of Michigan. We get the light crap, you get the slightly heavier stuff, but its all lighter than it used to be. They can sell you the worse crap because ethanol improves is so much.
They used to use tetraethyl lead to raise octane, and that just might be why the boomers and their parents have such a huge problem with Alzheimers. Though nobody will look into it because the class action would kill the oil companies. That caused cancer and all kinds of other problems, so it was discontinued when I was a little kid. Then they tried MTBE, and that too was very carcinogenic and harmful.
Meanwhile ethanol is consumed by millions world wide daily, used in de-icers and to remove water from fuel systems, so its harmless as long as you aren't addicted to it or drink too much and pray to the porcelain god the next morning. It cleans the hell out of your fuel system, removes all the varnish gasoline leaves behind, also it allows you to burn any water that condenses in the fuel tank rather than sitting on the bottom, causing corrosion and then making the engine not want to run when it gets sucked into the pick up. Ethanol when burned only makes Co2 and H2O, runs cooler, and can handle more compression or boost than gasoline can, all the while making more power. Its fun stuff in your car in high percentages, essentially a race fuel for the street.
I have almost 1000 miles on the oil change in the 65 this year, and it is still clean. That engine has never been run on pump gas since I rebuilt it back in 2011. I have to run a 195 thermostat in it to get it warm enough even cruising around Nebraska in 105F weather. Nothing special in the engine and fuel system, its all basic parts store stuff and 1967 vintage 72cc 400 heads on a flat top 455 with an additional .04 stroke, and my Qjets run great on it, the FiTech EFI did very well too. No problems with vapor lock, even with mechanical pumps, here in Michigan or in Nebraska where my family lives. Yeah I road trip the thing too and have other cars I run on E85/E100.
When they found they can sell the really low boiling/flash point stuff for profit, they took advantage of it. I do not blame them, but where I take issue is how they then blame ethanol for the problems the gasoline is actually causing. Business is business though, you do what you must to make a buck. I don't think its the companies themselves spreading that, but people who simply do not know much about it.
Before 2007 I was building everything to run pump gas, race gas got too expensive in 2005 so I dropped compression in most of them. Then when gas got to where 87 was $5 I looked into making my own fuel just so I could drive my cars and not be stuck in a modern appliance. I got quite adept at tuning for pump gas, getting 20mpg from one of my 455s on a 1500 mile road trip, 2004R, 2.93 gears, 27" tall tires, Qjet, and enough wheaties to push that 4100lb GTO into the high 12s with the stock converter and those gears, on 87 octane with 8.8:1 compression. It was an engine I spent all of $1900 rebuilding with cast pistons and a mild cam. I love 455s. Cars that quick have a hard time getting a mechanical pump to feed them, so most of my 400 and 455 powered vehicles have electric pumps by the tank. That really helps with vapor lock, and I never had a problem with it.
So yeah the ethanol is causing the problem in that it allows the oil companies to sell you a not nearly as good quality gasoline, but on its own, it is not a problem. The additives they put in the 10% stuff are also an issue, Jeff Smith from Hot Rod Magazine and Summit Racing wrote an article about that. www.onallcylinders.com/2018/05/25/ask-away-jeff-smith-e85-pump-gas-additives-not-ethanol-cause-corrosion/
That was a great read! Wish I could pick your brain for a few days. I always hated EFI but that was mostly because I didn't understand it. I've learned a bit more in recent years and am now looking to install a Holley Sniper kit on my 4x4 bus project (Ford 351w/C6 Trans/3.73:1 gearing/32" tires) mainly for the reliability, also for the tuneability and gas mileage. Overall, cool stuff you're doing up there!
@@donkEEpunch85 There is always more. I plan to start making some videos about cars, ethanol, producing energy yourself, and many other things I have found interesting over the years. I am not a hippy or tree hugger, more of a gearhead hot rodder. I got into ethanol fuels because it is 1 cheap and easy to make, and 2 makes more power than gasoline 3 runs cooler.
Im working on building my house right now, and that takes up most of my time. I do everything myself, rarely have anyone to do things for me, but will pay them to help me out. If I need to do or make something, I learn how to do it. Every job I have had has been a dirty hands on technical job, and many things apply though they seem to be disparate. Once the house is done, I will start making videos and putting them on here and maybe some other platforms, since youtube has a penchant for censorship of late.
Already subscribed
Looking forward to it, @@SweatyFatGuy!!
Write a book. damn.
A while back one of my buddies brought his old New Yorker into the shop for stalling and not restarting when it got hot. So I'm just looking around under the hood following lines and whatnot, and he ran his fuel line under and through the headers!! Lol
Another great video, thank you for all that you do. These are quick, to the point, and very informative!!
I want to say thank you!! You saved my 1980 Mastercraft Stars and Stripes boat. I’ve been through everything then I seen your video. I’ve had wix vapor separator for a month and it is awesome. Easy starting and never dies anymore. Thank you!!!
Thanks Tony, this was happening to me often last year while driving my 1986 buick regal 307 with a Rochester 4 barrel. You could feel the power dropping to the point of almost stalling. Will be tackling this fix so thank you very much!
This video reminded me of our family camping trips. My parents had a 31 foot or so Airstream travel trailer which was pulled using a 1968 Ford Country Sedan Station Wagon. The 390 CI engine would vapor lock in the mountains while pulling the trailer. His fix was to clip on wooden clothes pins to the rubber fuel lines in the engine bay. It provided enough heat sink action to stop the vapor lock. Worked like a charm. I think they were still there when they sold the car, LOL. thanks for the memory. Good video.
This is Gold... a problem your having, without knowing , your having this Problem.. Thanks Uncle Tony..
Thanks for this tip , you are a lifesaver. The mechanic I took my car to told me my carb needed to be rebuilt. My 1980 Land Cruiser did this all the time, its now cured:)
Thank you!! My daily driver is carbed.. 93 mazda b2200.. I deal with this issue everyday.. That makes sense. Will be doing this repair as soon as we open the shop in the morning.. Great info uncle Tony!!!! As always
I did this to my truck and it returned too much so I put a fuel shut off in the return and shut it half way works great now! Thanks man. Learn so much from your channel.
Had vapor lock problems couple years with a 454 Chevy with Edelbrock carb. One of those filters & return line did the trick. Good tip!!!
artiscat22 how did you go about putting the return line into your gas tank? I was thinking of using filler neck. 69 Mustang
Where you buy the filter?
A lot of people never experienced this, but was/is a problem, rodders usually ran electric pumps (if not regulated properly caused severe headaches), but never had a ruptured diaphragm, fuel leak back into the oil, yes as a street peep, I preferred the electrics for oil contamination safety, great educational video as usual...👍👍👍
My 70 Cuda-440 had factory design anti vapour lock system as OEM. Great vid Tony. Thanks.
Wished I had seen this video 15 yrs ago. My 396 had terrible vapor lock and I went through hundreds of wasted dollars before I ran across a guy that knew how to get rid of it. And here in Texas it always stayed hot during the summer , even just taking it easy going down the road. The 11.25 compression didn't help.
Great video. Smart fix.
Back in the 70's my 1970 440 magnum Plymouth Fury used to vapor lock on hot days when I parked it for a short time. All I did to cure it was to wrap my fuel line in aluminum foil. (From the pump all the way to the carb.) They ran those lines really close to very hot things and this insulated it by reflecting the heat from the line and it never happened again. It was not my idea, I think I read about it in Hotrod magazine or Popular Science or somewhere. I ran Ammoco 93 octane in it all the time and it had lead (ah, the old days) and no alcohol.
I have the stock 318 in my ‘73. Even with a new fuel pump I have this problem. I’ve had the car 14 years now. I’m telling you, the pump gas is getting worse and, worse over recent years! Only the past couple years I’ve had problems. Great info Tony thanks!
It's fuel boiling inside the pump that is your problem. New or old, won't matter.
@@UncleTonysGarage if my Chevy 350 has a mechanical pump with a return line how do I go about installing the filter ? Do I cap off the the pump and just run the hose to the filter?
@@greatwhite8571 Did you figure this out? I have a C10 with the same setup
Blocking the exhaust crossover under the intake helps a ton too
Yes. Plus back in the 60s we would put a lot of foil under the manifold. Which kept most of the heat away from the carb.
What about the old wooden carb spacer trick that boat racers used to do? The wood does a great job insulating the heat from the carb, and let's be honest in most cases the increase in manifold plenum it gives you increases hp too. Another little trick we use these days is with duel plane manifolds- the dividing wall at the point where the carb bolts on has a slight cut out in the middle with newer duel plane manifolds, it doesn't effect the way the manifold opperates at low to mid range RPM but allows it to breath a little better up top like a single plane does. It sort of becomes a hybrid manifold at this point. You only need to cut out 75% of the cross sectional area the dividing wall seperates (right in the middle of the dividing wall) and only needs to be around a 1/4" deep for best results. Just remember to stuff the inlet hole full of rags so the metal your machining away doesn't fall into the manifold- or you can remove it if your really concerned about not letting anything through the motor, which is tech the best way...
Had a couple of 60's era Plymouths. That problem always seemed to pop up when they had steel fuel lines. used to wrap aluminum foil around to fuel line crinkled up like a hydronic heater. worked like a charm.
My dad ran a giant coffee can with a coil of copper in it, we would fill it with ice before track day. It used to amaze me how many guys would suffer from vapor lock and not do anything about it. I know this isn’t a daily driver style fix, but Tony you make me think of so many things from back in the day, I had to share this story. And yes, we won many trophies and ribbons!
Or buy a cool can that looked cool...
Corvette Coupe ..... and use dry ice... colder and lasts longer
Wait, how would you run the coffee can in this instance? I'm not understanding how that would cool the fuel system in this instance. Did you run the fuel line THROUGH the coffee can?
@@eurekasevenwave2297 yes my dad fashioned a coil and added the can with the extra line. It was a Butler/McMasters engine and won many times. My dad did things others weren’t doing in his class, including let mom drive. She has the ribbons and trophies to earn some serious street cred with anyone who would love to have been a racer, including me!
Thanks for bringing this up. I've been using these filter/separators since the 80's. BUT what I've forgotten is that it's not common knowledge anymore. We take things for granted and everyone should already know this.
Now they do!!😏
I used to have an 81 Honda Accord that HATED Gasahol. It would vapor lock like crazy on a hot day after it sat hot for a few minutes. I spent a lot of money at the Honda dealer before I discovered that changing the gas fixed the issue.
I’ve never trusted someone more in my life.
We used to get vapor lock here in the south decades ago before ethanol was a fuel additive and was imbibed instead. My understanding was that there were two formulas for gas back then. A summer blend and a winter blend. It was when summer arrived and we were still on winter gas that was the worst for vapor lock. That's when mama's clothes pins would go missing. Clothespins are effective and cheap but they ain't as pretty as that fancy vapor separator. Now I can take mama's clothespins off the '64. Thank's Tony.
Discovery needs this guy , I could handle uncle tony on an all day marathon (unlike some of the guys on there)
He isn't a sell out
Tristan Holland exactly, discovery channel is garbage
I'm 25 had about 6 classic cars & never had a vapor locking problem.. was gonna pick up a 74 c10 today owner said it's been vapor locking I looked at him like wtf does that mean.. long story short didn't pick it up because of that now after watching this video will probably head out this weekend & scoop it up.. thank uncle 👍
You have addressed a problem, of which I had been explaining for years now (to no avail) because the excess heat vapor will be vented to the tank, will be adding more (minute amount, but still pressure vapor), and increasing fuel pressure to the fuel line, keeping a pressurized fuel line (minute, but still), & eliminating vapor lock. Nice to see people going in depth, & investigating these problems. Btw, I 'scribed!
Omg I have been looking for something to fix this problem forever but I never thought about this. That is awesome
This video is a silver bullet! I've been working with old cars for 30 years and had no clue about this.👍
Thank you Uncle Tony for helping me learn classic cars, I have no friends or family that know about these so I'm mostly learning the hard way, by making mistakes!
I love this !!! So many kids my generation have no clue about this stuff I’m 29 keep making these 👏🤘🇺🇸
Uncle Tony; You're 100% correct. About 25 years ago I had a similar problem with a Chevy S10 pick up. I was having difficulty starting after a hot soak and after installing whats called a "spill pot", I was able to solve this issue. If memory serves me correctly I think it was a Mopar service part similar to what you describe. So again you are certainly correct and the pick up ran great ever since. Have a great day sir.
Good tip! Also, I like to run a phenolic resin carb spacer where I have room. This seems to help carb stay a good bit cooler and helps with vapor lock. Atleast in my climate here in SC this is sometimes all I need to help with vapor lock issues. Until you get into my BBCs. Good God they make stupid amount of heat... sometimes you have to throw the book at them. Half my fleet had a hard restart until I figured out it was vapor issues from the 10% ethanol gas.
I just did this on my 62 impala lowrider. It’s my daily driver and I live in hott ass south Texas. I’ve been stalled out many times when I was restoring this car once embarrassingly In a Wendy’s drive thru lol. I didn’t know what it was I thought I had dirt in carb. But a friend told me about vapor lock. Now it’s fixed and I’m crusin every chance I get :)
EVERYBODY needs a uncle tony ...
I just had to log in and comment. Thank you sir you solved my vapor lock problem! I have an entirely new fuel system on my 468 bbc and once it got hot it lost fuel pressure (mech fuel pump). It left me stranded several times and was very frustrating! Thank you again!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
More words of wisdom from U.T.G!!! Its these simple little tips / tricks that save you alot of headaches & towing fees lol thanks unc
That’s actually a really good fix I was taught that you needed to cool everything better if you experienced vapor lock but I have never owned a carbureted vehicle yet still want one for the cool factor 😎
Bro for real it's ridiculous my mechanics didn't know this, thank you
Why should your mechanic know this? He doesn't work on these kind of cars!!! Most mechanics have never worked on these kind of cars!!! Mechanics only know about how to do fix it when it comes in their shop!!! I've been a mechanic for 30 plus years and I learned something today!!! Fuel injection doesn't have this problem!!! Plus when I was working on carburetors, we didn't have the ethanol in the fuel!!! So don't be so quick to judge the mechanic!!!
@@rockerpat1085 thanks for the reply actually he does work on these pretty much all he works on is vintage vets so the fact that he doesn't know this to me is disappointing
@@smokeyvette6107 Again if he's not experienced this he may not know the answer. Mechanics don't always know everything!!! And it's not fair to expect us to know everything!!! That being said, what year Vette do you have? I just posted a video of my Vette going on a good romp!!! Been having similar problems as explained in this video. My pump wasn't up to par,had to replace what is essentially a new pump (4 or 5 years old but zero miles) and fix a bad connection at the starter!!! Full frame off rebuild and working out the bugs!!! Check it out on my channel if you like old cars and loud guitars!!! Keep Rocking!!!
Okay I understand thank you I'm sure you're correct and there are plenty mechanics out there who don't know of a simple fix to a common problem for old cars and obviously even more mechanics out there that make excuses for why they don't know about simple inexpensive fixes for common problems. Fact is most of mechanics out there are nothing but Parts Changers not problem solvers it's unfortunate that if they can't plug their computer in and it tell him what" part to change" they don't have any idea where to go from there I'm sure you don't know anyone like that
62 64 and 77 they're all fully original except the 77 has a bunch of performance goodies
Tony I have a 69 GTX that suffered from vapor lock so I did exactly what you did to your road runner and it worked . Thank you very much for the great advice. Ed
Enjoy your videos. Such a nice change from “rev up your engines” Toyota jerk fest.
Excellent tip. I have an auxiliary electric pump near the tank to overcome the vapor lock when it happens, but I'm still wasting fuel when it's flooding the engine. Your fix is definitely worth a shot. Thanks!
my new favorite car channel...
So I'm having vapor lock myself. I have a 350 with vortec heads with 750 holley in my 84 trans am. I ordered that filter today, I knew I had vapor lock issues but after watching this video a few times lol I ordered one. Thanks man for this video.
Tony always has a cigarette sign of a good mechanic in my book
A real bad idea around an open gas tank though. Bad habits or your friends bad habit can kill you.
I just did this mod to my buddies 68 Skylark 350 2 Bbl..., 5 yrs of ethanol related issues...!!! He did ignition,Electric pumps, changed Gas tank, Phenolic carb spacers...$100's of dollars, Fuckin' No Luck.... I drilled the Tank pickup cover and installed a 3/16" brake line fitting, adapted a 1/4" rubber fuel line back up to the AMC fuel filter you referenced. (Be sure to keep return line on filter 'UP')...3 yrs now..NO Issue !! As you said, the small chunk of 3/16 brake line at the pickup gave enough restriction to keep Fuel Flow Adequate to the carb, and stopped the Vapor lock probs. Cool,Non-Aerated fuel is the best. Up here in NH, they have Oxygenated (Ethanol added) and when he finally got the car running after 15 yrs, all we had was 10% ethanol fuel available. THAT's when the problems started...Thanks for your Video !!! Mopar Guys are good dudes, even us Ford guys know that... :)
I've never had a carburetor vehicle quit running in the heat, but here in Canada where I live maybe it don't get hot enough. which I'm OK with, I hate the heat.
Ohh thank you thank you. My challenger kept dying after a few minutes and would struggle to turn it back on. Took it to a performance shop, they ran me up 2k changing wires and tune up and didnt fix it. This $7.50 fix was the answer
All I can think of is Joe Namath talking about vapor lock on the Simpsons years ago.
Thanks Tony. I had seen the 3 way type filters on some F-Bodies I have owned but my '63 Dart has only the inlet/outlet type and yes...during the Summer months this happens to me too often. I end up raising the hood and let her sit for several minutes and she fires right back up. Trust me brother...this Summer will be a different story because I am going to apply your knowledge and experience very soon. Best wishes to you and yours.
Sir bless you. You just solved my issue. Thank you
I just have a fuel cooler rail added in front of the radiator. From the fuel pump, to the rail, to the filter, to the carb. No complaints, never been stranded on the road. It does it's job efficiently. I'm happy with my set-up.
My vapor lock was all in the carb. Had to block the heat crossover to get it to stop.
You are the man simple solution to common problem in 5 minutes! My first car was a 1973 Dodge swinger.
An old farmer’s trick to avoid vaporlocking - clip a few wooden clothespins to the fuel line between the pump and carb (only works if it’s a metal line). The wooden clothespins act as heatsinks of sorts to draw the heat away from the fuel and keep it from vaporizing. I know it works because they’ve been on my ‘71 C10 for years and I’ve never had an issue after installing them!
amazing how the wind os blowing hell out of the tree behind him but his hair is not even tweaked
30w
I'm gonna throw this out there: When in doubt, use the type with an orifice. Liquids can only really flow as fast as the most restrictive part of the path. The flow rate across one .060 orifice is going to be close enough to identical to the flow rate across two of them.
do you know which cars sued that type so i can get one?
@@britneyrichards9714 WIX 33424
Holy cow,. I've been struggling with vapor lock for a couple of years and have so much frustration over it. I'm going to make the change this weekend. Thanks in advance.
Hm... don't think I have this issue on my 300 straight 6, single brl carter... I removed all the emission shit. Been fine.
But, if I do.....I'll tony it.
Jamie Burke my 300 tends to vaporlock on super hot days, no emissions shit and carter carb too
Don't know alot about carbs so will vapor lock cause bad mpg
@@itswheelie1918 vapor lock will cause it to shut off.
@@incrustwetrust69 Weird. The new 38gal tank vents just under the cab. But idk.. maybe at our altitude in Idaho or somt'n.
Jamie Burke well my tank is in my cab in my 66 so that could be why
Love watching another old crusty Mopar guy! I used this to stop the vapor locking on my boat's '87 Mercruiser 3.0! Mopar to Ya' Brother Tony!
Your better than Scotty Kilmer 👍
That guy with all the ads? He's a hack.
Scott Kilmer is a CLOWN
I Had a blue 68, RR. Taxi seats Cardboard roof liner, Rubber floor mats, am radio,ps,posi,383auto, I cut out hood scoops on a milling.machine, Wrecked it in Tennessee, left rear quarter, had it fixed, not replaced. I loved that car 140 feet of rubber then 10 feet in second. 3:23 rear end.......
About a week ago I subbed your channel. The straight forward way you put your information out to the viewer is very refreshing. My dad has a 1966 Olds 442 that vapor locks,there's an extra steel line that runs back to the tank. Now I know why! What was the part numbers for those Wix filters by chance? Just a side note, I'm into the Ford Falcons and you would not believe all the gripes about vapor lock on the forum sights. This is one video for sure I'm going to share on these sights.
I've always wanted a late 60s 2 door Dart. My cousin last night tells me he has a lead on a clean 67/68 with a slant 6 in it for a reasonable price. Looks like it's time to squeeze more room out of the corral.........
Part numbers would be great
@@kevinpelesky5467 Fram GF84 Wix has a parts interchange for this too. Check with NAPA. Should be $5.00-%10.00
@@kevinpelesky5467 Fram GF84 Wix has an interchange for this number also. Check with Napa.
@@edspencer7121 that number doesnt exist with Fram
@@edspencer7121 and their website is just as terrible as their filters
Dude I know I am necroposting, but thank you again Tony for more invaluable information. I rebuilt an 84 caprice wagon as my family cruiser, and I drive the hell out of my cars. Like a LOT of miles. Got this thing on the road, and all the hot rod shit (basement head job, hedders, intake, points retrofit, etc) ran fine. Great in fact. Thought I even designed her well for vapor lock well with lots of exposed copper/nickel alloy line in big cooling loops in front of the fans, with regulation, and a mech pump with return line, and a phenolic spacer on the carb and mostly blocked off crossovers, but as soon as I switched her over to the 10% ethynol crap, I started getting boiling issues after the whole car, not just the engine - warmed up to real operating temp, like after 30 min or so of real driving. Anyway, I will be switching my return style mech pump over for a normal returnless, and rerouting that return line to the wix 33040 i'm picking up in the morn, along with a check valve near the tank on the main feed line. Then I am driving hundreds of miles with half the family. This thing *WILL* obey me and run right even at full temp on cheap gas.
And, yes I know boiling is my issue as I can see it boiling in my final stage glass filter, along with jumpy regulator output pressure - the filter which I will be replacing with the regrettably opaque wix filter. Good thing I still have a pressure gauge on the regulator to monitor the output. hopefully should be less jumpy as a verification of success.
The part number is 33041 by wix.
Is the Fram G-3583 an option?
Does this wix 33041 have the Orifice built in? I need one with the Orifice built in
i need the orifice one too
@@jaimelopez8378 did you ever get an answer to this? Does the 33041 have the orifice?
I added this bypass filter and return line back to the filler neck of the tank and it solved my vaporlock fuel boiling issue. Thank you sir. Simple quick vheap affective fix.
Hi do you have a link for a filter? All the part numbers I find are out of stock, discontinued or back order. Thanks
Joe, honey, I fixed it. It was just vapor lock.
Thank you Mr. Defeo. A fan since the mid-80s.
I noticed you have dual quads on the road runner. How about a tutorial on that type of setup. Pros and cons.
Jamie 340: wondered bout dual carbs myself. Dont know if his is 383 or 440? Cast iron or alum?
I got a 413 dual man. in garage that would fit my 440, no carbs...yet. I know duals on Hemi's work great. Had couple of em. Was plannin on it for 68 RR.
I just bought one of these filters after watching your video. If it works I will buy a t-shirt in the name of gratitude for the knowledge.
$8??? You know how many clothespins i can buy for that? Also if ya spray paint em black, they blend in better. 😂
Clothes pin on a feul line?
Ha ha! Watch my ramp truck video you’ll see what they did. Going to use this fix soon.
Thanks for the tips Charlie Utter.
Sorry for the loss of your friends Bill and Jane.
Hey uncle tony when u said 3rd nipple i immediately thought of mall rats and the fortune teller chick lmao love the vids keep em rollin!!
Total Recall is what flashed in my noggin....
You have a part number for those fuel filters???
One guy above said it was a WIX 33041. I am wondering if the FRAM G-3583 is also an option for this set up. I can't get anyone to respond so far?
I had forgot about those. Love looking back at simpler cars and times.
Do you have the part number for that wix filter?
Wix #33041
Learn so much on this channel. My first car was a 78 charger and this would happen all the time, but my 16 year old brain didn’t grasp the concept of vapor lock. Also helps this information is so easily accessible nowadays.