THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

On the older carburated Jeeps they had a fuel filter similar to the pinz's but with a return fitting to the tank. This would alow some fuel to go back to the tank and be replaced by "cooler" fuel,which won't let the fuel cook in the lines. It was mounted so the return fitting was on the top,letting the "bubbles" go back home. Just a thought,the return to the tank may be interesting....
Mark
P.S.
They say "up to 10% ethanol,but this dosen't necessarly apply to all grades. I was told that there is a reduced amount in premium in some areas. Worth a look.

totaljoint wrote:I have had problems in the carburetors of many engines worked on over the past couple of years. In every case, my mechanic tells me that they are seeing more
problems since the introduction of ethanol. I now use real gas in any carburated engine that I have, especially those that sit idle for any length of time.
There is a web site to find real gas geographicaly:
http://www.pure-gas.org/
Ed

Good site, there's quite a few pure gas station near me. I'll be switching to non ethanol for preventative reasons....

So what can we do to combat the ethanol? No pure gas anywhere within a three hour drive of Wash DC. Seafoam with every tank?

I don't have the choice some of you guys have, but pouring a fuel injector cleaner every time I add gas to the tank seems to keep things clean. It means less than 5% of the gas bill. Gas here sometimes has ethanol, sometimes not. I would like to use something like Seafoam frequently, but can't find it here and not sure if I want to try homemade stuff, without trying to sound as a company rep. Cheers.

audiocontr wrote:So what can we do to combat the ethanol? No pure gas anywhere within a three hour drive of Wash DC. Seafoam with every tank?

STA-Bil makes a product for Ethanol vehicles. It may help.

http://www.goldeagle.com/brands/stabil/ ... bilethanol

NEW! STA-BIL® Ethanol Treatment

* Perfect for use in cars, trucks and small engines!
* Prevents corrosion
* Helps remove water from Fuel
* Cleans fuel injectors, carburetors and intake valves for better, overall performance
* Recommended for use at every fill up

After doing a bunch of research, I now believe that ethanol is killing all of our Pinzgauers!

Its a problem for all carbs, thats for sure. Even small engine guys (chainsaws) throw out their gas if it sits for more than a week. There isnt much that can be done about it beyond mitigating consequences.

So what are the consequences? Water in the fuel, poor performance and gummed up carbs components? Looks like the industry needs to sell back up carbs and include it as routine maintenance. Swap em out, soak the old set and rebuild. Rinse, repeat in 10k miles.

The carbs in my Pinz were rebuilt and syncronized in 2004, and haven't been touched since. Ethanol is at all the service stations in California, too. Performance is great, even though the Pinz sometimes will sit for months at a time. I keep the gas cans full and add a few ounces of Sta-Bil when I fill them up. Why no problems? My best guess is because I hired guys who knew what they were doing and SPENT THE NECESSARY MONEY, no shortcuts. 38,000 km later and still OK. So you guys who have nothing but carb issues, follow my lead. Get your wallet out and end your problems! And no, I'm NOT rich.
Or sell the darn thing and buy something fuel injected.
On top of that I keep a couple of Honda 50s running, a chainsaw, 2 other cars, and a Haflinger. It's not rocket science. That's my vent for the day.

Big difference between running around at or near sea level and taking them up over 10k elevation. I know my trucks run great here in the desert but when I go to the RMP treffen is seems they just don't like to run well over 10K ft elevation. I know I can rejet and rework them but then I am only there for a few days so no real need to mess with the carbs for such a short trip. If you have never been up that high with a carb set for sea level you would not get the trouble that is being had. Yes there are some who short cut the fixes and some who have carbs that were neglected in their youth and now have loose screw holes and won't stay tight without constant tinkering. The ethanol issue is not just a pinz issue, many older vehicles experience it especially at elevation.

Ethanol + heat + high altitude = bad news

Seems to me I recall when the big switch from leaded to unleaded, one of the key points was lubrication of the valves. Lead lubricated the valves so the switch to unleaded in the older vehicles is killing our engines but I doubt that most of us will be around when they drop dead.

pinzinator wrote:The carbs in my Pinz were rebuilt and syncronized in 2004, and haven't been touched since. Ethanol is at all the service stations in California, too. Performance is great, even though the Pinz sometimes will sit for months at a time. I keep the gas cans full and add a few ounces of Sta-Bil when I fill them up. Why no problems? My best guess is because I hired guys who knew what they were doing and SPENT THE NECESSARY MONEY, no shortcuts. 38,000 km later and still OK. So you guys who have nothing but carb issues, follow my lead. Get your wallet out and end your problems! And no, I'm NOT rich.
Or sell the darn thing and buy something fuel injected.
On top of that I keep a couple of Honda 50s running, a chainsaw, 2 other cars, and a Haflinger. It's not rocket science. That's my vent for the day.

Both of my trucks have had their carbs completely rebuilt and rejetted for altitude in 2009. I also balance, clean, and adjust them regularly myself as needed.
Of course both trucks run PERFECTLY when cruising around the low elevation flatlands... But...
... In my case, Ethanol + Heat + High Altitude + Loaded = (Often) Bad News!

Consider that you have 33% less power at 10K feet as compared to sea level before thinking there's something wrong with your truck. You can get some of that back with timing (increase) and jetting (leaner) but that's a small part of it. The Colorado posse can really tell you what the exact difference is in action.

UPDATE:
I insulated all of the fuel lines with metallic-backed foam pipe insulation and now only run premium 91 octane fuel.
It seems to be the trick... I have no more problems with stalling, low power, and poor running any more. The only other thing that has changed is the weather got a bit cooler since it finally started to rain more here.
The trucks both run great now.

see: lack of oxygen under the General Chat column

I'm interested to know why you are running 91 octane.

Did you advance the timing, does your premium come without ethanol?