64 ford 2000 gas 4cyl fuel flow issue

64 ford gas. gravity fed tank.
never saw this before.
installed new zenith carb. old one was worn out.
installed, tuned, ran for 2 days. got a lot of work done.
new plugs new rotor new everything. sharp as a chisel.
sat for 3 weeks during mo flood rains. no issue. was in barn, was dry.
time to cut grass.
out to ford i go. starts up, goes 10 feet, dies.
would not ignite. let it sit 2 hours, fired one revolution, died agian, so its firing.
battery has full charge.
yes it has gas in the tank.
seems its using whatever seeps into the float then starves.
checked fuel.
(new good fuel)
drained sediment bowl.
no sediment.
re-installed bowl.
closed tank petcock screw.
removed line.
open petcock. has flow.
closed and attached line to petcock.
removed line from s.bowl.
opened petcock.
flows to where bowl would be if it wasnt removed.
closed petcock.
reattached line to s.bowl.
for the heck of it, i removed petcock and drained tank.
checked tank filter. not clogged.
blew out petcock with LP air.
reinstalled petcock.
reattached line.
opened petcock.

heres where im stumped.

bowl filled 1/2 way up the sediment bowl and stopped dead.
i have 4 gallons of gas in the tank. it covers the tank filter inside the tank. i can see it submerged thru the gas cap hole.

checked fuel line for kinks.
no kinks.

I AM LOST. what is keeping the fuel from filling the bowl and flowing to the carb?????????

The short answer is air. Now you want to know why. Because gasoline flows into carb bowl until full and into sediment bowl until sediment bowl air pressure equals the gravity supplied fuel pressure. Run the engine & sediment bowl will finish filling, or loosen sediment bowl just enough to let the trapped air out.

Air lock! Carb needle shut or stuck shut. Fuel coming into bowl is compressing air until air pressure overcomes gravity pressure of the fuel.

how do i unstick a stuck needle?

sometimes just the sharp wrap of a screwdriver handle to the carb will do it. If not, then take carb apart.

oh no not again. :<
i just put a new carb on because the old one had to be rebuilt 3 times and it still leaked.
i pray i dont have to do it again to the new carb. heck, its only 2 months old!

(quoted from post at 18:27:09 05/18/17) oh no not again. :<
i just put a new carb on because the old one had to be rebuilt 3 times and it still leaked.
i pray i dont have to do it again to the new carb. heck, its only 2 months old!

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hat I do on tractors that may not be run for a week or two to prevent that needle stuck problem is that I turn the fuel valve off and let it run until it dies (burns most of carb bowel fuel), thus letting the float drop & needle open. Now next time I turn on the fuel, the needle will already be open & ready to flow fuel. Saves a lot of trouble! P.S. BE very sure you remain close as you run it until dies so as NOT to go away & leave ignition ON or else you will create more troubles!

If the carb is full of gas then the float needle will be closed and yep the sediment bowl will not fill all the way up due to the fact it has 2 fluids in it. Air is known to be called a fluid and so you have gas and air in it so it cannot fill till the carb needs more gas. As for checking your fuel flow well you sort of did that wrong. To check fuel flow you simply pull the carb drain plug and let it flow. It needs to flow fast enough to fill a pint jar in under 3 minutes.

As for your old carb I have never seen one that could not be rebuilt unless it is broken as in a crack float bowl etc

Forgot to ask what part of Missouri are you in. I understand the flood problems well since I too live in Missouri

south central way up high. just had road ruts on cty rds.
im going out now to the barn. with all your help here on yt.com, i think it ll work. i cant wait until tomorrow. its gonna rain!

son of agun. i gotta running tractor. you guys must get tired of us knuckleheads asking the same questions, but thank you from the bottom of my heart.
answer......in order to get my tractor in the barn in case it rained, i backed up in gear with the starter. once in, i noticed the s.bowl filled a little more. i opened the s.bowl and got a HISSSSSS.....and it filled the rest of the way. i took a screwdriver and tapped the needle areas, hopped on and it started.
again.........thanks.
but now i must go to work and miss dinner. its all you faults!
:>

(quoted from post at 19:30:54 05/18/17) son of agun. i gotta running tractor. you guys must get tired of us knuckleheads asking the same questions, but thank you from the bottom of my heart.
answer......in order to get my tractor in the barn in case it rained, i backed up in gear with the starter. once in, i noticed the s.bowl filled a little more. i opened the s.bowl and got a HISSSSSS.....and it filled the rest of the way. i took a screwdriver and tapped the needle areas, hopped on and it started.
again.........thanks.
but now i must go to work and miss dinner. its all you faults!
:>

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ou are very welcome & glad to share a life of experiences that may help someone have a short cut to success!

South central could be close to me or even south of me. I'm in the Camdenton area as in the Lake of the Ozarks area