I'm having problems getting fuel to the carburator. When I open the drain fitting on the bottom of the float bowl, I get nothing. I have disconnected the fuel line on outlet side of fuel filter and fuel flows freely. When I disconnect the inlet line at the carburator, I get nothing. Should fuel flow through the fuel pump by gravity when the line is disconnected or does it have to be forced by the pump?

I did get it to run briefly by blowing a little air back toward the fuel pump on the carb inlet line and then fuel seemed to flow well, but it only lasted a couple of minutes. The wheeler has been sitting for a couple of months.

Any suggestions? Thanks for any help.

 

Fuel should gravity flow through the pump. It's only a diaphram with check valves. Remove the tank and all lines clear to carb and carefully clean and check with compressed air. If any lines seem soft or swollen replace with new clear plastic fuel line. Take the pump apart and clean the ports and diaphram. If the diaphram is soft replace. It really sounds like dirt somewhere.

 

Thanks for the reply Waterbuffalo. I suspect your assumption of dirt in the system somewhere is right. When I was able to get gas to flow by forcing air back to the pump, I thought it must be dirt, but I also was suprised that the check valves in the pump allowed air to pass through to the gas tank. I wondered if the check valves might be damaged. I'm still looking at my aftermarket manual to see how the pump functions and what repairs might be necessary.

Again, thanks for the info and the reassurance that I'm on the right track.