So, last week, I repaired the hose from the inlet tube to the gas tank, which had rotted out and was leaking. I figured, since I’d driven at least 75 miles since last putting gas in the tank, that I’d need some more. (The gauge reads empty). At the filling station down the street, the pump clicked off several times after only five gallons, and since my old Scout did this routinely on an empty tank, I thought nothing of it—until I heard the spatter of gas on the pavement below.
This time, it was a smaller hose the PO had used to plug off two of the evap tubes; I’d filled the tank to the top and now the little 3/8″ hose (which is at the high end of the tank) was leaking. Swell.
I returned home to see if there was anything I could do; I didn’t have any tape that would stand up to gasoline handy, so I decided to drive it to the dump (the entire bed was full of debris I’d loaded previously) and burn off some gas. After a brief stop at the Home Depot to pick up a fire extinguisher (the thought of cooking off while motoring down the highway was foremost in my mind), I waited in a mercifully short line at the dump and got rid of another load of crap.
On my way out, I quickly noticed something peculiar with the gas pedal; it was closer to the floor than it had been minutes before. I was still getting throttle enough to make it into 4th gear, but my speed topped out at 45mph or so with the pedal to the floor, far short of the 65 I’ve had it at before (I’ve never had the hammer all the way down before this).
Checking the linkage, I don’t see anything loose with the connection at the firewall, on the pedal itself, or up to the first mount on the carb. I’m dealing with a Carter Thermoquad, something I have no experience with (my old Scout had a Holley 1920 on a 2-barrel 304; this is a 4-barrel 345). Bad linkage? Bent pedal?
My first thought is the linkage itself. The wires and connections are tight, but perhaps something came loose in the carb iself. The throttle cable is brand-new (still has the vendor sticker wrapped around the sleeve) so I know it can’t be that. This is going to take some sleuthing by mechanics smarter than I.