1977 LeBaron Cold Start Issues

[77 LeBaron]

I have noticed the colder it gets the more difficult it is to start the Lebaron The 318 takes more effort the colder it becomes. I pump the pedal to the floor and release pedal like usual . It starts up and dies , I go though the procedure several times and longer the colder it gets. I have to hold the gas pedal to the floor to turn it over many times until it finally starts. Is this normal , or do I need to make some adjustments to the carb. One other issue has come up the passenger front wheel area seems to rattle at around 25 to 30 MPH . Hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas !

 

[AJ/FormS]

just pump it more times as the weather gets colder. If it won't start with 3 pumps, then maybe something is wrong.
Hang on, what temperature are you talking about?
You're scaring me with your flood-clear procedure.
Up here it's only -22C yet. I think that's about -8F. So up here it would require 2 pumps for sure.

 

[77 LeBaron]

It will start on one pump run a few seconds then die , then I have to depress the gas pedal all the way down to get it going and it dies again this happens several times until it will finally kick in. Is the carb getting to much gas /flooding on initial start up ? The temps are low 40's down to the low 20's T-shirt weather for you !

 

[Dr Lebaron]

My 2 cents, the choke or float isn't working properly and then there's too much gas.
The screwdriver down the carb can speed things up on a stubborn day.

Also could have water in the tank or crappy ethanol gas.

 

[AJ/FormS]

It will start on one pump run a few seconds then die , then I have to depress the gas pedal all the way down to get it going and it dies again this happens several times until it will finally kick in. Is the carb getting to much gas /flooding on initial start up ? The temps are low 40's down to the low 20's T-shirt weather for you !

Best guess is the choke pull-off diaphragm has failed, or the vacuum break needs adjusting

 

[slant6billy]

Work to choke arm and maybe spray it with some wd40. My supersix is doing something similar. And like mentioned above, A screw driver prop open of the choke flapper gets it going.

 

[Aspen500]

I would tend to agree with the choke pull off thing. If you have to "deflood" to get it started again, the choke is not being opened a bit after the engine is running. Does it sputter, chug and blow black smoke when this happens?

By the way,,,,,,I would almost kill for 40 degrees! Heck, I'd be happy with double digits ABOVE zero at this point.

 

[77 LeBaron]

I am in Al Global Warming Gore's state and this is the coldest month I have encountered by far. Now the engine just runs a few seconds and cuts out. It is easy to restart the first few times , after that the "deflood" technique is needed then a few more shots and she starts up high revs for about five minutes until it will allow me to kick it down. Gas mileage is much lower so it is apparently running rich also. Once running it has no problems. Anyone on here know the answer to the passenger side rattle form the front wheel area when decelerating to around 30 to 20 mph then its OK again ? Off Subject How much are your electric bills up North ?

 

[BudW]

The choke bi-metallic spring has a limited lifespan. It will get to the point where it will not close when cold or be open when hot.

Most cars, replacing the choke thermostat (bi-metallic spring) fixes a lot of cold drivability problems – especially on cars when it slowly gets to that point.

A good carburetor removal, cleaning and quality time spent on getting carburetor linkage adjusted back to specifications might also do it a lot of good.
Checking choke pull-off for operation will also help.
BudW