I bought a '88 samurai about a month ago. It runs great except on a hot day the engine will suddenly quit during a drive. After 20/30 minutes I can restart with some effort and make it back home. I’m thinking this is a vapor lock because it happens on a hot day, it’s a mechanical fuel pump, original equipment, and I live at 5800 ft. elevation. Should I replace the fuel pump, insulate the fuel and vent lines, install an aux. low pressure electric fuel pump between the tank and exist. pump, etc.
It may also be an electrical problem, but the car has a new coil, plugs and wires. I believe this is a heat related problem and I don’t know if it can be electical in nature. Input would be most appreciated
SAL
When the engine quits does it shut off like you turned the key off or does is lose power, sputter along, and final just quit all together. If it is the former I would look at the ignition system, especially the ignition module. If it is the latter I would explore your vapor lock ideas. Since you cannot get a restart for 20-30 minutes, you have some time to trouble shoot the problem. The next time this is likely to happen have a can of starting fluid, spare spark plug, and a clamp on timing light handy. When the engine quits and will not restart, squirt some starting fluid into the carburator and crank. If the engine starts for a little bit, your problem is fuel related. Take off a spark plug wire, insert the spare spark plug, lay it on a metal part of the engine, and crank. If you don’t see a spark, the problem is ignition related. If you do get a spark, reconnect the spark plug wire, connect up the timing light, crank, and see if the timing marks are close to correct. You can determine where starting ignition timing should be by doing a dry run when you know the engine will start. See where the pointer aligns with the scale as a reference.
Get back to us with the results of your testing and we can take the trouble shooting further.