Aluminium Foil and Vapor Lock

I own a very old 1981 Toyota Corolla KE70
saloon, with a 1,290 cc 4K engine. If my email
seems out of place here, I'd like to apologize
to the forum moderators and other users here.

I had been having lots of problems with the engine sputtering and almost dying out in hot
weather, so someone said it might be vapor lock.

Searching around the net for solutions, I found
the following article on your website here :

Link

At the bottom of the above article, the author, Curtis,
mentioned wrapping the fuel line in aluminium foil.
I was wondering, would this mean that the shiny side should be facing inwards or outwards ?

I have just wrapped my fuel lines from and to the
fuel pump as suggested, and am afraid I might have the shiny side facing wrongly. What might happen if I did ?

Thank you very much for any assistance.

Best Regards,

Tham

The mechanic who helped me to wrap it earlier, had
wrapped additional black electrical insulation tape over the foil, covering the entire rubber fuel line,
to keep it in place. I"m wondering if this should
taken out, since this tape might well keep the heat
in rather than out.

Mahalo,
doogdoog

I'll take out the tape immediately.

Mahalo,
doogdoog

I will check out the insulation tape.

I had wrapped the fuel lines with the shiny side in, so I will take the foil out and rewrap new ones with
the shiny side out.

Greg, the fuel filter was changed a couple of months
ago, and the fuel pump just over a year ago. They may
well have sold me a poor quality pump though, lots of
Taiwanese parts being passed off as Japanese ones
in Malaysia. I"ll have to check it out again and maybe
try replacing it. I"m thinking of modifying to an electric
fuel pump.

The ignition system has been checked out thoroughly
- the contact points, condenser, plugs and plug wires
replaced. I"m using a points-triggered electronic ignition
unit made from a kit, the Motorola IC similar to the one
used in the older GM high energy ignition systems, and
it appears to be working fine. The ignition coil has been
replaced too.

Initially the distributor"s vacuum advance was a source
of the sputtering and stalling, but that has since been
rectified. What happened was that the original vacuum pump had given way, and the only replacements here were generic "Century" brand units from Japan (or so
the label said). This advance unit has a plastic adjuster
screwed in at the end for fine timing adjustments, but it
was not heat durable (unlike the stock unit) and virtually
disintegrated after just a few months, and the ignition
timing nosedived when it did. So I managed to fashion
a copper adjuster and screwed it in, and the timing
is holding out well so far.

The fuels in Malaysia are 97 octane "premium" and
92 octane "regular". Both are unleaded, and contain
benzene (a carcinogen actually). I am using 97 octane.
Might switching to 92 octane help with the vapor lock ?

The carburetor is very basic really, the only hose coming out goes to the vacuum advance. There are no
emission controls requirements in Malaysia, at least
for engines built in the 80s.

RGX TV, er, how does one use clothes pins for
vapor locking ?

Does one clip them onto the metal fuel line
leading into the carburetor or the rubber hose ?

I will go buy some clothes pins and
try it out soon as I can.

My dad had an old Diamond Rio truck, every time, going up a a real long steep hill in hot weather it would vapor lock. He'd take a bucket of clay mud and water and pack around the fuel lines

What I would do first is to change the fuel filter and check fuel pressure to make sure your fuel pump is working properly. A dirty filter or weak pump will cause low fuel pressure and let the fuel boil very easy and the car will stall out.

Not being familiar with your car and how it was built for use in your country and the type of fuel available in your area, that is where I would start. Best of luck. Let us know how you come out.

Greg

Start with the cheap & simple things first.

Also try different gas brands. They may be formulated with different vapor pressures.