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truck died on the road again. help me, please!

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by general gow, Aug 17, 2009.

  1. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,264

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    Before you get into pumps, floats and the like, change all your rubber hoses and check all your fuel fittings. The new gas is eating the hoses for lunch lately. I had a good looking hose give me fits... I even tore apart my carbs looking for it..
     
  2. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    yep this is why i said to watch pressure when he hits the gas, if it's good then he has other problems if it's bad or it drops off then start looking at the basics in the fuel system. is this a mechanical pump? what about the pump diaphram failing? if you just filled up with the new gas blends it will loosen up anything in the tank like dirt or varnish, really good solvent, of course it all flushes right towards the carb
     
  3. general gow
    Joined: Feb 5, 2003
    Posts: 6,407

    general gow
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    it has been run on modern fuels. just not for a year or two.

    i am gonna check if i have one of the inline filters hidden in the carb.
     
  4. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    if the stuff has been sitting in the tank it will keep freeing up crap in there. how old is the gas that was in there before? and how much was in there? the new fuels also attract water.you could have water by the pickup with gas floating on top. why not drain some fuel from the tank and see what you've got?
     
  5. I fought what I thought was fuel problems for two weeks then a good buddy said it has to be electrical. So I bought new wires and found that one wire had a tear in the casing like a flap and when I got up tp speed or let off at speed it tried to short out and die. New wires was the fix so go figure you never know do you. Good luck, Rags
     
  6. general gow
    Joined: Feb 5, 2003
    Posts: 6,407

    general gow
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    hmm, good idea.

    but, for a bit of history, i ran the gas that was in it when i bought it til it was empty. then i put 5 gallons in. that ran out over the last few months just starting it and working on it and moving it around. then, yesterday, i filled it full. 16 gallons of fresh stuff. could well be that it loosened up some junk.
     
  7. steel rebel
    Joined: Jun 14, 2006
    Posts: 3,604

    steel rebel
    Member Emeritus

    After you eliminate all the usual things. Look at the exhaust. I had a baffle break loose once and it did the same thing. Would run fine at idle but get it on the highway and it would stall out. Drove me nuts.
    Just a thought
     
  8. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    if the tank has been sitting with just a little gas in it, water will condense on the inside of the empty tank and start to collect in your fuel. just normal condensation builds up over time. if there was quite a bit in there it's going to migrate to the lowest part of the tank.
     
  9. Da' Bomb
    Joined: Apr 8, 2005
    Posts: 438

    Da' Bomb
    Member

    So this may seem a little "out there" but what kind of shape is your exhaust in? Glass Packs? I just went through something very similar to this on a mid seventies Ford project truck....The guy before me thought it was running out of gas. Turned out some of the packing would flap around the muffler at 55 or under acceleration load. Kind of embarassing.
    Pat
     
  10. Rick Sis
    Joined: Nov 2, 2007
    Posts: 710

    Rick Sis
    Member
    from Tulsa OK

    Description sounds like textbook mechanical fuel pump failure to me.
     
  11. Mark H
    Joined: May 18, 2009
    Posts: 1,461

    Mark H
    Member
    from Scotland

    Sorry if someones mentioned it allready but have you checked the fuel lines for kinks or collapse?
     
  12. general gow
    Joined: Feb 5, 2003
    Posts: 6,407

    general gow
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    brand new exhaust from mufflers back. hasnt been on the truck a week.
     
  13. varnish in the carb? I fought this problem on a recent car, would run well intermittently until it sucked a flake of varnish over a jet. accelerator pump is usually a culprit of falling on its face while putting it to the wood.
     
  14. Got points?

    When the rubbing block is quite worn, the points are almost closed and the engine will mimic a fuel problem.

    Make sure the gap is ok.
     
  15. general gow
    Joined: Feb 5, 2003
    Posts: 6,407

    general gow
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    jay, brand new points. gapped yesterday just before the voyage (to spec with proper tools...)

     
  16. Good.

    The following is not an insult.:)

    You set the points with the rubbing block up on the cam, right?:confused:


    Simple question, but I've seen more than a few set em on the flat . . . including me many years ago....:eek:
     
  17. general gow
    Joined: Feb 5, 2003
    Posts: 6,407

    general gow
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    yessir, on the high spot on the cam. had my wife turn it over a million times til i was happy with where it was.

    i take it as concern and not insult.

    thanks...

     
  18. general gow
    Joined: Feb 5, 2003
    Posts: 6,407

    general gow
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    i am almost ashamed to say it fellas, but the #2 and #4 wires were crossed on the dizzy. and i didn't find it. i had looked at it too many times to find it. drove it down the street, saw a friend out in his front lawn, pulled in the driveway. the following took place:

    me- john, why does my truck backfire through the carb?
    john- i dunno, mark, why?
    me- you can't tell just by lookin' at it?
    john- pop the hood...i smell gas.
    me- cuz i'm giving it lots of choke cuz it runs better that way.
    john- sounds like it's missing. not even on all cylinders.
    me- no, can't be.

    john proceeds to pull the #2 wire off the dizzy.
    john- see still runs like crap. this cylinder wasn't firing.
    he then pulls the #3
    john- okay, this one was firing, see how it runs worse with it off?
    he replaces the #3 and removes #4
    john- see this one wasn't firing either.
    he then swaps #2 and #4, gives it a good bit of throttle, and it runs smooth all the way up to WOT.

    he shut the hood and shook his head. i climbed in the cab with my head hung low.

    me- thanks john, i'm an idiot.
    john- you said it, not me. take care kid.

    thanks, john. you rule.
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2009
  19. hoop
    Joined: Mar 21, 2007
    Posts: 643

    hoop
    Member

    Great news Mark.
     
  20. Doug B
    Joined: Feb 2, 2008
    Posts: 478

    Doug B
    Member

    Cool end to the story...its good to have smart neighbors
     
  21. sliderule67
    Joined: Nov 4, 2005
    Posts: 367

    sliderule67
    Member
    from Houston

    Smart neighbors that are so supportive......
    Gee....I never made a misteak like that
     
  22. Heh, I drove a Ranger like that for a while. The PO sold the truck to me cheap because he put a new motor in it, and said "I think the motor is bad". I drove it for a few days assuming that since he put a motor in himself, he'd be smart enough to know the firing order. Sure enough, two of the wires were crossed.

    It's the overthinking that kills us sometimes.
     
  23. cvstl
    Joined: Apr 15, 2009
    Posts: 1,499

    cvstl
    Member
    from StL MO
    1. H.A.M.B. Chapel

    Classic.... thanks for letting us in on the conversation.

    After you've looked at your problem for a while, its really easy to overlook the simple stuff. Cool that you had a neighbor that knew what he was looking at..... don't think most of mine even know how to get the hood open.

    Glad you got it fixed at no cost or wasted effort.
     
  24. Glad you found the problem Mark.I was about to relate a very similar affliction that my brother-in-law had with his 73 Ford Ranchero.The thing would start up readily and idle fine.Take it down the street and give it throttle and it would die out.Always re-started promptly.My other brother-in-law and he worked on this thing for two weeks trying to figure out what was wrong with it to no avail.
    I came by one day when they were about ready to set it afire and took a look at it and knew exactly what was wrong.They both said I was full of s--t.I reached in and pulled the hood insulation off and told them to try it.Ran perfectly!
    The insulation was being sucked into the air intake with the hood closed but worked fine when it was open.Sometimes you just need another perspective.
     
  25. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I'm with those who say that you probably have crud loosened up in the tank or a clogged filter but===

    If you didn't install all of the fuel lines yourself check any and all brass fittings that may be on it to make sure that one doesn't have a small orifice in it. I had that happen to me on a truck once. And it did exactly the same. Idled great and ran like a bandit for 30 ft until the carbs ran out of fuel.

    Check fuel lines and hoses for kinks. Often someone in the past has twisted the fuel line to the carb getting the filter out especially if it is Qjet. If they didn't use a tube bender or know how to use it they may have kinked a line or there may be a rubber hose kinked.

    As someone else said, start at one end of the fuel line and work your way to the other end checking every inch of it.

    Also I am another one who has fought so called "vented" gas caps that ended up not being vented. Next time you drive the truck, If it quits, hop out an carefully open the cap and see if the tank pops and sucks in air. That will tell you if your tank isn't venting. A full tank is going to have a lot less air in it to suck down than an almost empty tank and that may be the whole issue.
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  26. don't feel bad its running now. easy mistake to make with four cyl motor. some are cw others ccw distributer rotation. had my girl driving pinto's and i had luv truck well i tuned up the luv and after bumming rides to work for a week found out the dist. turned opposite direction and had 2 plug wires crossed. most 4 cyl. are 1-3-4-2 BUT my 53' ford NAA 4cyl tractor is 1-2-4-3 :eek: and that sure fucked me up 1st time i worked on it.
     
  27. NoSurf
    Joined: Jul 26, 2002
    Posts: 4,461

    NoSurf
    Member

    Awesome.

    Great to see your guardian angel looking out for you. Why else would your friend be out in the driveway when you happened to drive by in your pickup?
     
  28. NoSurf
    Joined: Jul 26, 2002
    Posts: 4,461

    NoSurf
    Member

    or it could be two sparkplug wires crossed on the distributor? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Nice job reading all the replys LMAO!
     
  29. harpo1313
    Joined: Jan 4, 2008
    Posts: 2,584

    harpo1313
    Member
    from wareham,ma

    good deal on the quick fix,what could possably go wrong now.think youve been to all the bases with that truck.time to enjoy,not that furniture relocation is a joy
     
  30. Hey I've done the same thing........lately. I swore to everyone that of course I had everything right. I was wrong. Like you said I had looked at it too long to see it.
     

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