I know this has been covered a hundred times but nothing relevant turned up when I did a search .
My truck sat for a very long time, I decided to put it back on the road.
When I took it for an inspection sticker it developed a hesitation that got progressively worse. Seemed like a clogged fuel filter. I had to pump the gas very quickly to keep the rpms up, otherwise it had no power.
I got it home and changed the fuel filter, added some SEA FOAM, and fresh high octane gas.
It still would not start. I can hear the fuel pump running when I turn on the key. I then pulled the air intake hose and squirted some gas into the intake. It still did not hit at all.
My frend told me I had an ignition problem. I pulled the distributor and replaced the ignition module. It still does not hit at all.
Next I plan to pull a plug and ground it to see if the plugs are firing.
Any ideas ?

1994 300 6 cyl.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->
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you need air, gas, compression, and spark... Check to make sure you have all 4. It could be you had water in the gas tank from sitting a long time. "Heet" (to absorb the water) would have been a better choice to put in the gas.

The "hesitation" makes me think gas isn't getting to the motor. Do you have 2 tanks? if so have you tried flipping the switch to see if that solves the problem? Check your spark and get back to us... Any CELs?

 

That statement in bold is the key issue here. Does the pump(s) run continuously or for a second or two when the ignition key is turned to the Run position? If it runs continuously then you could have a bad computer (PCM/ECM) or a stuck fuel pump relay.

 

To ground the spark plug to check from spark just rest it on part of the engine or the frame of yor truck and have someone crank it over. before that though maybe crank it over a bit and then pull plugs to check for gas on them. or, i would imagine you have dual tanks so maybe try the other tank. if none of that gives you any answers it could possibly be cloged injectors. if the truck sat for too long and then all of the sudden you threw new gas in the tank you could have sturred up sediment on the bottom of the tank and cause it to be sucked into the lines and then clogging the injectors. You could also pull your fuel filter off, put a bucket under the line and crank over your engine to see if your fuel pump is even sucking gas. good luck.

 

Id agree with some of the others. Need to know if you have fuel on the rail can check that by pressing the pin on the pressure check port after priming the system (keep in mind fuel will spray out) Also need to know if you have spark. Check off of one of the plugs if no spark there check off the coil as you could have a problem with your rotor or cap. If there is no spark off the coil it could be a bad coil or a bad ECU. I personally would lean to you dont have spark as if the truck wont start off starting fluid its not a fuel issue.

 

Alright, I pulled a plug and it is firing. I havn't checked to see if I'm getting fuel at the rail yet.
I did listen for the fuel pump, it runs for 1 second and stops. I only have 1 tank.
I did manage to get 1 little pop out of it by spraying starter fluid while my wife tried to start it. I would have expected it to start for a second while doing this. This leads me to believe I may not have the distributor in time.
I'll try to see if I'm getting fuel at the rail, but I don't have any idea where this valve is.
I'll also be tied up at work for the next 3 or 4 days.

 

That sounds like the problem. Did you mark the Dist. before removal and reinstall at the right spot? If not you need to put the #1 Cylinder and TDC and reinstall dizzy with the rotor obviously in the area of the #1 pin on the cap then fine tune.

 

No I didn't mark it but I sure wish I had. I put the engine @ 10 degrees before TDC and pointed the rotor at the #1 plug wire. I think it was on the compression stroke but I could be wrong. It was very hard to get in.

I was thinking if I was even close it should pop and crack.

It may be 2 or 3 days before I can work on it again.

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

Only thing you could try is pull the dist. and rotate the engine until the #1 it back to TDC and reinstall. Or I believe you could pull the dist. rotate the rotor 180 and reinstall with out rotating the engine. Let us know if reseting your dist. works.

 

After I got home from work this morning, I pulled a plug and used a wooden dowel to check TDC. It was way off. I had been using the wrong mark on the balancer. I had assumed the obvious notch in the pulley was the mark. I found a small tick mark on the pulley that lined up.

I made sure that it was on the compression stroke and lined up perfectly.

Still no hit, even when I hit it with starting fluid.

I also pushed in the valve on the fuel rail and it is getting fluid.

The timing marks on my engine block look nothing like what's in the Haynes manual.

The firing order in the book is 1-5-3-6-2-4 but I Could swear that's not the way it came off and the #6 plug wire is barely long enough to not long enough.

Tomorrow I'll pull the dist. and put it in @ 180 degrees.

 

my 88 4.9 has 2 sets of timing marks. I need to use the ones on the passenger side of the motor to set timing. I think the marks on the driver side are for checking advance or something but i'm not really sure.

 

I don't think I have timing marks on both sides of the pulley but I'll check.

I would think it should at least hit when I squirt the starting fluid into the throttle body.

My next course of action will be to switch the plug wires to change the timing by 180 degrees, just in case it was not on the compression stroke.

 

Well I finally got it to hit on starting fluid. It runs until it runs out of fluid.
At least I now know it is a fuel delivery problem.

 

I am having about the same problem. When i bought the truck i used the rear tank in my 94 250 and all of the sudden on my way home everything shut off. Well next day i check spark its getting spark and it fires right up on starting fluid. Well now i cant hear my rear pump but if i switch to the front i can hear it run but im only getting drops of gas to the filter. Does this mean the pump is clogged or a line is clogged?

 

Off hand I would say that the line is clogged.

You might also try siphoning out the gas and see what it looks like.

Put in some fresh clean gas and jump around on the bumper. Siphon this gas out and add fresh. I'm thinking this might help flush the screen of the pickup off.

Hope this helps.