So, brand new to the forum, glad to be here, but let's get to the story. First off I have a 77 F150 with a 351M 4x4 four speed, with factory a/c and the lovely 2150 Motorcraft carb. The problem started when I was driving to work (approximately 25+/- miles, with small rolling hills and differentiating speeds between 25 and 60 mph as well as stop lights) after proceeding from a stop light, there was slight hesitation, and then all at once it stalled (thank god I made it through the light and off the highway). After letting it sit for a few minutes, I started it again and she acted like nothing had happened. Made it to work and most of the way back home at the end of the day before it did it again. I figured that I may have been vapor locking, but the fuel line was far enough away, thought it may be a vacuum leak but couldn't find anything, so decided it must be a carburetor problem. I took the carburetor off and attempted to find a rebuild kit, but not a single one of the big name auto part stores had one, nor could they find a rebuild kit for the carburetor part number that I had. I ended up getting a rebuild kit that covered certain part numbers, but did not include mine (kit covers: d5te, d6te, d8te, d9te,and a dozen other part numbers, but does not cover mine: a d7te part number). Soaked carb, replaced all brass, float and gaskets including the choke and the choke pull off, and re installed it on the truck. She started up and would run fine in the morning but not in the afternoon. Replaced choke and re adjusted, and would not start at all. Not knowing if it was the rebuild kit or a wrong gasket or what the problem was, I bought a new remanufactured carburetor. The carb was rebuilt, tested and tuned in shop and sent to me. All I had to do was fine tune the high idle and the curb idle. Upon completing said tasks, I attempted to drive my truck to work again. Driving in 4th gear at approximately 50 mph I was getting ready to enter a school zone. I let off the gas pedal and let the gear slow me down and by the time I got to the school zone I had lost all power, to include brakes and steering. I coasted as far as I could and got into the center turn lane and cursed my truck and cranked it for about 5 minutes, got it started and turned around to go home to get my other vehicle, and made it all but 1 mile from home and the same thing happened, except it wouldn't start at all for the rest of the day. Got it started the next morning and took it home which is where it is at now. I figured I may not be getting enough air through my filter, but it's brand new, figured I may have a vacuum leak in or around all of the ungodly emissions b/s so removed the vacuum kicker, plugged the egr, ran a hose from carb to distributor, and capped the pcv on the carb side, and other nipples that were exposed were capped as well completely bypassing the huge coffee can mounted on the front of the engine bay by the battery. I now have two lines, one going from the carb to the dist for vac advance, and a fuel line. Now when I get it started, it will idle fine, but when operating rpm's are reached, it starts backfiring and eventually dies. My friend was in town and he has a 79 f250 with a 460 and told me that I have to adjust the air/fuel mixture. We adjusted it from the factory set settings and started at nominal 1.5 turns out from the bottom on both screws. Had it running, but not great, so he told me we then have to adjust the timing, adjusted the timing, and ran worse, did this several times and made no improvement (the whole time the advance vacuum line from the carb to the dist was pulled and plugged). Readjusted the air fuel screws back to where they were prior to adjustment and returned the distributor back to correct timing, so here I am, begging for help or for anyone that may have insight as to what I must do. Do I keep the timing and adjust the fuel mixture, or do I adjust the fuel mixture and readjust the timing, I don't know where to go from here. I am on the verge of scrapping the whole truck because my wife told me that no more money is going into the truck and all the failures make me love it less and less. Please help!!!

 

First, are you SURE it's a fuel problem?
I take it you still have the stock Duraspark II ignition system. Sounds like the control module has failed. That's the usual problem with the DS II system, followed by the pick-up coil in the distributor and the ignition coil.
BTW, welcome to FTE. Lot's of good, knowledgeable people here.

 

Didn't even think of that, however, the coil, plugs, wires, and distributor are all new. Thanks for the reply

 

Also had to get a new rotor for the distributor because the other one was junk

 

The most common failure in a DS II system is the control box. Taking it in and getting it tested usually is pointless. A lot of times they work okay cold but crash once they get hot.
Heat is definitely the enemy of these boxes. Some people get longer mounting screws and add washers underneath the box to space it away from the splash pan to increase airflow around it, trying to keep it cooler.
Also, and this is IMPORTANT. If you replace the module, don't go cheap! The offshore units are prone to failure early on or right out of the box. Look for a Motorcraft box, they're worth the price.

 

The DS II boxes are identified by the color of the plastic grommet that surrounds the wires where they come out of the box. The most common (and best) color is blue. If you have a red grommet (California only) you have my sympathy.

 

...And that's why you're awesome. It's always good to get a fresh set of eyes on the problem. Going to see if I can locate something locally, but they typically only have GM products. Wish me luck

 

Mike is right as usual. In my experience, you're better off salvaging a used Motorcraft one off a donor in a scrapyard than buying a new knock-off.

 

.............

 

Just in case you need it, the Motorcraft # is DY-893. This is for the "blue" grommet. It replaces Ford D6AZ-12A199-A, D9VZ-12A199-A and 1U2Z12199AA
Rockauto (FTE Sponsor) has them for $73.79

 

Hey thanks bro, I'll look into it. Was chasing wires all day and of course found one of my connections on the coil connector to be less than perfect. I figured while I was at it, go ahead and get my module tested. They tested it several times and said that it was good, but that doesn't mean it is good under heat. Going to buy a new one and keep it with me just in case. It seems to be running pretty good now that I replaced the connector, but only time will tell. Going to drive it a good distance when I get my new module, and just in case I'll have it with me. I would never have thought to look at anything in the ignition. With everything happening like it did, maybe I can put my other carb back on, or maybe, find the correct rebuild kit for it. Thanks again, and I'll keep you guys posted when (if) something happens.

 

On the carb kit, post your carb tag # and I'll see if I can find the correct kit number. The complete tag number should be D7TE-??.

 

hey, thanks a lot for looking for me. I have the tag numbers here

Line 1: 137
Line 2: D7TE
Line 3: 12127
Line 4: NA
Line 5: J 03

Have to go take care of some stuff right now but I will try to get a pic up of the tag when I get home.
Thanks again

 

Weeeellllll, uh, there's a good reason no one can find a carb kit for you. Someone's been messing with you, or at least messing around with the tags. Line 3 is the give away-12127, that's the basic number for a distributor with the ID # D7TE-12127-NA. This is distributor P/N D7TZ-12127-N Fits: 77 F150-350 w/351M before S/N O80,001 and F150-350 w/o California Emissions from S/N O80,001 to Y40,001.
The tag you have belongs on the distributor, not the carb.

 

Here's what I found based on the distributor you have and the application ('77 F150 w/ 351M, manual trans. w/o Cali emissions).
Carb tag # D7TE-AMA