OK... so I'm a bit of a novice at all this so I hope the good folks at FTE can help me out. I'm at the point where I'm really tired of looking at my truck sitting in the shed and since I've decided to have a few of my FTE friends over in mid-May I need to get "Older Blue" running. It's time for me to start asking some questions. I describe myself as having mechanical ability but not mechanical knowledge. Not sure if that makes sense. Any way...

We rebuilt the original carb and I got a new fuel pump from Macs. I'm running an auxillary tank until I get the original cleaned and sealed. At first there was no spark but after filing the points a bit we've fixed that. Fuel is getting to the carb (coming out of the fuel line that goes into the carb) but is still won't start. Would there be something I can troubleshoot with the rebuilt carb to see if that is where my problem is?

 

Has it not ran in a while? Do a compression check . Write down what each cylinder reads & after do a second compression check, but his time squirt oil in each cylinder first. If you have low compression on any cylinder the oil seats the rings & will tell you if it was rings when it rises & if it does not raise up it is the valve on that cylinder.. Dude

 

Rob,

What engine do you have in the truck?

Did you adjust the carb setting? If the adjustment is all the way in you wouldn't be getting gas. I think the shop manual says to turn the adjustment screw in until it seats lightly and then turn it out approximently 1 turn.

Also, get a complete tune up kit. If you had to file the points then the other parts might not be in too good of condition. The tune up kit is cheap.

Best bet is to wait for Ross to get there, he'll get it running in half an hour.

 

Check and make sure plug wires are on in the right order.If you put a plug on the end of a wire and and ground it do you get spark when you crank the motor,if yes pour a shot or two of gas down the carb and try starting.Watch out for back fires.If it should spit flame keep the motor turning to pull the flame into the motor.Also be sure to check the exshaust system if it is plugged solid with rat nests,the motor won't run. Also watch out for Bob's help! One more thought. If it has been sitting with out fuel the needle may be stuck in the seat,not letting gas into the carb.Take a 9/16 wrench and tap the carb where the fuelline goes in.Sometimes this will break the needle free.

 

Just hit the basics as described above. If you put oil in cylinders, crank it with the plugs out a bit to make sure you don't try to compress oil -- it won't. Also use a very light oil, so it gets down past all the rings.

Also note that a no-spark condition is frequently due to a bad condenser. The bane of 6v systems.

 

Thanks a lot!!! .

What Dave wrote reminded me that I had a really hard time with the flat six in the F-2 when I tried to start it after the summer of '11. I couldn't get it started to drive it into storage and it was very cold at the time. I ended up towing it to the shed in the back of the farm. When I finally got it out of storage in the spring I had a cooler head and went through the engine checking the ignition system. Turned out I have two spark plug wires switched. Sorted them out and the good old 226 started right up and ran great.

 

Sometimes a short whiff of starting fluid will get them fired off the first time. A short shot of gas in the carb will do the same thing, as suggested.

 

Another easy thing to do is check the timing if you haven'y already along with all the above.

 

Thanks to all for the good tips & info! I will look into all of these things and let you all know how things go. There will be a video of the truck running... hopefully soon!

Engine is the six and has not run for quite some time. We did try starting fluid in the carb. We were getting a backfire through the carb... is that a valve hanging up?

 

The good old 226, a great engine. Backfiring could be a couple of things, a stuck valve could be one. I had two flathead V8s that spit and backfired until I found they had a stock valve. Once I got them loose they fired up.

Double check that firing order first, like I said above, the F-2 didn't want to start. Turned out two spark plug wires were switched. I pulled the wires off to use on a truck I was trying to get to start. When I reinstalled them on the F-2 I must have miswired it. Also as stated above, timing is another good thing to look into. I know finding the timing mark on the flat six can be a PIA. Look the damper pulley over really good, find the timing mark and use a white crayon or chalk and mark it. It'll make it a lot easier to see when you point the timing light at it. If you don't have a 6 volt timing light, who does, power it off of your daily, just using the spark pickup on your truck. I do it all of the time.

 

That is what I did to my 54 yesterday. It runs smooth at idle, very nice. But when I give it some gas it bogs out or hesitates and occasionally backfires. The carburetor was just rebuilt this winter.

Any ideas? Maybe it is not getting enough gas. You know the problems I had with the fuel pump. I am thinking that it is not pumping enough gas. I don't have a gauge for checking the pump.

 

Abe, sounds like the accelerator pump in the carburetor. They can be defective or if you had someone else rebuild the carb maybe they overlooked it.

 

We had the plugs out and the wires off so I think that will be the first thing I check.

 

That is what I was thinking. My brother-in-law rebuilt it. He is pretty sharp mechanically. That is why I asked him to do it so I wouldn't mess it up....

 

You could pick up a low cost pressure/vacuum gauge and check the pump output pressure, but I don't think that's the problem if it runs at idle. The backfiring is probably the engine going lean when you open the throttle. That and the hesitation point to the accellerator pump not working. Sometimes those leather piston seals dry up and shrink. If the carb was just rebuilt then maybe the little check ball isn't where it belongs. There should be one the size of a BB in the bottom of the accellerator pump cavity...it should be retained by a small guard. That is the check valve that lets fuel in from the float bowl, but doesn't let the pump force it back into the float bowl...the fuel is supposed to be forced out of the spray nozzle.

With the engine off, take off the air cleaner and look down the carb. Open the throttle and see if gas is squirting down the throat of the carb as you open the throttle. If not...the accellerator pump is the culprit.

Dan