Hello All. New here. Long story short.. I bought a '64 F-250 Custom Cab for my husband for his bday. Unfortunately we have been having problems with the carb spitting up, truck wont start. This is after having the carb rebuilt. A local shop said most likely problem is dirt/grime/rust from tanks (duel in cab tanks) getting in lines and up into carb causing float to stay open. Would need to clean tanks and entire fuel system and have carb cleaned again and replaced. This will cost somewhere in the ball park of $500-800.
Can anyone offer some advice. I am not very savvy when it comes to these things but I want to surprise the hubby for Christmas and get his truck up and running again. He hasn't had time to work on it due to a demanding job and our newborn baby.
We are in San Diego if anyone has recommendations for mechanic.
Thank in advance for your replies and happy holidays!!

 

Not that difficult to remove, drain and rinse out tanks. Hopefully there's no rust in the tank itself that might require replacement. The lines can be blown out with compressed air and brake/carb cleaner. The carb shouldn't need replacement or another rebuild, just cleaning it out to clear the needle and seat should do. Ask around for a reasonable mechanic...this shouldn't be complicated, just a little time...and certainly less than your $$ quote unless something else is going on.

 

Thanks so much for your reply!
I thought it sounded spendy too. They haven't even looked at the truck yet. I believe tanks are original. Hopefully no rust. Replacement tanks look like they are going for $199 or so each. And $50+ for a sending unit.
I will look for another mechanic and see what I can find.
Kind of tempted to do this myself. Ha ha short of blowing myself up I don't think I could screw this up that bad! You make it sound easy! Lol

 

I had not seen one of these trucks with dual in-cab gas tanks before, but that sounds cool.


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If something happens where you need a tank, let me know. I have a couple clean originals...only thing...they're both standard in cab single tanks and I don't know if they'll match up to your existing fuel lines. If it comes to that you could post a photo.
I'm not familiar with how one could have dual in-cab tanks...unless one is a thermos bottle.

 

You are Awesome!!!
Will keep you updated and send pics.
Thanks a million!

 

Welcome!

And ughh.

Should have been that the mechanic who rebuilt the carb the first time determined the condition of the fuel being delivered to 'his freshly rebuilt carb' and advised you prior to ruining his work. A good filter would trap most of it prior to it clogging things up. In fact a couple of in-line fuel filters would, for now, suffice with at least forestalling the major work. I'm beginning to wonder whether mechanics these days understand working on carburetors and 50 year old vehicles.

My guess is the tank in the cab could be replaced with a new one easier than any repair to it. I just put a new one in my '66. It was about $300 delivered from LMC truck. Google them. I know it would take more than 3 hours to repair and reseal.

The external tank would possible be repaired or replaced depending on the model and design. Most of the external tanks in these old trucks were available 'to fit' way back then, but maybe not so easily replaced now. Big yucky job regardless. I would maybe suggest to delete the external tank and bypass the tank selection valve. New tanks are 19.5 gallons, which should get you at least from gas station to gas station when on the freeway. Unless he plans to take it out into the woods. There are tank coating systems, like the one sold by Eastwood.com, you can use to coat the inside of the tank, but depending on the internal condition of the tanks you may not be satisfied with the results. You have to get them pretty clean and de-rusted first.

I'm not sure where to send you because you are 1500 miles away, but I would recommend avoiding the previous mechanic at the very least. Shops charge in excess of $100 an hour, so $800 is I think pretty spot-on for this type of job - assuming they do it right. The company I work for paid $300 for a carb rebuild on a '78 F350 and when it didn't help the non-run problem they decided to call a wrecker to come take it away. I heard about it and took it off their hands (for free) and fixed the original problem, which was ignition, not carburetion, and drove it home. As I pulled into the driveway at home fuel smell had me opening the hood to see fuel pouring out the top of the carburetor. I pulled the "freshly rebuilt carb" and found residual gaskets, double gaskets, used parts, dirt and grime. Worst rebuild I'd ever seen. Needless to say, after I rebuilt it, it was just fine.

Hope this helps a little bit.

 

You're all correct. One in cab and one external tank. Doh!

I also believe all in line filters were replaced as well. Not sure about this carb guy tho! Definitely need to look into.

 

This definitely helps! Maybe bypass the external tank for now would be a great short term option. No plans for a road trip anytime soon.

The truck is turning over and short firing before spewing up from the carb. (If that makes sense) But dies immediately. Not sure it's an ignition prob. Plus, come to think of it.. The fuel guage wasn't working well before all this happened. Humm.

 

Causing the float to stay open. Hmm, that is something I just have to see. A piece of junk just exactly forces the float to stay open? The float is just that it floats on the gas. When the gas reaches a predetermined level the float rises and the little rubber thingy plugs a hole. If something prevents the seal then it would be big enough to block fuel causing starvation. Have you double checked the float assembly, freedom of movement and if it is at the right height?

Oh, and now I see you might not have those skills yet that is the first thing I would look at. Too bad most of the best and honest mechanics are right here on this site rather than in business.

 

Is this mechanic taking a guess your tanks are dirty?
Did you take the carb to him or the whole truck and did he try to start it after rebuilding it?
Sounds like he is creating a paycheck for himself and taking advantage of the situation.

Check San Diego for hot rod shops also.


Good luck.....

 

I am going to take a different route on this.
"Carb spitting up" tells me something much different than a stuck float or dirt in the carb.
Check back with the mechanic that rebuilt the carb for evidence that it was full of crud.

Instead of carb issues, I see problems such as crossed spark plug wires, incorrect timing, bad points, arcing in the cap - more of an electrical issue.

Have you had the truck tuned up? New plugs, wires, cap, points and the like?
Check the firing order, and check the plug wires for obvious chafing or shorting and get a good, thorough tuneup before spending a lot of money on cleaning out fuel tanks.

A proper tuneup MAY not solve the problem, but it won't be wasted money, that's for sure (unless it was done recently).

Just my opinion.

John - Banjo -

 

Well first things first, lets define the problem a little better.

By "spitting up" do you mean that fuel is running out of the top of the carb?
or
By "spitting up" do you mean that when it engine fires it is backfiring through the carb"

If its the first one then it probably is old varnished gas in the lines being washed into the carb and sticking the float/floats. Had the same problem on my 64 when i got it because it sat in a field for many years.

If its the second one then it is probably something ignition related or general tune up related. timing off or crossed plug wires or old shorted out plug wires for example.

With some more information i think we should be able to narrow this down a little better. I would also encourage you that if you pay attention to detail and don't mind getting dirty there is nothing on this truck that you can't work on yourself with the help of a service manual. Even rebuilding a carb is pretty easy as long as you go slow, clean everything like its a medical device, and take note of how everything has to go back together.

 

Just to expand on a couple things mentioned by 007. I wasn't recommending acid washing and sealing the tank, yes that's a messy and probably not a fruitful job. Also, not to say that floats get stuck, but if something gets in between the needle and seat, gas flow to the carb bowl will continue and the bowl can overflow through the vent. As others mentioned...we're trying to diagnose a problem from afar with little information...so ideas might help but we can only surmise. Regarding purchase of a $300.00 tank from LMC, maybe, but I can get you a clean original and bring it as close to you as Downey, CA over the holidays and cost you a fraction of that. I'm in the "business" (actually hobby) of helping...and glad to. But, make sure a replacement tank is actually what you need. I think we're still a ways from knowing that.

 

If the engine is original to the truck, improperly set valve lash can also cause the symptoms described by the original poster. It needs to be checked and adjusted every so many thousand miles, depending on the engine.
What engine do you have, by the way?
Of course, in the old days, a "proper" tuneup would include setting the valve lash, but that is not always true anymore. If pursued, make sure the mechanic knows what he is doing.
One more thing to check before spending a lot of money.