Hey guys,

I have a 1968 F250 camper special, auto, 2wd, with the 5.9L. Had it running before, changed the plugs, and now I can't dial in on the idle screws. I've tried everything I could find online; hoping I could find someone who could give me some input. It's a Carter two barrel carb. Like I said, ran like a champ until the new plugs went in. They're all correctly gapped, and I'm losing my mind playing the F-off game with it. Thanks!

 

So changing plugs means you disconnected the plug wire from the plug. How is the condition of the plug wires? Old/ cracked boot? Could need to replace them. Could be a lot of other variables here too. Still running points? If so they may need to be serviced as well. How about the cap and rotor? See where I'm heading here? Start with the plug wire checking them out with a good visual inspection. If your wires are bad it would be more evident in the dark. You would see sparks jumping off of them to ground. If they look good no cracks and are still nice and pliable then pull the dizzy cap and clean and re-gap the points. Point gap about the thickness of a match book cover. 0.017- 0.019" gap. I say a match book cover because it will work in a pinch if you on the side of the road without a good tool kit. Hope this has been helpful. Let us know how it works out.

 

Welcome to the forums.

Okay, what exactly is the issue? Won't idle? stalls in gear? Erratic idle?

The plugs should not have made really any change in how the carb is set. For a base line, turn the two screws in the front all the way IN until you feel them stop(don't crank them, just softly). Now, turn each out 1 1/2 turns and start truck. Get the truck warmed up and idling. Adjust idle down to 700-800 rpm. Now slowly turn ONE mixture screw inward slowly til you hear the motor start to slow down(a vacuum gauge would be the perfect way to see this change but if you have a good ear you can hear the motor sound change). Turn back out about 1/4 turn. Do the same for the other mixture screw. When complete, both should be about the same number of turns out.

That is the basics.

 

Why is it you think changing plugs messed up the carb?

My guess is that you put at least one plug wire on the wrong plug which would mean you actually did that with two of them.

I actually did this one time and my mom's car sounded like Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang.

 

2X on the crossed plug wires. Below is the firing order for a "360". (not 5.9L. couldn't resist ribbin' you a bit)
Carter 2 bbl carb? You sure about that? Totally different mount pattern than the Autolite 2V carb it would have had.

 

Does anyone have a pic of where/when the rotor is pointing to #1 when it is at TDC so this person can at least have most of the info we take for granted.

S/HE may not know which pug wire is #1 coming off the dizzy.

If I had one I'd post it.

 

This is in my post above.

 

Anybody can make #1 become any post on the cap. All it takes is putting the distributor in differently on the cam gear.


Just sayin, don't count on what it's supposed to be, being what it is....

 

Sure but then I would assume the original post would have said something like "I changed plugs and pulled out the distributor, spun it and put it back in Russian roulette style" which would mean he probably knew what he was doing which would also mean that he knows what plug is #1 and he probably wouldn't have started trying to adjust his carb.

 

You could have gotten some bad spark plugs like my father in law happen to get an installed. So he called me for help once again but don't mind helping him out. This may be 15 yrs ago so, I asked Carl what all have you changed when the truck took a shzt!
He said just put in new Autolite plugs #45.

Okay you still have the old ones, yea Ok get them. I put back in the old plugs an test drove it okay it was bad new plug. The plugs had a one yr warranty so took the back got another set the he installed later that were good this time.

So it could be bad plugs, or mixed up plug wires, and now the carb is goofed up, always best to back track when you have a problem. It could also be a bad vacuum advance that most guys over look sucking air making it run lean and not smooth idling.
Points, cap, rotor, condensor wire rubbing inside the dizzy housing, Or loose points condensor & lead in wire bad....... Things to check & to be tested
Orich

 

Is his entirely true??

Seriously, unless you change the relation of the cam to the crank wouldn't you be limited to how many degrees you could move the dizzy from the starting #1 piston position?

 

Nope. Not at all. Cam and crank determine the firing order, distributor placement determines where it starts on the cap.

 

This young 1st. Prince is get~in too know this stuff pretty good at a young age, just like many of us old farts did in our teens.

This was when we could buy a Model A Ford in the money range of $20-$50 bucks.

Most had a bad timing gears that went for $20-30 bucks.

And todays young teens our buying Bumps and learning on them.
A few that our pretty darn sharp repairing A-Z
Plus doing top notch body work at that.
Orich

 

So, Now I can drop my dizzy in and place the rotor at the 12 o'clock position ( facing the firewall, not sitting in the drivers seat ) and that will be my new #1 and I run the plug wires in the correct firing order?

 

Yup. Most caps are marked with a number 1 at one of the posts, it really doesn't matter though which one is number one. Pull the distributor, give the rotor a spin and drop it back in. The engine may have to be rotated slightly to get the oil pump hex drive lined back up, but there is no timed position like with the cam and crank gears. As long as the #1 wire is on the post that the rotor points at when the #1 cylinder is at TDC compression, and the firing order is correct, it'll work.