I mentioned this one back in #10

 

Yes, you did. I'm too lazy to pull the radiator in order to get to the timing chain cover easily.

 

What brought this to mind is I had a granada years ago and it emitted the same symptoms. I had a heck of a time tracing the problem down and that's what it turned out to be. Then on top of it all every bolt I tried to remove from the water pump cover snapped off in the block. It must have been a problem before because the bolts they used weren't even the proper ones fo the motor. It sure put me in some kinda mood.

Good luck with yours and have a great New Year.

 

just a thought here. is it possible the dist cap is carbon tracked? this would cause arcing and multiple cyl firing. also- once she backfired, it could have blown a power valve in one or both carbs. your compression readings are good enough for this to run for quite a while.

 

Distributor cap appeared to be ok. Although I did notice some signs of arcing on it, it wasn't major. I also thought about a blown power valve(s).

I may have jumped the gun on a rebuild. I'm still thinking that the carbs are the culprits.

 

Ilya,

I don't think you need to go for the engine rebuild just yet. The compression is relatively close and it was running decent. When rings go they typically don't go in an afternoon, they just get worse over time. As for the carbon build up in the cylinders, that can happen very quickly when you are running rich or with weak spark. Once you get the thing started and hitting on most of the cylinders it will clean itself out pretty quick.

At this point I think I would take a step or two back from the truck, take a few minutes, and then start back with the basics. Pretend you've just installed this engine and you are trying to fire it for the first time; verify TDC and ignition timing, firing order, (if plugs are fouled clean them and maybe even put them in a different cylinder) etc. Check that you have fuel, and then see what happens.

If it won't start I'd check the spark (check it on every cylinder--you can try Ford14tpu's method and see if the hood latch draws blood...LOL). If you got decent spark and firing order is correct I think I'd disconnect the fuel line and run the thing out of gas, then maybe try running on only one carb at a time and see what you get.

If the front cylinders are the ones loaded up I'd try disconnecting that carb first and see how it runs on only the rear carb.

Keep plugging away at it, you'll get there eventually
Bobby

 

ilya, if there is any sign of arcing, it will be (major) in the fact that more than one cyl is trying to fire at same time, even though they can't. this will cause backfire that will continue to blow power valves. (imho). i have experienced arcing that visually only showed one cyl, when in fact more were affected. and bobby's right. step back and think it through. then start over with basics.

 

Removed the front carb earlier in the week and blocked off the opening with a plate. Cranked over a few times, but not luck. Yesterday, pulled that distributor cab off again and found the lead/primary wire is frayed. Not sure how I missed that before. Another wire has electrical tape wound over it. Maybe this is the issue...?? Perhaps the wire is touching the main body and is shorting out causing the backfire and bad timing..??

I had a friend come over and he took the distributor home with him to rebuild/clean it and change out the frayed wire(s). Will try again in a few weeks when I see him again.

 

Ilya, Yup, that looks like it could be the culprit. It sure looks like its shorting out

Nice find
Bobby

 

But what wire is that?! It appears to go from the Hot side directly to the base of the points, which is Ground? It shouldn't run at all! Or are there two wires there?

 

There appears to be two wires. One is frayed and the other is insulated with electrical tape. I'm thinking that the frayed wire is the primary wire. Not sure why it's grounded.

My buddy took the distributor and my 52 Supplement manual in order to rebuild the distributor.

 

When I first read this thread it sounded to me like your timing chain jumped. By the time I had checked to see if a 215 has a timing chain and hunt-and-pecked a post, Mervy had already posted #10. You reported in post #23 you found the distributor "clocked" wrong, this would be consistent with the timing chain jumping.

The wiring in your distributor is very ugly and should be addressed but it appears the primary wire is adequately insulated by the tape and the frayed ground wire is of no consequence.

Just my opinion but I would for sure be pulling the timing chain cover.

 

Ilya,

I may be off because of the positive ground system, however, the condensor should be connected to the secondary wire from the coil (which is also connected to one side of the points. That ground wire probably should be connected to the other side of the points....it's hard to tell if there is another wire in the photo. (is that taped up wire the one that comes from the negative side of the coil?)

If you have signs of arcing inside the distributer cap, there will be carbon tracks that will cause cross-firing....get a new cap because it is really hard to get rid of those. Also....don't bundle the spark plug wires together.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I don't think you'd have as much compression as you have if your timing chain (or gear) had jumped a tooth.

I have a 215 distributer that you can borrow if you want to use it for troubleshooting.

Dan

 

The frayed wire has to be a grounding strap for the points, otherwise the truck would never have run. The primary wire from the coil (+) post should be replaced, the P/N has been posted by Number Dummy a couple times, should come up in a search. NAPA carries them, they were the same for decades.

 

I just keep taking stabs in the dark at this issue.

Wish I could find the part # for the primary wire. Searched a few posts and gave up.