After I picked up my truck from the mechanic, it ran great...until I got about 3 blocks from my house. And then it died, going up a hill. I had to have it towed home (although they couldn't get it off the truck for a variety of reasons, so it went to the tow yard until tomorrow).

I added 10 + gallons to the tanks. The front tank, for whatever reason, acted like it was full and wouldn't take any (it wasn't full).

That didn't make a difference.

What could cause the stall? Bad fuel pump? fuel sending unit? carb being idled down too low? Would an idle that is too low make a difference when going up hill?

 

Lots of things can be looked at here.

First of all, what did the mechanic do?

How did the truck act right before it stalled? Did the motor sound funny then start getting progressively worse before it stalled? Did it lose power (pulling and speed) then cut off?

What motor and transmission do you have? (I'm assuming automatic).

What carburetor?

Cutting off going up a hill would make me think the float was improperly adjusted and flooded the motor when you hit the right grade. But, you say it doesn't start up afterwards. Plus, an improperly set float would cause the truck to run funny.

At this point, I'm thinking something electrical.

Check all of your battery and solenoid connections, your starter and alternator connections, your fuses, your firing order on your distributor, make sure your distributor is tight and clamped down right so that it isn't loose, check the wire going from the coil to the distributor cap, that the wiring harness is plugged in right at all terminals under the hood.

I'm thinking the distributor was loose and that the timing went whacky when you went up the hill and that it now won't start because the timing is off.

It could be a bad ignition module, I also believe.

There's just so much.

EDIT:

Look at Ctubutis post. If it chugged and sputtered, it's probably a fuel/timing issue. If it just cut off like a key hit it, it's probably electrical.

 

When it died, did it chug & sputter like it was running out of gas, or did it instantly stop as if the key switch was turned off?

 

I'm going to try to answer the other post tomorrow (I have limited time tonight).

It kind of slowed down, and shuttered a bit.

It ran fine.

I believe it is a 4160 Carb. The Mechanic cleaned the carb, and leaned it out (I can't say muc more right now, I'm behind in homework and exhausted so I might not make much sense).

 

They must not have been trying very hard. XD

Back in the day when I was hauling wrecked cars on an old steel-bed rollback, some of 'em so mangled that the wheels wouldn't turn even with the judicious application of wrecking bars and sledge hammers.... We rigged the cruise control so it'd stay engaged when the transmission was in N. I'd use the cruise control to run it up to around 1500 rpm (so the hydraulics would move really fast), kick the bed back as steep as I could get it, and shake the junk cars off by whacking the hydraulics back and forth.... With the truck in N with the parking brake released, it would make the truck kinda roll out from under the junk car as it was shaken off....... >_>

Then the truck got repoed, 'cos the owner didn't pay the bills. Ironic, a repo truck getting repoed....

 

I'm finally able to sit down and respond. Been busy the last few days.

he adjusted the idle, and redid the front bowl. Cleaned it out a bit too.

it ran strong, although at idle it was really low (compared to how it was before). I don't have a tach on it, so I don't know the actual idle #'s. As for when it died (the first time) it would idle rough, like it was either starved of gas, or flooded.

It would become rough, and then die. I was on a flat surface at the time, It started up right away, and ran fine until....

I was going up a hillier way home than the other way, but it wasn't on a major roadway. So I figured it would be less of a hassle.

the truck died as i was going up a corner, but showed signs of struggling once i got on the hill. It's a fairly steep hill too. It would stutter and almost act like it was losing power.

It wouldn't re-start, although it came close when I used starter fluid. I haven't tested it since (I did re-charge the battery), because as I said, I've been busy the last two days.

It has shown some hill related running issues, but that was mostly (if not always) in the back tank. I don't know if that's a fuel sending unit issue (the previous owner told me the back tank struggles on a hill if it's less than 2/3 full).

AT, 460
Not sure. I'm not looking at it right now, but I kow it's a holley, with 750 (?) CFM.

I think it's fuel related. The mechanic said he had to adjust the idle so low, otherwise it was putting out very gassy smelling fuel. I'm inquiring about a carb (thanks to a suggestion from Ctubutis), and asking about one at a local junk yard today. Depending on cost, I'll go with whatever one is best.

I have 9 days to worry about this, and then my trip permit is up. But I can just 'sell' it to my dad or something and he can get a new one.

 

I would be inclined to take it back to the mechanic for warranty repairs.

 

Ok, here is the latest:

The truck with a charged battery, parked on a hill NOSE down, started.

This is all I did to it. I tweaked the idle screw clockwise (at least, I might have, I did it by hand) and played around with the throttle link (as if I was pumping the gas, but by hand). I also checked the flaps (forgive me for the incorrect term).

The mechanism that controls those does stick, so they were shut when trying to start.

I also checked the front tank, couldn't see any gas in it. however, I didn't have a flashlight so I couldn't see it. I also took out, and put back in, the SAME 10 amp fuse in the "Aux fuel tank" fuse portion of the fuse box.

Turned it over and it started and ran for a while. Once the choke kicked in, it did however try to die a few times, but I tapped the gas and it continued to run.

Would the Aux tank fuse have made a difference? What the heck does it do?

Although maybe it was the idle screw (as someone thought/suggested).