SOOOOO a buddy of mine's dads truck ('82 f100 5.0) was having some problems staying running, it hadnt had a tune up in A LONG TIME! so i offered to help him out and change plugs and wires and rotor and cap.. Well one of the plugs broke off in the head. Luckily the center ceramic part came out as a whole and just the threaded part was stuck in the head, so then the easy out broke off in the center of the spark plug... :-( so off with the head... after getting the head off and the remaining spark plug piece out and putting everything back together... I got the timing right and the carb adjusted and the truck fired up and ran for 15 minutes, so i shut her off and proceeded to replace the brake booster as it was bad too. then I started her back up and she keeps dying now just as before i did anything to the truck. after stalling out twice on my test drive i had to have my neighbor tow it back to the house... it wont start at all now. So I decided to see if there was any fuel to the carb since it still would start with starting fluid then die. low and behold no gas coming to the carb, i unhooked the line from the little filter that is between carb and fuel inlet line, and no fuel comes out there when i crank the engine, so I am thinking fuel pump, I key on and i dont hear anything. Anyone else have any ideas? I'm not sure where the fuel pump is located and how it even works if it is mechanical would i even hear it come on? He said he had the pump replaced a few years ago but this truck sits A LOT it is a farm truck and I know there is some rust in the tank cause the little carb filter has little flecks of rust in it when i tap it. HELP, where do i start?? I wanna save this truck for him, I have put a TON of time in it and I feel like I am doing the right thing by fixing it for him. All ideas welcome

 

Not 100% sure but i think its mechanical. If it is it is bolted on lower part of the engine near the front of the block. Looks kind of like a egr diaphragm. If your on a farm you should have access to compressed air. Personally id remove the line from pump to carb and set aside. Unhook feed line from tank to pump at the pump. Then drop the tank. Hit the lines with compressed air and carb cleaner. Change the pick up sock. Change the pump. Make sure tank is clean inside. Spray carb cleaner through filter hole. Hook everything back up with a new filter. Fill with fresh gas.

Total time about 3.5 hours.

 

Electric pumps weren't used until EFI in 1985, yours will be mechanical and located down near the oil filter, driver's side. A standard fuel pressure gauge can be used to verify if it's working or not.

Check the oil level... when the rubber diaphragms in mechanical fuel pumps dry rot and leak, they can let gasoline into the crankcase. Gas isn't a real good lubricant.

 

For an '82 302 the pump should be mechanical on the driver's side front of the engine. Follow the line down from the carb to the pump. But, before you change the pump out I'd change out each and every piece of rubber fuel line between the tank and the carb. In my experience with these trucks the hose gets soft and gooey and allows fuel out and air in through the sides of the hose, and the pump can't work if there's an air leak between it and the tank.

You can get to the hose on the top of the tank by loosening the loooooong bolts & nuts that hold the tanks in. You won't have to drop the tank completely as there's enough bolt to give you access to the top. And, do you have two tanks? If so there's gonna be a fuel valve on the frame under the driver that is controlled by a switch on the right side of the heater and A/C panel. Make sure that switch is in the right position for the tank you are using.

If you have flecks of rust in the fuel filter then you might do what I do - run two filters. I put the first one in the line ahead of the pump, like in the hose just ahead of the pump. And, I put one in the line from the pump to the carb. Further, I use the cheap see-through plastic ones so I can tell when they need to be replaced, and the first one will need to be replaced quickly until you've run a lot of gas through it.

 

Thats great news that I can do this without dropping the tank all the way and its great to know its so accessible. Are you talking about the lawn mower style clear fuel filters you can pick up at walmart? What size fuel line should I pick up for the job and about how much? Another question, He hasnt been able to use the rear tank for a long time, is this probably most likely due to poor fuel line to the switch that chooses which tank? Maybe I should just eliminate the rear tank all together and the switch and run one line straight from the front tank to one of those inline clear filters then to the pump then a line out of pump to another in line one then to a new filter at the carb. Seems like simplicity would be a help eliminate a lot of possibilities for problems and I dont think he really cares it the back tank works or not. The pump is cheap for sure so maybe just go ahead and get one heading this way in case the rust has put it down again. Any other suggestions?

 

That's exactly what I did - eliminated the rear tank. No way do I need that much capacity, so I even pulled the tank itself. And, where the valve was is a perfect spot to put in a filter since there's already rubber line there. Just take the hoses off the valve and the valve off the frame, replace the hoses and stick a filter in between.

Yes, the filters are available at Wally World or the auto parts stores. I think it is 5/16" line, but may be wrong on that. However, since you need to replace the hoses cut one off and take it in to the parts store and get several feet in bulk. And, get the filters to match the hose. They should cost ~$3 each.

As for why he can't use the rear tank, there are bunches of reasons possible. Yes, the hose may be the problem. I know Dad quite using the rear tank years ago and when I got the truck the hose was so bad that gas leaked out when you drove it. But, the gas had turned and smelled like turpentine.

Another reason is water. Another is rust. Either will cause all sorts of problems and if the owner figures out that it was related to that tank he quits using it. Then it gets worse and eventually can't be used.

 

I plan on tackling it this weekend although it sounds pretty easy... Is the hose connection on top of the tank hard to get off? Do I need to worry about breaking anything? What kind of connection is it?

 

You need to worry about breaking everything on a 30 yo truck, especially plastic parts.

 

Took mine off day before yesterday. Just a hose with a clamp. And, mine is a metal fitting so it would be hard to break it. Twist it to break the bond and it should pull off. But, some of the hoses I've taken off were awful and left BLACK stuff on my hands that was hard to get off, so a pair of gloves would be helpful.