Hey all

Just finished with a couple maintenance items today, and now my truck won't start. Here are the details.

1989 F350 2wd 460 5-speed manual not a dually

The truck has always had a major groan with the steering. I'm told the pumps on these trucks always have had very significant noise that way. It's been about 18 months since I swapped in a new (re-manufactured) power steering pump into the truck. That was the resolution to the power steering leak I had at the time. The PO had that as a known problem but had not located the leak. Once swapped that solved the leak issue, but the truck was on the ground not on stands when my friend and I swapped the pump out, so we didn't do a full flush. And the truck still groaned a lot afterward, despite a lot of brand new fluid being added to the new pump at the time.

So this Friday I got all the old nasty power steering / ATF out of there by properly purging via the low pressure hose. Hooked it back together, worked the wheel back and forth to get air bubbles out, etc. I wanted to take it for a short test drive. But once I got the truck back on the ground from the stands (front only) it simply would not start. Since I know I have an internal oil leak - likely either the rings or valve stem seals - I figured oil had flooded the chambers and likely hydraulic locked the engine from the different angle of being up high on the front. Maybe I had flooded with fuel while trying to start it. Either way, it seemed I would need to try to purge that from the engine as well.

So, I pulled the spark plugs, which were ancient, rusting badly externally and pretty grody on the threads. A couple were wet from gas but not oil. Disconnected the fuse connector to the fuel pump and then purged the engine of air/fuel with about half a dozen quick 3-4 second turns of the ignition. I saw no splatter out of the spark plug holes although I did smell gasoline. I replaced the Autolite 25 plugs with Motorcraft SP450A and closed it back up, and reconnected the fuse.

Attempting to start it of course gets a dry sounding ignition attempt. There IS fuel in the rail. Next step I think is going to be using Starting Fluid. Thoughts on what else I should do?

 

Did you check for spark?

 

I did not check for spark. The plugs I bought are pre-gapped per the store, although they could have been bumped etc. And there could be electrical issue elsewhere. But the truck ignition DOES seem to function. Battery is strong 12.55 at rest. I'm currently home alone so it's hard to do the spark test anyway.

 

Does the fuel pump(s) run all the time the key is in the run position?

 

I can hear the fuel pump for 2 seconds or so upon turning the key. Unknown if it is running while ignition trying to go, but I do get fuel bubbling up through the vent valve if the pin pushed while the key is in the on position.

 

Brought my mechanic buddy over and boy did he earn his money today. Turns out it was the fuel tank selector. The fuel filter further ahead of that was working fine. The component that consolidates the fuel lines from both tanks was the culprit. Very little gas going from the front (currently only) tank was moving forward from there. Only thing we could do with the parts we could find at stores that were still open is bypass the selector entirely for the moment. With that done, fuel pressure improved dramatically. In fact, it forced us to replace a gasket on another old fuel injector that had been acting up a bit previously.

But, hallelujah it starts, runs, and even recharges the poor battery that had been given a major workout.

 

AND we have a blowup.

After the fix on Monday by my mechanic friend, the truck performed fine on Tuesday - getting me safely downtown and back to a couple job interviews. No issues of any kind.

But, on Wednesday, the truck blew up. First, the power steering went kablooie doing about 35-40 on a farm road. The steering shook back and forth and I knew immediately what happened there. I have a post on this forum about the steering pump cap apparently from the PO that I found buried in the engine compartment. I knew immediately it blew that thing off. I limped to town about a mile and parked it. I saw I was also leaking gas from at least one if not multiple injectors on top of the engine. Not awful, but there. It appeared to be coming from one of the three injectors I had not serviced yet.

I grabbed food while I let it cool down and picked up injector o-rings at the auto parts store that was next door. Found the pump cap buried where I thought it might have gone, and this time I saw the major fluid loss that had blown the cap off. Not sure how THAT happened. The steering had been almost whisper quiet for once after the fluid flush, and WAY tighter than it had ever been for me previously. I had been hopeful that was finally fixed, but no such luck. Maybe the steering box? So I refilled with ATF and expected to baby the truck as I continued back to the warehouse where I am working, figuring I might have to bow out for the day. But that's not even the FUN part. It gets better.

I didn't get 1/2 a mile before another commuter yelled at me at a stoplight that I was leaking badly. I hadn't smelled anything, but I get the truck pulled over immediately I get the truck quickly parked away from traffic and turned off. Sure enough I am leaking like a sieve: gasoline is still POURING out under the truck. Open the hood and it's all over the engine, boiling off from multiple pools and streaming down onto the ground!

It wasn't coming from underneath where my buddy had worked - it all seemed to be spouting out the injectors. I had it towed home.

I now am going to test the fuel pressure and see what's going on. It was clear MANY injectors were spouting fuel - including the ones that my mechanic and I had serviced previously, not just the ones that very likely still needed new o-rings.

Since we bypassed the selector the pressure got WAY better than it had ever been and of course we're knocking things loose left and right now. From my research, it appears the bell-shaped fuel pressure regulator might be the culprit?

As mentioned previously numerous times, I don't know what I'm doing with these things and am simply focused on learning. My buddy isn't available to come back and help today, so I am getting mobile mechanic estimates to come figure this out.

 

WAG re P.S,
I would assume the power steering system is vented, probably at the cap, to allow for expansion of the fluid as it heats. I've never seen a hydraulic system that wasn't vented. Clogged vent?
Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you.

 

Sounds like you friend may have plugged off the return line that also goes through the selector valve.
If so the fuel pressure can go as high as 95psi.

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Buddy said he connected the return line back to the tank, that it was not plugged.