I drove the 50 F1 226 down to Home Depot yesterday for supplies. Have not driven the truck in a while and it was a bear to start. Got it started finally and it ran great, about a 20 mile drive.

Finished my shopping but could not get it to start in the parking lot. Gave it a few good tries and it finally started. Started to pull out and it sputtered a little and then died. Could not get it to fire at all.

Dad came down to help me, pushed me off in the parking lot, and I couldn’t get it to hit a lick. We sat there for a minute, and I gave it one more try, and she fired off like nothing happened. Drove fine home, no issues.

I left it parked outside. When I went to pull it in the garage last night, same thing, it started then died. Couldn’t get it to fire at all. I took the air cleaner off and couldn’t get any fuel to spray out of the nozzle bars. Dripped some gas in and it would hit but not fire. Backed it down on level ground, added about a gallon of gas, and it started so I pulled it into the garage.

Went out today at lunch, same thing, it would fire but not stay running. Then it wouldn’t hit a lick. Finally got it to start and then it ran fine. I suspect I either have a stuck float intermittently, a faulty fuel reading (gauge says 1/4 tank), or a bad fuel pump. Anybody else run across something similar?

JB

 

It could be a fuel delivery problem, but not enough information to determine if it’s the pump.

Crank it , ignition off, while watching the glass bowl, any bubbles, is the bowl full?

take the fuel line off of the carb, put the end in a glass container, crank and see if you’re getting a fuel stream.

If you’re getting fuel, take the top off the carb and see if the bowl is full, and check the float level.

​​​​​​​My first suspicion would be a gummed up carb from sitting.

 

Shine a flashlight down the filler pipe; is there really a 1/4 tank of gas?

 

I can’t see to the bottom but I don’t hear gas sloshing either. That could be the problem LOL

 

my gas gauge was flaky so I measured like this…

Tie a socket to a piece of rope, hold it next to the tank and measure the height, mark the rope at the full mark. Lower the socket into the tank until it reaches the full mark and pull it back out. Is the socket and rope wet? How far up the rope is it wet?

 

I'm leaning more towards no gas/bad fuel sender, especially if you can't hear sloshing. You should at least be able to hear some fuel in there.

I'd put gas in it then pull the line off the side of the car (as Bob suggested) and see if you get fuel flowing when you crank it. I know not all fuel pumps have the glass bowl, but if you have fuel in there, your getting fuel from the tank.

If you have gas and the pump works, it's probably a carb issue from sitting (also as noted above) and a rebuild is in order to clean out all the gummed up or deteriorated parts.

How long has she sat?

 

FYI…don’t use a lighter, I’ve seen what happens.

 

LOL, however, depending on what part of the world you're from, it is ok to use a torch.

 

LOL I realize I deserve those gotcha’s if it is in fact out of gas. The gauge has always been accurate before. Will check the tank tomorrow as suggested.

I was wondering today, I changed the battery out to a new old style look a like with an agm 6 volt core (I think an optima). The battery stays strong. I wonder if the higher voltage/better health of the battery is making the gauge read higher than it would have in the past?

Anyway, thanks for the guidance. All spring/summer, maybe 10 miles on it. I am sure the carb has dried out several times.

JB

 

I can promise you, JB, no one here is laughing at you. We've all had our share of head scratchers and we all know how frustrating they can be. It's no fun chasing gremlins.

That said, I don't believe the efficiency of a new battery will have any adverse effects, one way or the other, on your fuel gauge.

 

Agree with Wayne. Right after buying a 58 Volvo PV444, I sat on the side of the road for half an hour trying to diagnose a stall and no-start issue until I realized the fuel sender was reading too high. I was completely empty. I put too much trust in a very old fuel sender/gauge. Oddly, I'm draining all the old gas out of my truck this past weekend, and I still pulled a few gallons out after the gauge was pinned well past empty. I don't plan on testing that when I'm actually driving anywhere.

The new 6V battery shouldn't cause any issues with the sender or gauge. If you went 12V battery I would start to suspect something got wonky, but not in this case.

 

I used the socket and string trick. I would say the gauge is about right at a 1/4 tank. So I can rule out fuel level. The flex line to the pump is old, no telling how old and feels cracked, plus it has a filter piped into it. That is the next focus, that and changing out the filter coming out of the tank.

JB

 

Sounds like you're on the right track, JB. While it is frustrating, if you focus on one thing at a time, go backwards through a process of elimination until you find the culprit, it isn't so bad. Good luck!

 

While the fuel level is low, I'd pull the stop valve out of the tank. It has a screen that can get plugged.

 

I've always gone with fuel filters AFTER mechanical fuel pumps.

I never got a new flex line to fit right on the rigid line, btw. It always leaked. I cut the flange off the new line, put rubber fuel line over it, and then put a barb fitting on the new fuel pump.

I would take that filter out of that area and put a new one between the pump and carb.

I'd also remove the rigid line from under the tank, blow it out from there towards the front (DISCONNECTED FROM THE PUMP!!!) to make sure there's no crap in there. You can also check the function of the petcock valve under the fuel tank (if it's there) to see if it's partially clogged or completely non-functional.

Just some suggestions before tearing into the carb.