Can Anyone Help??
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Can Anyone Help??
I have a 1978 Ford F150 that I have been restoring for the past three years. I had it completed with a 351C and wanted more power out of it. I just finished rebuilding a 460 and now I can't get it to run. The timing is right on, I just replaced the fuel pump, I have a 1000 cold cranking amp battery, I have autolite platinum plugs, ford motor sport 9mm wires, and I can't figure out what I need to check. I have gas and spark and I think I have checked everything. Any suggestions would help...
Thanks.
Nate
Thanks.
Nate
Tuned
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 345
Likes: 4
From: Southern IL
I'm not nearly as smart as most of these guys but I like my 460 4x4 F250, named Old Grey. I need a little more info if you please. Does it make any sounds while turning over? For example, pop, pop, pop, or gurgling air type noises, any more you can tell us will help. The way I see it is like this. First you have to have power in to get power out. You have a good batt, fuel and fire. It should be doing something, even if it's wrong.
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Trying to Start...
It definitely makes all kinds of noises when i turn it over. First it cranks over and it pops pretty loudly like a cylinder is firing or something. Sometimes it pops a few times in a row but never like all of the cylinders are firing correctly. I am really not sure where my problem is - battery, fuel, spark, etc. Any info would be much appreciated. I am dying to see this 460 run! Thanx!
Cargo Master
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,220
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From: CA
Sounds Like The Dist Is Not In Right. All It Takes Is Being Off A Bit To Cause This. Check #1 Firing Cyclinder Is At Top Of Bore At Firing And Adjust Plug Wires On Dist In The Proper Order. Should Start Fine.
Tuned
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 345
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From: Southern IL
Just to break it down for you. It should be a 15/16ths inch socket, put one on the big bolt that goes into the harmonic balancer with a short extension and a breaker bar. Make sure and find #1 on top of the dist. cap and make a mark straight down the outside of the cap onto the dist. lower half. Then take the cap off, turn the breaker bar clockwise until the rotor is aligned with the mark you made on the dist. Remove the breaker bar/socket and look at your timeing mark on the balancer. It should be right on or very close to the zero mark, between ATDC and BTDC. If it's not, your dist. in not in correctly and the best way to solve this would be just to pull it and put it back in on #1 TDC or "0". If the dist. is in correctly, then do the wires, plugs, etc. Sounds like she's out of time to me though...
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Carlsbad TX
Remember when you stab a distributor the rotor will move slightly when the gears mesh. It should point at #1 after it seats and is meshed. One cog off could mean not starting and doing it again.
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Tuned
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 345
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From: Southern IL
Just like I said before. After you think you have the Dist. in right, turn your breaker bar around another turn and when the lines you made on the Dist. base and rotor come together, stop. Look at the balancer, it should be on "0". Another way is to turn the wrench around again, then lign up the mark on the balancer "0" with the pointer, then see if your rotor is in line with the mark on the dist. base, either way it will show you if it's in correctly or not.
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Firing order 180° bass-ackwards? Try swapping the plug wires to their opposite mates? Easy to do. I think every engine builder must go thru this at least once. Thing I do to avoid this momentary head-scratcher is to bring the timing mark on the balancer to 180-100° before the timing tab and screw in the tube from a compression gauge into the plug hole of #1. You'll hear the air being pushed by the Schrader valve in the tube end when turning the crank with a socket to TDC on the compression stroke. Much more so than when on the overlap period 
. I think there's a *whistle* you can get from Summit etc. that does the same thing (whhhEEET! There it is!). Then you can prime the oil pump, drop the distributor with the rotor facing where #1 is on the cap, or a teeny bit after (within a generous range of distributor movement without whacking the vacuum biscuit or TFI module while setting timing), and you're good to go! Hope this helps.
. I think there's a *whistle* you can get from Summit etc. that does the same thing (whhhEEET! There it is!). Then you can prime the oil pump, drop the distributor with the rotor facing where #1 is on the cap, or a teeny bit after (within a generous range of distributor movement without whacking the vacuum biscuit or TFI module while setting timing), and you're good to go! Hope this helps.
Hotshot
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,591
Likes: 14
From: Pflugerville, tx
Originally Posted by Nate1978
I have a 1978 Ford F150 that I have been restoring for the past three years. I had it completed with a 351C and wanted more power out of it. I just finished rebuilding a 460 and now I can't get it to run. The timing is right on, I just replaced the fuel pump, I have a 1000 cold cranking amp battery, I have autolite platinum plugs, ford motor sport 9mm wires, and I can't figure out what I need to check. I have gas and spark and I think I have checked everything. Any suggestions would help...
Thanks.
Nate
Thanks.
Nate
finally my mustang budy comes over, looks at it and says 'never let a GM guy set the timing'. seems I had the mark lined up correctly for a GM, and late for the ford, cause the dizzys go in opposite directions!.. So, we pulled it ONE more time, and set it back two teeth, boom, fired right up..
I marked it when I took it out, but lined it up wrong when I put it back (repeatedly!!)
Sam
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Joined: Jan 2004
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finally my mustang budy comes over, looks at it and says 'never let a GM guy set the timing'. seems I had the mark lined up correctly for a GM, and late for the ford, cause the dizzys go in opposite directions!.. So, we pulled it ONE more time, and set it back two teeth, boom, fired right up..
Also, don't do like a friend of mine did and spend a frustrating week trying to get his new ride to start, only to finally figure out that he had installed the plug wires on the cap in reverse order. Doh!
Brad
Hotshot
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,591
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From: Pflugerville, tx
Originally Posted by Brad Johnson
Which is why you install the distributor with the cap OFF and the #1 terminal marked on the dist body.
Brad
Brad
Sam
Tuned
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 345
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From: Southern IL
All sounds good for experience. You can move the wires around the cap, one at a time, one notch at a time, until she runs but, that's not doing yourself any favors, especially for the guy you might sell it to someday. If you really want to learn something, try and get it right, you will figure out what you did wrong and most likely won't do that again.