hey guys, i am working on a 64 f100 with the 223 straight six and i need a few parts. i cannot seem to get it to fire at the plugs, so what should i start off with to try to solve the problem? i am currently looking for the distributor, condenser and distributor cap, as well as plugs and wires. what else should i check/replace? also where is a good place where i can find these partS? i have not had any luck trying to hunt them down. thanks

 

I like the pertronix conversion. all the conveniance of an electronic ignition with the stock looks.

 

well id first start lookin at other things use a meter and check for jucie at the plus side of the coil if ya got fire there then move on to the neg side of the coil if fire there go on over to the dist and look at the points and condenser with these trucks bein old and neglected for so many years mice like to get under the dash and raise heck with the wiring so if ya dont have fire at the coil look under the dash at the wiringand switch you can run a live wire from the battery to the coil to see if itll run but im shure everyone knows that

 

i have checked the points, and there is fire there, and everything appears to be in good order there. should i check the condenser as well? how do i do that? sorry, im not used to working on older trucks

 

You can get all the tune up parts thru NAPA or any good auto parts store. If you have a good blue spark at the points, then the condenser is working. It has to be from the cap outward. Have you checked the coil for a good spark? Place the coil wire near a ground source and have someone crank it over and see if you're getting a healthy spark. Make sure you're insulated , so you don't get zapped! Have you pulled the plugs to see if they're ok? Pull one out and attach the plug wire on it and ground the body of the plug. See if you get a spark. If not back track . Do you have good fuel at the carb? Try dumping about a once of fuel down the carb, have a fire extg. nearby and crank it over and see if it fires. Remember, you need the 3 basics, fuel, air, and spark. If this trucks been sitting for a long while, it wouldn't hurt to invest in the tune up parts. You probably don't need a dist as you say you have fire at the points.

Barry

 

your right barry, this truck has sat for about six years, but ran when parked. i checked the fuel pump and it works when engine is cranked, the carb appears to be getting fuel adequately. i had already pulled 2 plugs to check for spark, and there was none at either of them. i cleaned the plugs with a pocket knife, but still nothing. the plugs looked rather old, so i plan to replace them and the wires. on a good note, the plugs were wet with fuel .


but i have tried what you said, i put a little straight fuel in the carb, and it didnt fire, but that was before i checked the plugs for spark though so that is hopefully the prob!

 

If the plugs are wet, then they could be fouled. I'd do a complete tune up and then try it again. At the very least a new set of plugs. Take all the plugs out and crank it over to blow out the crap and unburned fuel. Make sure the rotor is clean, points are clean and set. Also check the cap for arcs, carbon trails and the tips inside are clean.

Barry

 

pop the coil wire off the distributor and see if you have spark there. If no spark you may have a bad coil no voltage to the coil or the points do not close or open. the points opening and closing causes the spark.

 

If you pull a plug wire off of a spark plug and crank the engine with the tip of the wire near a ground you should get a good spark every time that cylinder fires. If not then replace points, condenser, rotor and cap as part of the tuneup. Get new spark plugs. Sounds like the coil is working. Does the rotor move when you crank the engine with the cap off? If not then the distributor needs to be pulled.

Be sure you have fresh gas in the tank. Did you drain all the old gas if there was any?

Also change the oil and coolant since the truck sat for so many years. It won't fix the spark problem but should be done. Good luck.

 

If the distributor doesn't trurn as you crank it over, it could be simple or complex. The pin on the dist gear could have sheared off from a carb backfire or the gear could be broken or the dist shaft broke or a bad cam gear or even the oil pump is bad.
If it turns, then you're good to go. Check the things I listed in my last post. Check the basics, that's usually the things that are bad. Don't dive into it looking for complex problems. Think simple. Make sure the points and condenser are good and the point gap is correct. Make sure the rotor is in correctly and clean. Then check the cap over for defects. If ok, then test the coil wire for spark when you crank it over. If there's spark when you do the cranking, move on to the plugs and wires. Put a new plug onto the old wires. Make sure it's on a good clean ground source. If it sparks there, you're good to go. Remember, all sparksmust be blue in color , not yellow. That's a weak spark and it won;t start good on that. Have you done a compression test yet? If not do so. It won't start on zero or low compression. If you have a real low or zero compression reading on a cyl, that means stuck rings or a bad or stuck valve. you can do a wet-dry comp test to see which is at fault. check it dry and write it down. Then, put a teaspoon or so of oil in that cyl and test again. If it comes up on the reading, then the rings are bad, if not, it's valves. This is more on the complex end of the scale, so do this as a last resort. If it was me, I'd do a dry compression check and if they were all decent and within 10-15 % of each other, I'd tune it up and try again.
You can also turn the key on and before cranking, test the wire at the coil from the key for volts. You said earlier the point were sparking, so I doubt there's a problem there. Keep it in mind....."Think simple", that's my motto. It will keep you from going crazy and save a few bucks!

let us know how you make out.

Barry

 

hey i did some tune ups yesterday afternoon. i put in new plugs and wires, dist cap, coil. i tried to see if that worked, and it didnt, so i put in points and ran out of sunlight to put in the condenser. the truck isnt at my house, so i couldnt work on it today, but plan to tomorrow afternoon. umm you said that the spark should be blue? umm yeah.. my sparks were yellow . so that right there may be the reason my plugs are not firing? is this because the coil and dist arnt getting enough juice? the battery in it is of course dead, so i am jumping it from my running truck, with jumper cables attached to the battery of my truck and the battery terminals of the cables in the ford. it seems to turn the engine over well enough, so i didnt realize the weak spark issue.

also, i do believe that i have a bad water pump. the first day i went to work on it, i checked all fluid levels, as well as coolant level. the coolant was full, which suprised me. after cranking on it for a while and trying this and that, i heard coolant dripping. i found out the source was the water pump. the coolant was leaking out of 2 holes in it, one in the top, and one in the bottom. it was not leaking around the seal. 2 days later i went back to put these parts on(yesterday) and realized the coolant had completely leaked out, without anything being done to it. is there a purpose for these 2 holes in the water pump? is there supposed to be something attached there? i.e. screw or bracket? i was told by a friend to watch it carefully, and it may clear up after it runs, but once i told him that it all leaked out he didnt look as certain it would clear. what should i do? i dont want to buy another pump if it has the same 2 holes that leak.

 

Finish the tune up and get a cheap 12V battery that good and put it in the truck. If yours is dead, by jumping it from another, the battery may be sucking up all the available power. As I said in the other post. The waterpump is shot. replace. They don't seal themselve after the seal goes. You want the truck to crank over at a reasonable speed. make sure you have good, clean cables and grounds, so the flow of electricity is not hindered.

Barry

 

okay, i will do that barry. i just wanted to buy the battery close to last, since im not sure if this motor will run atall. ive never heard it hit a lick. but as i said, when i jumped the truck, i had only the ground attached to the battery itself, the positive terminal had nothing on it, i removed the cable from the truck and attached the jumper cable directly to it, because as you said, the battery was so dead it soaked up all of the charge. but could this also be soaking up a partial charge as well?

 

It may be taking some juice in, but I doubt it's holding it. You need the positive cable on the battery, so you get the proper amperage. Get a replacement end for the cable and put it on if the end is bad. It will crank better this way. Then just hook the jumpers to the battery. Make sure you clean up the cable ends and the battery posts.

Barry

 

hey, i have a problem. while installing my points and condenser, i took a step backwards. it was getting dark, and i only had time to put in my points one night. the next day, i went to change the condenser, and i saw that there was an extra wire that i had not seen the night before. i am not sure where these wires are supposed to go. i know the wire from the condenser goes on the side of the points. there is the negative wire from the coil coming into the distributor, and i do not know where it should be attached. also, the wire i didnt notice when i changed points, is a small wire that comes from under the vacuum advance thing. it appears to have no insulation on it, either that or its thin and clear. id really appreciate it if someone could help me out on this. just tell me where they should go!