Dead Truck .... Help me
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Joined: Jun 2001
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Dead Truck .... Help me
Wife has been complaining about my old truck, 1968 SWB Ranger. She wants me to sell it for what I can get. My strong point was that it got better gas mileage and started / ran smoother than her '97 Explorer w/ 4.0 SOVHC.
Until yesterday. Got home no problem, had to go somewhere later and it wouldn't start. I have been reading posts from a variety of places. copied advice about celinoids, ground wires, vapor lock, and starters. Nothing sounded farmiliar.
It's like it doesn't want to fire, spark plugs and wires less than a year old. I know it needs a tune-up / timing but surely it wouldn't just die like that. Oh and no I am not out of gas. Is there a fuel filter on my truck and where is it?
It's a 352 V-8 w/ C-6 auto-tranny. Also what can I do about wind noise?
Until yesterday. Got home no problem, had to go somewhere later and it wouldn't start. I have been reading posts from a variety of places. copied advice about celinoids, ground wires, vapor lock, and starters. Nothing sounded farmiliar.
It's like it doesn't want to fire, spark plugs and wires less than a year old. I know it needs a tune-up / timing but surely it wouldn't just die like that. Oh and no I am not out of gas. Is there a fuel filter on my truck and where is it?
It's a 352 V-8 w/ C-6 auto-tranny. Also what can I do about wind noise?
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,415
Likes: 3
From: Comox Valley, Canada
Dead Truck .... Help me
Could be many, many things. Check for spark at the coil or a sparkplug. If none maybe points are stuck closed or burnt, or dead coil. Also check for voltage at the + of the coil, could be broken wire.
The stock fuel filter is in the inlet to the carb. However many people add inline filters in the fuel line. Remove the air breather cover and look into the carb while actuating the throttle linkage. You should see fuel squirt into the carb. If so then there is fuel in the carb.
Does the truck turn over at all, or does it turn over and not fire?
Need more info on the symptoms to really help you narrow it down.
Sparky
The stock fuel filter is in the inlet to the carb. However many people add inline filters in the fuel line. Remove the air breather cover and look into the carb while actuating the throttle linkage. You should see fuel squirt into the carb. If so then there is fuel in the carb.
Does the truck turn over at all, or does it turn over and not fire?
Need more info on the symptoms to really help you narrow it down.
Sparky
Elder User
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 977
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From: Houston, TX
Dead Truck .... Help me
I have two 360's and a 390 and according to what I've been reading they are near the same as the 352. If that's the case then the fuel filter would be attached to the bottom of the fuel pump. Which is mounted on the drivers side of the engine near the front. It's tucked behind the power steering pump if you have one. It's inside a canister that screws into the bottom of the fuel pump, unscrew it and the filter will either come out with it or you can pull it off by hand. Be careful because the canister is full of gas as well as the filter being full and probably drip alot of gas. Of course, I may be wrong about the 352 and 360's being the same. But hopefully i'm not and that helps. Good luck.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 24,552
Likes: 74
From: Creedmoor, North Carolina
Dead Truck .... Help me
Eric, there are a few things that wives need not get involved with, our old trucks come near the top of the list. You must get across to her that if it came to choosing between her and the truck, you would hope that she had scored some points to sway your decision to stay in the hunt. You don't talk about the size of her butt, and she don't talk about your truck.
There are two things that will stop an FE, gas and fire.
You got to have gas in the carb, and if you have that spark from the plugs. Sparky has laid out a few things for you to look at. The truck WILL run again, keep the faith.
John
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66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.
There are two things that will stop an FE, gas and fire.
You got to have gas in the carb, and if you have that spark from the plugs. Sparky has laid out a few things for you to look at. The truck WILL run again, keep the faith.
John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group
66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 1,899
Likes: 1
From: Cullman Alabama
Dead Truck .... Help me
Eric, I remember the time my 390 was running just fine till it was shut off.
It never started again. The Problem: The Timing chain was very loose and and slipped a tooth on shutdown.
Replaced the chain in a few hours and back to "Like New" again.
Just use a simple timing light to see where #1 is firing. If the chain is still good, its still gonna fire within 8 or 10 Degrees BTDC. If it's firing anywhere else the Chain is gone, and if it's not firing at all.... It's probably an electrical problem in the Ignition circuit.
If all that's good, it's likely to be a fuel problem. Now aint that Simple?
It never started again. The Problem: The Timing chain was very loose and and slipped a tooth on shutdown.
Replaced the chain in a few hours and back to "Like New" again.
Just use a simple timing light to see where #1 is firing. If the chain is still good, its still gonna fire within 8 or 10 Degrees BTDC. If it's firing anywhere else the Chain is gone, and if it's not firing at all.... It's probably an electrical problem in the Ignition circuit.
If all that's good, it's likely to be a fuel problem. Now aint that Simple?
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 2,281
Likes: 18
From: Northern California
Dead Truck .... Help me
Start with the basics, remove the fuel line to the carb and put it into a can and crank the engine to see if your having fuel problems or just open the throttle about 7-8 times and see if your getting a full fuel squirt each time.
Remove 1 plug and ground it to see if your getting fire.
Just as a side note, I had a simular problem with starting mine and replaced the volt reg from another known good truck and it fixed the problem.
If it tries to start when cranking then dies as soon as you stop cranking, it could be wiring where you get spark only during the crank cycle and not during the run cycle. put the ign in run then check for 12 volts to the distributor.
Also check if something happened to the carb, it could have something stuck in the needle/seat causing too rich of a mix.
Remove 1 plug and ground it to see if your getting fire.
Just as a side note, I had a simular problem with starting mine and replaced the volt reg from another known good truck and it fixed the problem.
If it tries to start when cranking then dies as soon as you stop cranking, it could be wiring where you get spark only during the crank cycle and not during the run cycle. put the ign in run then check for 12 volts to the distributor.
Also check if something happened to the carb, it could have something stuck in the needle/seat causing too rich of a mix.
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Joined: Jun 2001
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Dead Truck .... Help me
Thanks guys appreciate the help. John you killed me w/ the comment about wives, spoken like a true tar heel(the blue never wore off mine), I had to get up and walk away least my coworkers thought that I had blown a gasket!
