I have never owned a vehicle with a carburator and I've been told by several people that my truck sounds like it's running to lean due to irradtic idling, running hot, and stalling when getting to running temperature.

How do I adjust the carb? Is it by using the idle speed screw that does this?

 

The idle speed screw wont help, there are two mixture screws hidden on the lower front of the throttle plate on Fords 4 barrel 4180 they use a small allen wrench to turn them, but i cant remember what size (inwards to lean out to rich). I dont know what carb your F-150 has but look around and you should find them.

Mixture Screws on 4180:




But im thinking you need a rebuild kit, and rebuild the whole thing. It sounds like its leaking more so then needing adjustments.

 

you didnt really give to many specifics on your truck but your profile suggests it sat unattended for quite a while with fuel in it. the carb may have gotten gummed up from sitting with fuel in it for multiple years. a rebuild "would" fix this. but running some carb cleaner through it could also fix ya up. and thats a far easier and cheaper solution.

if the choke is stuck it will cause the truck to die shortly after starting up. it basicly runs out of oxegen to burn. check inside the breather to see if the butterfly (metal flap on top of the carb) is open or shut after it warms up a little. warmed up, it should be open. cold, it should be closed.

if, while its running, you are getting blackish smoke from the exhaust its running to rich. a stuck float could be the cause of this.

also a vaccum leak could cause some of the stalling. while its running listen real close for a sucking sound. last year i had my brake booster go bad and it was robbing my engine of all its vaccum. as soon as the truck idled down from warm up it would die. this is because most of the vaccum in the system is fed from below the carb. as the cylinders pull air into themselves its sucks air through the carb, mostly through the throttlebody. but a vaccum leak will allow extra air to come in before the carb. this extra air has no gasoline vapor and there for starves the engine.

theres a few things to think about.

 

It sounds like you are taking on a lot at once. You should focus on one thing at a time, to limit the confusion. I speak from experience. I would start with getting the timing right, then adjust the valves, then re adjust the timing, then finally work on the mixture, followed up with a confirmation of the timing. I like to check on the timing between the steps to make sure it is still within range.

 

i agree, check the timing. if its misfiring it could cause those symptoms. my truck has no timing marks so i do mine by ear... not a recommended method by any means...

i'm not sure what you ment by "irradtic idling" though. if its just rough as all hell timing is likely the issue or its not firing on all cylinders. if its wavering up and down in rpms it may be a vaccum leak. if its idling really high it may be running to lean. its chugging really slow and reaks of gas its probably to rich.