introduction and problem
 

Hello.. I have been visiting this site regularly for about a year and working my way around to try not to ask questions that have already been asked. This forum has been a real help to me and I appreciate folks that have contributed their knowledge to folks like me.

I have an 1983 f150 XLT Lariat 4x4 with a 351w(1986) a few mods; edelbrock 1406, new exhaust, edelbrock shocks, fair condition overall.

A few known problems such as; brake booster leaks, dual gas tank gauge doesn't work, a/c problems.. But it is a work in progress and I use this forum for help.

"Biggest problem" happened rather recently. Truck completely loses power and I have to steer off the road immediately. Tracked it down to no fuel. Changed the fuel pump (I am not a puriest so I used an AC-Delco Fuel pump). This is my second fuel pump I changed it when I put the 86 351w in (second hand engine). Never had a problem until suddenly shuts off (I used just an advanced auto fuel pump when I installed engine). Noticed no fuel in the see through glass fuel filter going to the edelbrock. Replaced with AC-Delco fuel pump this time. Same problem occurred yesterday. So, replaced the filter in the see through filter. noticed that when the engine is off filter does not retain fuel. not sure if that is right or not. thought that fuel filter "always" had fuel in it. Read a little about possible the cam is worn or some such thing that might cause the fuel pump to not work properly. Also, not sure about the carb. maybe has a pump on it ?? Anyway, I am not a mechanic by a long shot but I try to keep this ole truck running for around the house and also because I like old trucks. Any help on this weird problem is appreciated. Truck is running now but afraid that it will suddenly lose fuel "pressure" ? And cut-off .. kinda of a scary problem to me..

Is it mechanical or electric? Is the pick up clogged?

dual gas tank gauge doesn't work....hmmm

Fuel coming from the tank with plenty of gas in it? Pumps don't normally fail when brand-new out of the box. I'd do some detective work on the fuel system backwards from the pump feed-line to the tank(s)

Welcome to the forum, I did pretty much as you int hat I was reading this place for
something around a year before I finally joined so I could say stuff to people. Where are
you at? It'd be cool if you filled in your location in your profile.

My fuel filter sometimes looks empty and other times not, but I haven't figured out (or
looked for) a pattern but it's not really causing a problem so I don't worry too much about
it.

Are you referring to mechanical or electrical fuel pumps? I had a problem similar to this
once when there was a restriction at the tank pickup tube in the rear tank. Basically, the
original filter on the end of the tube had rotted and fallen apart and there was a home-
made filter in its place that was too restrictive; when getting gas from that tank, the
engine operated fine *until it hit around 3,000 RPMs* at which time it would sputter &
gasp. Flipping to the other tank was an immediate fix, as was lowering the engine's
RPMs. 1981 400 with manual pump.

Can you be more specific about your gauge not working? For neither tank? Does it give
any hints *at all* of ever moving?

Continued
 

Thanks for the replies. Didn't describe the dual gauge problem correctly. The front tank gauge works the back tank is the one that the gauge on the cluster doesn't work (lot of rust in the tank). Mainly use the front tank only. After thinking about it and reading your responses I am leaning toward rust or something in the tank that is blocking the pickup tube. Not familiar with the pickup assembly or whether or not I can get to it without dropping the tank ? Thanks for your help

Tthe rear tank pickup looks something like this:
https://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:...VxdhZWgEGf1S0=

If you want to avoid dropping the tank, your only options is to remove the bed.

If/when you remove the sender, remove the triangular cover; IMHO there's a 90% chance
the insides of that compartment are fried, a 10% chance the float has sprung a leak and
filled with gasoline.

Before you do anything, remove the sending unit's wire and ground it, the gauge should
react when doing that which indicates the problem is in the sending unit and not the wiring.