Going In Blind

Hootar · June 18, 2019

Alright, so I finally found the identical truck(I think) that my uncle had growing up. Lots of good memories.

The guy wants 400 and it comes with the plow. He said it ran when he parked it 2 years ago. It has a 350 and it's a 2500 4 by 4

I had about 20 minutes to look it over, the frame is beautiful (garaged) none of the power window stuff works aaaand

At first it would crank and not start, a shot of ether got it to run rough then die(thinking bad gas) but then when we went to start it again all that happens when you turn the key is that rapid fire clicking sound you'd get from a bad connection, I couldn't get at the starter but I figure if it turned over five minutes before how could it be that.

Headlights bright and don't dim when cranking, same with interior gauges and all that. The battery indicator reads 9v despite it being a brand new battery. the alternator belt spins slowly for a second when it cranks.

Has anyone had this issue? I really think shell run, the gas tank was near empty with 2 year old gas, when I put new fuel in it is when the clicking began.

Should I pass? I'm willing to spend a couple of thousands to get her going.

Thanks in advance.

riverbanks · June 18, 2019

If you want it,buy it,the plow is worth the price alone,so for,no crank,drop the starter,put jumpers on it from battery and see if it spins fast,if so,clean all connections,other is,do you hear fuel pump running when key is first turned to run?

95k150050 · June 18, 2019

Just cause you hear the pump dose not mean it's actually working. I had a Jeep come into my shop sat for 3 years. Heard the pump wine, however when we dropped the tank the pump was so glogged up it was unbelievable

Hootar · June 19, 2019

Inside the tank? The fuel pump has obviously been replaced because it's outside the tank. Bad gas is a serious likelihood though so it should be pretty easy to drain. Or I can take off the line to the engine and see if it sprays fuel everywhere?

Thanks for the replies guys

riverbanks · June 19, 2019

Outside?,so it's pulling thru the old inside pump?can you take a line off output of pump and try,this way you can use a bucket to capture fuel,and pressure test there also,I can see a volume problem

Donstar · June 19, 2019

On 2019-06-17 at 6:49 PM, Hootar said:

Should I pass? I'm willing to spend a couple of thousands to get her going.

If you have the time, space and money this could be a fun project. For $400 I'd expect the worst and hope to receive a break once in a while! If you are considering this to be a way to get a solid daily driver on a limited budget, I'd pass. These were great trucks in their day and very nice to drive. However, even when new, they needed to spend a lot of time connected to a gas pump!

aseibel · June 19, 2019

For $400 it's worth the shot. That fisher plow looks newer than the truck. Take a wire bush and rattle can to the plow and you can sell it for $500 if you don't want it. Then the truck is free.

Sierra Dan · June 19, 2019

38 minutes ago, aseibel said:

For $400 it's worth the shot. That fisher plow looks newer than the truck. Take a wire bush and rattle can to the plow and you can sell it for $500 if you don't want it. Then the truck is free.

+2 on what Andy said. If the truck ends up not worthy of the road you can always unload the plow and make your money back.

95k150050 · June 20, 2019

I'm leaning towards the fuel pump probably both the factory in tank and the aftermarket in line pumps. Hey can ya post a pic of the in line pump? I'm curious in case my pump goes bad

Hootar · June 20, 2019

Thanks for all the replies.

She ran great once I wiggled the ignition coil wire. Nice and smooth bit of vapor from the exhaust that disappeared after a few minutes.

Plow operated perfectly and get this: my neighbor walked over and offered me 700 for the plow!

We'll see when I replace the obvious and cheap stuff, and she hasn't been road tested yet but all the 4x4 options work too!

Seems like the fuels going really fast. The pump has been replaced with one outside the tank though(so I'm told). It may just need a fill up with fresh fuel and a cleaned out carb.

Pretty excited to bring her back from the grave!

Hootar · June 21, 2019

Although come to think of it the running out of fuel symptoms could also be distributor issues right?

riverbanks · June 21, 2019

You will find out,put stuff back in motion,stuff happens,baby it for a while

Hootar · June 22, 2019

Alright, so she runs, everything seems kosher except a five gallon tank of gas lasts about 15 minutes idling. No visible fuel leaks. I moved it to a pristine piece of the driveway and let it run out again...

I'm a pretty experienced marine diesel mechanic and unless it's a fuel mix thing(not familiar with carbs) the only thing I can think is a problem with the fuel return system.

What gives? Also there's two vacuum tube looking things that run from the bottom of the air intake housing where the filter sits over the carb. One is cut and plugged with a twig and the other goes into the block? What the heck are those?

alpinecrick · June 22, 2019

On 6/19/2019 at 6:50 AM, Hootar said:

Inside the tank? The fuel pump has obviously been replaced because it's outside the tank.

Good grief, that's about as hokey as it gets. Lose the inline fuel pump, drop the tank and install a Delphi pump. I'm surprised the truck even runs that way. Proper fuel pressure and volume are important the the injectors.

Most fuel pumps on these trucks don't die from use, they die from not changing the fuel filter every 15k or LESS.

Hootar · June 22, 2019

Yeah it's fuel injected right? my friend who knows a supposedly great mechanic called him over and he referred to the carburetor The thing that I look at under the air filter looks like an injectors throttle body... It's injected right?