'78 F350 Dually Project

[metal1313]

I want one. Also that is one of the most engrish Amazon product description ever

 

[danski0224]

Wow, I'm halfway talked into ditching my flip phone & getting an Iphone, just so I can do the bore scope thing!

It's really not all it's cracked up to be, and it can be rather bor(e)ing at times....

 

[RivennHewn]

With the kids getting back to college and a lot of car shopping with the wife this last week, there was no time to even look at the truck.

I did finally poke the endoscope into each spark plug hole and watch each piston go up and down while I hand turned the crank.

Timing chain goes round, turns the cam(at least the distributor), and the pistons appear to still be attached to the crank.

Thinking about taking Matt's suggestion getting a visual on everything under the covers.

 

[fergus]

I've done this dance with my old Jeep a few times.

The last time, I thought it was the carburetor. Rebuilt the carb: better, but still missing. Swapped the coil. Slightly better, still missing. New condenser: no change, still missing. Messed with the timing. No change. Ran it long enough to get some watery fuel out of the system...all better. I still don't know where it was...maybe in the fuel filter housing...took about ten gallons before it was 100%. Go figure. I felt like a chump.

 

[RivennHewn]

Hmmmmm........

I tested the easy ones first.

No. 1,2 5, and 6.

All in the 45-50 range, which I thought was odd.

I plugged it into my compressor, and tested the gauge at 60, 90, and 120.

The tester gauge was dead on with my compressor gauge.

So, is it all of the cylinders are really that low, or is there something else going on here?

Time for leak down test? Or not worth the effort?

 

[madoc1]

if it ran well before this problem i don't think low pressure readings are your prob. we need more info as to what it felt like when you stopped. die all of a sudden? just slow down? pumping the gas didn't help? dyng all of a sudden usually electrical, dying slow might be gas. engines don't just die from low compession. mistery time.

jim

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Leak down test will tell you what is occurring, air going past rings or valves but it wont tell you the cause. How sure are you of the cam being spot on? Your photo looked like you were spot on to me, did you have to back the motor up to get the marks to line up?.
The cam would have to be off a fair amount to affect cylinder pressure.
If it were me, I would do a leak down just to narrow the possible faults of the engine.
I cant remember if you pulled the heads and had them worked.
Anyway I hope this helps, good luck on your quest!

 

[bluebolt]

What's your compression test procedure?

 

[arkieguide]

That can make you a good truck - back in its day I had a 79 F 350, 10 bed, 20,000 lb PTO wench, miller 400, etc. it was equipped well and worked well. In your case a 460 ford would be nice, it's my all time favorite engine. Gotta watch it tho, you can spin the rear end in its housing.

 

[RivennHewn]

What's your compression test procedure?

Not much of a procedure. (Maybe that's my problem??)

I did do this cold. It's hard to warm an engine that's not running.

I did it dry. No oil added.

I did remove the coil wire, and cranked the engine over about 5-6 times each.

Hoping to get more time to look into this more, just too dang busy these days.

 

[RivennHewn]

Signs of life.....
Earlier this afternoon:

Shot down the distributor hole with the endoscope camera:

Still not running as good as it was before all this happened. Hell, I still don't know what happened. I'm still a bit leary of the whole thing blowing up on me.

I do know that I pulled the crimped end off my no. 8 spark plug, and it's half-assed back on now.
I've been meaning to re-do the wires anyway, so I went and got a set.

 

[22george]

40 psi is low though

 

[dan360]

What exactly was the noise that shut it down on the side of the road?

How did it act while it was shutting down?

 

[DieselNut88]

Normally you should add oil to the cylinders and crank the engine on revolution. Then recheck your pressure, it should be higher.

 

[RivennHewn]

Normally you should add oil to the cylinders and crank the engine on revolution. Then recheck your pressure, it should be higher.

Ya, I thought about it. Then kinda like 22George said, "40 psi is low though".

didn't know if it was worth the effort.

I did have it running yesterday. Then I backed it out into the street and gave it a bit of a baby run down the street where it decided to stop. Had to tow it back to the house again.

 

[Mavawreck]

Ya, I thought about it. Then kinda like 22George said, "40 psi is low though".

didn't know if it was worth the effort.

I did have it running yesterday. Then I backed it out into the street and gave it a bit of a baby run down the street where it decided to stop. Had to tow it back to the house again.

Intermittent running like that is indicative of a timing issue in my mind.

You verified that you have fuel and spark?

 

[danski0224]

How is the engine stopping?

Abruptly? Odd noises? Hot/overheating? Does it "stop" if it is left idling and not driven? Is electrical power lost (radio, lights, etc)?

Is there gas at the carb when it stops? Fuel line too close to the exhaust, causing vapor lock?

Spark if it cranks over?

How about that Duraspark ignition box on the fender? What condition is that in (and they are cheap too). If it's flaky when hot, no spark. Same goes for the ignition coil.

Does the engine crank over when it stops?

Verified engine timing with the engine running? Harmonic balancer rubber intact? Outer shell in the right place?

Vacuum advance diaphragm intact on the distributor? Advance linkage OK?

Absolutely certain that the timing set was installed properly? If the truck was running without incident before the timing set was replaced, and if nothing else was changed, then it makes sense that something is wrong with the install.

 

[RivennHewn]

Thanks for the replies.

as stated above, I know that I need to replace the plug wires. At least one of them is ****.

The distributor and ignition box are new.

I just installed a new clear plastic fuel filter, and the gas is flowing.

as far as timing goes, I just put the light on it at idle - 12 degrees. I didn't run it up this time, but it was approx 36 degrees at 3000 rpm before.

It was running well enough that I was taking it to work. About 8 miles away. Sounded good.

When it died yesterday, it just stopped. No noise, no sputter. I tried to restart, and it backfired like a gun shot.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

"New" does not mean "good". can you swap the old ignition box and distributor for the new?

 

[kbs2244]

Change the plug wires.
Or a least wrap the old one in black tape to insulate them.
(Don't laugh, I drove for 18 months that way, then sold the car that way.)

You can have all kinds of "cross fire" fireworks going on under the hood that you will never see unless you have someone else at the wheel while you are under the hood in the dark.

This assumes you have the wires arranged correctly in the first place.
Fords have a different firing order than others.

A quote from my Dad hat I have always remembered.
"Everybody wants to play with the carb. It is always the ignition."

 

[txvwnut]

Dist and control box are new, how 'bout the coil? Sounds like it's getting hot and dying off.

 

[danski0224]

as stated above, I know that I need to replace the plug wires. At least one of them is ****.

When it died yesterday, it just stopped. No noise, no sputter. I tried to restart, and it backfired like a gun shot.

Sounds like an electrical problem if the engine is cutting out like turning off the key. A hot spot somewhere is probably igniting raw gasoline after cranking the engine over.

I echo the other two quotes below.

Put the old parts back in, but one item at a time. I would guess the Duraspark box over the distributor... and it happens to be easier.

I would also guess that it is possible for bad plug wire(s) to draw more current from the coil, which will cause it (the coil) to overheat.

"New" does not mean "good". can you swap the old ignition box and distributor for the new?

Yup. If available, I only buy OEM parts for stock replacement parts- especially electrical parts.

Dist and control box are new, how 'bout the coil? Sounds like it's getting hot and dieing off.

 

[madoc1]

those trucks are prone to have bad duraspark boxes. if it "just died" and didn't dribble to a stop, it has to be electrical but not timing or plug wires. something cutting out because of a short or over heating.

jim

 

[Lwel9226]

I agree that it sounds like something electrical is shorting out/overheating....
Sorry I can't be any more helpful, GOOD LUCK...
Call if you want to talk it over or if you just want to unload your frustrations on a sympathetic ear......

Lynn W

 

[kbs2244]

Lynn sounds like a bartender I used to know.

 

[matt_i]

I would also replace the coil for peace of mind.

 

[RivennHewn]

Lynn sounds like a bartender I used to know.

We could all use a good bartender every now and then!

Thank you all for your continued input.

Hoping to get some time this weekend to get the new wires cut and fit.

Then work through the checklist ya'll have provided

 

[larry_g]

those trucks are prone to have bad duraspark boxes. if it "just died" and didn't dribble to a stop, it has to be electrical but not timing or plug wires. something cutting out because of a short or over heating.

jim

Can we add OPEN to that list. One way to find some of these problems is to go around wiggling wires and connectors while the motor is running. If the connection or wire is flaky you might just get lucky and find the area where you have a bad connection or short. Do not get to aggressive on this wiggling.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[volksnick]

A quote from my Dad hat I have always remembered.
"Everybody wants to play with the carb. It is always the ignition."

My mentor always said "95% of carburetor problems are electrical." Essentially the same thing!

 

[RivennHewn]

I got my purdy yellow wires installed today.

I have never had to replace plug wires, so this was a 1st for me.

Bought the little cut and crimp tool, actually pretty easy to do.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Accel/110/170...sfpjzbzFOx2yoGPUTkhlRNkfFr7r6fMkaAuE2EALw_wcB

Strip'n to length:

Crimping the ends:

finished:

Also picked up on of those inline spark testers.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Lisle-Tools/616/20610/10002/-1
Seems I don't really have great current flowing to the plugs. The test light barely lights up at all.

Going to try a another new coil tomorrow.

 

[whatme]

if the truck just shuts off it maybe the roll over swich ford has a switch under the dash that needs to be reset after it rolls over it is a safty switch that disengages when the battery is discounded so it needs to be reset check repair manuel

 

[danski0224]

Pretty sure that there is no such animal (rollover switch) in a 1978 Ford truck... if anything, the roof will collapse and crush anyone inside...

 

[RivennHewn]

if the truck just shuts off it maybe the roll over swich ford has a switch under the dash that needs to be reset after it rolls over it is a safty switch that disengages when the battery is discounded so it needs to be reset check repair manuel

That would be a new one on me.
Never heard of such a thing.
I'm gonna need a link!

 

[Badhabit]

That switch is for fuel injected vehicles to shut off the electric fuel pump in the event of a collision.

H

 

[Lwel9226]

Lynn sounds like a bartender I used to know.

Not a bartender, but have known quite a few.....

LynnW

 

[RivennHewn]

Not much to report on the engine, but I picked up a 'learner' door off CL for $10.

It's rough, but it's actually in better condition than the original door as far as rust and dents. Especially on the inside, bottom.

My original door has a lot of thick bondo, dents, and oversized holes for the mirrors.

The new door looked like somebody drove through a lot of paint, and splattered it all over the door. I took my random orbit sander and got the big gunk off. The RO left swirl marks. How many colors/coats do you see?

Next I took the dual action buffer with some cutting compound and started going after the swirl marks.

Then I completely gutted the door. door handles, locks, latches, hinges, window actuator, and wing window all removed.

I'll most likely order new hinges/pins, but between the two doors I think I can salvage the good parts and combine them into 1 working door.

 

[WoodsTruck]

Don't get too carried away...

My dad's '73 had been used for hauling anything heavy, pulling anything heavy and plowing snow for years. Between him, my brother and myself, it didn't have a straight panel on it. My uncle was coming out from Tennessee to elk hunt with my dad one year and the passenger door didn't function very well so I picked up a door from a local yard. Stripped it, straightened it out and painted it to match the truck. It looked out of place being fresh and straight. That lasted about a year when my dad rolled the truck off the side of the road in the winter and landed on that door. Once the truck was back up on the road, the only damage done to the truck was "correcting" the look of that door so it matched the rest of the truck. It has now been that way for 20 years.

Keep up the good work.

 

[RivennHewn]

Don't get too carried away...

Ya, that's not going to happen......

I used to have a similar truck back when I lived in Alaska.
Only had about 50K miles on it, but the body was shot!

 

[drivesitfar]

Riv: good to see you found some time to work on your TRUCK. i do like the term LEARNER'S DOOR which should work great.

it looks like it came off a VW though so hope it fits.

 

[RivennHewn]

Thanks Drives,

For $10 I figured I couldn't pass it up.

Have no idea what the VW thing was all about.