New Truck, First Problem

[moorevisual]

Hello All,

I recently purchased my first C10, a 1979 Bonanza, stock 350. It arrived today on a transporter, and after checking all the fluids and a quick look around, I was excited to start driving it.

Everything was fine all day, no problems, until tonight, when after turning a corner at a light, the truck sputtered and then cut off. The lights were still bright, so I didn't think the battery could be an issue. I tried to crank it up and it seemed it was still trying to turn over, but it was as if it wasn't getting any gas. The gauge was nearly on Full, but I thought maybe the gauge was faulty, so I switched over to the second tank, the gas gauge immediately dropped, so I switched it back and it went back up.

Well, long story short, I got it towed home, and thought maybe you guys could pint me in the best place to start trouble shooting. Are here certain things o these trucks that are prone to fault?

thanks in advance.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Hello All,

I recently purchased my first C10, a 1979 Bonanza, stock 350. It arrived today on a transporter, and after checking all the fluids and a quick look around, I was excited to start driving it.

Everything was fine all day, no problems, until tonight, when after turning a corner at a light, the truck sputtered and then cut off. The lights were still bright, so I didn't think the battery could be an issue. I tried to crank it up and it seemed it was still trying to turn over, but it was as if it wasn't getting any gas. The gauge was nearly on Full, but I thought maybe the gauge was faulty, so I switched over to the second tank, the gas gauge immediately dropped, so I switched it back and it went back up.

Well, long story short, I got it towed home, and thought maybe you guys could pint me in the best place to start trouble shooting. Are here certain things o these trucks that are prone to fault?

thanks in advance.

The only things that I can think of that the seventies squares are notorious for are the hoods that'll kink. You should invest in a set of braces if there aren't already some on there. When vehicles age, all kinds of things come up in varying severity depending on how much it was driven and how well it's been taken care of. It does sound like a fuel problem. To that end, there are several things that can be done. First, I'd take the air cleaner off and actuate the throttle. Look down in the primaries and see if they're squirting consistent little streams of gas on both sides. If so, you're getting gas to the engine so we can regroup if this is the case. If not, go ahead and check the fuel filter. I'm assuming it's a Quadrajet so it'll be inside the nut that the fuel line bolts into. Just undo the line at the carb, remove the nut that the line goes into, and the filter's inside. If the filter's old and grubby, replace it. It's four dollars. If that's not it, I'd check to see if there's fuel getting to the carb. Your fuel line is already removed at the carb so get something that'll hold fuel, and turn the engine over with the fuel line inside a receptacle. You should either anchor it well and use tight hose going from the steel line to the bottle so fuel doesn't spew everywhere. Or get a buddy to turn it over, and you hold everything and watch. Say you have a Coke bottle. It should fill up in just a few seconds. If no or too little fuel is being pumped into your receptacle, you can narrow your issue down to a bad fuel pump or a clogged fuel pickup in the first tank you tried. If you didn't get any fuel in the previous test, I'd remove the rubber line from the pump and attach a small piece of appropriately sized hose to the pump and stick it in a bottle with gas. You still have your bottle up top to hold the gas that should pump out. Turn it over. If nothing happens, your fuel pump is bad. Sixteen dollars for a cheapo one. If you did somehow get good fuel from that test, you're looking at dropping at least one tank, blowing the lines out, cleaning the tank, and making sure the pickup is clear. Again, shouldn't be this one. So if you should rule out the fuel filter, the fuel pump, and the cleanliness of the fuel system, you go back to the beginning and you very likely have a carb problem. It could be a number of things so I'd just get someone to rebuild it. I'm sure there's someone in Greater Atlanta who does that, or if you feel that your options are too sketchy, I recommend Mountain Man Carburetor in Hackett, AR. I've sent them my Quadrajet, and my brother's sent them one of his. Their work is great, and they specialize in Quadrajets. I'm assuming you've still got the Q-Jet, but if not, you still have the options to rebuild or replace if your carb is what's giving you trouble. My guess is the fuel pump or a carb issue, but you just have to test it out. Good luck! By the way, I love your city. My number one school was Emory, and I thought it was great. I applied to Oxford of Emory and visited both of them. I used to live four hours from ATL in Columbus, MS so it wasn't too bad of a drive.

 

[MikeB]

I tried to crank it up and it seemed it was still trying to turn over, but it was as if it wasn't getting any gas.

To me, "trying to turn over" means the starter won't turn over the engine. But what I think you're saying is the engine turns over and seems like it fires one or two cylinders fire here and there, but it never starts. Is that correct?

Even if it does occasionally fire a cylinder, have you checked to make certain the HEI BAT terminal has constant battery voltage on it with the ignition on AND when the starter motor is cranking? You can usually stick a voltmeter probe up from the bottom.

I bring this up because it's not uncommon to have corroded electrical connections just about anywhere on our trucks, especially if they spent a lot of time outdoors or the rain. And many times the problems are intermittent.

If it is in fact a fuel problem, have you removed the fuel line from the carb to see if the pump is working?

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[Boonie]

I had an hei module go bad while driving once. truck just died while moving. would crank over, but no fire. just a thought

 

[mistaake]

did you look under the hood? i am having/had a problem where the carburetor is having an issue (probably stuck float) and fuel is flooding the engine and pouring out of the carburetor onto intake. this causes a crank/no start condition. probably not the same issue but it seems to happen after going over bumps at a certain speed and braking hard or some weird combination of conditions.

 

[moorevisual]

thanks for all the good info everyone! i started off this morning going down Jesse's list - i didn't see any gas squirting into the bowl on the carb, so went to check the fuel filter and the fuel link kinked *doh!*. so i'm waiting on Oreilys to get the line kit in, but the filter did looks gross so i'm getting a new one as well. i will proceed from there and keep you posted.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

thanks for all the good info everyone! i started off this morning going down Jesse's list - i didn't see any gas squirting into the bowl on the carb, so went to check the fuel filter and the fuel link kinked *doh!*. so i'm waiting on Oreilys to get the line kit in, but the filter did looks gross so i'm getting a new one as well. i will proceed from there and keep you posted.

Gosh, those line kits are pricey. I've kinked the lines on my Jimmy, and I just twirled them back as best I could to avoid that. I hope that procedure gets you somewhere. They are right about the ICM. That'll make a no start condition if it goes out, but it seems like you're getting somewhere. How's the Q-Jet look? Has it seen better days, or is it in okay shape? Just curious, did you buy the car off eBay, and you had it transported home?

 

[moorevisual]

Gosh, those line kits are pricey. I've kinked the lines on my Jimmy, and I just twirled them back as best I could to avoid that. I hope that procedure gets you somewhere. They are right about the ICM. That'll make a no start condition if it goes out, but it seems like you're getting somewhere. How's the Q-Jet look? Has it seen better days, or is it in okay shape? Just curious, did you buy the car off eBay, and you had it transported home?

Well tuned out Oreilys sent the wrong line kit, but ended up being for the best, because I found that Summit has the pre-bent hard line for much less. Hopefully that will be there in a day or two and I can proceed. Argh, more waiting...lol.
The Q-Jet looks original but seems to be OK from what I could see. If I can get through this without touching it, I will probably have it rebuilt down the road for peace of mind.
And yes I did purchase remotely and have it transported.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Well tuned out Oreilys sent the wrong line kit, but ended up being for the best, because I found that Summit has the pre-bent hard line for much less. Hopefully that will be there in a day or two and I can proceed. Argh, more waiting...lol.
The Q-Jet looks original but seems to be OK from what I could see. If I can get through this without touching it, I will probably have it rebuilt down the road for peace of mind.
And yes I did purchase remotely and have it transported.

I gotcha. Well, keep us posted as you find stuff out, and we'll help further if need be.

 

[Camar068]

Just a couple of things to add to the list for future searchers. Seems like you have yours under control.

I've had 2 trucks that did the same thing. The connector on the dizzy had popped off (locking tabs broken) on one. I know you don't have an electric fuel pump, but anyway the pump lost it's ground on the 2nd.

Actually a 3rd happened earlier this year as well. The module in the dizzy went bad. I looked into rebuilding mine but the module, spacers etc was going to cost about $50. I looked around on here and came across someone that mentioned "Skip Whites" distributors. Had one shipped to my door for $48, they were nice enough to ship it overnight at their cost.....or by accident lol. Now if I can figure out how to not get shocked when adjusting timing bare handed when it's running LOL.

 

[moorevisual]

Just a couple of things to add to the list for future searchers. Seems like you have yours under control.

I've had 2 trucks that did the same thing. The connector on the dizzy had popped off (locking tabs broken) on one. I know you don't have an electric fuel pump, but anyway the pump lost it's ground on the 2nd.

Actually a 3rd happened earlier this year as well. The module in the dizzy went bad. I looked into rebuilding mine but the module, spacers etc was going to cost about $50. I looked around on here and came across someone that mentioned "Skip Whites" distributors. Had one shipped to my door for $48, they were nice enough to ship it overnight at their cost.....or by accident lol. Now if I can figure out how to not get shocked when adjusting timing bare handed when it's running LOL.

thanks for the extra info, i will keep those things in mind as well. as you all can see, i'm new to this forum, but i must say i'm impressed with the amount of helpful feedback compared to some others i frequent.

 

[74 Shortbed]

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If you don't mind me asking, where do you get that screw adjuster on the distributor, I've seen it before but can't find it anywhere..... Thanks..

 

[MikeB]

Sorry, that's just a pic I found on the Internet. I don't know what the adjuster does.

 

[74 Shortbed]

Sorry, that's just a pic I found on the Internet. I don't know what the adjuster does.

Ok thanks anyhow, this one is in a different spot the one I seen was in place of the vacuum advance, so I'm sure it's hooked up to the plate to manually advance it..

 

[MikeB]

Was reading an HEI article at ChevyDIY.com and found this:

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"On the dyno or at the track, this micro adjuster for setting the timing is a boon. It allows precise changes in timing as small as 1/4 degree. This can be important when trying to squeeze the last ounce of power from an engine. On some occasions I have seen as much a 3 hp from a halfdegree change in timing."