Here's my dilemma.

[militarypotts]

I was at our local cruise last Friday night. Storm moved in quickly, so we all left just as quickly. My truck started right up, I drove about 25 yards and it died. I restarted and moved another 25 yards and died again. I don't have a working gas gauge, so I keep close track of my milage. I usually drive about 125 miles and then I go get fuel. I must have miscalculated by not taking into account that I had done 2 parades on the 4th of July, burning fuel and not really putting on any miles. I used my 5 gallon can and went and got 5 gallons of gas. Also had a 2 gallon can that I put in. Still couldn't get it started. I know the mechanical fuel pump has to work hard to draw the fuel up to the motor, so I put a very little in the carb and tried to start it. It popped a couple of times, but that was it. I told another guy to put a little gas in the carb while I tried to start it. Problem is I saw him dump about 3 dixie cups of gas down the carb! Needless to say at that point I was going nowhere. Bottom line, I had the truck flat bedded home at the cost of $110.00 for 4 miles. Trucks in the garage with the oil drained out of it, because I feared maybe some of the gas the guy poured into the carb may have gotten into the crankcase through the cylinders. It's been drying out since Friday night. I'll refill the crankcase and see if she starts. Never had a problem like this before. Is it possible that all that gas down the carb made it impossible to start even after a couple of hours of trying, or am I looking at something else here? Should I pull the plugs before I try to start it again and see how they look. Plugs and wires are relatively new, with about 1,000 miles on them. Fuel pump was rebuilt when I bought the truck. Fuel tank was cleaned, boiled and lined a few years back. Is this a classic case of flooding? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm sitting tight for now. Actually have the front of the truck jacked up, so as to let all oil flow to the back of the oil pan and then I wick it out with a shop towel. Works pretty well that way.

[Blitz]

Gggrrrr.... Towing


I have noticed a lot of things go in cycles , and mention one thing one day... and the next day it happens ...

Seems to happen a lot lately.... but enough about that.



Two possibilities.


ONE... the standard COIL ISSUE.... failing when its HOT.

You said this was a Cruize night... so I assume the truck had been running for a while, and then sitting, running, then sitting?

I suspect Heat in the coil, JUST from that observation AND the history of the Coil problems with these trucks.



Now back to what I was saying about things happening right after they get talked about...

In my "parts truck" M 715, the PO installed TWO fuel tanks, custom made, nice steel, with two fuel gauges.

I always Keep them Full full full, and top them off every month when I go to get the Fuel Points redeemed.

Last month I installed two new fuel gauges, because the plastic ring holding the glass on the front had cracked and the lenses were rattling around. On both of them.

So new gauges went in...
The right OHMS for this truck, and the tanks were full.. so they both read full.

well, Sunday...
Guess who ran out of Gas in the front tank?

"This Guy"

I figure the HEAT of 100 degree plus and me idling the truck during the month, and driving it around the pastures and using it for a Tree Hauler/ tow truck had run my fuel out on the front tank.

Switched to the back tank and everything was fine.
Problem is... My new gauge did not show empty.

Long story short...

I ran it out of gas well before I though that was possible, just idling it, driving around 8 acres, moving trees and pulling large tree trunks to the burn piles.

That being said...

I Bet You ran it out of Gas....
And its as simple as that.

I was really surprised to run out myself...

The tanks are solid, no leaks, good fuel lines, new fuel sender gaskets, new wiring..
"old style caps " that probably vent to the outside air.

I guess I spent more time out there working and driving , starting and stopping than I had accounted for.

I bet You just ran it out...
Because that JUST got me

And thats How things have been going lately.


I was talking about the large animal growls that I hear out here on occasion... late at night. Just last week with some employees here.


Well, what appeared? Someone took a Game Cam picture of a BLACK PANTHER in my neighborhood this week... and posted it to Facebook.

Beautiful shiny black coat and a good facial recognition photo of the Panther. In COLOR.
Nice nice nice...

If You guys remember a year ago, I was hunting for this thing out there and taking game cam pictures too.
I actually got its tail once... a year ago, and posted that here.
We were all joking about a Chupacabra..


Now that we have been talking about it, and new photos have emerged....

Watch...

That thing is gonna try to pounce on me sometime soon, walking the property late at night.

Just watch.

I'm expecting it now.

[militarypotts]

Thanks for the story Blitz. Yeah my guess is I ran out of fuel too. As for the coil, I know about the high temp thing and it was warm out, but my truck only ran for about 20 minutes going to the cruise and then it sat for about 2 hours with the hood up. Fired right up, but shut down about 30 seconds later. I firmly believe the guy I asked to put a LITTLE gas in my carb poured WAY to much in. I'll refill the crankcase with fresh oil and try to start it again.
While I'm on the subject, I'd like to know how many of us have run our trucks dry before? I'll bet it's more common than I think. Thanks for your reply.

[Von]

Now that we have been talking about it, and new photos have emerged....

Watch...

That thing is gonna try to pounce on me sometime soon, walking the property late at night.

Just watch.

I'm expecting it now.

Well now that you've been talking about it... watch your back! Hire someone that runs slower than you do to go with you.


militarypotts, did you stop cranking when you saw all the gas being dumped in?

I've been there with quite a few different vehicles. At the wheel, ready with the starter and watching through the gap between hood and cowl while "Mr. Helper" dumps a pint of gas in the carb...

If it doesn't splash all over the place I'll put the pedal to the floor and crank away. Even with all that gas they'll usually crank a few seconds and then bust off, like when your carb is flooded.... which is basically what's happening. Blows the extra fuel out, maybe backfire a bit and then fire up with an attitude.

But if you stopped cranking them I'd guess towing and draining the oil was for the best.

... Just reread your post again and thinking you kept trying and it wouldn't start?
In which case I'll be pretty useless except to say start with the basics.... Fuel, fire and air. Chase each one back till you find a culprit. Clogged filter? Point gap, voltage to and from coil?

[militarypotts]

Actually Von, I wasn't cranking at all while Mr. Helper was pouring the gas down the throat of the carb. I didn't want it to backfire on him. I did keep trying with the pedal to the floor, but she just wouldn't fire up. A couple of quick pops was about it.

[militarypotts]

As for having it flat bedded to my garage, I just wanted to get it home and in a safe place where I could diagnose the problem. Once it was back in my garage I felt a little better. As we all know, you just can't leave these trucks stranded in a parking lot when it's starting to get dark out. It all comes with the territory I guess. My next step is to try to get it started one more time before the plugs come out or the coil gets checked. The coil is one of the infamous chromed China pieces of garbage, but it has less than 1,000 miles on it.

[kwai]

Two points:

1. Idling around on the ranch or in parades uses way more fuel than normal driving.

2. You could figure out if it was empty or not by simply filling the tank and seeing how much you put in.


As for the potential problem:
1. Ran out of gas. - just fill it up and you are good to go.
2. Bad fuel pump - Put the line to the carb in a water bottle and pump for 10 sec. You should get a lot of fuel. If not, replace or rebuild the pump
3. Bad coil - Most common way for this to occur is for you to leave the ignition on while parked (like at a car show). It happens and the engine will crank and not fire, or run for a few seconds and die.

Hope this helps and let us know what the final solution is.

My vote is the coil. You left the ignition on and burned it up.

[Von]

Actually Von, I wasn't cranking at all while Mr. Helper was pouring the gas down the throat of the carb. I didn't want it to backfire on him.

Oh I'd have cranked away! taught the oldest step son to take it easy with the priming that way.... a little flame and singed hair makes people pay attention next time..

LOL, that's how my auto mech teacher in high school taught us.. words first, and if they don't stick, then flames.. or impacts... whatever it takes.
"Dumb@ss. Listen to me next time."

[kwai]

words first, and if they don't stick, then flames.. or impacts... whatever it takes.

I like that philosophy. Kinda drives the point home pretty quickly.

[Blitz]

[QUOTE=Von;252284]Well now that you've been talking about it... watch your back! Hire someone that runs slower than you do to go with you.


LOL Von !

You get points for that one.

No one would keep my hours though.

Maybe its about time to be driving around at night, instead of walking it.

No moon this week, and for several days.
Soon it should be "lighter" outside, after hours.

I've learned to look up into the trees and walk slowly.

An M 715 rolling around will, for sure, run everything off the property.

Truck wont start ?

Roll up the windows... and wait till sunrise

hopefully its never seen a convertible or a canvas top before ...