LUVTruck.com

So- I've been working on the wife's '78 recently, and thought I had everything squared away.

Silly mechanic!

Here's the deal- I started her and drove her over here about 2 weeks ago. Ran rough but it got me here, 17 miles from the old place to the new place at highway speeds. Not bad for a truck that's been sitting for 10 years.

I noticed when I was swapping out the plugs that it was running a bit rich, so yesterday I snatched off the stock air cleaner and replaced it with an edlebrock triangular foam cleaner. Figured a little more air flow should correct a slight rich condition, eh?

I capped the vacuum line going from the passenger side of the carb that *didn't* go to the distributer, the one on the driver's side in the front, the one on the smog pump, and the one on the valve body located on the passenger side/center of the firewall that goes God knows where but ran from an unswitched port on the stock air cleaner. I left the valve cover vent open for the moment pending money to buy a small filter for it, and left the feed line from the old air cleaner to the smog pump open to atmosphere.

I made sure I was getting gas (pulled a plug, yep it's wet) tried spraying WD-40 into the carb, tried it with the vacuum ports un-capped. No joy. Working alone this morning, so I haven't checked for fire yet- but since it ran recently, I am inclined to figure the fire and timing are okay. I haven't and can't really put the stock air cleaner back on because of the weird gyrations it took to get the foam filter mounted (that involved a dremel, RTV gasket sealer, a drill and some safety wire). Any suggestions?

Merlyn
--Getting tired of being stumped by LUVs that won't start!

Well, here's the latest news on the little LUV that couldn't.

I've narrowed the problem down to fuel.

I re-did the wiring to the fuel pump, and replaced the squeeze clamps on the fuel lines with honest hose clamps to stop a couple of leaks. I also dug out my chilton manual, and made sure I had the vacuum hoses right. It still won't start, but on the bright side, now I have a burned finger and a roaring backache.

So- I went and got me some gas. I poured a bit in the carb and tried again- success! It started and ran- until the gas I'd poured in ran out.

So- definitely fuel delivery. I am getting LOTS of gas to the carb (took the fuel line off the carb and spun the motor over, got a BIG puddle of gas under the truck) So, I am figuring the jets are plugged. Before I go jacking with pulling the carb apart (or worse, OFF) am I barking up the right tree here? Is there something else I should be looking at?

Merlyn

Sounds like you've got a Hitachi (stock) carb. Where is the float level? When you look at the front of the carb there is a small sight glass that shows you where the float is set. You should see about 1/2 fuel and 1/2 air. There are three screws that hold the bowl cover on, this is how you access the float. It's easy BUT, be careful when you remove the cover and/or pull the float off of the pin! It just slides off, but there is a small spring between it and the sight glass cover. You really don't want to lose that guy. To adjust the float, just bend the tang a bit, put it back in, and put the cover back on. Turn the key until the fuel bowl fills up and see where it sits. A small adjustment can make a big difference, so take it slow and do it several times if you need to.

If it runs with fuel down the carb, I think your jets and so forth may be ok. It sounds like it's flooding. If the float is sunk or saturated, it's time for a kit...

I'm no expert on the Hitachi, but they seem to run OK if you've got the choke set correctly and the float adjusted in spec. Opinions differ, and your mileage may vary

_________________
"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves" - Thomas Edison

Outstanding- that's the kinda info I was hoping for- Thank you. A lot. When I get back from the Dr tomorrow I'll try that. Not sure where it's set now- the sight glass is cloudy as all hell, and I couldn't make out the fuel level. I'll clean it up a bit tomorrow afternoon and check. Thanks for the warning about that spring too.

I may get this dern thing running yet... and by then it'll be time to start looking for a decent body for it :: chuckle ::

Merlyn