LUVTruck.com

I'm in a pinch. I bought a Luv 3 weeks ago, it ran great and idle'd just fine after it got warmed up. I spent the last 2 weeks taking it apart, sanding, painting, installing a cd player and other misc. things for the look and ride quality, I did nothing mechanical to it at all. Before i purchased the luv, it had a list of new parts installed: Spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, fuel filter, fuel pump, air filter. Again, i bought it with all these parts already installed and it ran great.

Well i finished putting it back together today (hopefully have pictures up soon!) and drove about a mile down the road before the engine started cutting out like it wasn't getting any gas and then it died. Well, it died at the busiest intersection in town and i was s***ing my pants as i tried to deter drivers in to the next lane. Long story short, my Luv is currently parked in a church parking lot for the temporary.

Here's what i know. The battery is strong, the engine is turning over no problem. It's having problems starting and then staying running. I took the air cleaner off and noticed that only one fuel port of the two is sending any gas in to the carb. The one on the passenger side is working and the drivers side is not working but it appears by the way it looks that it hasn't been working for a while. I changed the fuel filter, despite it being rather clean. I felt/listened for the fuel pump to engage when the key was on start, it appears to be functioning. (Although to be honest, i don't know what it should feel or sound like when working. My mechanical knowledge is topped out at ATV's and motorcycles.) With a little gas in the carb, i can get the truck started and idle momentarily but it will die as soon after. As long as i have my foot on the gas she'll stay running, but I can't even drive it home because once the engine gets under any stress from being in gear. it dies. I'm clueless as to what my problem is. Timing? Fuel pump? Carb? I have no idea what, in the two weeks that it was sitting in my garage, could have went wrong and led to this.

Well, I'm off to work, any help is GREATLY appreciated. I think I can get it towed tomorrow morning. If i left out any pertinent information I will try and post it as soon as possible.
I appreciate it gentleman,
Kansas

That happened to me before aas long as i kept my foot it would idle but once i let go it died it sounds like u got a vacuum leak and a big one at that ooo and yea it wouldnt be a bad idea to get ur carb rebuilt i did that and its worked fine ever since my hose was the big one from the smog pump to thr intake that was leajing vacuum

Also disconnect the gas line that feeds into ur carb (the bigger hose)and put it in a plastic bottle and turn it over it should fill up your bottle relatively quick if it does not then one of the hoses for the gas line are loose and instead of sucking the fuel it is sucking in air or the lines are starting to get clogged not hard to troubleshoot

Only one port should flow fuel normally. The secondary only flows fuel at near wide open throttle at higher rpm. Easy to check fuel status--just look at the sight window on the carb bowl, gas should be half way on the window normally.
I would check the wire to the "run on" solenoid on the carb. Hexagon shaped thing, pointing to the rear, one wire coming from it. Power when the key is on, no power with key off. If not working it will not idle.

Pertinent info: what year LUV is it? Stock engine? Aftermarket add-ons, especially on the engine? Manual or auto tranny? 2wd or 4wd? Long or short bed? Lowered? Lifted? Tires & wheels? Emissions intact or deleted? Stock exhaust?
A lot of these are not relevant to your current problem but could be to a future request for assistance.
To your current problem: My first thought is you are not getting sufficient fuel. Assuming you have an electric fuel pump, how noisy is it? If you can feel or hear it thump from the driver's seat it's full of trash & probably not pumping to full capacity. Depending upon the type pump it may or may not have an internal or attached filter in addition the in-line filter between the pump that can be cleaned. If the tank is near empty and had crud in the bottom the pump may be trying to suck sludge through the tank pick-up filter sock. Normally you would start at one end- carb or tank- and ensure each part of the fuel delivery system is functioning properly. With an electric fuel pump I would start there. Compressed air would be a big help. Disconnect the line from the tank side if the pump. Blow through the line back towards the tank, you should hear bubbles in the fuel- this will dislodge any crud from the line & the pick-up, plus enough air will pressurize the tank a bit & force fuel back through the line when the air stops. A good drizzle of fuel out the end of the line is good. Look for any wet spots on the rubber line, this will indicate a hole that will cause the pump to suck air rather than fuel. Reconnect the tank supply line to the pump & disconnect the line to the carb. Jumper the pump from the battery with two pieces of wire & see if the pump is operating properly- slight buzz, light vibration you can feel with your hand, pumps a steady, full stream of gas under obvious pressure. (Note: hook one end of one wire to the fuel pump, one end of the other wire to the battery, connect the two open ends of the wires together to activate & deactivate the pump well away from the pump, you don't want a spark anywhere near the raw gas you are trying to pump.) While the line is off the pump disconnect the carb end and blow through it, checking for leaks & blockages. If it's good hook the pump end back up and check the fuel flow at the carb end by jumpering the pump. If you have good flow hook everything back up & see if it will run. If not report back & we'll try something else.

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'78 Chevy LUV,1.9,4sp,headers,31's,SAS Dana 30,Dana 20,SOA rear w/Aussie Locker, rough body, bought new 12/4/78.
'87 Trooper,2.3,5sp,headers,31's,ball joint flip & spacer,Aussie Locker rear,Superwinch hubs,brush guard w/5.5K winch,more to come.

My guess is the fuel system. I am leaning towards the voltage regulator not energizing the fuel pump. I would jump power to the fuel pump and see what happens. The fuel pump has a connector on the engine firewall that power could be added quickly. Not knowing your year I can only go off my trucks wiring harness year, it is a 78. It's a 4 pin connector on the firewall on the passenger side. My year it's a black with red tracer going to the pump, on the other side of the connector it has 2 wires going into the pin, one black with red tracer and one I think is black with a yellow tracer.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

1980
4x4 with a manual tranny.
Stock 1.8L Gas engine
Aftermarket add-on: cheapest CD Player at best buy and a wicked rustoleum paint job.
Everything else is stock but I'm not sure about the emissions being intact or deleted because i don't know what they look like or where they're located.

Anyways, thanks for all of the opinions, gives me a lot of good starting points. I'm gonna go work on her first thing in the morning (morning = about noon). I'll see what all i can get done in this church parking lot its hanging out in. I'll let ya know what I come up with!
Thanks again,
Kansas

To bypass the regulator powering the fuel pump system, simply unplug the voltage regulator connector and it should start and run fine. It will then power the fuel pump through the warning light circuit.
Not many know about this.

I unhooked the rubber hose on the tank side of the fuel pump and blew it out. I hear bubbles and before and after blowing had a stead stream of gas flowing out. I then reattached it and unattached the fuel pump on the engine side. I also disconnected the large and small hose from the carburetor and the blew the line out from the fuel pump to the carb. Only gas came out the hoses, no debris. Following that, I reconnected the fuel pump, left the carb hose off and engaged the starter. Gas came squirting out with a pretty good flow so i reattached the hoses. After that, I checked the hexagon bolt/wire, it was hot when the key was on Start. I did check the hot side of the fuel pump and realized it's only getting about 10.7-10.8 volts. I assume it should be getting closer to 12v? Could this be my problem? I also had a friend rev the engine while I checked hoses for leaks with no real luck. Assuming the smog pump is a small alternator looking thing on the top drivers side of the motor, i really checked that one and didn't find a hole or any type of suction.

I ran out of ideas and felt bad leaving my Luv in that lot for another night. Flipped the preacher a $20 and used my friends AAA card to get it towed to a mechanic that my roommate uses often. I really don't want to pay for somebody else to look at it, but I feel like they're probably going to do a better job with whatever my mystery problem is. Not to mention, if I break down at a busy intersection again, i might not be as lucky. And let's face it, my cut rate car insurance (Geico) probably won't cover a 6 car pile up. C'est la vie.

Sorry for not getting the job done myself but again, thanks y'all for the input. I should know Monday what the problem was and i'll pass on any useful information. I'm off to work.

Kansas

Then juss get ur carb rebuild

and i foegot to mention the timing u could have advanced ur distributor juss a lil bit more the way i did my timing i loosened the bolt with a 12mm juss a lil to were i can turn the dizzy so as i was turning it i would rev it till it wpuldnt hesitate no more and i chrckrd it with a light and i had it at 6 were it needs to be at

I think that paying a shop an hour to check it out and give you a estimate to repair is a good deal at this point in time. If you don't have the time it's money well spent.

When taking advice from some here do yourself a favor and look at their past replies and decide for yourself if that is the person you want to take advice from. Some here have no business passing on advice. Many here are are experts on stock LUV's, you can see the trend.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Its not hard to troubleshoot these lil trucks it basic these lil motors

If it runs for a while dumping gas down the carb then it seems likely to be a fuel problem. If its making it up to the carb in a steady stream then I'd guess its in the carb itself. Sounds simple though like the float is stuck or something. There is a bolt that holds down the fuel inlet and return pipes on the carb. When you take that off it has a screen under it. Perhaps that is plugged, or the needle valve leading into the carb bowl is clogged.

I don't think I'd mess with the electrical/charging wiring much as that sounds like its working. The only other thing that stands out is checking the points. If they are bad they can cause very similar symptoms to bad fuel pump. Usually one will get a bump on it and the other will get a hole on it It makes gapping them correctly pretty much impossible. I didn't see points mentioned in all of the things you said had been done to it so it may be they just gave up now. They can be hard to tell if they are really good or not, cheap fix to just replace them but you have to get the gap set right.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

Welp, according to my bill, the fuel pump was bad and my distributor points were off? Got it back and it now runs bud idles like crap. Idles real high then dips down and almost dies. Have to run the brake and gas at the same time to keep it running at stops signs. Did a little lookin around on here and it sounds like I've got a vacuum leak of sorts. Gonna pick up a can of carb cleaner on my way home and see if I can find it!

Kansas