[JLAUBACH]

S.O.S...In need of 1st Gen.Guru's wisdom/advice?Bare with this above avg(B-)"shade tree",but enthusiastic,mechanic..I've owned my truck 5yrs. 35000mi.a"Toughluv $$ Pit"she's been,but...So sit your butt under my shade-tree relax...Recently i installed injectors,plugs&wires,fuel press.regulator,changed sc special 4oz.oil,all gaskets,all the vac.&coolant hoses behind sc,replaced any wiring as sought needed,all loom coverings,tore into sc spit shined it inside and out,pulled fuel rail cleaned re-installed with all new orings/insulators/spacers/nuts-bolts-washers,fuel filter,flushed and fuel tested before putting top half of sc back on,replace sc acqulator,entire distribultor with ignition coil and crankshaft pos.sensor(?) inside of distributor,IT'S MISSION ACCOMPLISHED???a Hail Mary,several cocktails and she turns over barley putputput stall again whawhaputtput vroom yes putt [email protected]#!XX#$$!...so i make certain by taking fuel line apart activate fuel pump air is dispelled to now steady fuel flow reassemble fuel intake,gas in the tank,battery is good,fuel pump good seems to me engine tuns over fuel air good but NO START!!!! IF NO SPARK WTF DO I DO PLEASE GURU'S LIFE LONG WISDOM IS SOUGHT AFTER S.O.S.
✌☮🍻🌴😎 Be good to yourself and enjoy the moment...jlaubach

 

[3dog]

So... I don't have a definitive answer for you. But... lifelong experience with automotive woes and a robust technical background.
Basic troubleshooting. If you know there's definitely air and fuel and you know it's spark. Start at the beginning. See if you have any spark. Pull a plug wire and use an old spark plug (could be from a lawnmower, doesn't matter) ground that sucker and see if the sparkplug has spark.
To me, and this is a WAG, it sounds like spark timing. Make sure your firing order and plug wires go where you think they are going. As you check that, make certain the plug wires are all seated properly at both ends. I know it sounds stupid, but make sure the rotor is back under the distributor cap. If all that checks out, bump the engine to get to TDC of cylinder #1 and then pull the distributor cap to make sure the rotor is pointed to the #1 plug wire. I have put in a distributor 180 degrees out of time and it sounds like the putt, putt, stall you described. I've even installed a camshaft 180 degrees out of timing phase so don't feel bad. Retrace your steps. Imaging you are checking someone else's work while you inspect your own.
If all that fails, you may have a signal wire to the distributor that's jacked or a loose (cracked, missing) vacuum line. But those don't usually result in failure to idle.
Good luck and report back with what you find.

3Dog

 

[JLAUBACH]

So... I don't have a definitive answer for you. But... lifelong experience with automotive woes and a robust technical background.
Basic troubleshooting. If you know there's definitely air and fuel and you know it's spark. Start at the beginning. See if you have any spark. Pull a plug wire and use an old spark plug (could be from a lawnmower, doesn't matter) ground that sucker and see if the sparkplug has spark.
To me, and this is a WAG, it sounds like spark timing. Make sure your firing order and plug wires go where you think they are going. As you check that, make certain the plug wires are all seated properly at both ends. I know it sounds stupid, but make sure the rotor is back under the distributor cap. If all that checks out, bump the engine to get to TDC of cylinder #1 and then pull the distributor cap to make sure the rotor is pointed to the #1 plug wire. I have put in a distributor 180 degrees out of time and it sounds like the putt, putt, stall you described. I've even installed a camshaft 180 degrees out of timing phase so don't feel bad. Retrace your steps. Imaging you are checking someone else's work while you inspect your own.
If all that fails, you may have a signal wire to the distributor that's jacked or a loose (cracked, missing) vacuum line. But those don't usually result in failure to idle.
Good luck and report back with what you find.

3Dog

Thanx Brother,but this"shadetree mechanic"is now fresh back from AWOL-R&R...Moments ago i put my 1st hrs.on her in awhile and took your good advice,i have SPARKafter sync.#1 TDC w/rotor and #1 wire all is good BUTT same result #@*^ah geez ,soooo i began small length by small bits of stripping the looms and exposing alot of wires in small amounts from the distributor outward and found a shady 2-3 wires but minor fixes.3Dog,WTF There are quite a few sensors etc.,etc i try to go from logical(inexpensive)work on up and your formentioned advice i appreciated and any more of your wisdom,i'm all ears...could not having a thermostat in it or trans.issues or" harmonic bal.pulley"(?)having several chips broken off of it,due to me pulling it,disrupt the balancing or something???but it started&ran though...ugh S.O.S. Thanx4urtime Peace-on-Ya!...jeff

 

[JLAUBACH]

So... I don't have a definitive answer for you. But... lifelong experience with automotive woes and a robust technical background.
Basic troubleshooting. If you know there's definitely air and fuel and you know it's spark. Start at the beginning. See if you have any spark. Pull a plug wire and use an old spark plug (could be from a lawnmower, doesn't matter) ground that sucker and see if the sparkplug has spark.
To me, and this is a WAG, it sounds like spark timing. Make sure your firing order and plug wires go where you think they are going. As you check that, make certain the plug wires are all seated properly at both ends. I know it sounds stupid, but make sure the rotor is back under the distributor cap. If all that checks out, bump the engine to get to TDC of cylinder #1 and then pull the distributor cap to make sure the rotor is pointed to the #1 plug wire. I have put in a distributor 180 degrees out of time and it sounds like the putt, putt, stall you described. I've even installed a camshaft 180 degrees out of timing phase so don't feel bad. Retrace your steps. Imaging you are checking someone else's work while you inspect your own.
If all that fails, you may have a signal wire to the distributor that's jacked or a loose (cracked, missing) vacuum line. But those don't usually result in failure to idle.
Good luck and report back with what you find.

3Dog

Thanx Brother,but this"shadetree mechanic"is now fresh back from AWOL-R&R...Moments ago i put my 1st hrs.on her in awhile and took your good advice,i have SPARKafter sync.#1 TDC w/rotor and #1 wire all is good BUTT same result #@*^ah geez ,soooo i began small length by small bits of stripping the looms and exposing alot of wires in small amounts from the distributor outward and found a shady 2-3 wires but minor fixes.3Dog,WTF There are quite a few sensors etc.,etc i try to go from logical(inexpensive)work on up and your formentioned advice i appreciated and any more of your wisdom,i'm all ears...could not having a thermostat in it or trans.issues or" harmonic bal.pulley"(?)having several chips broken off of it,due to me pulling it,disrupt the balancing or something???but it started&ran though...ugh S.O.S. Thanx4urtime Peace-on-Ya!...jeff

 

[3dog]

If you have spark then you have all the basics covered. The next thing that comes to mind is to check the OBD port. If you don’t have an OBD reader, you can get one for about $20 on Amazon. It must be a sensor telling the computer to not start as you suggested. Could be crank trigger, cam sensor, etc and you need the truck to tell you where to start.
Sorry I know that’s not an easy answer. But it is what it is.