Help! My truck won't run!

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tumblwd
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Help! My truck won't run!

Post by tumblwd »

Hi everyone!
I have gotten myself into a bit of a pickle and was hoping you might be able to help me out. I am something of a novice at this. I used to drive these trucks back in the olden days when I was in the militia, and have wanted to own one for some time.
I have a 1952 M37 (CDN) which I bought last fall (and not yet registered, although the 1954 M37 (CDN) that I bought before that IS registered, and it starts and runs just fine) and it wont run!
The entire fuel system has been inspected and cleaned.
The truck is still very difficult to start and if it does, it runs very rough with some really loud backfires. It will not idle. The exhaust is sooty. It backfires through the carb on acceleration. It will not go any faster than 30 MPH. It stalls and will not re-start for 1/2 hour - if at all. It has left me stranded almost every time I have taken it out. I was on a first name basis with my Emergency Roadside Assistance tow truck driver. That was last fall.
Today, I pulled all the plugs, cleaned them, gaped to 30 and re-installed.I rotated the engine until I had it at TDC on #1 cylinder. I removed the distributor cap and discovered that the rotor was pointing to the 5 o'clock position, which is where the #1 wire was positioned. I was surprised by this because I had expected the rotor to be pointing to the 7 o'clock position (and the #1 wire to be installed in the 7 o'clock position).
All the other wires are installed in accordance with the correct firing order. #5 is at 7 o'clock, #3 is at 9 o'clock, #6 is at 11 o'clock, #2 is at 1 o'clock and #4 is at 3 o'clock.
My plan was to confirm that the rotor was pointing to 7 o'clock and then pull the oil pump and re-install, ensuring that it was on the correct "tooth".
Can I still do that?
(Also, the gas cap is not on too tight, the gas is new and has stabilizer in it, it has a new fuel filter and a re-built fuel pump from VPW, the carb has been disassembled and cleaned, the batteries are recent and fully charged.)
Am I on the right track to fix the problem?
Your advice and comments would be greatly appreciated.
Bernie
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by Carter »

Backfiring through the carb on acceleration is an indication that it is timed incorrectly and you are on the right track thinking the dist. needs to be reset. After that I would do a compression test to make sure the engine does not have a burned valve.
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by NCM »

How old are your spark plug wires? If they are old and cracked, you may try changing them out. I had issues with mine that prevented proper spark timing. I think spark was either shorting out or jumping between the wires.
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by NAM VET »

while I have studied my Tech manuals in preparation for putting my own motor back together, should have it back from the machine shop in a day or so, I haven't actually installed my pump or distributor. But I think the proper procedure is to first correctly install the oil pump, there is a link how to set the gear, with the #1 at TDC on the compression stroke,

link: http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-g ... 24387.html

after removing the distributor, then install the distributor with the rotor turned to 7 PM, and of course reset your wires to the correct cap outlets.

But I am sure others will chime in here with advice.

good luck to both of us...

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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by RMS »

3x's on get the pump and wires in the right position. if the problem persists I would look at the cap. I had a cap with micro cracks ( over tightened a retaining screw) that would cause misses and backfires. the time delay for restart however points to a hot coil or maybe the condenser. are the vent lines connected ?

did you rebuild the carb ? were the jets resized for the larger 251 ?
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by Marmalute »

Although backfiring through the carb will be caused by incorrect timing, too lean a mixture (bad adjustment, vac leak, etc), as well as sticking intake valves, will also give the same symptoms.
By all means, go to the basics, and set it up "normally " i.e.: clean and gap plugs, check points, clean and adjust, or replace as needed. Check and adjust valve lash, then dial in timing, followed by carb adjustment.
Don't forget to lube the rubbing block on the points, or your point gap will rapidly change.
Good luck, let us know what you find.
Doug
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by tumblwd »

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions.
To answer some of your questions:
Wires are new
Cap appears new
Vent lines are connected
Coil is a chrome unit (which does not bode well according to some of the info I have read on this site)
Carb was cleaned but not re-built. I have no info on the jets other than I expect the carb is the one that came with the truck.
This truck was presented as a cab-off ground-up restoration (or perhaps resto-mod since not all the changes have brought it back to its original condition), and indeed a lot of work has been performed on it, and it has many new parts. It appears however that the motor did not benefit from the same attention as the other components did.Either that, or things deteriorated because it pretty much sat for four years after the PO bought it from the person who had all the work done.
This is still a work in progress. A lot of minor details have to be attended to but it is licensed and insured.
I bought this so I could have one to drive while I worked on the '54, which is pretty much original but needs some attention to get it roadworthy.
I will now concentrate on getting the oil pump/distributor/timing set up properly and see how far that gets me.
On a side note, I would like to post pictures but have no idea how to do so. Is there an instruction I could consult to learn how ?
Thanks again for your help.
I will keep you posted on my progress.
Bernie
tumblwd
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by tumblwd »

Nam Vet
Thank you for your reply.
Could you check the link you posted about setting the pump gear with #1 at TDC, please?
When I clicked on the link it brought me to a news story.
Thank you.
Bernie
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by NAM VET »

tumblwd
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by tumblwd »

Nam Vet
Got it!
Thanks for re-posting.
Now to get it done.....
Bernie
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by nhjohnny1 »

just a thought but odds are the distributor and oil pump are not messed up unless they have been removed, More often then not its the basics, I have finally learned (kinda) after countless times going for big fixes only to find it was something small and simple, just not easy to find.
One note, i worked on a guys truck who had been through 3 different people trying to make the truck run, parked in the fall wouldnt run in the spring. Mechanics replaced fuel pumps, carbs messed with timing and more, I found water in the fuel......
Took me forever to under all the crap that had been done to it, point of all this is guy spent tons of money on new parts that were fine to begin with, one thing that got me for a while was the timing, distributor wouldnt turn far enough to come close to being timed, finally pulled it and found a gross adjustment on the back of the dizzy, loosened the bolt and moved the plate back to the original bolt marks and voila! truck started.
tumblwd
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by tumblwd »

I'm just testing posting a picture (newbie here). This is a picture of my truck (my 1952):
IMG_2582_zpsmwgvwpdz_small.jpg
IMG_2582_zpsmwgvwpdz_small.jpg (211.34 KiB) Viewed 1848 times
Last edited by tumblwd on Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:59 pm, edited 4 times in total.
just me
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by just me »

Photo bucket no longer works.
"It may be ugly, but at least it is slow!"
tumblwd
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by tumblwd »

Thanks Just Me.
I will try to find something else.
Are others having any success?
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Re: Help! My truck won't run!

Post by m-37Bruce »

Knock on wood, I am not. Try sending it to a moderator, MM or Gary maybe?
firewallgrommetm37.jpg
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Bruce,

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Keep Em Rollin'

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