Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

I can't seem to edit my post, I guess there is a time limit on it.. so sorry for the double!

Anyone have some recommendations for an engine stand? I did a search but alot of the links were outdated, so they didn't work anymore.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

There is a time limit to edit posts.....

Engine stands are pretty common, just make sure you get one that allows you to rotate the engine.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

I should get one with the U shape at the bottom and not a T though right?
Like this http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-918014/overview/

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Yes, I would not buy one with a T.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

If you have a harbor Freight nearby, you can probably get one fairly inexpensive. If you plan on using infrequently they work fine.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

You don't need a chemical to wire brush. Just try to get the floor as clean as possible first (vacuum up the dust and crap). Then just brush away. For now, you only need to brush up the rust, them hit it with a converter (like Conquest). Don't worry about the painted part of the floor until you're ready to repaint it.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

I think there may be one near houston. I'll check and see. Thanks for the advice

ah, alright. I may put off the floor for a while and just try to get it running and whatnot first. So I'll just do cleaning and wait to strip it down.

Gonna order that rebuild kit and a book on it today. Pick up some carb cleaner or something today/tomorrow. Any suggestions on that? I've never cleaned a carb before. Will just any work fine? I'm guessing I'll want to get enough to soak it and not just the spray cans

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

While soaking has its advantages, so does the spray cans, with the straw. The soaking loosens stuff up and the spray blasts it away. Just wear some safety glasses. And make sure you get some good quality stuff. I have used some in the past that wouldn't clean a fart off of a chair in a windstorm. Make sure you clean the small passages with the straw too. Take your time and follow the directions and get your float and such set right. You will be fine.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

I grabbed a spray can and some wire brushes today. It worked pretty well. I just need to get some more of it tomorrow. I wasn't sure how well it'd work so I only got 1 can. My rebuild kit and book were ordered today so I've got a few days to get it all cleaned up nicely.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Well.. I got the carb rebuilt and back on. decided to try to fire it up.. it didnt go well. But not because of the carb, I don't think it even got to do anything.

The truck cranks really really slow if more than just a second of trying, but a few times it tried for quite a while.
Do I need more battery? I didn't know what I needed so i just had a guy look me one up at advanced auto parts and have that.
Maybe the starter is bad? or just some bad wiring?

Then I tried a bit more just before I was about to give up for the night and smelled burning rubber and smoke starting to come out of the hood so I popped the hood and the little black wire coming off of the bigger cable for the negative side had melted and has completely exposed wire..

and the positive has some ghetto rigged cable into it, circled in the pic.. It runs to the firewall and fastens under a bolt. Can't get any better pics cause it is dark, but I think the green wire must be connected otherwise it won't try to start. I drew a red box around it, it's barely visible though

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

I also noticed that the dash backlighting and radio go out and the headlights were dimming when it tried to start. I read online that this could mean starter problems.. Any tests or whatnot I could do?

And as i said before, you have to have it in reverse to try to start it.. So maybe I should trouble shoot the whole ignition system/wiring before trying to start it anymore.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

First pull the Battery and give it a full charge. Then have it load tested. Autozone or Advance should be able to handle that. Then if that tests OK then move to the starter. Pull it an AZ or ADV can test them too. Also at every terminal you take off, clean it. Those wire brushes you bought for the carb will work fine.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Hmm, okay. I'll have the battery tested sometime this week if I can.

About the wire I burned up Where can i find a replacement? It's a little black cable that comes out of the negative cable and goes to a bolt above the inside of the headlight. Also I think ill just replace the battery cables aswell.

And where should I put the other end of the negative battery cable? It was connected to the top of the alternator shield(if that is the correct name)..

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

As far as I know, connecting to the alternator bracket is correct. That's the way it is on my '84. Although I've also seen it bolted to the exhaust manifold.

The negative is ground, so all you need is to hook it up something made of metal on the engine. Typically, alternator bracket or manifold is the best.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Hmm, I guess first thing to do would be to replace my ground that comes right off the negative cable to the back of the grille area. It's completely toast haha rubber melted almost completely off in a big section.

Then I guess I need to make sure the battery is fine as suggested above. It's only a week old with some cranks tried on it. Then go to the starter. Do I need to check out the alternator aswell?

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

If your battery is new, you may need to charge it up.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

I'll check around and see if I know anyone with a battery charger. Should I try hooking it up to my other truck and jumping it or just find/buy a car battery charger?

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

So i put a new starter on. It started to do better than before, but it's still trying to burnup the ground from the negative battery cable to the back of the grille. I don't know if the starter is wired badly or something, I'm going to try to look it up. I put the wires back on as they were, but that could be wrong.

Also I heard the whining noise as it was trying to start, so i shimmed (or tried to shim) the outer bolt to bring it closer and it just seemed to do even worse. Idk if my battery is just dying or what, so I'm going to try to jump it tomorrow, I couldn't find our jumper cables anywhere.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

I'm wondering of your ignition switch might be worn and there's juice jumping between contacts.
Just a thought.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Hey I'm up for checking anything and everything! just trying to learn =p

So I should check the ignition switch? What should i look for that would make it worn? I suppose I could look up where to find it and take some pics for y'all. or just replace it.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Well after doing some googling.. Maybe my negative battery cable isn't making a good connection on the alternator bracket, causing the ground wire to burn up? I noticed i forgot to put one of the bolts back into the alternator bracket(I think it goes into the block? its down at the bottom).. I'm going to try to bolt that back in and clean up the bracket where the negative cable connects and see if it still tries to burn up that wire.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Sorry about the triple post but it worked! I wire brushed the area on the alternator bracket where the negative battery cable hooks up and moved it to another hole and rebolted the bottom of it down. No more melting my body ground! And it turned over alot quicker and tried for a lot longer!

I tried throwing some gas in the carb but it didn't do much. 2 tiny splutters, more of just air.. So I guess I need to check fire/fuel/air now that it's actually trying to turn?

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Just got it to fire up and run a little bit. It's smoking pretty bad out of the tail pipes haha. However.. it isn't getting fuel. It will only start/run when gas is poured into the carb. What all should I check in the fuel system?

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

First make sure it actually has fuel in the tank.

Do you know if it has a mechanical fuel pump? If so, I would remove the fuel line at the carb, and crank it over a few revolutions. Fuel should come spraying out of that fuel line in a pulsing manor and with a decent amount of vigor. If not, Its likely the fuel pump itself. To test that, you will need to get some fuel line/hose, and put one end on the pump, and the other in a container of gas. Now crank it over again. Within a few revolutions, fuel should come out. If not, fuel pump is bad. If fuel DOES come out while the fuel pump is sucking from a gas can/jug, then the problem is either the fuel tank selector valve, plugged fuel lines, or cracked/damaged lines in the tank.

Re: First square. 1980 GMC
 

Thank you! I'm not sure if the fuel pump is mechanical but I'll try to look up how to tell and check it out. If it is then I'll do the steps you've said.
Thanks again! Sounds simple enough to follow, really appreciate it.