San Jose, Ca. 69 truck starts easy and then stalls.

[faun_cee]

First off I just want to say how thankful I am for a page like this. I'm not too experienced in this field of mechanics but I hope to learn a lot with the help of this page.

If there is anyone in the area that can help me by taking a look at my truck. it has sat for about 15 years, but I have cleaned the carb and added a new ignition coil. spark is fine as well.

The truck starts fine; my problem is after about 2 mins or so it stalls. if I play around with the distributor it works better at certain positions. some possibilities I have seen on this forum could be distributor shaft bushing or trash in the fuel line. maybe the carb was not put back together properly.

if you are in the area of san jose i would appreciate it if you would help look to find the problem. you can text me at 4088022738

[BLT gmc]

To troubleshoot this problem I would start with the fuel supply issue. I would fabricate a temporary fuel tank using a gas can and a length of hose piped into the fuel pump. This would help isolate any problem before the fuel pump. If you can run the truck longer than a few minutes on this temporary set up, you know that your problem is in the fuel system and it is before the fuel pump most likely fuel lines and/or fuel tank.
If you use a temporary system like this and still have problems then you know that it is a problem with the fuel pump and/or after the pump in the fuel system or the electrical system. But I would start by trying to isolate the fuel lines and fuel tank.

[wilkin250r]

I had a similar problem a few years ago.

BLT's suggestion is great. I went a different route, I bought a cheap inline fuel pressure gauge (I think it was $20), and installed it just before the carb. I watched the fuel pressure start at 6~7, but it dropped to zero after a few minutes of running.

An old section of rubber fuel line under the truck between the cab and frame rail was the problem, it was deteriorated and choking the fuel flow, but not completely closed off. So if the truck sat for a while, the line would fill up with fuel, but it didn't flow enough to sustain the engine running. Replaced that fuel line, problem solved.

[Mr Handy]

I agree that it sounds like fuel issue, replace the soft line under the cab, between the hard line and the fuel pump, and any other soft line, and filter and see what it does.
Once I had a piece of soft line before the pump that when it got warm would kink... let it sit for 30 seconds and it would let fuel through enough to start and drive a mile and then sputter and shut off. A zip tie got me home and a new piece of line solved the problem.

[harpo231]

Id make sure choke not stuck first

[faun_cee]

well my starter cracked, just my luck, but Im replacing it tomorrow. ill try the car tomorrow with the hose running from a gas tank and let you guys know how it goes.

[In The Ten Ring]

Anytime I do anything with fuel (including filling up at a gas station) I like to have a CO2 extinguisher at hand.....also.....do this sort of thing outside if you can so you don't burn down your garage or house.

[faun_cee]

Its running fine now. reving a bit high, but I can manage for a while. problem was in the carb; assembled incorrectly.

I was thinking of switching my transmission to a 2004r. what complications would i need to look out for?