New here, 84 C10

[Jzaelke]

Hi all, new to the site, Just purchased a 1984 C10 pickup. The engine was rebuilt a couple years ago and some performance parts were put in. but it sat for half a year and I drove it home (about an 75 mile drive) And It died at every stop light. If I dont go over like 15 mph it wont die but anything over that and I have to switch to neutral and keep my foot on the pedal to stop it from dying. Im not to mechanically inclined and cant afford to spend alot to keep this thing running. I need to know where to start and what to look at first. Ill be posting pics up soon. Thanks!

[ont_guy_38]

Welcome to the site ,you will love it lots of helpful people here.If it has sat for that long the first thing I would look at is all of your vaccum hoses make sure they aare not cracked or rotted off.If that all seems ok I think the next step would be the carb needle and seat sticking and there is fuel running into the engine all the time.

[dammitmitchell]

i am a advocate for checking the plugs wires cap rotor
and changing the oil.... and the radiator fluid..
it is a NEW TO YOU truck.. not a "new" truck..
you have no idea until you can check for yourself how everything is..
so.. yeah do all that.. it's a "must" for buying a used truck..
good luck and welcome to the boards!

[Jzaelke]

Okay, Well Ive changed the battery since I joined but not much else I'm not entirely sure what to check. I dont know where anything really is haha.

here are some pictures

[Jzaelke]

pardon the double post but here is some more pics.

[silvereagle07]

Welcome to the board. I would check for vacuum leaks as on guy 38 said and I would also check the gas in the lines. They could be gummed up. If the gas is old, run some cleaner through the tank and lines. Bad gas will cause it to misfire and be real sluggish. If it has a vacuum leak that can be detected by visual inspection. You can also get vehicle to operating temperature and spray short mists of carb cleaner over the vacuum lines, around intake(front and back) to check for leak. The engines RPM will increase when the carb cleaner is misted over a vacuum leak. Good luck.

[Jzaelke]

Well, I sprayed the carb cleaner all over the hoses and tubes in the engine compartment. I didnt know which ones where vacuum lines but I didnt notice any leaks. as I said I switched the battery so with a little love the engine started, and after keeping it running for a little bit it dint stall out. I added some cleaner throught the tank and let it run for a few min and its doing alot better than when I drove it home haha. Im thinking a good place to get this bad boy road worthy is to rebuild the carb (or engine if I can find someone with an engine lift!) Time to call my buddy with all the tools!

[silvereagle07]

Seafoam! It may help clean the fuel system but your neighbors won't like it.

[Jzaelke]

really? Haha I would totally go grab buckets full of it haha

[Jzaelke]

Again with the double post sorry! But I was wondering, if a good place to start is to rebuild the carburetor and take apart as much of the engine as I can without pulling it (dont have a lift) and clean it all and put it all back together? Or should I try to get my hands on an engine lift?

[silvereagle07]

I'm not sure about the carb rebuild,but lifts are cheap. I bought one from a tool sale for $240 with fold up legs. Are you planning on building the bottom end of the engine or refreshing the valvtrain?

[Jzaelke]

I dont know what either of those means. Care to enlighten me? Right now I want to get it to were I can drive it to work and back with as little money as possible.

[mitch1965]

Since you said that you didnt' want to spend a lot to keep it going, I suggest the SeaFoam in fresh fuel. This should help clean out the carb, possibly delaying the need for a rebuild. On my '85, I put a bottle of Berryman's B12 in the oil, drove it about a half hour, then changed the oil. It really seemed to clean up my lube system, proven when I replaced the intake manifold. Quieted the valves a lot.

[Jzaelke]

Now would a new intake manifold be worth the investment if I rebuilt the carb? or would it be better to clean it?

[mitch1965]

It depends on what you're after, and what you want to spend. What is your carb? I first added an Edelbrock carb, later added the manifold when I got a deal off craigslist. Like I said earlier, I'd suggest the cleaning route first. That way, you know what you're starting with. The seafoam in the oil cleaned out my valve train, seafoam or b12 in the fuel cleaned the carb. I also dribbled seafoam through the manifold vac port, which really cleans the stuff throughout the intake system. But your neighbors will hate you if you do it all in your driveway. Kills every bug around.