261 no start

[62stepside longbox]

Hi everyone I've been having some troubles starting my truck. Initially I thought it was the carb, so I put on a 2 barrel ( was going to do it anyways). After a while of messing around with it I got it to start with the two barrel. Ran fine, shut it off, fast forward a couple weeks and It won't start and the carb is leaking (it was free) so I took it off and completely cleaned the original carb and put that one on. Still wasn't firing sprayed some starting fluid down the manifold and still nothing. So it seems that now I'm getting no spark. After doing lots of testing with the multi-meter I concluded that the spark plugs are good, the coil is good and half of the spark plug wires are pretty bad, especially the one going from the coil to the distributor. So I put on a set of new plug wires and trying starting again but still nothing. Could the distributor be my problem? Any ideas what else could be wrong? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

[Dans1960SWB]

Have you ever checked for spark? Pull a plug wire. Stick a screw driver in the end of the wire. Have someone turn it over. Watch for spark.

[SuperCtruck]

Originally Posted by dans1960swb

have you ever checked for spark? Pull a plug wire. Stick a screw driver in the end of the wire. Have someone turn it over. Watch for spark.

x2

[TJ's Chevy]

Clean your points bud! I'll bet that's your main problem.

[62stepside longbox]

Ok thanks guys I'll try both suggestions today

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by Dans1960SWB

Have you ever checked for spark? Pull a plug wire. Stick a screw driver in the end of the wire. Have someone turn it over. Watch for spark.

Ok I tried this and all 6 cylinder are getting a spark. So makes the carb look like the culprit but I have cleaned so well. When I try starting it there is no firing but the carb fills up and if I give it gas I can see fuel squirting into the manifold. I'm getting a fuel and spark so I would think it would at least do something but I can turn it over as much as I want and nothing happens other than it flooding. Anyone have any theory's?

[akaupp]

What color is the spark?

[maxwoof]

You said the cap to coil wire is possibly bad - that could be your problem there. With the ignition on, cap off, coil wire plugged in coil, other end held close to a ground, you can test it. If you open and close the points manually, a nice blue spark should jump from the coil wire to a ground. If it does, then your problem is in the cap/wires/plugs, and the coil/distributior is working (assuming points are gapped correctly). If no spark jumps, check coil/distributor components first.

Another simple test is to pull all the plugs, lay them on the engine hooked up to the wires, and crank it over. You should see all of them sparking blue. Be careful of gas/fumes if you do this.

When I got my truck, the 235 would not start - turned out to be a few of the plugs were bad.

Hope this helps - good luck with it.

[62stepside longbox]

Ok thanks for the replies everyone. I'll try some of these methods tomorrow after school

[62stepside longbox]

Messed around some more today. Tried flooding it lots and it fired! Also noticed that my intake gasket seems to be leaking badly, when I flooded it most of the gas dripped down onto the engine block. I think the problem is a vacuum leak due to the bad gasket. I'll try to get my hands on a gasket soon and see if that fixes it.

[62stepside longbox]

Got my intake/exhaust gasket installed and now there are no leaks but I'm still having a problem. Still won't fire unless I really flood it, then it just pops and backfires. could the cold have something to do with it? Any idea's?

[maxwoof]

One thing to try would be to give it a shot of starting fluid. If it fires right up, that would suggest spark is OK and you have a fuel problem. If it doesn't fire, you still have spark issues.

I had a coil go bad once, it would run fine sometimes, idled for an hour in the driveway, took it out for a spin, and it would die like it ran out of gas. Another time, a bad coil in an HEI distributor caused backfires and difficult to start. I had the carb off, new fuel pump on, before I figured out it was in the distributor. Some say when ignition parts are dying, they masquerade like fuel problems to avoid being replaced...

I've also heard of bad condensers causing the same problems you have, although I have never seen one go bad in person.

In my experience, I've seen more ignition problems as a cause of no start than fuel problems. Particularly when they happen suddenly.

You really need to be sure you have strong blue spark, at the right time, to rule out ignition problems. Timing is important.

On my 62 235, I did a complete ignition overhaul - cap rotor, points, condenser, plugs, wires, timing, then did a valve adjustment (valves could possibly be a problem for you, when they are out, they can cause backfiring), then adjusted the carbs. Runs great now.

The problem with old parts/unknown history, is that you can never be sure the parts are good. It could be one thing, a combination of things, or a combination of weak parts that add up to no start.

Keep at it and good luck.

[TJ's Chevy]

Wonder if your fuel pump is no good....still has the one on the block right?

[vince1]

X2 on opening and closing the points with the coil wire close to ground. It should zap really good that way.

My guess is that your coil or condenser is going bad, or maybe even your points are grounding out some where. I've had all three happen to me. With the points, just by removing and re-installing them you might find a problem. Look for grey/black burnt areas at the top of the coil from the center post to the + and - terminals. I have found that the biggest enemy of condensers is age and an engine might have run good before it was shut off years before but in the present it might run really badly or not at all.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Wonder if your fuel pump is no good....still has the one on the block right?

Yeah it's the one on the block. I've tested it and it pumps like it should.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by vince1

X2 on opening and closing the points with the coil wire close to ground. It should zap really good that way.

My guess is that your coil or condenser is going bad, or maybe even your points are grounding out some where. I've had all three happen to me. With the points, just by removing and re-installing them you might find a problem. Look for grey/black burnt areas at the top of the coil from the center post to the + and - terminals. I have found that the biggest enemy of condensers is age and an engine might have run good before it was shut off years before but in the present it might run really badly or not at all.

I'll try to look into this after school today. What should I use to clean the points? really fine sandpaper?

[awbrown]

If you have spark at all the cylinders with the plugs lay on the block/valve cover , that dos not mean you have spark when they are in the cylinder .. if a plug has had too much fuel they may fire accross the gap outside , but under pressure they will not .. So try a new set of plugs but at the same time a weak coil will give the same symptoms , it may even try to run with the throttle blades closed at idle , but if you give it any gas it wont run .. ran into this with my pontiac once... so get a different coil and a new set of sparkplugs and give it a whirl .. I didn't see if you checked compression , but if it has sat a long time and the cylinders are dried out it would not hurt to squirt a shot of oil in each cylinder ...

[62stepside longbox]

Checked the points and they were super clean. One question though is there supposed to be grease between the distributor cam and the arm that rides on it? See the dark red glob in the pic below

[jtrichard]

IS your wiring still setup with hot start? And yes there should be a SMALL amount of grease on the cam

[TJ's Chevy]

After you clean your points check the gap and make sure they are around .016 to .018...if they are to far apart you'll get a weak spark that'll act way to far advanced. Maybe try to retard the timing a bit?

[62stepside longbox]

Hey guys, I got the truck started up today. It ran really rough and not for too long because I noticed the carb was pouring gas. Video: http://youtu.be/K9Ab9QcJN4w. Any advise?

[TJ's Chevy]

Looks like your float isn't doing anything to stop fuel flow. It's either stuck or the needle and seat are no good.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Looks like your float isn't doing anything to stop fuel flow. It's either stuck or the needle and seat are no good.

That's what I thought but when i recently took the carb apart the need and seat were clean and the rubber was in good shape and it didn't seem to stick

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

That's what I thought but when i recently took the carb apart the need and seat were clean and the rubber was in good shape and it didn't seem to stick

Maybe the float level is to high? You turn the carb upside down and if the rim of the float is level with the rim of the carb then it's in the good range. I usually adjust them a tad low. Is that seat removeable? Some of them have an o-ring on the outside of the seat that seals off the gas. If that o-ring breaks or gets to hard then the fuel will go right past.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Maybe the float level is to high? You turn the carb upside down and if the rim of the float is level with the rim of the carb then it's in the good range. I usually adjust them a tad low. Is that seat removeable? Some of them have an o-ring on the outside of the seat that seals off the gas. If that o-ring breaks or gets to hard then the fuel will go right past.

Thanks tj I'll check right now