Help me diagnose failures on first test drive

[jsera]

Hey guys, had my first test drive last night and didn't make it out of the neighborhood. Took a couple laps around the block and then decided to head for the open road and that's when the fit hit the shan...

steering was kinda squirrelly but I ignored it and kept going.
As I was making my way towards the road, I hear a pop or a ping (some sort of onomatopoeia) and immediately stopped and put the truck in reverse thinking something might have fallen off. As I was going in reverse, the engine stalled and I found myself stuck in the middle of the street.

The truck wouldn't start (though it would turn over) and so I pushed it over to the side of the road to await a tow back to the house because Id never get up the driveway pushing on my own.

To get the truck to the side of the road I had to turn the wheels and that's when I noticed a dead 2-4 inches of steering with a clnk somewhere in it as you turned the wheel back and forth. The tow driver helped me narrow it down and as I turned the wheel, he says the clunk seemed to be coming from inside the steering box (power steering box-which is brand new) I had also checked for any loose linkages and found none.

So my questions:

1-What might have caused the pop and engine to stall and not turn back on? I suspect it may have been low on fuel but I thought it would have enough to get to the gas station-Ill try this later. I also had removed the cap and checked that the rotor did spin when cranking so its not a timing chain.

2- Whats the clunk in the steering box and what do I do to fix it?

[jsera]

Anyone? I'm supposed to take it in to the muffler shop today and am hoping to fix it in time

[truckster]

A description of the truck might help. What engine, transmission, carb, and distributor, for example?

Also, where did the brand-new steering box come from?

[jsera]

Originally Posted by truckster

A description of the truck might help. What engine, transmission, carb, and distributor, for example?

Also, where did the brand-new steering box come from?

Sorry:

SB350, T56 6speed, Edelbrock 1406, MSD Distributor

The steering box is a Cardone rebuilt unit

[weq92f]

Cause of you stall is likely to become obvious once you start troubleshooting the no start condition.

With respect to the steering, put the front up on jack stands. Observe the steering components while somebody else is turning the wheel. Use a stethoscope ( any solid rod: broom handle, screw driver, wire hanger, etc ) to narrow down where the noise emits from if naked ears can't get it. If it works fine like that, do the same again but with the suspension loaded.

Any pictures? Interested particularly in you shifter location on the floor ( just curious with T56 ).

-klb

[jsera]

Originally Posted by weq92f

Cause of you stall is likely to become obvious once you start troubleshooting the no start condition.

With respect to the steering, put the front up on jack stands. Observe the steering components while somebody else is turning the wheel. Use a stethoscope ( any solid rod: broom handle, screw driver, wire hanger, etc ) to narrow down where the noise emits from if naked ears can't get it. If it works fine like that, do the same again but with the suspension loaded.

Any pictures? Interested particularly in you shifter location on the floor ( just curious with T56 ).

-klb

heres one from when I was working on wiring. The shifter was moved to the inspection port:

[truckster]

Cardone units are hit-and miss. They're not new, they're supposed to be remanufactured. It's possible the problem is in the remanufactured unit. You mentioned that it was squirrelly when you started driving, which is often a gearbox problem in Chevy trucks. But it would also be important to check the rag joint, tie rod ends, etc.

Try feeding a little bit of gas through the carburetor. If it fires, it's likely you have fuel starvation. It could be out of fuel (you mentioned it was low) or it might be a carb, pump, filter, or fuel sock problem. I would start with seeing if it fires when you feed it fuel and go from there.

[demian5]

Originally Posted by truckster

A description of the truck might help. What engine, transmission, carb, and distributor, for example?

Also, where did the brand-new steering box come from?

Yeah, you could be driving a cab with no clip or bed and no cooling system as far as we know

[hjewell2]

Originally Posted by jsera

heres one from when I was working on wiring. The shifter was moved to the inspection port:

I want the dog

[El Dorado Jim]

sub'd

[jsera]

Originally Posted by truckster

Cardone units are hit-and miss. They're not new, they're supposed to be remanufactured. It's possible the problem is in the remanufactured unit. You mentioned that it was squirrelly when you started driving, which is often a gearbox problem in Chevy trucks. But it would also be important to check the rag joint, tie rod ends, etc.

Try feeding a little bit of gas through the carburetor. If it fires, it's likely you have fuel starvation. It could be out of fuel (you mentioned it was low) or it might be a carb, pump, filter, or fuel sock problem. I would start with seeing if it fires when you feed it fuel and go from there.

Looks like the steering box is toast, maxed out the adjustment and it still clicks/clunks. Fortunately, I have a spare junkyard box lying around from before I got the cardone unit, time to see if it works. It occurred to me too, that my alignment is pretty far off (toe in) could this have destroyed the cardone box over just a couple miles?

As for fuel, I got some gas last night, but the battery was too low as I left the ignition in accessory from the previous day so I left the truck on the trickle charger last night (don't currently have a heavy duty charger). We'll find out today if it fires

[jsera]

Originally Posted by demian5

Yeah, you could be driving a cab with no clip or bed and no cooling system as far as we know

Nope, its mostly there, all that's left is A/C, interior, exhaust (open headers right now), bed wood (bed is on with plywood temporarily), new tires and eventually I'll re-gear the rear end.

[jsera]

Originally Posted by hjewell2

I want the dog

She's the best dog, lives with my parents, now that I'm on my own I need to get one too

[truckster]

Originally Posted by jsera

It occurred to me too, that my alignment is pretty far off (toe in) could this have destroyed the cardone box over just a couple miles?

No, that gear box should be sturdy enough to take the kind of beating off-roading dishes out and not complain.

I hope it fires up for you. Easy fixes are my favorite kind.

[67 chevelle]

Originally Posted by truckster

No, that gear box should be sturdy enough to take the kind of beating off-roading dishes out and not complain.

I hope it fires up for you. Easy fixes are my favorite kind.

Total agreement

[jsera]

Originally Posted by 67 chevelle

Total agreement

Awesome, I figured if anything the stress is on the tie rods, but I didn't want to subject the next box to it if it was gonna happen again

[jsera]

Update:

Got everything working just fine and went on my first successful test drive last night (besides the rear end needing to be regeared to match my transmission and the alignment being so far off that it throws you when driving over a man hole, it rides half decent...Next stop: Alignment/muffler shop

The fix(es):
No start-Turns out the truck was just out of gas, but I guess it happened for the best, someone was looking out for me because the steering issue was just plain dangerous, I'm glad it stalled and wouldn't start.

The steering-I started the process to replace the steering box last night when I noticed the screw that holds the rag joint on the box side was totally loose. I tightened it down and all the slop and noises went away.

Thanks for the help guys!

[70 shorty]

Glad you got it worked out. Yeah, I'd say the running out of gas was the big guy looking out for you!

[midniteblues]

If you ran it outa gas you should check your fuel filters.
That's a good way to suck up any dirt in the tank.

I learned it's too easy too install the inner tie rods the wrong way.
Do yourself a favor and double check that your inner's have the stud facing forward.
If they are facing rearward it will make your steering real weird.

You certainly had luck on your side there.
Just for giggles I would check all the steering fasteners up there after I wiped the cold sweat away.

[truckster]

I'm glad it's working for you. Let us know how it rides after the alignment.

[jsera]

Originally Posted by midniteblues

If you ran it outa gas you should check your fuel filters.
That's a good way to suck up any dirt in the tank.

I learned it's too easy too install the inner tie rods the wrong way.
Do yourself a favor and double check that your inner's have the stud facing forward.
If they are facing rearward it will make your steering real weird.

You certainly had luck on your side there.
Just for giggles I would check all the steering fasteners up there after I wiped the cold sweat away.

Im not worried on the dirt because Id removed the tank and scrubbed it all out so it ought to be clean, and I made sure to torque down all the fasteners to german spec before the second test run, but I will check where those tie rod ends are pointed for sure!