Terrible first f(r)oad trip

[Mullis23]

Hey guys as some of you know i was attempting to make the truck good enough to drive the 300 miles of mountain passes to get back home from school. Well i took off after my last class at 9:30 got almost to the gas station and the temp was starting to rise. I pulled into the ford dealer and got a new thermostat and put it in right in their parking lot. After i finished that i get on I-70 a big highway and everything is going great for about 20 miles. Then it starts missing and sputtering. Then it just dies so i get it over on the shoulder and start poking around. Looks like my lift pump died cuz im not getting fuel at the schrader valve. I make some calls and get a tow back to my dorm. Just thought i would share my terrible day with you guys.

 

[itsacrazyasian]

that sucks dude.

I remember doing the ring and pinion in the back of my 2002 F150 after it blew up (in 2003 after steeda put new gears in) infront of my dorm at UCF in the freezing pouring rain. Wasn't happy that i actually paid someone to screw my truck up. That point on i did everything myself.

As for your IDI, things happen, these are older trucks but once you get on top and stay ontop with QUALITY parts then you should be a ok.

I had a bad run in with some crap lift pumps made by airtex. I had to walk back to my shop to get a 20+ year old pump off my parts motor to get back running and head home because the new airtex pump quit pumping. Had another one spit fuel everywhere.

 

[mariner45]

Hey guys as some of you know i was attempting to make the truck good enough to drive the 300 miles of mountain passes to get back home from school. Well i took off after my last class at 9:30 got almost to the gas station and the temp was starting to rise. I pulled into the ford dealer and got a new thermostat and put it in right in their parking lot. After i finished that i get on I-70 a big highway and everything is going great for about 20 miles. Then it starts missing and sputtering. Then it just dies so i get it over on the shoulder and start poking around. Looks like my lift pump died cuz im not getting fuel at the schrader valve. I make some calls and get a tow back to my dorm. Just thought i would share my terrible day with you guys.

Make sure that your water seperator is not leaking air - that is if you have one. On the 86 it is situated just below brake master cylinder on the firwall - slightly towards the outside. It is a canister with a pull ring on the top and two fuel lines (in and out) - which when pulled is supposed drain water out of the chamber. In reality, a lot of times this valve does not sit back down properly and allows fuel to drain out causing airlocks in the fuel system I bypassed my one years ago and have had no further problems.

If you 88 doesn't have the water trap, then all I have written doesn't apply

mariner

 

[Mullis23]

I was going to mention that i changed the fuel pump on the side of the road but its still not pushing any fuel. Now im trying to find someone with a trailer or something to haul it back to the other side of the mountains so i can work on it.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Are you sure you got the pump arm under the cam lobe, the newer pumps have a straight arm and you have to tip them to make sure the arm is under the cam. the pump with the dogleg arm goes straight in.

 

[Jbevs]

Sorry to hear man. Good luck.

 

[Mullis23]

oldbull im pretty sure i got it in right but im going to pull it tommorrow and make sure. I installed it on the side of the highway so its possible i didnt do it right so hopwefuly it will be a better day.

 

[Fordsandguns]

You might try temporarily putting an electric pump in to get home.

 

[Full Monte]

Are you sure you got the pump arm under the cam lobe, the newer pumps have a straight arm and you have to tip them to make sure the arm is under the cam. the pump with the dogleg arm goes straight in.

+1 on what he said.

 

[subway]

so how long did you crank before you think you have no fuel? it can take a while of cranking to get the filter full if the fuel system went dry.

i can agree with maybe going electric. sure makes it easy to purge air.

 

[SparkandFire]

Very sorry to hear about your troubles! I've been fortunate that no Ford truck has ever left me stranded (to date...)

The Mercedes, however...

You just need to get a good grip on the stuff that could leave you stranded, and get a backup plan worked out. Part of the reason I love these trucks so much is that you could literally carry most everything that could go out (and leave you stranded) in a truckbed toolbox, and with a handful of tools you can get yourself up and running again in a parking lot hundreds of miles from home. I recently had to redo a whole brake/caliper/bearing/rotor assembly on the road with nothing more than the small tools I keep in my cab.

My dad taught me the "strike first" method of replacing common wear items before they fail, and carrying the old parts in the toolbox just in case. Belts, hoses, fuel pumps, hell even a **** poor worn out IP would be handy (beats having to get the truck towed somewhere...)

 

[johneich]

x2 on the electric pump install, easy to do and for a short time you can leave the mechanical in place.

 

[Compu Doc]

Terrible first **** trip

Is a **** a cross between a frog and toad?

 

[hesutton]

That stinks man. The good news is, a fuel supply problem can only be a certain number of things and you should be able to track it down and fix it without too much of a hassle. Keep us posted.

Heath

 

[Mullis23]

comp- yea it could be i just wasnt thinking striaght when i wrote my post.

heath- i pulled the new fuel pump this morning and made sure i put it in right. The pump is pushing air still and its not getting fuel to the pump. So now im thinking the pickups broke and clogged the lines. Or the tank selector died i just dont have time to do it now. School is up for this year so in two weeks i have to be out of the dorm so im hoping i can fix it or get someone to drive the 300 miles and haul me back to my hometown.