confusing 1980 problem
 

hey yall ive posted on here about this befor and tried a few things but it didnt help...the engine stalls unless you keep it reved at a stop sign also while your driving the engine sounds like it just shuts off and starts right back up in a split second when yer goin like 50 ..i changed the distributor ,checked the fuel cut solenoid,new spark plugs ,adjusted the idle screws,timing..its still doin it though mostly once the truck warms up.please help suggestions are much appreciated!

I've played with these old trucks for years as has my dad. There seems to be an issue with the wiring harness on the computer. My dad even tore apart the harness and plugged each wire in induvidually. The comp is in the front left corner of the cab, it's a brown and green box.

Try wiggling the harness around, specifically try putting pressure towards the rear of the truck. I've even had to put something against the harness in the past. And this has fixed the issue, it's been an issue on two 2wd 81's that we have owned and my 82 4wd. Try it, everyone thinks I am stupid for offering this advice and I'm yet to see anyone take it.

My dad gave me this advice like ten years ago and I thought he was crazy, my idle seemed low, it would inexplicably die at stop lights, and would diesel or clunk a few times after I turned it off.

Your issues seem to mimic what I've seen in my rigs before.

so you just wiggled wires around and it fixed it?

Sort of when I get home I take a pic. I grab the harness and pull it towards me, it can be a poor contact in there. Simple to try. Do it while it's running and you have to keep on the gas to keep idle, then pull on that harness, should take care of business

ooorrr,check your large vacuum hose that comes off the intake manifold to the valve cover...mine did the same thing and the hose was cracked on the bottom where you cant see it.

i checked the vaccumm line it looks fine not a real snug fit ..man this thing idles so low like its almost gonna die( but dosnt when warm just barely chugs along) all the time it has great thottle response but its idle is unlike ive ever seen its slow-mo. this is drivin me crazy. oh yeh on that vac. line you told me to check where it goes into the cover its got a weird little screw top lookin valve thing whats that and could that be a problem?sorry yall

You might try rebuilding the carberueter. It's not that difficult but its very methodical. If you have good throttle response that is good. Ive rebuilt 2 and both ran like a top after by just cleaning everything, replacing gaskets and setting it to specs. I hope you can find an easier fix. try looking for vaccumm leaks everywhere and checking all the lines to see if there good and hooked up right...hopefully its not a cali smog rig...

it is california it sucks ive never seen such a small engine with so much crap in the way of vaccumm lines

one of the carbs i rebuilt was a california 22r and it had the same problem your having. It would die at stop signs or coming to a stop.After the carb rebuild it didn't die at all but that was after a 10 minute drive and i havn't checked with the person that owns the truck if its having the same problem but it still ran 100% better after the rebuild so I think it solved the problem. I can check in and see if he is still having the same problem? Those california trucks have massive vaccum lines and wiring because of emisions. I think those engines where ahead of there time because it has all the components of EFI but in cabreurated form because it has O2 sensors to lean the mixture and enrich it. Good luck with it whatever you are trying to make it better

if it was one of my other trucks id feel more comfortable rebuilding the carb but this mess under the hood kinda freaks me out.

you could get someone to do it for you or do it yourself. If you wana do it yourself just label or take pictures of the wiring an vaccum lines, buy the $60 rebuilt kit at napa disassemble clean everything and reassemble like the manual tells you.