I am at the last stage of getting the pickup, (86 4 x4, carbed, man trans) ready and was trying to get it started last night. The tank has been dry for about a year and a half. I put about 3 gallons in it and then poured a little in the carb. It fired up great then died once it burned through what was in the carb. I did this about 10 -12 times trying to get the gas from the tank through the lines and to the carb. Still nothing. Any suggenstions?

 

How long did you crank it? Sometimes it takes a while to get fuel up the lines. Mechanical pump, right? I almost wonder if pouring some gas in the lines to "prime" the pump might help. Otherwise just the usual stuff like making sure the lines are all connected right, not clogged etc. Good luck!

 

When cranking it without adding gas to the carb, nothing happens. I try for about 10-15 seconds. I wasn't sure if that was creating enough vacuum so thats why I tried the gas in the carb. I'm pretty certain on the lines. The two steel lines on the passenger fender are returns and the one single line that comes up from the bottom by the starter incoming from the tank right? I have an after market filter that came with the truck and instead of the side-by-side, the line from the tank goes in the bottom and the line to the carb comes from the top. I was thinking about filling that filter up and trying it again.

 

Not sure without looking at my truck. I've always just remembered which one was which, since I've never really had the gas lines taken apart enough for it to not be obvious. Do you have a manual? I can scan & post mine, but that's for an '83...not sure if it will be the same. Let me know what you find out.

 

I've got the Haynes manual and it doesn't tell me anything on the fuel lines. I've searched through it and can't find anything. Another question to see if you can help. What is the MC Valve? The emissions diagram shows a hose going from the passenger side of the intake, on the top right at the base of the carb, up to the MC Valve. I don't have a hose that is on that and was wondering if that may have something to do with it also.

 

Not sure. I'll try to remember to check my manual. If you've got a major vacuum leak, that could be part of it.

 

Well this is what I found out last night - I thought maybe I should check my fuel pump to make sure it was good. If not, I just happen to have an extra one that came with the truck originally. I used a 3 foot piece of clear tubing and ran the tube from a gas can to the pump. Got in the caband tried turning the motor while watching that clear tube. Nothing. Swapped out fuel pumps, tried it again and bam! Fuel through the tube and to the carb. Just the damn pump. Glad I had that extra one. After that I hooked the fuel lines back up and started cranking. After about 5-6 tries I looked at the filter and had a little fuel in the bottom. Saturday I'm going to get the right one for it and hopefully be driving it to work Monday. It's been a long year and a half.

 

Nice! Good thinking, trying that.

It's pretty rare that those fuel pumps go out. Was it an aftermarket one or original? I had an aftermarket one go out after only a couple thousand miles. The original ones don't really go out, they just start leaking.

 

I don't think it was aftermarket. Someone else told me the same thing about those not really ever going bad. Another guy said that sometimes if it sits for awhile dry, that the diaphram breaks or cracks inside. That could have been the case since the motor was on a stand for over 8 months or so.