77' truck 360 motor

[charger72]

i have a 77 1 ton dump with a 360 2bbl that for the life of me wont start. I replaced the voltage regulator,cap/rotor,plugs and coil and the truck still just cranks. i checked and am getting spark at the cap and plugs. The timing is correct.
I parked it this spring and it ran fine, just wont start now.
Is there anything i should look for?

I also though maybe the lifters were dry so i poured oil down the pushrod holes and all over the rockers and let it sit for a day  to see if it would help but no luck.

[FLG]

How about the carb? Seems to me like your not getting fuel. Bad pump, collapsed line..are some possibilities.

[charger72]

oh yea, i did check that too and it is getting fuel, choke is working, etc..i've even tried fresh fuel and still nothing. Would the ballast resistor(4 prong) cause this

[FLG]

Possible, but if your getting spark it should be fine. When you say spark, your getting a nice blue spark correct?

If you have spark, and fuel...then the only thing left is compression. Broken timing chain?

[acelondon]

Mice living in your intake?
had that happen on my 73 olds. took me 3 weeks to try to get it running


another good idea, but not a safe one:

pour some gas straight into the carb top, and give it a crank. if that starts it, then either your fuel pump isn't priming(usually means its shot) or you have a bad line.

[Steve P.]

Can you see fuel squirting down when looking into the carb and squeezing the throttle??

Pull a few plugs and check to see if they are dry or wet. Old fuel doesn't like to fire very well. If the plugs are soaked with OLD GAS I would pull them all and turn the motor over without any plugs installed to push out the bad gas. Also, when you pull the plugs, take a sniff and if the smell gags you it is BAD GAS...

If you have alllot of bad gas in the tank you will be better off removing the feed line before the fuel pump and install a cheap electric pump and a long fuel line. Pump out the bad gas to a gas can or how ever many it takes. Start fresh with a new filter in line.

Let us know.... 

[charger72]

Guys, i've drained the tank and installed a side tank for now. New plugs, etc and it still does this. Could the old carb be bad? like a jet sticking or so? the carb has always leaked down the sides a bit.

[Steve P.]

If your carb is leaking it is way past due for a rebuild...  Float can be stuck or plugged. Best to rebuild it and know what you've got...

You never said if you ARE getting gas squirting when opening the throttle....

[charger72]

sorry about that. I does pump it and squirt in the carb, you can also hear it squirt too. it has good flow on the jets when it comes out.

[Steve P.]

Have you puller the plugs to see if they are flooded out?

If you are getting good spark at the plugs, have fuel and you know your ignition timing is right it should be running. My bet is gas soaked plugs..

[charger72]

i've checked spark and its good, timing is right on. The plugs were soaked untill i changed them along with the cap and rotor.

[Steve P.]

did you spin the motor over while the plugs were out?? That will help clear the cylinders.

Are you seeing a normal spark with every rotation or only at the end of starter engagement? If you have good spark on every rotation you should be good there.

How do you KNOW that your timing is correct?
When you shut the engine down last it could have jumped timing. 2 or 3 teeth can bring a world of hurt.

If everything else is in order the next thing to do is a compression test.

[Moparbob]

Do you have spark?

[charger72]

ive cleaned the cylinders out by spinning it over, the distributor is on tdc every time with the # pointing to 1 and theplugs fires constant/

[Steve P.]

Ok, so you have fuel, spark and you say the timing is on. Time for a compression test on all 8. Off the top of my head I have to say you have had a family of rats build a house in your exhaust system if you have good compression. Or something that you have already checked is off...

Does it sound like it's trying to fire?? Any fart out of the carb or exhaust? Are you using fresh gas?

Are you using a "lean burn" ignition system? 

How good or bad did it run the last time you used it??

Sorry for all the questions. It's just not as easy to find a problem long distance.. 

[charger72]

its sounds like it wants to start and sometimes pops. The last time it ran it ran fine. then tried to start a about a month later and it almost started but the battery died and has been sitting since. i have new "regular" gas and no lean burn system.