Need help ASAP, 1989 f150 dual tank stalls and is getting no fuel

[CanukGMC]

Originally Posted by spytearbite

Wait!!!! You do not lose compression with fuels. You have the gas being pushed out the exhaust. If you lose compression, then the crank will not turn is hydraulic lock being the cylinder chamber is full to the brim with liquid and you can't compress liquid too well or too much is a stuck crank and a heating up starter motor.
Bent valves, blown head gaskets, piston ring end gap are some of known compression losses. I doubt you will find compression loss when you have liquid pushing up against the ring groove to ring is a better seal under compression, not loss of compression. What do you think makes the pistons all pushed up against the cylinder wall but pressure behind the ring.

You may have tripped up on the compression, but I would pull a plug and see how wet-fouled they are? If they look sooty wet... Then change the plugs, do not prime the car is it should start right up.

There is no compression loss. As stated previously the plugs are BONE dry which means fuel is leaving the fuel pump, going to the engine, and not making it in. Not to mention it's defying the laws of logic by NOT even firing with starting fluid or gas itself. It's at the "shop" right now, dragged it there with some chain. Either he can fix it or it's off to the boneyard with the thing. I'm just done with this.

Am I mad? Of course. I've never seen an engine get fuel spark and air and NOT fire. Yes fuel may not be getting in via the pump but I sprayed some in the TB's and got nothing. It makes no sense. I have no way to get to work. I live in the forest literally and can't even buy food unless I hitch a ride. Up here a vehicle is everything and I don't have that now. What's worse is that I can't even afford one right now so if this doesn't get fixed I really dunno what's going to happen. Enough of my sob story, u guys were great, thanks so much for the info.

[rhandwor]

A badly flooded engine will lose compression. The air will blow past a piston ring with no oil. It does not happen frequently but a couple weeks ago my carburator needle and seat leaked on my lawn mower. To start it I pulled the plug and blew out the gas. I squirted oil in the piston because the starter rope was very easy to pull no compression. I put the plug back in and it started right up. The next time I used it I cleaned out the carburator. Many times I've checked compression if low I added oil if it jumped way up it needed rings. If it stayed the same it was a leaking valve. I've also had to do this on carburated engines if the needle and seat stuck open. It doesn't happen much anymore but he indicated he put a lot of fuel in the engine.

[CanukGMC]

Originally Posted by rhandwor

A badly flooded engine will lose compression. The air will blow past a piston ring with no oil. It does not happen frequently but a couple weeks ago my carburator needle and seat leaked on my lawn mower. To start it I pulled the plug and blew out the gas. I squirted oil in the piston because the starter rope was very easy to pull no compression. I put the plug back in and it started right up. The next time I used it I cleaned out the carburator. Many times I've checked compression if low I added oil if it jumped way up it needed rings. If it stayed the same it was a leaking valve. I've also had to do this on carburated engines if the needle and seat stuck open. It doesn't happen much anymore but he indicated he put a lot of fuel in the engine.

Yeah I've heard of that b4 too. Sorry if I mislead in my previous posts, when I said I poured fuel in I don't mean I got retarded with it, I know too much of anything in the fine balance of an engine is too much. I started with starting fluid spray, it failed, the engine sat for about an hour or two, then I tried spritzing fuel into the TB's. The plugs are bone bone dry and a nice tan brown colour, definitely no flood of any kind. I'm praying the shop gets it going again, if they figure it out I will post what happened for anyone else searching and reading this.

[Scrapper]

yes that gas going in oil will eat your main bearings then you mise well forget about your engine and have it rebuilt..good luck..

[spytearbite]

Originally Posted by rhandwor

To start it I pulled the plug and blew out the gas.

I think you might be contradicting yourself. Notice how you had to remove the gas. The compression is caused by both static tension the ring is sitting in and a pressure rise you pulling the cord. Now, push the piston up and pucker your cheeks.

Did you make kinetic energy where you can see that pressure build to cause compression? If the piston is moving up, and the pressure is building, tell me your lips are not in ring tension even more than static dead no pressure at all but the static tension on the ring against the piston on the rise is your pressure on your lips to keep your lungs from exhaling.

Think about it. You had to pull the plug to remove way too much gas, right? And now. tell me when you pull that crank and there is splash of oil up against the cylinder and the piston is not soaked with oil on the skirt on the one stroke, or say two pulls on the crank and you pulled way more than 2 revolutions. So there is your oil'd wall you never lost oil on the crank splash is one oil type lube called, "Splash." The other is "Pressure lube" with an oil pump.

Defy my logic or simple physics. Who is correct? Did you have an open intake valve or a leaky valve where the tension is hard to break that round water ball, but it can roll like a slinky through the ring gap and find the next ring gap; till all the way down the crankcase.

Now, I've seen gas in crankcases is never lost a bottom end. Again, would you kindly tell me when there is more oil than gas is just thinner oil. Does a 2-stroke engine blow up and seize from too little oil and gas mixed is that the 2-stroke lives on a blend of oil and gas mix. So, once again, how are you about to ruin an engine with the oil ratio way more than straight gas, say for argument sake?

Did I nail both of your simple plysicks? Are you in agreement or can you bring more evidence that I present to your abstract is my counter abstract to a T. Sore EEE.

Tell me I'm a poser. Excuse me?

[W-T-Katt]

A very common problem is for the wires going into the fuel pump relay corroding at the terminal. You can't tell until you jiggle each wire. More often than not, one will pop right off due to corrosion. Just do whatever you can to replace the terminal onto a good section of that wire. Cheap and simple fix. Had this happen to me on an 85, 86, 87 and 89 broncos. all different motors...smae problem with each. Hope this helps.

[CanukGMC]

It spent 4 days at the shop and even they couldn't figure out exactly what was going wrong. After day 2 the spark disapeared as well, he figured since I changed the outside ecm on the distrib it must be the part inside it. Rather than pour money into the POS just to have it die again I scrapped it. He kept the truck, didn't charge me for the labor and I sold the helper springs and rear tires for 200$ so at least it wasn't a total loss.

[rhandwor]

Are you walking or did you buy a new truck?

[Rasp]

I'll observe a moment of silence for obviously a very good truck. It will be missed. lol.

[CanukGMC]

Yeah that truck will be missed, it had alot of character, beater character, but some none the less.

Personal end of the story: I work as a fire ranger and we've had RECORD rainfall this year so I'm making little to no money, luckily my wife does well as a nurse. I've wrangled borrowing a friends truck for work for now and this weekend I'm getting a ride to the city to browse trucks. Maybe even a brand new one this time, it's a real gamble living where I am and not having a reliable truck can actually be a pretty big achillies heel if you will. Thanks again to all who replied, and to anyone searching for an answer to a similar problem sorry I couldn't figure out what it was.

[rhandwor]

I was looking for a Ford CV on ebay this car had 11,000 mile 2008 it was buy it now for 13,000 which is a big drop for a 2008. It also had a warranty.
Look around a friend bought a Dodge diesel a bank repo. The bigger vehicles are cheaper at this time. Do some internet search for new Ford F-150 if this is what you want.

[CanukGMC]

Originally Posted by rhandwor

I was looking for a Ford CV on ebay this car had 11,000 mile 2008 it was buy it now for 13,000 which is a big drop for a 2008. It also had a warranty.
Look around a friend bought a Dodge diesel a bank repo. The bigger vehicles are cheaper at this time. Do some internet search for new Ford F-150 if this is what you want.

Tnx for the info, it's definitely a buyers market for pickups thanks to the gas prices, hopefully it all works out soon.

[dan fitz]

i know this is a 5 year old post, but couldn't help noticing it. my 88 Ff250 had fuel problems, both tanks had internal pumps but the problem was the"dual pump reservoir" had failed and wouldn't switch over when asked to do so. no electrical connections to it, it responds to pressure from the chosen tank pump. very expensive part, so i picked up two at a junkyard, have one in reserve. lots of posts about it on the web under "dual pump reservoir" as i recall, and although this post was focused on the electrical, i thought this might be helpful as i'm guessing the OP's dual tanks have the same setup as mine with the reservoir in between. after the reservoir i believe there was another single hi-pressure pump to boost it to injector pressure but it's been awhile since i did this and i take care of several vans and trucks of this era.