ortwein
Junior Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2016
- Posts
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Mississippi
- First Name
- Mark
- Truck Year
- 1985
- Truck Model
- C10
- Engine Size
- 305
Hello All,
First, let me start by saying I am complete novice: I do most very simple repairs on my pickup (replaced a thermostat, water pump, simply plug-in-play stuff) but am extremely weak when it comes to diagnosing problems. The upshot is that I may ask stupid questions and require simplified responses. Bear with me...
So, here is my situation (It's lengthy).
I purchased ($1500) an old farm truck (1985 C10) to use primarily on my property, e.g., hauling feed and water, towing, and that sort of thing. On the whole I was quite pleased with the purchase. That said a month or two after taking ownership (this was in June or July of last year), I drove the pickup over to the neighboring town and noticed with was losing power, so I mashed the gas petal a few times and it gained power and I kept going (was driving around 50-55 mph). A few minutes later it happened again and once more I started mashing the petal keeping it going for 4-5 minutes before my leg started aching and I decided to pull over. Sure enough, as soon as I quit mashing the petal the truck died and I pulled over. The truck would not restart. I sat on the side of the highway for about 15 minutes trying to get it going--no dice. So I called a tow truck and had it delivered to my mechanic. When they arrived--to my chagrin--the truck started right up and the fellow drove my truck up the ramp and off he went.
A couple days later I inquired about the status of my pickup and was told that they started and let the truck idle multiple times with no issues. My mechanic thought it might have something to do with debris or water in the gas tank. The former owner of the truck claims the truck didn't "sit"--but who knows. So I drove the pickup home and resumed using it around the farm. No issues for a couple months and then it happened again. I managed to get it back to the house the next time. Again, after an hours or so, it started back up...this would happen once or twice every couple months or so. But I'd figured out how to deal with it.
Fast forward...
The truck had been running fine with no issues for several months when (August 2016) I needed to make a 90 mile drive to pick up a mattress we'd purchased in Memphis. By this time the motor had started leaking oil pretty significantly (had a small leak when I bought it). The trip to Memphis must have been too much for her because it really started losing oil once I arrived at my destination--to the point that every 15 miles or so I have to add more. Finally--she gave up the ghost. Long story short: I opted to have a new motor (refurbished) installed. Given the otherwise excellent condition of the truck, this seemed like a good choice at the time. Regardless, I also thought this would solve the mysterious issue outlined above.
It didn't.
Several days after getting the pickup home--it happened again about 1 mile from my home. I called the mechanic in Memphis who installed the motor and he sent a guy to pick it up. Of course, by this time the truck would start, but I still thought it a good idea for them to look at it because the truck was also idling really fast too, and "dieseled" when I turned it off. They made few adjustments to the carburetor and sent it back. (He also told me that if it happened again I might need to purchase a new carburetor.) I drove it for a week or so and it happened again. This time, however, it wouldn't restart at all. For a couple weeks I tried getting it running with starter spray...nada. Once more they drove 90 miles to the truck and this time replaced the entire distributor (previously they had only replaced the cap when replacing the motor). Back it came and--you guessed it: The problem still persists. I generally don't take it more than 10 miles from the house--which is difficult given where we live--for fear of it happening again. I would add, too, that this problem also happened during the winter.
I'm sorry this post is so long, but I thought details would help.
Thanks in advance...
Mark
I
First, let me start by saying I am complete novice: I do most very simple repairs on my pickup (replaced a thermostat, water pump, simply plug-in-play stuff) but am extremely weak when it comes to diagnosing problems. The upshot is that I may ask stupid questions and require simplified responses. Bear with me...
So, here is my situation (It's lengthy).
I purchased ($1500) an old farm truck (1985 C10) to use primarily on my property, e.g., hauling feed and water, towing, and that sort of thing. On the whole I was quite pleased with the purchase. That said a month or two after taking ownership (this was in June or July of last year), I drove the pickup over to the neighboring town and noticed with was losing power, so I mashed the gas petal a few times and it gained power and I kept going (was driving around 50-55 mph). A few minutes later it happened again and once more I started mashing the petal keeping it going for 4-5 minutes before my leg started aching and I decided to pull over. Sure enough, as soon as I quit mashing the petal the truck died and I pulled over. The truck would not restart. I sat on the side of the highway for about 15 minutes trying to get it going--no dice. So I called a tow truck and had it delivered to my mechanic. When they arrived--to my chagrin--the truck started right up and the fellow drove my truck up the ramp and off he went.
A couple days later I inquired about the status of my pickup and was told that they started and let the truck idle multiple times with no issues. My mechanic thought it might have something to do with debris or water in the gas tank. The former owner of the truck claims the truck didn't "sit"--but who knows. So I drove the pickup home and resumed using it around the farm. No issues for a couple months and then it happened again. I managed to get it back to the house the next time. Again, after an hours or so, it started back up...this would happen once or twice every couple months or so. But I'd figured out how to deal with it.
Fast forward...
The truck had been running fine with no issues for several months when (August 2016) I needed to make a 90 mile drive to pick up a mattress we'd purchased in Memphis. By this time the motor had started leaking oil pretty significantly (had a small leak when I bought it). The trip to Memphis must have been too much for her because it really started losing oil once I arrived at my destination--to the point that every 15 miles or so I have to add more. Finally--she gave up the ghost. Long story short: I opted to have a new motor (refurbished) installed. Given the otherwise excellent condition of the truck, this seemed like a good choice at the time. Regardless, I also thought this would solve the mysterious issue outlined above.
It didn't.
Several days after getting the pickup home--it happened again about 1 mile from my home. I called the mechanic in Memphis who installed the motor and he sent a guy to pick it up. Of course, by this time the truck would start, but I still thought it a good idea for them to look at it because the truck was also idling really fast too, and "dieseled" when I turned it off. They made few adjustments to the carburetor and sent it back. (He also told me that if it happened again I might need to purchase a new carburetor.) I drove it for a week or so and it happened again. This time, however, it wouldn't restart at all. For a couple weeks I tried getting it running with starter spray...nada. Once more they drove 90 miles to the truck and this time replaced the entire distributor (previously they had only replaced the cap when replacing the motor). Back it came and--you guessed it: The problem still persists. I generally don't take it more than 10 miles from the house--which is difficult given where we live--for fear of it happening again. I would add, too, that this problem also happened during the winter.
I'm sorry this post is so long, but I thought details would help.
Thanks in advance...
Mark
I
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