wasnt able to get her started today

[RedZ71]

day 2 of owning a 1971 C10, and i wasnt able to get her started for a quick run around my apts. battery feels very weak, and the start sometimes would just "trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy" to turn, but nothing. i also havent owned a carbed vehicle ever, so when it comes to coaxing these gals to life, im not really sure what to do.

i did order a new starter, chrome air edlebrock 14" air cleaner (since i have nothing), and a new battery, which ill pick up tomorrow.

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by RedZ71

day 2 of owning a 1971 C10, and i wasnt able to get her started for a quick run around my apts. battery feels very weak, and the start sometimes would just "trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy" to turn, but nothing. i also havent owned a carbed vehicle ever, so when it comes to coaxing these gals to life, im not really sure what to do.

i did order a new starter, chrome air edlebrock 14" air cleaner (since i have nothing), and a new battery, which ill pick up tomorrow.

On a carbureted car you need to pump it at least once to set the choke. You may need to pump the accelerator to get some fuel flowing into the carb.
When was the last time this truck ran?
s/t

[GREASEMONKEY72]

look down into the carb and move the throttle by hand and see if theres fuel squirting, and also pump it 4-5 times before starting ummm and i cant think right now but others will help you out and goodluck with getting her to fire up and i hope you enjoy her as much as i enjoy mine

[krue]

I usually have to pump mine 2 or 3 times, then hold it to the floor while cranking.

[corn]

Ive owned q-jets before that you had to pump until you got a charlie horse. Andy will tell me I wrong, no Andy really I did!LOL

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by cornfed63

Ive owned q-jets before that you had to pump until you got a charlie horse. Andy will tell me I wrong, no Andy really I did!LOL

Your getting a charlie- horse because you aren’t drinking enough…..(water that is).
s/t

[agronomya]

I'm having the same problem Red. Just got done rebuilding the carb, makin sure everything was clean and block free and still no go tonight. I'm gonna revamp my HEI and then I don't know what I'll have to do after that. I'll keep payin attention to this thread.

[gouldie]

i can only get mine started if i pour a little gas down the carb.

[wheels67]

Check the ground for tightness on the battery. Also the positive to the starter solenoid.
Then look down the carb to make sure fuel sprays as you move the throttle.

Then pull the coil wire (hold by the rubber boot) 1/2" from the exhaust manifold and see if it sparks when someone cranks the engine.

[wheels67]

Originally Posted by gouldie

i can only get mine started if i pour a little gas down the carb.

Time for a rebuild.LOL

[cdowns]

new battery is good// points,plugs ,condensor,cap,rotor,plugs and wires,fuel filter set gaps dwell etcITS CALLED A TUNEUP just about mandatory for new old vehicles// they need maintence it helps alot and is much cheaper if you've got service manuals and the proper tools

[trkklr77]

i cant belive no body else said it, but did you even check the voltage?
the acid level of the battery? you can top it off witha little distilled water.


again check and clean the ground ends and both battery terminals.

[Longhorn Man]

I've never run a Q-jet honestly... never owned one that didn't puke all over the intake.
However, I can't see a q-jet in good condition work any different than any other carb, one or two pumps and kick it over.
But every old vehicle is different from an other old vehicle. My old 68 cougar (302/C4 holley 600) I had to pump that pedal 5 or 6 times, crank, and start pumping the hell out of it as I cranked it over.

[gouldie]

Originally Posted by wheels67

Time for a rebuild.LOL

i did rebuild the carb but the person who did it before me jerry rigged the accelorator pump. it revs up fine when i floor it now but i must have missed something else he did.

[RedZ71]

i did pull the fuel line, and drip some in, but i was afraid i dripped too much. maybe not, im still a firsttimer in the carb world. i tried to do it the PO demonstrated.

like i said the battery is weak, and the terminations are rigged. ill probably cut them off and replace the poles with new ones today when i pick up the battery.

to the posted to mentioned fuel delivery when the thottle is operated, i was able to see some puffs comming up out of the carb when i was pumping the gas, i hoped this meant that fuel was being delivered. when i did pull the fuel line tho, the line was highly pressurized, and some fuel sprayed on the block. highly pressurized, as in, when i grasped the line, fuel sprayed from under the clamp, before i even pulled it off.

thanks for all the responses! i really appreciate it, im in totally new territory here!

[RedZ71]

well at this point im fairly sure i have a fuel delivery problem. pressure in the fuel line was quite high, that when i removed the line from the carb, fuel sprayed instead of dripped. also, when i did drip some fuel into the carb, she did finally start, but then immediately died as soon as the tiny bit of fuel in the carb was consumed.

i guess im going learn about carb rebuilds sooner than i thought!

i did put a new battery in, and that made a ton of difference when cranking. the starter seems to be fine for now, never had any trouble getting it to turn over.

[72lb4x4]

So you're getting gas to the carb, but apparently not in the carb. Qjets, and many other carbs have (or had) a small bronze colored filter between the fuel line fitting and the carb. Yours may be clogged.

Looking over past posts I don't see what carb is on it, or when it ran last. There may also be an aftermarket filter that's clogged in the line.

[RedZ71]

well i took off the carbs filter fitting, and it was clear (i was able to blow air thru it). peering into the fuel inlet with a light, i didnt see a filter screen that could be clogged (i think its not there?).

if i take the carb apart, there is a high chance it wont be starting again any time soon. my mechanic friend and i are going to get together this weekend to see what we can do for it, so maybe ill finally get to drive her around a bit more then.

heh, i got under and snapped some more pics today...

is this a problem??
http://www.dfwlp.org/~jhorne/pics/tr.../dsc06197.html

and i have no idea what this thing is:
http://www.dfwlp.org/~jhorne/pics/tr.../dsc06190.html

[centsless]

Nice shock mount!! Nothing a new upper mount wont fix!!
The second pic is where the middle e-brake cable goes thru. It hooks to both cables on the trailing arms and goes thru that sheath.

[72lb4x4]

Well, In looking at the link I see it shows a small paper filter, not a bronze one like I said. Have a look at the link. Youll probably need to enlarge the pic.

The filter is 375. Is this what you looked for and didn't see?

http://www.monte-list.nu/html/tech/qjet.jpg

[RedZ71]

holy ****balls!!! (can i say that on this forum? well see)

is that what the inside of a carb looks like??? oh lordy, im in for it this weekend!! LMAO

ill snap some detailed pics of my carb tomorrow afternoon. i hope ill be able to find an expoloded diagram of my model, im sure that will help immensely for teardown/rebuild.

[arkracing]

Originally Posted by RedZ71

holy ****balls!!! (can i say that on this forum? well see)

is that what the inside of a carb looks like??? oh lordy, im in for it this weekend!! LMAO

ill snap some detailed pics of my carb tomorrow afternoon. i hope ill be able to find an expoloded diagram of my model, im sure that will help immensely for teardown/rebuild.

Not as bad as it looks - if you are putting it back together - make sure you take it apart yourself. Put everything out on a big table - start @ one end of the table and work towards the other then the opposite when assembling

[72lb4x4]

Well, I think the exploded view is the same basic model of your carb. If you haven't rebuilt carbs before, I wouldn't recomend that you rebuild it.

Have you tried as I think others have suggested, to press the pedal to the floor slowly a few times to try and set the choke? The choke is the butterfly/flapper valve over the front two barrels of the carb.

Also, you'll probably have to pump the gas pedal while turning it over for 10 seconds or so to get enough gas to start it.

You may also want to get some carb cleaner--B12 Chemtool, or starter fluid, hold open the throttle, spray it into the carb where the choke is, then try to start it.

You also should have a good charge on the battery so it spins it at a reasonable rate. Did you measure the battery voltage, clean the terminals, etc.?

Where in Dallas is it? I'm in Grapevine and could have a look sometime...

I'm not sure I'd blindly throw money at it at this point.

[RedZ71]

well i know she runs, as i drove her home from my sellers place. speaking of my seller, i bumped into him this morning, and asked him wahts thte secret to starting that old girl.. and he said that he pumps the gas about 60 times, and tries it LMAO.

btw, im in richardson, about 2 stoplights up greenville (from 623) and one block over. (pretty near the junction of 75 and 635).

[No3Fan4Ever]

Just my 2 cents.........but I was having the same trouble last year;
I removed the carb and took it to a local carb rebuilder; picked it up the next afternoon, bolted it back on, didn't have adjust anything and it started right up after being primed; still starts with a pump or two;
the rebuilder asked if the truck had been sitting awhile, which it had; he said the accellerator pump was basically desintegrated when he took it apart;

Edit to add the carb was the original Q-jet for my GMC