Hi, was hoping to get some guidance from anyone that could point me in the right direction.
I bought a 72 ,250 with the 2.8 gas engine last March. It has been sitting for about 20 years. First I tackled the fuel ( dropped the tank gave it the vinegar flush, replaced the rubber fuel lines and got things flowing clean. I also replaced the fuel pump. Compression is between 135 and 140 on all 6 cylinders. I then rebuilt the carbs keeping all the original jets and settings. I do have an ultrasonic cleaner so everything went in. Looking back I did not remove the electrical components in the front of the carbs. (Maybe part of my problem).
New mb spark plugs, points, and cap. Also had the Altinator rebuilt(charging good now). Adjusted the valves. And cleaned out all hard vacuum lines and replaced rubber ones.
After all that it starts, reves good but not for long. I was able to drive it around the block a couple of times. Once it got going, it seemed like it would keep going. But still not running right.Oh I also did a smoke test to look for any vacuum leaks could find none.
I’m no mechanic but I am a tinkerer. This whole vacuum setup for the distributor confuses me. Thinking my problem has something to do with this system.
First is there anyway for me to test the 2 vacuum switches on the passenger fender? Is there anyway for me to test the electrical sensors that are located in the front of the carbs? Also in order for it to run and start at all, the direction of the distributor has to be rotated very close to the number one spark plug. This doesn’t seem correct to me. It is only pulling 40 on the vacuum gauge, should be like 50. That is where the green area on the gauge is. So I decided to remove the distributor and take it apart. When I try to rotate the rotor it didn’t move very much. I don’t think this is normal. I clean in there the best I could, but it was impossible for me to remove the pin at the bottom of the shaft to completely to expose the inner works. I finally got it to spring back some but nothing like a Chevy or a Ford. After reinstalling the distributor, the spring back was even less. I will try to include some photos. Any ideas would be be appreciated. Thanks Paul
10-25-2025, 11:03 AM
Linear Mode
