This 1972 F250 Camper Special Has Got Problems

[KingCarnivore]

Let's see. Where to begin?

Well the motor is a resealed 360 FE with cleaned headers and I guess we can start by listing the various problems:

1. Starting

To say that starting is poor is an understatement. Approximately 9 out of 10 turns of the key will fail to turn the engine, on a good day, only producing a weak whiring noise. On those nine out of ten times, nothing spins. The fan and pulleys may spin briefly then stop, whiring noise continues while key is in the ignition position, but regardless of how long it's trying to turn nothing moves. The only way to remedy the problem is to listen closely and tell the difference between when it's catching and when it isn't; when it only whirs I move the key back to the on position and try again. Eventually it will catch and start. I've drained my battery doing this before.

Hypothesis: Starter? Solenoid?

2. Idling/Going/Dying

Sometimes the truck will crap out on the road, either while idling at a red light or immediately after trying to go after a idling for a long time. Occasionally detonation occurs when trying to go, where the truck will try to die and I push the pedal to the floor while loud, tremendous clunking noises occur. Generally it powers through it, but there have been several times where it has died in the middle of an intersection. And, due to problem 1, I risk draining my battery trying to get it started again. As a rule, if the throttle is open to some degree, or the truck has been run at speed for a while or got use the day before, it will not die. One way I avoid this is if I sense the idle is weak at a red light, I will put the truck in park and play with the gas pedal, it does not die when I do this.

Also, while off-roading this garbage-mobile there were times when it died after hitting heavy bumps.

Hypothesis: I would think this has to do with the idle screw being set too low, but I doubt it because if the truck has been run the idle can be felt throughout the vehicle and sounds quite healthy. I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with problem 3.

3. Carb Barfing Gas

I don't know much about carburetors, but the carb leaks gas out onto the intake manifold. It leaks from what i think to be the accelerator pump. The leaky thingy has an arm on it that moves when you pump the gas. I believe there may be a diaphragm of some kind in there?

Hypothesis: ???

4. Immense Squealing Noise When Truck First Begins Moving

After I manage to get the truck started and and warm it up for a little bit and get it moving there's a loud monotonous squealing noise. I am unsure of the source and it stops after the truck has been driven for a while, the noise halts especially if the truck is driven at high speed for a while. I have absolutely no idea what this could be.

There's also a slew of transmission problems, but those belong in a different forum. Any ideas guys? I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but it would be appreciated if you could dumb it down as much as possible.

[court1100f]

sounds like A. your Starter drives bad. B. that carburetor needs to be rebuilt and adjusted and the sluggishness and dying will clear up some C. I'd also be looking at the distributor particularly the points and condensor the points may need adjusting, and the timing may be off.and D. the squealing is likely a belt if not possibly a bearing in the alternator or if it has it power steering pump Hell it could also be the bearing in the water pump aswell

[Sam I Am]

1.Disconnect the battery,
then take off the starter and have it checked at a good parts store.
Sounds like it is spinning okay (whir), but may not be engaging properly.
Also check for missing teeth on the flywheel or flexplate while the starter is off and hope you don't find any. You'll need to block the wheels, put the engine in neutral, and turn the engine withe a wrench to see the whole thing.

2. Rebuild or replace the carburetor and get an ignition tune-up. Could be the choke is out of adjustment.
Loud tremendous clunking noises is too vague, could be any number of things such as bad U-joints, bad motor/transmission mounts, various body parts not properly attached, lugging the engine way too low in the wrong gear, etc.

3. Rebuild or replace the carburetor.

4. Check accessory belt tension,
check power steering fluid,
let a qualified shop service your transmission.

[papabug71]

Garbage-mobile ?? Com'on man, thats a CamperSpecial!!

Im with the rest of the guys:

1. Starter or flywheel or combination of both.

2. Check the ignition. It might be as simple as new points & a new condensor. Or the dizzy might be worn slick out & your going to have to get a new one. I would reccomend a electronic unit of your choice as well.

3.The carb has crapped out on you. Rebuild/replace.

4. Is it comming from under the hood or under the cab area? Hard to tell by your description but im willing to bet its the belt(s).

Good luck!!

[court1100f]

Garbage-mobile ?? Com'on man, thats a CamperSpecial!!

Im with the rest of the guys:

1. Starter or flywheel or combination of both.

2. Check the ignition. It might be as simple as new points & a new condensor. Or the dizzy might be worn slick out & your going to have to get a new one. I would reccomend a electronic unit of your choice as well.

3.The carb has crapped out on you. Rebuild/replace.

4. Is it comming from under the hood or under the cab area? Hard to tell by your description but im willing to bet its the belt(s).

Good luck!!

I 2,000,000,000% Agree with P.B. here Dude it's not the trucks fault it's been neglected and it is a BAD ass truck not a piece of Garbage your getting it confused with a GMC or Chevrolet. just take care of those problems it has and that truck will take damn good care of you. and Unlike GMs The harder you are on a Ford the Better it runs...Assuming regular maintenance is performed on a regular contingency

[fordman]

1 check starter or starter drive (bendix) and the teeth on the flywheel.
2 the cluncking noise could be a bad u joint.
2 and 3 the carb needs rebuilt.
4 maybe the belts are loose or worn and need replacing.

[72bumbee]

My old 67 had teeyh missing from the flywheel. When it would do the "whirrrrr" noise, would get out, grab the door frame and rock the truck back and forth then VROOM! It would turn over. It was a manual, and I suppose rocking it just got it past the bad teeth! HAHA! So listen man. It is an adventure. But, if you do perhaps decide to go ahead and torch it, could you give me the grill inserts???

[KingCarnivore]

I'm reasonably certain that problems 1 & 2 have nothing to do with the distributor. The dizzy, cap and rotor are new. Isn't there some kind of anti stall thingy on the linkage from the pedal to the carb? Maybe that thing's messed up?

Would it be better to get a new carb or get my current one refurbed? If buying new, what carb should I use? Manifold is 2 barrel. Cheapness of new unit is a major factor. Is putting on a new carb as simple as taking off the old one and bolting on the new one or are there involved adjustments to be made?

The starter is located on the bottom of the engine, yes? I know I didn't replace it when I pulled the old engine and replaced it with a "new" one. Pictures of the starter itself and the location would be would be awesome but a description would be cool too. I have a vague idea of what it should look like.

The squealing noise is coming from under the hood. Is there a specific tension accessory belts should be at? I just had a tubby friend of mine lean on the peripherals while I tightened the bolts to the brackets. The actual belts are new, if I remember correctly.

The belts making the squealing noise kind of doesn't make sense. Why would the noise go away with use? Seem like if a belt is squeaky, it'd either squeak the whole time the engine is on or not at all. It only squeals when the truck first gets rolling, only when moving and gets louder with acceleration. The noise goes away with about 20 minutes of stop and go driving or about five to ten minutes of going 50 or so. Power Steering fluid level is fine.

Loud tremendous clunking noises is too vague,

Well, I'll try to be specific to the best of my ability. I was standing at a red light very early on a cold morning. The light was red for a while and when it turned green I mashed the pedal and the truck lurches forward slowly. The truck shakes and it sounds like the engine is misfiring I keep mashing, the truck stops shaking, the noises stop and the I move forward normally.

But, if you do perhaps decide to go ahead and torch it, could you give me the grill inserts???

Yea, sorry bud, but that's not happening. While I call it a garbage-mobile, I assure you gentlemen, I say it with love in my heart. This is my first car and I put a lot of work into, painting it and resealing and putting the "new" engine in it.

I was kind of considering buying a new Dodge Dakota with cash for clunkers money from the truck, but when i found out they scrap the vehicles collected from cash for clunkers I couldn't bear to do it, even if they'd give me a credit worth 4.5x the value of the truck. I love my Bertha way too much.

Like I said I took this thing off-roading when I went on a hunting trip and I did some CRAZY stuff in it. Climbing 40 degree walls, lurching up a huge 75 degree grade (nearly losing traction and beginning to slide), fording a pond, rocky roads. And I don't think I mentioned that it's 2WD.

Though it died 5 or 6 times out on the 3N34 trail in San Bernardino National forest, it got me and my best friend out alive, none too worse for wear.

[cmoore]

Squealing...
the belts will eventually catch up to the speed of the pulleys, hence....silent running...check their adjustment anyway....

[sideoilerfe]

The starter is located on the bottom of the engine, yes? I know I didn't replace it when I pulled the old engine and replaced it with a "new" one. Pictures of the starter itself and the location would be would be awesome but a description would be cool too. I have a vague idea of what it should look like.

If you put the new engine in, you had to remove and re-install the starter.

I was kind of considering buying a new Dodge Dakota with cash for clunkers money from the truck, but when i found out they scrap the vehicles collected from cash for clunkers I couldn't bear to do it, even if they'd give me a credit worth 4.5x the value of the truck...

The truck is too old for that program anyway.

[zentar]

My truck did the the exact thing with the dying and belt noise.Iam putting a carb kit this week and Ill let you know if that fixes that part of theproblem.

[saidyene]

With the belts after driving for a little while they will heat up and stick better. That is why it stops squelling after a bit of driving. I like tackling one problem at a time. If it was mine I would start with the carb. A rebuild kit is about $15-20. If you want to try it yourself. Then check the starter/flywheel. Just about any parts store will check the starter for free (after you remove it) and its just a visual check for missing teeth on the flywheel. Im planing on going with an MSD ignition system for my truck. That may be a bit expensive for you though. You might want to look into a non-point system though they are easier to work on in my opinion. Good luck with the truck.

[fordman]

after reading your second post. i want to guess that maybe the klunk noise could be a broken motor mount. a broken motor mount will let the enigne turn slightly to one side and then as the engine power levels out it will let the motor slam back down on the old mount and make a klunk type of noise. as alreadt said even if the belts are new they could still be loose. can you move them up and down any when you grab them when its shut off. you shouldnt be able to move them very much. maybe 1/2 and inch at the most and that mgiht still be too much. the squealing thing could also be caused from the motor swap. did you have to change the flywheel when you did the motor swap? if so did you get it back on correctly. it has two sides to it. maybe one of the torque convertor botls is loose and sqealing across the trans dust cover for the flywheel and torque convertor. one other thought is the squealing could be the u joint also and then it makes a clunk. do any of these noises or problems happen when the truck is sitting still just running and not moving?

[V Majestyk]

I would be happy to remove that "garbage" for you. I'll park it right beside my '70 Camper Special. Seriously,find someone who knows their stuff and is willing to show you what to do. If you've managed to swap an engine, a starter job and a carb rebuild/tune-up are possible too. These old trucks are very straightforward and easier to work on than any of the newer compu/plastic crap. A good repair manual and a basic tool set will keep it rolling without too much cash or time.

[sacramento_ford]

I would be happy to remove that "garbage" for you. I'll park it right beside my '70 Camper Special. Seriously,find someone who knows their stuff and is willing to show you what to do. If you've managed to swap an engine, a starter job and a carb rebuild/tune-up are possible too. These old trucks are very straightforward and easier to work on than any of the newer compu/plastic crap. A good repair manual and a basic tool set will keep it rolling without too much cash or time.

uhhh i think you need to clarify the word garbage, dont want the guy to think your insulting his truck , im sure you meant the issues. im sure.