BillyBobFord97

Hey guys, i got a 1986 F250 with the 351W (2 BBL and its a 1984 motor) 4spd. Just replaced a cylinder head on the truck and just put everything back together but wont start. so i tried getting a new battery, new starter, starter relay, negative battery cable, and spark plugs.

Also had to replace the both sides of the intake manifold gasket since one side started leaking even though that was the side that i didnt think i needed a new gasket for it so a little coolant got into the oil. Not sure if that matters.
So right now all it does is crank, then slow down and stop and start cranking again. When i took all the plugs out and cranked it it would crank fine and strong. I would really appreciate the help!

thanks
Bill

HuskyJack

are you getting spark?

BillyBobFord97

Yes I am. Pulled every plug and checked. Also opened up the distributor cap to check if the rotor was moving and it was

HuskyJack

theres three things i can think of that could be the problem if your getting spark.

The plugs wires could be connected to the wrong cylinders.

The fuel pump could be dead (check to see if your getting gas to the carb).

If you took the distributor off, the timing could be way off.

Besides those three things the only other thing i can think of is the carb may be way out of adjustment, could have been screwed up if you took it off.

BillyBobFord97

well i know for a fact im getting fuel. and i never removed the carb when doing the cylinder although i did partially remove the intake manifold to get clearance for the head and i replaced both intake manifold gaskets. so this leads me to conclude its the distributor being out of wack on timing. but i have no idea how to do ignition timing on the distributor (never done it before) i really appreciate the help!

HuskyJack

buy or rent a timing light from kragens or some place like that and have them explain how to use it. they'd probably explain it better than me. good luck!

BillyBobFord97

thanks! but in order to use a timing light id have to be actually running right? now static timing is what i need first, how exactly do i do that? i know i need to be at TDC but not sure how exactly i can do that since i cant see my cylinders

HuskyJack

take out the spark plug for cylinder #1 and use a torque wrench to turn the engine until the piston is at it's peak. Then adjust the distributor until the rotor is on the point for cylinder #1. That should get it close enough to get it running

BillyBobFord97

thanks. but i learned a very important lesson today: Never read a Haynes Manual while being extremeley exhausted and frustrated. why? i put the plug wires on the distributor in a completley wrong order because i only looked at the distributor diagram and forgot to read the firing order hence assuming a firing order of 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 which i should have caught on to but was too tired to do so. but i still have to find the static timing just because i messed with the distributor.

excuse me but im going to go kick myself in the head for that one......

thank you for the help!

BillyBobFord97

Well just put the distributor back to how it should be and made sure my number one cylinder was at the top and all but now all its doing is cranking the engine with no sign of starting. I'm stumped