Matthew Burr

Never assume the mechanic did something, many will rely on their own experiences and assume something which may be wrong. Chances are you moved the plug wires into the wrong position on the distributor, but part of verifying that ismaking sure that everything along the way is still functioning correctly. I did the same thing when i did my first tune up on my rig, had the exact same experience youve described. But i could be wrong. Check the spark colors, the reason why is if one or two arent firing hot enough you could have bad plugs or wires, if all are firing cold then ur cap and rotor or coil could be shot. If they are all firing hot then it is your firing order. That engine can easily run off 5 pistons firing but if you have blown rings you will be dumping fuel and exhaust fumes into your oil which will break down your oil really quick which will cause ur engine not to be properly lubricated. To replace the rings you may have to completely pull the block, at least lift it enough to get the oil pan out to access the pistons from below which means out of your league currently and fairly spendy, but id be willing to bet just replacing the rings on the one piston and that motor would be reliable for many years to come so long you dont plan on driving it cross country

CrazyBroncoLover

Thats exactly right never assume the mechanic did something. Haha. Ive known too many that said they did this but that never happened.

bdierks

Ok new problem for now..... Now I thjink a jacked up something. I cant get it to turn over at all. First it was just clicking with a wine noise. I figured it was coming from the starter solenoid. So I put a new one on. Got two clicks and then nothing.. And saw a little bit of smoke coming from it...
This thing is frustrating me!!

RLXXI

Clean and tighten both battery cables at both ends or replace if corroded beyond cleaning. Ford's are notorious for electrical issues with bad grounds.

Also if your only getting 50% compression compared to all other cylinders it's likely you have a burned intake valve, that's why they pop thru the carb sometimes. Base engine must be 100% before any tune up is going to do any good.

You do have an electronic ignition module, it's mounted to the driver side fender and is identified by the color grommet of the wires coming out of it. Keep that in mind after you get compression fixed. They had blue, brown, white, and black I think, blue being the most common. It's called Duraspark ignition.

bdierks

OK here is another issue....
The list goes on....
So found out the battery was bad.. got that fixed.
still wouldn't turn over. Pulled the NEW starter back off. And the gear in the starter is broke into a couple pieces. What in the world would cause this???
Its a napa starter and they said they would have to see it to see if its a warranty issue or not. WTF!

Matthew Burr

unless you hit it with a hammer it's probably just a bad cast gear in which case they will cover it. s**t happens with cheap parts.

the battery/solenoid/starter issue with these pickups is very common, generally caused by bad battery cables. when you get the new starter i would replace all the battery cables too just to eliminate any future issues with that end

bdierks

Indeed, I did notice the cable that runs from the solenoid to the starter looks pretty old and crappy.

Johnboy429bbf

Sounds like its 180° out

CrazyBroncoLover

Find the number one cylinder. Set it to top dead center by aligning the lines on the crank pulley that say TC with the pointer. Find the distributor and mark number one cylinder position on base and cap. Find the firing order for this truck and distributor rotation. One by one recheck each plug wire to ensure it is on the correct position on the distribytor.

bdierks

Ok, Trying to establish a new plan and looking for advice. Talked to Napa today about the starter, They said its not a warranty problem and that something caused it to break. Said it was probably an issue with the flywheel.. I cant see anything wrong with it personally, but hey what do I know. So basically to fix it I need to either drop the tanny or pull the engine.. So now Im thinking I should just pull the engine and either have it rebuilt or buy a new long block with a 3 year warranty. Then while its out put a new flywheel on.

Thoughts???
Any advantage to having it rebuilt verses just getting a long block? Im dont care about making it badass or anything.. stock is just fine with me..