hi i am new to the f-150 world to tell you the truth i dont own one yet. there is a 1996 f-150 2wd with the 4.9L straight 6 with automatic for sale near my house. It has 250k on it and the guy says it ran great then it stopped running and a friend put a new distributer in it and it ran for a little while and then he put it away for the winter and it wont start now. I took a look at it hooked a battery up and the truck turns over normally doesnt have a irregular noise when cranking like low compression. I checked the spark and it does have spark and i even gave it a small sparay of either right on the butterflies and it doesnt even pop. I hear the front pump run when i cycle the key and it shows 1/4 tank then i switch to the rear tank and cycle the key fuel level drops to E and pump doesnt run. So basically i need a picture of the distributer cap and where cylinder 1 is on it and i need to kno how u guys check fuel pressure i have a fuel pressure tester but the shrader valve on the truck is the size of a valve stem on a tire/rim. The guy wants 300 obo for his truck so i figure i can get it for 200 and th cab is solid and the driverside cab corner is just getton a quater size hole through it but other than that is has no rust on the cab and just a little on the wheel wells. any help will be greatly appreciated thanks a million

 

That's a good deal, I say go for it.

Here's a picture of the distributor setup.


If you've got spark and fuel but the engine won't run, that points to compression as your problem. Could be a stuck valve or something.

 

Most fuel pressure testers come with the adapter to hook to Ford fuel rails. If you don't have that adapter you need it.

 

ok i thought i solved the firing order problem but now when i turn it over the motor makes about 2 revolutions and then stops and then turns 2 times and stops and repeats when i unplug the wire from the coil to the distributor cap it turns over without stopping. and i looked at the connections on the cap and coil and they are a little coroded but it still has spark and i checked fuel pressure with key on engine off and it was 45 psi so i think it might have a clogged filter or a weak fuel pump. i am getting to the point where i am just lost i need help guys c mon nobodys had a problem like this? i spray starting fluid in it and it still doesnt start or sound like it wants to at all i figure the turning over and stopping is a problem with the firing order but i have got to check compression now

 

45 psi is plenty - almost top of the 'acceptable' range. I'd double check firing order, check the plugs to make sure they aren't so crapped up they don't fire, check compression, etc.

So.... did you buy this truck, or still trying to make it run first? I'd say it's a good deal even if you have to put a crate motor in it. Either way, I guess if you haven't bought it yet, you won't want to put too much time or money into it. If you have bought it, standard tune-up parts would be first on the list. That would rule out most of the ignition components, and possibly be all it needs. If it doesn't fix it, you've really narrowed down potential issues.

 

The timing is off.