Scott Glover

Okay I need help with this.
1995 Ford F150 with 302 engine. Duel tanks.
I bought this truck from an older couple about a month ago. The guy had used it as a work truck for years until it started to cause problems a few years ago. It has not turned over in 2 years and I bought it as a project.
First thing I did was flush and replace all fluids and checked to make sure levels were right.
Next I dropped both tanks and removed some of the nastiest varnished gas out of the rear tank and some pretty questionable stuff out of the front.
I power and steam cleaned both tanks and rehung them.
Replaced front fuel pump to check to see if it would fix problem (have not replaced rear yet, but ma testing off front tank)
Replaced the fuel filter and ran through the entire electrical system from relay to tanks. Volts read fine about a 1v drop from relay to tanks. 12v to just over 11v
Up until then the fuel pressure at rail was nonexistent. Virtually zero when cranking truck.
After this fix it now reads 35psi while cranking, which is within tolerances.

Truck chugs but wont turn over. It wants to fire but cant
Sprayed engine start in intake, fired right up.

My thoughts are:
1) clogged injectors but its multi-port, so would this keep the engine from starting?
2) bad spark, about to pull plugs and replace but the two I checked had carbon buildup and were black
3) some guy at o'reilly mentioned it could be fuel pressure regulator

BTW, first time tearing this far into truck of any type. Prior to this I have only done work on transmissions and regular maintenance stuff. But I am SOMEWHAT (emphasis on somewhat) mechanically inclined

BareBonesXL

If the tank had bad fuel then the fuel rail and injectors probably did also. The injectors could be gummed up, they are fairly tight tolerance mechanisms and could easily get mechanically stuck, or have the internal screens clogged with varnish. New gas might dissolve the varnish and get things loose enough to go. The fact that it started and ran with fluid is a sign that spark and timing are good. If it were mine and I wanted to try what I could before taking it apart, I'd use the starting fluid and try to keep it running for a while. It might catch and keep going, or you might have to try it a few times over an hour. Get the fresh fuel in there and let it soak. Purge the old crap out, by making it run with starting fluid. If that doesn't work, it's a reasonable assumption that you have clogged or stuck injectors, after two years and what you found in the tank. So you might need to remove them and replace or clean.

On the other hand, maybe you want to find out more about - "until it started to cause problems a few years ago". Maybe the original problems are still there.

Steve83

Click this & read the captions:


(phone app link)

I wouldn't have expected it to happen in only 2 years (I've let mine sit that long a few times), but it sounds like the injectors are gummed shut. I've encountered that a few times: on my engine (when I bought it from a JY), on the truck in that photo album, on an '88 5.0L F150, and on a '93 5.8L Bronco (and maybe some others). In each case, I simply shorted each bank of injectors long enough for their coils to heat them up & melt the gum. When I heard all of them click open, I moved to the 2nd bank & repeated the process. I added a few cans of Berryman's B-12 pour-in to the fuel tank, triggered the pump relay ON, and repeated QUICKLY on each bank to wash the gum through. Then I started the engines normally. They've all been running fine for decades now. I've never actually found an injector on one of these engines that needed to be replaced.