Need Help....Not a chevy

[bigbadchev84]

So My buddy just bought a POS truck, it is an 87' mazda b2600 with a carbed 2.6l It is an old mini truck, airbags, welded tailgate, cobbled together I hate the damn thing. The guy he bought it from was a PO nightmare! He has been trying to fix things in a good way.

On with the story.... He sprayed the motor down with engine degreaser and hosed it down, he wrapped the dizzy and it didnt get wet. It would not start after that, he replaced the starter solenoid and when he went to start it the starter wire melted down. Thats when I get the call, I go over there and see that the battery has been relocated to the bed.

The battery + goes straight to the air compressor for the bags, then is piggybacked with a #8 wire to a aftermarket fuseblock under the drivers seat, then piggybacked at that stud with another #8 to the starter.

We got a new cable #4 cable and ran it straight to the starter, it dosent work, even jumping the posts on that starter it spins but wont engage-bad starter, so he gets a new one and puts it in.

The motor now turns over, but wont run, he tries starting fluid and it will spit and sputter, I go over again and the plugs are fouled. He replaces them and says it will fire up by itself after cranking 20-30 seconds, but dies as soon as he lets off the gas. He wants me to look at it again in tuesday. Any ideas?

 

[bp71k5]

Fuel pump clogged, vacuum leak, or the distributor moved and threw off the timing while it was being sprayed down?


-Brian

 

[gmc4cw]

assuming you have compression and now spark start diagnosing the fuel system. gonna be hard to set the timing without it running but it could be off enough to run under WOT but not idle.

 

[Fordum]

Several possibilities.
First, bad fuel.
Has it been sitting up for a while? Modern gas goes bad quick.

Next, moisture in the dist. I know he bagged it, but condensation can form while he is spraying things down.
And that bag might have leaked.
I would pull the cap, hold it upside down and spray a good amount of WD-40 in it and then dump it out.
Then spray a light amount inside the dist. Next, the wires might be arcing because they are wet.
Give them a good spraying too.

Next, it may have an anti-diesel solenoid that is not working. 87 is a little late, but a lot of trucks in that age range had problems with after run when you turned them off. So they fixed it so that when the throttle was released it cut off all the air to the carb.
Naturally the truck would not idle that way, so they had a solenoid that would hold it open slightly as long as the key was on.
When you turn off the key, the truck dies.
You set the idle speed by screwing the plunger in and out.

Plus, some of those trucks had ignition modules that the capacitors would go bad in. When they did, it would either not run, or run really badly.
They used to be fairly expensive, but there were a couple of companies that would rebuild them with better caps and give a lifetime guarantee for a decent price.

If all else fails, throw a couple of cans of Sea Foam at it. Might not help, but it will make you feel like you are doing something...........

 

[Fordum]

Looking on RockAuto, I do not see that module. I could have sworn it was an 87. I'm pretty sure it was a 2600.
They do have an ignition control module inside the dist. and an igniter on the fender, but neither one looks like the one I sent off.

 

[Fordum]

OK, I'm having a fuzzy night. It was the ECM that I sent off to be repaired. I wish I remembered the company, but it was two or three computers ago, and I lost the link. They did a good job, and she never had a problem with that unit again.

It was the early 90s that really had the bad caps, but I still think hers was an 87. The problems cropped up worse when FI started coming on the scene, but hers was a carb and it just ran awful until I got it rebuilt.

 

[bigbadchev84]

Ok ill try to answer all the questions, It has an aftermarket 2brl carb on it, the cap and wires are somewhat new. The truck was his daily driver until all this happened. I have checked the cap and no water is present. He has also replaced the coil in the last week. I took the cover off the ecm and all is well, no burn spots or anything else.

I am really wondering if it is just a vaccume leak, there is no solenoid on the carb at all and the dizzy was tight and didnt move when I pulled the cap to check for moisture.