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truck just died on side of road again. distributor?

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well my 87 stepside died on side of road again. ran good all day just went to take it for a drive and it would cut right out when I would get on the gas going down the road every time I hit the gas cuts right out went about a mile finally died wont start back up. it has original distributor but new cap, rotor, wires and plugs. has all new fuel system. new fuel pump,injectors,filter,regultor,lines. so im guessing distributor? or coil?
 
All your symptoms points to fuel supply. Just because it's all new does not mean it's all good. The way things are going with aftermarket parts now a days it's more then likely something you just fixed...
 
I looked in the new lines when I bought them they were clean and the tank was spotless on the inside too
 
Have you checked for fuel pressure at the fuel injectors. Might sound silly but maybe the fuel pump got dislodged from the feed line inside the tank( not sure how they mount on these trucks). I have had that happen before on a ford I had just after changing the fuel pump. It was supplying just enough fuel to keep it idling but not enough to run when you opened the throttle.
 
so I checked for spark. it has spark, but when I turn it over it, the starter has this drop or skip every couple revolutions like it did in the past when the rotor under the cap went. so then I pull the inlet line off the filter, turned it over and no gas came out. the fuel pump and sending unit are only a couple months old. not ac delco its spectre brand that I got off ebay
 
Put 12V to the red wire hanging off the fuel pump relay and try to start it then. You should hear the pump start running immediately, if not there is a wiring or pump problem. You checked the fuel pump fuse?

If that doesn't work, check injector pulse. Need to make or buy a test light to do so.
 
ok so one, I cant find a fuel pump fuse, two I checked the fuel at the filter so injector pulse shouldn't matter? 3 to run 12v to the red wire on the relay should I just touch it to positive terminal on battery?
 
Yes on positive terminal on battery.

It's not a complex system, but things are interrelated. If the ECM doesn't know the engine is turning over (ignition circuit issue) it will never fire the injectors, nor will the fuel pump start running unless the oil pressure switch works properly, and engine oil pressure exceeds 4PSI in cranking. I suspect you probably did get it cranking long enough to close the oil pressure switch, but 12V to the relay will quickly tell you if it's a pump/pump wiring issue or not.

You can have spark but not injector pulse (thus no fuel delivery) depending on what the issue is.
 
ok so is this red wire supposed to go to nothing like this the wire with the connector haning there is the red one just so ya know.
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Crawl under truck and disconnect the sending unit electrical connector. Test for 12V on the truck side of the plug that powers the fuel pump. While you are under there, check to see if the fuel tank has continuity to ground. You are basically making sure that the tank ground wire is intact. If you are getting 12V to the plug, and the tank/sending unit is grounded, the problem is almost certainly the pump. If it's not the pump or ground, it would be the connector or wiring leading to the pump, which you'd have to drop the tank to check anyway.
 
Get a multimeter. Other than the socket wrench, probably my most used tool. A dirt cheap harbor freight one is better than nothing. For most of what we do, the precision is more than good enough.
 
so I found a unhooked ground from the fuel pump wiring harness I drilled a hole and grounded it. still did nothing pump never came on the last thing to do is barrow a friends multi meter and check the connector and then decide weather to buy a new pump or not
 
If you buy another pump I would buy a Delco. Aftermarket parts are of varying quality, there are a few that can normally be trusted, thus far Delco quality hasn't sunk as far as most.
 
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