It has been so long since I asked for help with this problem that I could not find my original post. It was about in september or october. If there is an archive somewhere or I just missed the original post I appoligize.
To begin I will tell you that the truck is a 71 FJ 40 with a 78 2f in it. I bought it running like a top except for the idle seemed to be set a touch high. Drove it a week and it began missing really bad. It was not backfiring through the carb. I believed it had run out of gas because it acted exactly like it ran out of gas or was at least starving for fuel. Adding gas didn't help. Still the missing. New fuel filter didn't help. Gas in the view window stays at least half way up when revving the engine.
So today I finally had time to fool with it and I bought all new points, condenser, plug wires, distributor cap, and coil. Well, I decided to start with the easiest thing--polished the points. Then I checked the point gap--seemed to be a bit wide so I adjusted and adjusted until I thought I had it right. So it turned and turned and turned until I knew it was flooded.....no firing. Adjusted and adjusted more......sat in the seat, hit the starter and it fired right up, wasn't missing a bit.....idled down to around 800 or so and ran smooth. Then began slowly to miss every once in a while. I got in and drove around my apartment complex and by the time I had gone about 2/10 a mile it was missing more by the minute. So I drove back still running much better than it was when it quit on me at the redlight so many months ago.
So I pulled the cap and and made sure the points hadn't widened or narrowed. They were dead on. So I replaced everything and started it again. This time it ran pretty good like it had the first time I got it started today. Only missing occasionally, then gradually missing a little more but never missed so bad it would quit running. I replaced the distributor cap and polished the rotor end, and started it again with no real change.
I am waiting on the condenser to come in and I will replace it tomorrow, the coil, the points, and the plug wires just so everything is new and try again. I'm kind of at a loss. I mean it started up very nicely once I got the points adjusted the first time.
I will say the dust cover is missing from the inside of the dizzy and it appears to be slightly greasy looking inside the dizzy, but the points themselves were dry on the contact surface when I polished with the emory cloth. For one I think I am missing the adjusting "screw" so I am having to hold the points with a flathead screwdriver while setting the gap and then holding it just right while I tighten it. Don't think this has anything to do with it......but oh well. Oh yeah and it is the original dizzy and coil that came with the 71 f engine I believe. It looks like that year range on SOR and the coil is only a coil with none of the "extra" stuff that bolts to it like on the later model ones I have seen exploded diagrams of.
Thanks for all the help.
To begin I will tell you that the truck is a 71 FJ 40 with a 78 2f in it. I bought it running like a top except for the idle seemed to be set a touch high. Drove it a week and it began missing really bad. It was not backfiring through the carb. I believed it had run out of gas because it acted exactly like it ran out of gas or was at least starving for fuel. Adding gas didn't help. Still the missing. New fuel filter didn't help. Gas in the view window stays at least half way up when revving the engine.
So today I finally had time to fool with it and I bought all new points, condenser, plug wires, distributor cap, and coil. Well, I decided to start with the easiest thing--polished the points. Then I checked the point gap--seemed to be a bit wide so I adjusted and adjusted until I thought I had it right. So it turned and turned and turned until I knew it was flooded.....no firing. Adjusted and adjusted more......sat in the seat, hit the starter and it fired right up, wasn't missing a bit.....idled down to around 800 or so and ran smooth. Then began slowly to miss every once in a while. I got in and drove around my apartment complex and by the time I had gone about 2/10 a mile it was missing more by the minute. So I drove back still running much better than it was when it quit on me at the redlight so many months ago.
So I pulled the cap and and made sure the points hadn't widened or narrowed. They were dead on. So I replaced everything and started it again. This time it ran pretty good like it had the first time I got it started today. Only missing occasionally, then gradually missing a little more but never missed so bad it would quit running. I replaced the distributor cap and polished the rotor end, and started it again with no real change.
I am waiting on the condenser to come in and I will replace it tomorrow, the coil, the points, and the plug wires just so everything is new and try again. I'm kind of at a loss. I mean it started up very nicely once I got the points adjusted the first time.
I will say the dust cover is missing from the inside of the dizzy and it appears to be slightly greasy looking inside the dizzy, but the points themselves were dry on the contact surface when I polished with the emory cloth. For one I think I am missing the adjusting "screw" so I am having to hold the points with a flathead screwdriver while setting the gap and then holding it just right while I tighten it. Don't think this has anything to do with it......but oh well. Oh yeah and it is the original dizzy and coil that came with the 71 f engine I believe. It looks like that year range on SOR and the coil is only a coil with none of the "extra" stuff that bolts to it like on the later model ones I have seen exploded diagrams of.
Thanks for all the help.
