302 ford problem

hopefully you guys can help me.i have a 81 ford f150 302 4speed od. i just rebuilt the 2bbl carb,put new filters,oil,cap rotor cap ,plugs,and wires.now here is the problem.when i fire the truck up i notice there is water coming out of the exhaust until it reaches operating temp.when i leave the driveway it runs great for about 2 miles them engine looses power and hops and jumps all over the place.now if i pull over it will idle smooth, pull away by the time i get to 3rd gear it starts all over again.now both tanks are full and i put a new tank selector valve on cause old one was bad.feels like it's running out of gas,but there is no pinging i can hear.then all of a sudden the truck will run great like there was nothing wrong.this has me stumped could the fuel pump be going bad? or could the duraspark ignition module be starting to go.or water in the fuel tank,ran great till i flipped to front tank and now does it on both tanks.



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Before you rebuilt it, was it doing the same thing?

Im not positive but depending on how low you ran the tank you may have sucked some trash up into your fuel filter. If that is the case then it wouldnt matter what take you were running you would always have restricted flow. You might want to start with changing the fuel filter and also pick up two cans of sea foam and pour a can in each tank, Sea foam will help evaporate the water if thats the problem. Those are my first suggestions. Hope it helps

yes , but it much worse.the main reason for the rebuild was it was leaking fuel through the acclerator pump. i set it with a vacume gauge and it purr's like a kitten now.

new filters on the truck and yes i put 1/2 can of sea foam in each tank. i swear by that stuff.

Im not sure how you would test the ignition, The carb may need to be reajusted, If its not that the pump may have something blocking it, or its possible that it too may be starting to go bad. Recheck all your wires and make sure you have a good connection at the plugs as well

i was wondering if the pump had a blockage as well.maybe i'll take it off and see if there is a blockage. and put a filter before the pump.i have a spare electric fuel pump lying around maybe i'll try that just after the selector valve as well.thanks. bp

well i changed fuel filters,installed electric fuel pump,no better.in first and second rev good,third can't get her to rev past 2000 rpm.think maybe it is the ignition module.just hate spending money where it's not needed.any ideas.there are tons of talented guys here,hoping somebody has an answer.and thanks for the reply's guy's.bp

this sounds familiar, I did the same thing on a old 302 maverick. ended up being the timing chain. it was so sloppy would not crawl up a hill, but thats a guess in your case. could also be the wrong base gasket to manifold for the carburetor. sucking air where it should not. moister out the tail pipe is pretty normal in your neck of the woods.

thanks i'll check the carb.thinking of changing to an rv cam in the summer when i change to 4bbl intake.will change the timing chain then.thanks for the reply,and other things to check.

well ran compress air through all the fuel lines to make shure they were not pluged,pulled the top of carb off to check needle and seat.fired up electric fuel pump up flows real well.then i noticed the metering rods were stuck all the way open.managed to free them up.fired her up.the truck idle's higher,but not as choppy.readjusted the idle take her for a spin.pulled strong and even in od was accelerating.so i guess she was running super rich.she will get her test tonight when i pick my daughter from work tonight.thanks for the help and idea's guys.you helped me narrow it down. thanks , very much appreciated. B.P.