The rear reservoir is the front brakes, and the front reservoir, the rear. Disc brake calipers take a larger volume of fluid. Downstream from the master cylinder, you'll find a block with an electrical connector on it. That block contains a spool that will move to one side when pressure drops on either the front or the rear brake system. Once the spool moves, it turns on the light. Resetting the spool is not always easy. Most likely the wheel cylinders leak. Look at the bottom of the backing plates to see if they're wet. Brakes, and especially wheel cylinders are a "use it or lose it" item. Left to set for years, they slowly bleed off and corrode. For a hunnert bucks, you have room to put some rear brakes and wheel cylinders on it! Your miss sounds more like a valve, but I'm not there. You should run a compression check. Since the plug you pulled from the rear passenger side was back and wet, that's the first place I'd go. It's a pain to get to, but sometimes the short way is the long way and the long way is the short way. You could also pull the valve cover and see if the exhaust valve is stuck open. If it is, then you'll have no compression and what little air/fuel charge that comes in will be pushed out into the exhaust as the piston comes up on compression stroke. If or when it lights off, it won't backfire, but just make a pop, much like what I hear in the video. Those engines also had the notorious aluminum EGR plate under the carb. The aluminum corrodes away leaving a huge leak from the exhaust to the intake.
Sounds like a perfect diagnose. If I remember correctly. You can get rid of the EGR plate. I believe they sold spacer plates back in the day. As far as the plug goes. Not sure if I am mixing up with a chevy. But didn't they have plug foullers for the back passenger side plug. Something weird like that. My dad also would run that plug wire down the intake away from the other wires. Something about crossover spark because the firing order was side by side. Just some thoughts but don't hold me to it. It has been awhile . LOL
Cant get no better advice from nobody than ElderlyIron...check out his channel, he knows his way around old Iron. I have a 78 also, 21 years and counting. Most trouble ever had was the carb and it was the EGR plate under the carb leaking, as ElderlyIron pointed out. looking forward to seeing more vids from ur channel...
For just a little better performance, turn the top of your air filter housing over, secure with same wing nut, increases air flow to carb and makes an awesome sound. Love the truck.
In hooked break line is probably from a trailer break control, still could use an ignition module, drivers side inner fender leaking goo, check accelerator pump button on carb. Break light is on be of a leak
Fill the front reservoir, and pull the truck onto a dry concrete pad. Gravity will let you know where the brake line is either rusted through, split or which wheel cylinder is leaking on the back brakes. At the time, the EPA was hard on engines and manufacturers and with original rubber under the hood, you'll chase rubber hose related gremlins for miles. It's best to get under there and just replace all the rubber vacuum lines, radiator hoses, heater hoses and belts strait away so you're not chasing your tail later on down the road. A long stem screw driver is also a Mechanics Stethoscope. Put the blade of the driver hear where you hear the odd noises then put the handle to your ear....you'll be amazed at how much more clearly you'll be able to isolate noises. Or...you can get a cheap mechanics stethoscope at most auto parts stores or HF in your area. My first vehicle was 100, and I drove it 269,000 miles over 11 years. In total, the car had 346,000 miles on it before it became the Flintstone mobile, so out came the engine and trans and that went into another car I paid just $125 for...then drove that for another 4 years before the engine gave out. In other words....you take care of it, it'll take care of you. Cheers! Zip~ p.s. That was a 1966 Buick Skylark that I paid $100 for, then a 1972 Vega GT got the power plant.
Thanks buddy...I have one of those little mechanics stethescopes...believe it or not the old truck doesnt have any ticks or knocks....just little issues with vacuum leaks, heat and brakes...oh and I believe I have a rat's nest in the exhaust pipe or muffler
No Stoney, the first thing I said to myself when I heard the exhaust was "it's shot" and the tailpipe looks to be heavily rusted from what I can see on my phone... You just need a new exhaust system or at the very least a new muffler and tailpipe. The truck will sound a hell of a lot better and it will alleviate that popping sound you don't like. It will also feel smoother when you drive and accelerate.
I've never heard of a screw driver but I know a piece of lawnmower fuel line or any rubber hose about that size probably works just as good as buying a mechanic's stethoscope.
I would do a tune up , change all fluids trans and dif gear oil. Change all filters. If carb acts up rebuild or but new one. Get a extra fuel filter before carb.
My brother bought a '89 f250 for $1000. It was a barn find for sure. It broke down about two weeks later. We took the spark plugs out and we found out that they were the original plugs and the gap was huge. We changed them out and the effect was awesome.
Yes your master cylinder needs to be filled up in both front and back.You prob have a leak in either one of the rear wheel cylinders or a break line and someone unhooked or blocked it off.Might have to change master cylinder after it's been setting without fluid for a while.If you have any questions feel free to ask,I'm a Ford man love those old trucks.I have a 78 f150 4x4
I am 16 now I have been working on vehicles since I was 6 I re built a 1960 international pickup the motor was seized when I got it now it runs live the videos man
I dont believe the truck has a vacuum leak or a carb issue. Sounds like the timing is off or low compression on a cylinder. Warm the truck up, compression test it the right way. If its good dont worry about the engine. After test check timing. Disconnect the vacuum advance and see if the truck after fully warn is around 10 degrees before top dead center or 10 degrees advanced. If you need questions on how to do either, feel free to ask. Id be happy to help
That old Ford has some positive traction leaving rubber like that!!!! Wow, for 100 dollars not a bad deal!!! Keep having fun with your new toy, lol!!!!!
Yes both of the master cylinders need to be full. One supplies the front brakes, and one supplies the rear brakes. Also the could be a sticky lifter. It is a good idea to flush the oiling system.
40 year old truck, love it. Dad had one exactly like it. Wish I could put my hands on one. Anyhow, Like most folks have said, replace all the fluids, filters, and rubber on that thing. Based on the look of that last spark plug, the vacuum leak, age, and possibly the condition of the old oil I would suspect your head gasket is in need of replacing. After a few hundred miles, get your oil flushed and changed again and get a look at it before they toss it out. Is it bubbly, look like coffee with cream, smell sweet? Look at your coolant in your radiator, same deal, look like coffee, frothy? All signs of a headgasket issue. You could have crapped up valves, worn piston, rings and so on. Hard to say without diagnostic tools. But I'm leaning head gasket and getting a messy mix in the top of your cylinders. You could try a couple of tanks of gas with a bottle of Berryman's B-15 each. Should be able tell by the end if the issue was simply a carbon build-up or something more for a small cost. The disconnected line is a bit of a worrying point. When you get the thing in the air again, hold the pedal down hard and have someone try to turn each wheel by hand. Will know quickly if one or more of the brakes is disconnected and not working. Granted, I would expect to see brake fluid bleeding out from the master unless some silly person simply crimped off the line and let this go like this. For $100 this thing is worth the time and expense to get it running perfectly. Almost sad to see it used as a beater it's got tons of potential.
Check or replace the accelerator pump diaphragm they sometimes cause problems with taking off especially in a truck that's sat for a long time they get stiff and or crack and leak.
I have an early 80s Ford the master cylinder is split, identical to that one, the front part if for the rear brakes, the back part(the bigger one) if for the front, and it means you have a leak somewhere. Likely bad wheel cylinders in the rear drums, the are probably the factory set and are likely completely shot. If you replace those and it still leaks, it's most likely a bad brake line somewhere, or worst case the Master cylinder it's self. Also either you have one hell of a rod knock or you got yourself a bad muffler. Me teenage self recommends a sawzall right behind the cat see if that helps
The unhooked break line is for a break controller that could have been inside the cab for a trailer break controller and yes both thoes resivores need to be filled ones for your front breaks and and ones for rear breaks.
Front resovoir is for rear breaks if I remember right. Check your wheel cylinders for seeping. I'd go through the carb, the accelerator diaphragm is probably hardened up.lastly, sounds like your muffler is rotted out.
I remember during my teen age years, we would keep the old dirty plugs, wash them off and bend the tab down against the diode nice and tight so. We could run a fishing line through it...made for some excellent river weights when bank fishing for catfish...
something to try that doesn't cost anything is water into the intake... steam cleaning. when mine idles rough, the water does the trick - smooths it right out. Spray bottle stream into the intake while the engine is hot... à la eric the car guy - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KFtp_jmLF3k.html
Amen brother and Don't listen to any modern car lovers out there. I have a 96 Ford F150 with a 5.0L (302) Windsor V8 with 206,950 miles on it and it's still going strong the only thing I replaced on my truck was the starter but other than that mostly was just simple maintenance, took out the transmission fluid just to get rid of the shuttering it was making and it hasn't had a problem ever since.
Love that year with the Square headlights. I had a Blue 79' 4 x 4. It's at the top of my long list of things I wish I had never sold. Nice score for $100 bucks.
It could be that detached brake line is why one chamber of the master cylinder is empty. Every time you've put your foot on the brake it's been pumping the fluid out onto the floor...
John Cain as you pads and shoes wear down your fluid levels will drop, but not all the way. If you keep putting fluid in without checking pads shoes you WILL blow seals and then make it necessary to continually add fluid.
The large chamber is for the front brakes and the smaller one is for the rear brakes. The front brakes give you most of your stopping power and that is why it is larger. Both need to be filled at all times. Don't play around with your brakes. You got a good truck for cheap. Take it to a good mechanic and let him do a real brake job on it. Your life depends on it. You can pretty much shade tree everything else.
You could replace the distributor condenser ($5) and the points. You’ll need to set the points gap once you replace it. You could pull one wire off the distributor at a time with the engine running to see if one of them isn’t firing. I recently changed from a points distributor to a HEI distributor in my 1965 f100
Both brake cups should be filled with break fluid. The front is the fluid for the rear and the larger cup in the back is for the front. My 78 f250 had an extra break line as well and it was for trailer brakes.
Yep, I do to. I've got a 68 Chevy that has almost 600,000 miles on it. Let's see what a 2017 model is doing in 50 years! Probably rusting away in a junk yard.
Sounds like a valve isn’t sealing all the way, you could try the seafoam drizzle to try and clean the valves. FYI you can also clean the valves by misting water down the carb while low revving the engine
If the truck is old enough there will be a "vacuum advance diaphragm" on the side of the distributor. There will be a vacuum line on it. First test is to pinch off the vacuum line while the engine is idling. The RPMs shouldn't change. If they do change, replace the vacuum advance diaphragm. You should replace all vacuum lines if possible as a vacuum leak will make the idle run rough.
No such thing as pre gapped plugs. Always gap them yourself. It sounds like your muffler is plugged. Look for critter nest. Both reseviors need to be full on brake master.
Could be muffler collapsed on the inside and you can't tell by looking at it. Pull the muffler or cut the pipe in front of it to see if that funky exhaust sound goes away??
I’ve noticed lately that they don’t give you the gap when you buy your plugs anymore. They use to always write get it down for you. And they give me a weird look when I ask. Then I was told they are pre gapped. Maybe this is true but you never know what could happen during shipping. So I always check the gap before installing.
The iridium plugs cannot or at least should not be gapped anymore, you will ruin them. They are pre gapped and if you find one with a bad gap get a new one, because it was dropped. Plugs for old vehicles need gap checked and usually adjusted, just standard stuff. I cannot remember if that vehicle has a generator or an alternator, they are different and generators where used in older vehicles before they switched over to alternators BTW.
im guessing they read your Miranda rights then. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.
Prolly wanna check the rear wheel cylinders. That lil res. Is for the rear brakes. Really wouldn't hurt to check the valve lash on that truck either... part of a tune up in that truck.... love the channel... keep it up
I have had quit a bit experience with these old trucks, Just wanted to add another possible problem with your starting system you could check. The battery cables can corrode under the insulation causing electrical resistance, might need new cables.
Brakes are over rated. You have bumpers use them. Also you only,need 3 thing for the engine to run fuel, air and spark. If the problem is all time check fuel and air. If it a miss but fuel is fine check spark plugs fine cap rotor fine is it losing compression? It would be hard for a RU-vid commentor mechamic to diag it with out proper communication and harder with just this video to go off of. Ok my monthly youtube comment is done. Hope this helped if not hope your time wasnt wasted too long.
Yes, both portions of the master cylinder needs to be full. I had an old Ford truck and had to rebuild the entire braking system on the rear. The good news is the parts are cheap. At Advance Auto you can get all the parts you need for like $150. I would not haul or tow anything until you repair the braking system.
Jesus. You make fun of kids for not knowing how to work on a carburetor, but you don't know if a brake fluid reservoir is supposed to have fluid in it. I'm new to the channel and you've made your point pretty clear. Good luck ijit.
Jesus Jacob.....it's called engaging your audience on social media buddy.....oh and thanks for the condescending comment.....I guess it worked....I engaged my audience ....positive or negative it still helps the channel grow in the ranks of yotube
The brake reservoir has the larger compartment for the front brakes and the smaller compartment for the rear brakes. Both need to be filled with brake fluid and that is why your brake light us on. The compartments in the brake reservoir are two different sizes because the larger capacity reservoir is needed for disk brakes (front) and the lower capacity for drum brakes (rear) . although most of the braking effect comes from the front brakes, the rear brakes still make a big difference to the overall braking efficiency. Also , use the recommended DOT brake fluid. Hope this helps.
As many others have stated you need to fill the master cylinder and find where you are leaking from the brakes. Since the truck was sitting I would definitely take the carb off and do a thorough rebuild along with throwing a light on her to check timing, but you number one safety issue is those brakes!
Yes, small side is rear big side is front, Both need to be filled. LIne going inside is for a trailer brake controller. They prob took it off. Light doesn't go off message me, its the shuttle valve stuck. Pretty easy to fix thouigh
yes they both Reservoirs need fluid. the front Reservoir is for your front brakes and rear for your rear brakes. 2 lines should run from the master cylinder to a distribution box, 3 lines should leave the distribution box one to the rear of the can and 1 to either front break. I would go ahead and change the oil again if there was sludge its good to run it change the oil once or twice to brak up as much sludge as posable there are many oil aditives that say they help, Iv not had any luck with them good luck.
The back part of the master cylinder is for the front brakes and the front half of the resorvoir is for the back. It is so you only you still have brakes if part of your system has a leak. Fill it and press the brakes and check your wheel cylinders and lines for leaks. You might also want to do a Compression check to see if all the cylinders have good compression. Best time for that would have been while you were doing the plugs.
The master mechanic I worked for when I was younger once told me that most carburetor problems are actually timing issues. First find all of the vacuum leaks. Check the timing, and if there is still an issue, then look at adjusting the carb. Once that is fixed, then take a look under the valve covers and see if you have a loose rocker arm making the clacking sound. Could be a sticky lifter as well. It should be run daily for a while make sure everything has a chance to get loosened up..
Smart old timer shared good advise with you. With that sludged up unit can also be a bad cam . If it was mine, I would put my oil pressure gauge on as well < I am a old master mechanic.> Yes it may well be a lifter issue. easier to fix than a valve grind.
Brake line may be for a trailer. Fluid reservoir...one is for front brakes and the other is rear. Check timing. It may need timing chain. Rebuild carb or replace. Good luck.
That master cylinder is for disk brakes with the second reservoirs. It's fairly common to swap that part on cause they are easier to get ahold of for a lot cheaper
I have a 78 f250 I just bought and did all msd stuff. I’d change the coil to a blazer 2 when you get a chance. I’d say that unhooked line is why you don’t have any fluid in the front reservoir. My brake light is on also. Check your parking brake and make sure it’s not loose at the pedal if it is then tighten up the cable. Good looking truck. I wish mine had been $100!
Yes both resivoirs need to be filled it is probably empty and the line disconnected because there is a leak somewhere. There does seem to have a rough idle little miss. I can guarantee the carb rebuilt, if this yr has points iginition (which it may not) replace the points. Check timing and the advance when you rev it up to make sure it is advancing correctly. Also the coil could be starting to get week if it is original.
Small (front) reservoir of the master cylinder is for your rear (drum) brakes, big (rear) reservoir is for the front brakes, their disc brakes so they need more fluid than the drum brakes, u probably have a leaked rear wheel cylinder.
The big reservoir is for the front brakes, the small one is for the rear. They both need fluid lol. Unhooked brake line probably means something is wrong with the rears and the previous owner didn't want to deal with it.
The battery alone is worth the $100...this truck was practically given to you but was ashame to say here you can have it for free my good neighboor! nice deal though a great videos!
The smaller reservoir is usually for rear drums because they have smaller capacity wheel cylinders. Should be two lines coming off master cylinder. If ones unhooked they removed rear brakes, maybe so you could power brake it. :-) nice truck
My grandfather owns one of these trucks and he said it’s the master cylinder is bad the front is draining in to the back chamber so like they said u only have half brakes change the master cylinder and u should be good to go
Timing ? Seafoam Engine Cleaner..clean that carb out ..my 2cents. Whoaa Iridium Spark Plugs if I can. IMO the best upgrade. Replace All Fluids, the lifeblood of engines. Regularly.
Wow, that's a great deal on that truck. As for the brake master cylinder, One side is for the front two wheels and the other side is for the rear two. If one of them is empty it means you have a leak in one of the brake lines, and you only have brakes on two wheels. That's the way it works on mine anyway. Mine is 10 years older than yours and a Chevy but I think it works the same way.
Check your timing, crucial part of a "Tune Up". I would just replace the disconnected brake lines and wheel cylinders, probably the master cylinder as well. Get your self a one man brake bleeder. You only paid $100 for a nice truck, investing a little money in it will only make it better. If it were mine I'd also change the transmission fluid and differential oil as well as changing all the vacuum lines. Good luck! Enjoying the show!
I bought a 1986 Ford F150 for $100. bad rust and was only running of 4 Cylinders, for rats chewed threw the fuel injector wires. Sad thing is 2 year later it stopped running for me, but made all money back when it was driving for all the scrap runs I did with it. unfortunately rats chewed threw more wires and vacuum lines and all the coolant hoses, but this summer I am going to try to bring it back to life. It has the 5.0L in it. 3 months after it I got it running good, I smoked a 2004 Ford mustang with 4.6L and not sure how fast I was going, the speedometer stops at 85 and he said he was going around 140. Bad thing burnt out the piston rings I think, for ever time I got it up to 70 mph it would have big smoke, every thing under 70 nothing.
put a quart of cheap transmission fluid in when you change the oil, then change the oil out after about 300 - 500 miles or so. This will get rid of the sludge and keep the engine lubricated. Not as hard on the engine as kerosene.
Both front & back need to be full of brake fluid. Your front reservoir is for your front brakes & the rear one is for your rear brakes. So only your rear brakes are working right now.
Do a tune-up get an oil filter change the fluids changed the filter get hotter spark plugs what I usually do is I take a car scanner and it tells me if there is a miss and where it is
The loose break line could be it might have had a trailer break in it at one time. Just a guess. The miss fire could be anything. Check all vacuum hoses and the timming. You can't beat that for 100 dollars. You could get 2000 or more easy.
The back reservoir does the front brakes and the front part does the rear brakes. Your rear brakes are not working. That's what makes it easy to spin the tires.
It may have a burnt valve I had a truck exactly like that. I drove it for years then I had to have the heads rebuilt because it had a burnt valve. I hope that is not your problem. Putting new heads on is not too hard to do though but its quite a bit of work. After you change the oil a couple of times the detergent in the oil will clean the sludge out. Change the oil every season. Spring summer fall winter. You know you can pressure wash the engine compartment just dont spray the distributor everything else wash it with engine cleaner and then wash it with pressure washer soap then rinse.
Get the engine warm and pour transmission fluid in the carb and keep it running at a high idle while pouring . It will smoke but use about half quart and it will clean the carbon off your valves and make it idle smoother.. The smoke will go away .
Not bragging, just quantifying my response, being a master tech with over a decade of experience and an associates degree in automotive repair, I would start with a simple vacuum gauge at the carb at idle and see if you have any leaks. You should be pulling at least 17 inches of vacuum. If not, cut small sections off of all the vacuum lines and go get a few feet of each size. Next, I recommend using Amsoil’s power foam to clean out the throttle bores, intake runners, and combustion chambers. I would also run a bottle of Amsoil’s performance improver in a fresh tank of gas to make sure the inside of the carb is good to go. I really like your channel and content, so if you like the Amsoil route, I would be happy to send you the products as a viewer donation. Good Christian content is hard to come by these days.
Hello from Canada, Great advise. I have used my Snap on vacuum gauge on at least 100 jobs over the years and it can allow him to pick up subtle issues that others have not mentioned. The other thing I do that I learned 40 years ago, is to open the hood after dark, turn out the lights, and look for blue halo's on bad spark wires.
The reservoirs should both be filled, if one of them is empty, you have to go through your brakes because there's a leak somewhere, so only one brake in the front and one in the rear will do something.
usually it's one of the fronts and one of the backs that doesn't brake; because, (on Land Rovers anyway) the circuits run front left-rear right and front right-rear left.
Yes both resevoirs need to have brake fluid in them. You may need to check that the lines go all the way to the brake drums with no leaks, and see if your rubber brake lines are cracked and leaking too. I wouldnt worry about the miss if its just a farm truck. Youre gunna end up sinking too much money into a 100 dallar truck if you want it running like new.
Yes the front brake master need to be full, and all the air bleed out. Looks like someone removed a old school break control for electric trailer brakes. Still sounds like a miss. Did you do a compression check? Check to see if the vacuum advance diaphragm is leaking, as at that age it may be bad. Check the ignition timing also. Also check the sloping the timing chain. Do that by lining up your timing marks by turning the crank clockwise, then turn the crank counter clockwise until the rotor moves. If it's more than 3º before the rotor starts to move, the chain and gears are worn. That Motorcraft two venture is a very simple carb, easy rebuild. I do see it's a Cleveland engine, but is it a 351C, a 351M or a 400?
the master cyl front (small side) is rear brakes. the big side is front calipers, because pistons are bigger on the front and demand more fluid. check your rear brake shoes adjustments and wear and check for leakage at the wheel cyl.you could just have old Jessi shoes that need replacing. Hay you know those rear tires are no good on a farm you need some murders or something. the way we change E'M here is outlaw style ( what you say) WE CAKE THEM OFF IN A EPIC BURNOUT. WHOOOOOOOO cheers Rich
