One Step Forward (Cleaning the Fuel Filter and Replacing Wires and Plugs)

Saturday

This weekend was the first I was able to get my hands dirty.  I decided to tackle the fuel pump first.  After wrestling the pump and attached metal bowl fuel filter I was able to finally inspect the old pump.  Good news is that it was not bad which means no fuel leaking into the crankcase.  I decided to also clean the entire fuel system, glass bowl filter next to the carburetor as well as the lines.  Using a wire brush, rough sandpaper, steel wool and some gasoline I was able to unearth the components to some sort of newness.

After everything was reassembled I was eager to start Maverick back up.  Things did not go as planned.  Found a leaking metal bowl gasket.  The bad part is that it is buried at the most difficult place.  So I pulled off the fuel pump, disconnected the fuel lines and removed the fuel filter.  I discovered a cork gasket sitting on top of a rubber one.  I pulled the rubber gasket off as it looked a bit swollen.  After reassembly the leak was gone.  

So again we tried to start the truck up and found we could get it started for a few minutes then it would die, as though starving of fuel.  My dad and I looked at all the components I had touched and were not able to find anything wrong.  We pulled off the fuel line next to the glass bowl filter and verified the pump was working.  So our assumption lead us to believe that the glass bowl filter was the culprit.  I'm still not sure how this filter operates.  I see fuel moving into the glass bowl and a level that seems to stay at half.  

But I have no idea how the fuel goes up inside to reach the carburetor.  I took the filter off and poured fuel inside to fill it up.  When I reattached the lines I noticed that the fuel line coming in was not fitting very well.  After a gentle bend and massage the line and nut fit nicely.  This got me thinking that the first time I put it on the nut seemed to be tight from the beginning.  Not so tight that I had cross threaded it but more just a tight fit.

Fingers crossed we started it up and behold it held.  In fact we managed to drive it enough to park it behind the garage for its permanent spot.


As the daylight was waning I pressure washed the engine and exterior to remove as much grease, moss, and dirt as I could. 

Sunday

With limited time after church I jumped into replace the spark plugs, distributor cap and wires.  I had to call several locations before I found anybody who had the cap and wires.  Not too bad at $15 for the wires and $16 for the cap.  Why not the rotor and other parts you ask?  Well I was not prepared to get more involved and when I looked at the old cap and wires we had some serious issues.  The contacts on the cap were pretty bad and the wires as you can see are actually corroded, broken and frankly it is a miracle that the truck started at all!  There were also 6 plugs in the back of the truck that were brand new so I put them in.

I also decided to clean the air cleaner and repaint it black.  That was an easy job.  I am
missing a wing nut on top but will buy one later.  I noticed that the rubber boot for the starter was missing and again used a new one I found in the back of the truck to install.  Now the critters will stay out.  Moving on from the rubber boot I used some fine steel wool to clean the chrome ashtray and horn.  I think I was stalling on having to crawl underneath the truck to replace the master cylinder. 

Well I did not have too much problem with the master, but it did require some love and cleaning to get it out.  Surprise surprise there was not a drop of fluid leaking
out.  Bone dry.  That was nice as it allows me to work on the system without leaking fluid everywhere.

I will look at the rest of the system next.  Pulling off each wheel and inspecting the parts, cleaning and replacing as needed.  Again I have 4 wheel cylinders in the back of the truck and a set of shoes as well.