21' Forester 351 ford

[Epopsicle]

Looking for some advice. Motor runs fine for 30-40 mins then dies. Wait a few minutes and the cycle repeats. I have replaced the entire fuel system except the pump and tank although the tank was cleaned well and the check valve removed to no avail. Carb is remanufactered and has been checked by a mechanic working as intended. any suggestions would be appreciated thanks.

 

[slothman]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

pull the fuel line at the carb to test the pump. crank it over, you should see a solid stream of fuel coming out.

Another thought.....maybe the coil is overheating and you aren't getting spark. this would make sense because when you wait a few minutes the coil cools down enough, and then starts up fine again. after the motor dies, grab the coil and see if it's hot. if it is, replace the coil.

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

new coil and fuel line and filter are all clear lines I can see the fuel going thru the filter

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

motor doesn't overheat either

 

[Bondo]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

motor doesn't overheat either

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Sounds like it's time to test the Ignition when it don't start,....

Are the spark plugs Sparkin', when it won't start,..??

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

no problems starting just dies after a half hour or so then maybe 5-10 mins starts right back up and repeats the cycle its damn perplexing lol also it will run forever in the driveway

 

[slothman]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

I have replaced the entire fuel system except the pump .

Maybe the fuel pump is going out. You need to test the fuel pressure.

how "new" is the coil? Maybe you still aren't getting full spark.

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

brand new I am taking it this weekend so I will test out the spark when it dies also I will use a gas can instead of the fuel tank.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

no problems starting just dies after a half hour or so then maybe 5-10 mins starts right back up and repeats the cycle its damn perplexing lol also it will run forever in the driveway

Ayuh,.... Well right Then is when yer missin' Fuel, or Fire,....

Ya gotta Look, 'n See, Right Then,...

 

[bonzoscott]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

See alot of the same problems on the site over and over. If it were me, I would repeat the failure on the lake and immediately check for spark with a $5 inline spark tester first, then pull the fuel line from the carb - crank and check for fuel (in a Pickle Jar). If both of those check out, then look at the filter where the line connected to the carb. One of those might reveal the problem.

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

Thats the plan to recreate it and try some of the suggestions I have found on the web. Thanks for the help. I will report the results.

 

[TJS]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

When I was working for Ford dealer a long time ago we always had the same symptoms you describe in many cars, mustangs, crown vics, and even the trucks. It usually ended up being the ignition module as well as the hall effect switch in the distributor. What would happen it when get heat soaked they fail and leave you stranded. Waiting a while for the components to cool off allowed the vehicle to restart. This usually would happen when the tow truck dropped off the car and it would start. In order to prevent comebacks when replacing an ignition module we would also replace the hall effect/stator/pickup inside the distributor. The required pulling the distributor, removing the gear, and pulling the shaft to remove the part.
You still need to properly diagnose your issue though as others have said. A cheap spark checker is your friend here. When it happens check Primary spark and secondary spark.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

Did you ensure that the fuel tank vent line is free and clear of obstructions?

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

Did you ensure that the fuel tank vent line is free and clear of obstructions?

I did not :grumpy:

But I lifted the back up today and lowered the bottom end all the way down started it up and ....it stalled on me

so I lifted it up and it ran


Now what? lol

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

I don't think it has anything to do with the outdrive trim setting, although if you are testing this while on a trailer, the outdrive should be lowered to avoid extreme u-joint angles in the drive. The u-joints spin regardless of whether the outdrive is in gear, so be careful about that.

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

I did run full throttle both up and down. is there a switch maybe I didn't see one.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

Don't run full throttle on a trailer. It proves nothing and can damage parts when there is no load on the driveline. You engine will rev to redline even if half of the cylinders weren't firing. What do you mean "is there a switch?" A switch for what?

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

" switch" I'm just throwing things out there lol. I am at a total loss. It ran fine till the outboard went down then died. At first I thought it was the carb running out of fuel but no it ran longer than the amount of fuel the carb could hold so now it's back to the elec. side of things but stalling when there is no load idk.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

Just for fun, what's the condition of your battery/alternator?

 

[Epopsicle]

Re: 21' Forester 351 ford

I would suppose decent. No problems cranking right up, I even disconnected the battery while it was running.

I would add photos but don't know what size is acceptable.

And there is some sort of switch on the outboard. looks like some sort of limit switch, Would this be tied to the motor some way?