New '85 B2 - Ran decent for 1 day, but now it will crank but won't stay running

[troygandee]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new member. I just bought an '85 manual 5 speed yesterday. I have very little knowledge of cars, but I can usually figure things out pretty quickly. I bought the truck from a gentleman yesterday and he cranked it right up. I piddled around the parking lot in 1st and all was fine. I bought it and started to drive it home. Admittedly, I haven't driven a straight in close to 10 years, so I think I dogged it a little. I ended up shaking the ball at the end of the shifter loose and the stranded myself. Fortunately, I was able to tow it home and the guy I bought it from told me that those balls are prone to come loose. I was able to get that fixed today. However, now I can't get it to idle. I'm able to crank the truck, but I have to give it gas to keep it running. The second I let off the gas, it will die. I don't know enough about it to know how many of the components are newer, but I know the engine was rebuilt about 40k ago according to the sticker on the door. I know that truck cranked right up 3 or 4 times yesterday until I had my stalling debacle. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was planning to check spark plugs and fuel filter tm.

P.S. I love the little thing and I expect it to be a project. I've always wanted to know more about vehicles, so I think this will be a good one to learn on. I've also always loved these trucks and I'm sure I'll be back to ask more questions are I continue to learn my way around it and clean it up.

 

[James H]

Check the inertia switch, it's under the dash behind the carpet on the passenger floor board. You can cheer and un plug connector and jump the pins with a wire or paper clip. The inertia switch is common to fail.

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[troygandee]

Thank you! I'll give that a try later today and let you know if that's the problem.

 

[troygandee]

I can't find the inertia switch anywhere. I've looked on both sided and everywhere I can physically reach. From what I googled, they seem pretty obvious to spot. I'm thinking it may have been bypassed, but I'm not sure what the wires would look like. Any other thoughts? Thank you for your time!

 

[James H]

Passenger floor board, pull off the threshold flange on the door and pull the carpet back, the pigtail should be under there, the switch will be hight on the bottom of the firewall more towards the trans hump.

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[troygandee]

Actually, because I'm such a noob. I just realized that it's actually 2.8L and apparently the 85 was using a manual fuel pump? I'm going to copy my original post into the 2.8L thread and see if I can get any more specific knowledge for the 2.8. Thank you all for your time.

 

[wildbill23c]

The 2.8L V6 was carbureted. The only fuel pump is on the driver's side of the engine block. No in-tank pump, just a sending unit for the fuel gauge.

If you check out the tech section you'll find quite a bit of helpful information on those engines.