hi guys,i need some help,have a 79 f350,6.5ltr, flatbed crewcab it has been sitting for awhile,havent been able to afford gas in this thing since gas went north of 3bucks a gallon,its kinda a hog on it,so its been sitting for about 3 years,i tried to start it and it wouldnt pump gas,i pulled the gas line off carb and it would squirt just a little at a time,when i put the gas line back on i could see in the filter it would fill then empty,fill,then empty,because im no mechanic i didnt realize,when i pulled the line off to see if it was pumping i squirted gas all over the engine,it backfired and the whole engine cought fire,burned some wires and distibutor cap up,put it out replaced everything that was burned,and then replaced fuel pump,still wont pump fuel, i exchanged that pump for another and did it again thinking maybe they sold me a bad one,still wont pump,i thought maybe tank was clogged with bad fuel so i cut the line coming from tank and stuck it in a full gas can thinking it would pump and that would tell me if it did ,that it was the tank,but it still wont pump.agggggggggg!,could someone tell me whats next,this is a crew cab 79f350 one ton dually,kinda rare i think,i havent seen a 4 door 70 model truck anywhere where i live except one in a junk yard,i dont want to see this old thing end up there!!,it runs great,or atleast it did when i parked it 3 years ago,sorry to drag on about it,just wanted to give some history of the problem,i love this truck,it makes me think of the line in the eagles song "its a girl my lord in a flat bed ford slowin down to take a look at me!" lol!,thanks in advance and hope to make some friends here cause with this old thing and my lack of experience i think im gonna need yall!.....julie

First let me welcome you to the forum. There is a lot of really good people around here. We even have a group of ford technicians on board to help people with problems.

It is rather late for the working class around here to be online, but I am sure you will get better answers tomorrow.


The old gas in the tank would be useless by now. Do not even try to run that through the carburetor.

You put the hose in a gas can full of new gas and the fuel pump will not pump still?

I doubt it is the new pumps you have tried. My first thought would be fuel filter clogged. You have one of those see through inline filters I assume since you can see it fill and empty. Is there another factory filter anywhere in the system? I am not familiar with those years. The later ones have a filter along the frame somewhere.

I am in the process (waiting for it to come in) of replacing my fuel pump. I had to pour a tiny bit of new gas down the carburetor to get the leaky one to start pumping gas. The leaky one is not the one that went out. It was a quickie replacement to get it home.

It would start on the new gas and die. I did that like two or three times before it would run on its own. I guess it needed to prime the lines and pump.

I would imagine you will get better answers from people who are more familiar with that year tomorrow though.

to me it sounds like a clogged line or a filter if you're barely getting fuel in the filter you were looking at, i'm assuming it was up at the top of the engine. i'm not a mechanic either but there may be more than one filter in the line somewhere. i helped a friend with his 57 belair *yeah it's not a ford* and he had to drop the tank, clean it, and replace the filter on the end of the line there. since you cut the line and stuck it in a can and still got just a little, that's why i'm saying it cld be something in the line itself. the rubber lines are cheap to replace as far as i know but the shorter parts you can prolly just disconnect and see if you can blow through them. *shrug* not much help i know but something to try at least.

edit: LOL

Just curious, how much gas do you have in the tank? I know it sounds dumb, but if your gauge reads 1/4 tank or less, you could be out.

Get a can of new gas, run a rubber fuel line from the can to the pump and then go from there.

Sounds to me like the truck has been sitting with running so long that when you pressed on the accelerator pedal you inadvertly tore/ripped the dried out diaphragm of the accelerator pump.

This is Item #39 shown below.

You can buy a replacement at most parts store.

You have a Ford 2150 carb,

I had similar issues on my old 79 F350. I had changed out just about every part I could throw at it... and the best I could get was a quick start and die.
What it finally turned out to be, was the fuel inlet. That screw-in fitting that the fuel line connects to actually IS a filter, in its own right. The fuel enters the fitting, and the inside has these tiny holes around the perimeter of the inside that fuel passes thru.
The new formulation of gas that has been around for a while now had been making the hoses come apart from the inside out, and tiny pieces of rubber had clogged all those holes. I found this out by blowing it out from the inside out into a white napkin... that made it obvious. I bought a new one AND replaced all the fuel line with nitrile hose. I bought a new inlet, and a second one to throw in the toolbox, just in case. works fine to this day (my brother in law has it)

nitrile? is that what the new stuff for the e10 is called?

Not sure what it is, but I use Nitrile gloves when working with paint and the associated chemicals. I am not fond of the latex ones.

I have not played with a carb in 20 years . But If u have gas to the carb the problem is one of above . Also before u move that thing check brake lines etc. Everything freezes up because of none use.

Don't scrap it . Do one thing at a time till she's road worthy .

And welcome and keep posting

You generally can't buy regular rubber Gas line anymore, without the clerk asking if you want the nitrile. It's more impervious to the e10, and even Oxygenated Gas.