The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 1946 1/2 ton power issues

Well finally ready to drive the 46 pickup. Fresh oil change,new radiator hoses, flushed and filled, new 6 volt battery and cables, brakes completely rebuilt, new plugs (gaped),wires, points (gap set),condenser, and distributor cap, flushed the gas tank, flushed out and repaired the gas lines.
Turned on the battery (put in a shut off) pulled the choke out, turned the key and stomped the start switch...turned over for about 10 seconds and started! I let the engine idle for a couple minutes (smoothed out nicely) before pulling it out of the garage. The drive slopes up steeply and when I tried to back it up it just kept stalling (not enough power). I have two things to address. One is the spring on the heat riser, it doesn't stay on the pins well and keeps popping off. The other and most obvious is the fuel pump is leaking and I'm sure it sucks air when I try to gas it to get up the driveway. I was wondering if I could get a new diaphragm for the existing fuel pump. The other question is that the local NAPA has no listing for a fuel pump for this truck but they do have a fuel pump for a 1946 Chevy car, I thought these two vehicles used the same engine so wouldn't the fuel pump be the same? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sure the pumps are the same.

Harvester

Don't run the engine with a leaking pump. You can wipe out your cam and bearings. The gas gets in the crankcase and wipes away the oil.

I think you're on the right track wih the heat riser, & if the fuel pump is leaking, of course it needs replaced as well. But, the fuel pump can't cause it to stumble "when you step on the gas" he carburator has a float bowl that acts as a holding reserve, so if the pump doesn't work @ all & the carb. is full, it will still run a couple minutes...I'm just mentioning this because its probably some other problem w the getting up the driveway issue. (How's the choke setting ? )

OK, Fixed the heat riser spring, and pulled the fuel pump, ordered parts from one supplier... backordered!(cancelled order). I'm cleaning the pump to get it ready for rebuild while I'm looking for parts @ the right price. I'm going to check that the carb float is clean and operating properly. I checked the oil and it is thinned because its diluted with gas. Should I just drain and change the oil without warming it up? Or can I run the motor (after I rebuild the fuel pump) to warm it before I change it? Thanks in advance for all the help

Just drain it, don't run it

You guys will get a kick out of this. First let me tell you I've been using my parents garage while they're wintering in FL. (with a newly paved driveway and Dad is fanatical about keeping it clean and free of oil spots).I found a rebuild kit for my fuel pump and got it working just great. Truck starts better than ever, but when I ran it a while I found a hair line crack in the block just forward of the draincock (leaking coolant) BUMMER! I thought I had nothing to lose so I added some BARRS to the radiator to try to seal it up, it worked! After running it in the driveway for 30 minutes the leak all but stopped, no overheating! I walked around the truck looking for coolant (none found!) I looked under the front one last time and I saw it... OIL! A good size puddle was starting from OIL dribbling from I assume the crank seal. I quickly jumped in the truck to back it in to the garage where its easier to clean up the concrete floor..guned the engine and the BRAKES were completely locked up! WTF!! I roared the engine and managed to get the truck in the garage. I jacked up each corner and found all four wheels stuck. Master cylinder? Wheel cylinders? I just carefully rebuilt the whole system. I cleaned up the driveway and the floor while pondering the problem. The next day I went out to the garage and found that the wheels weren't locked up anymore. The best I could figure was that I had the brakes adjusted too tight and with the little bit of heat picked up from the motor the fluid expanded and locked them up. I've readjusted the brake shoes and now not only do my brakes work fine without locking up but I have plenty of power!

And the crank seal leak has mysteriously healed, I'll have to watch that.