Carbon covered plugs

[towtruckerfour]

I need help. On my wifes 70 F100 with a 302, the motor was running fine until Wednesday afternoon when she got home. I took a look at it Thursday and saw the points were pretty worn. I pulled the spark plugs and they were covered with carbon but no oil(whew!) I put new points, condensor, and plugs in and it is fouling the new plugs. The points are set at the right gap, I have spark at all the spark plugs wires. Found that out the hard way by touching a wire, that hurts a little. Timing should be on as far as I can tell. I even ran a compression test and had between 120-130 thru the cylinders. It will run but it feels like only half the cylinders are firing. I couldn't find any vacuum leaks. Anyone have any other thoughts of what it could be? Thanks for any help.

[fordman]

soot means too much fuel.

[towtruckerfour]

I haven't messed with the air/fuel screws in years. Is there possibly something wrong with the carburetor?

[fordman]

i don't think theres anything wrong with it. but it might need some adjustment.

[towtruckerfour]

The truck only gets around town driving so it might help it to lean it a little. I'll try that.The pcv valve rattles and sucks when I cover it so I think it is ok. Thanks Fordman

[FORDification]

Is your choke working properly? An incorrectly-adjusted choke will cause the sooty plugs as well.

[towtruckerfour]

Hey Keith. As far as I know it is working. It opens up as the motor warms up. I talked with Shayne(Thunderfoot) last night and he thinks it might be something in the carburetor. It was just weird how it was running fine and now it is barely running. Even after I put the new plugs in, I ran it for a few minutes and they were covered in black. Somehow it is getting too much fuel I guess or not burning what it is getting. Can a old coil cause anything to do with this?

[michael69]

The carb may have sucked up a piece of trash, rust or maybe a piece of the fuel filter if it is a old filter. the filters will start coming apart when they get old.

[montana_hiboy]

Check your float for proper adjustment, check needle and seat too, you're obviously getting too much fuel, adjust mixture screws if needed, it certainly sounds like a carb issue, keep us posted.

[towtruckerfour]

Well, I rebuilt the carburetor today and the truck fired up so I guess I did it right. I watched my dad rebuild many carbs when I was a kid but never did one myself. I also found I had swapped 2 spark plug wires when I pulled the plugs out the other day. I'm not sure what the actual problem was but it runs great now. It purrs like a kitten. This 302 has always been a great motor. Thanks for everybodys help in getting my wifes truck back going. She is very happy.

[fordman]

did you atleast get a nice dinner out of the deal?

[Thunderfoot]

Glad your rebuild went good and you got it running good for her again

[towtruckerfour]

Hey Fordman. Yep, we had dinner and watched WWE wrestling last night. She actually likes the wrestling too. Her favorite is Jeff Hardy. I like Triple H and The Undertaker.

[rjewkes]

Taker is good, i can do his rolling eyesthing. had to rebuild the 390's carb the week after i got it in and running. still need to run new ign. stuff. I actualy lost my cap to coil wire, had to make one from scratch with an old one that had been cut at one end.