Bronco Not Starting (Firing)

[johnnyreb]

A Bobcat.

Did you watch it come down? You,d think the needles would have stopped him from climbing it.,but if you stay in the woods alot,. You can see some unbelieveable things.

 

[lynchsg]

No, I didn't watch it come down. It's an internet photo.
Yes, you see all kinds of stuff in the woods, or in my case, the desert!

 

[johnnyreb]

No, I didn't watch it come down. It's an internet photo.
Yes, you see all kinds of stuff in the woods, or in my case, the desert!

I think the 2 most dangeous things I had happen to me in the woods was a big buck deer walked past me. He was so close. I had to pull mu shotgun back to give him room to get buy and a little cub bear walked up to me about 3 feet away. I never did see the momma bear and glad I didn,t. I also had a pup coyote follow me one day and a big snake came out of a hope right beside of me. I also had a big gobbler climb upon a log I was sitting on. I was gonna shot it,but he flew off. haha

 

[lynchsg]

Funny stuff. I came up on a bear eating berries. I'm not sure who was scared more? Me or the bear. We both took off in different directions...

 

[svttim]

If you have spark, you can still check initial timing by static timing procedure. Remove the number 1 plug and place you thumb or finger over the hole. Disconnect the coil wire. Turn the engine over a bit until you feel the compression push your finger off. Check the balancer and see if you are close to specs. If so rotate the engine by hand to the timing spec. with the number 1 plug out, connect it to the wire. Reconnect the coil wire. Loosen the distributor, ground the plug and rotate the distributor until you see the spark. If the rotor is not near No 1 the timing has jumped. Good luck

 

[johnnyreb]

Did you get it started? You might have killed the plugs ,Buy flooding the motor. Try a good set of plugs in it.

 

[johnnyreb]

Seems like you are having the SAME PROBLEM I HAD. I tore into my 78 bronco today and it was running perfect before--then everything started acting up. Today I made sure the timeing was TDC--IT WAS. ------------Then the rotary button rotation . I started checking the plug wires--they were all out of wack. So I rewired it and it took off. I think someone might have messed with my motor. I done this with a friend of mine--who helped me the last time and it was done RIGHT. . They better hope I don,t catch them messing with my vehicle I had put a 390 in mine. Its running good again.

 

[johnnyreb]

Seems like you are having the SAME PROBLEM I HAD. I tore into my 78 bronco today and it was running perfect before--then everything started acting up. Today I made sure the timeing was TDC--IT WAS. ------------Then the rotary button rotation . I started checking the plug wires--they were all out of wack. So I rewired it and it took off. I think someone might have messed with my motor. I done this with a friend of mine--who helped me the last time and it was done RIGHT. . They better hope I don,t catch them messing with my vehicle I had put a 390 in mine. Its running good again.

I,ll give them a shot of ROCK SALT. They,ll head for the river to cool off.

 

[johnnyreb]

Thanks @Tiha and @L\Bronco.

Quick updates:
Plugs & Wires - Plugs are brand new. Less than 50mi. on them. None of them are firing. I've attached a photo of the front drivers side cylinder prior to starting the truck today. Heavy carbon deposits, not a great sign. Smelled like gas. After attempting to start, pulled the plug and it was wet. Gas is definitely getting to the plug. Used the check light tester mentioned in Tiha's post on all cylinders. Every single plug is getting spark and firing at a regular interval.
Compression Test - About six months ago, I had my local mechanic perform a compression test and all cylinders were in spec. One or two of them were out more than others. I've never done this myself, but assume I'd need an assistant and a gauge. Would love some guidance on this.
Timing - What I'd really like to do is to confirm whether or not the chain has jumped a couple teeth on the cam (or either) gear. Obviously I can't check timing / advance if the engine isn't running. What's the best way to do this?
Fuel Delivery - I crimped the fuel line just before entering the pump (coming from tank) as suggested. I cranked the engine for about 45-60 seconds and couldnt get it to fire. There was a strong smell of gas in the engine after attempting this.
Dipstick - Pulled the dipstick and there was no strong smell of gas on the stick. Oil levels still in spec.
Carb - Haven't cracked the carb open (ever). Any guidance or posts on what I should be looking for? I do have a rebuild kit, should I just go for it? I believe this is the original Motorcraft 2-barrel. All of the components attached also appear to be OEM (advance, choke, etc.) Considering that the plug was wet when I pulled after a quick crank per above, wonder if carb is really the next item to troubleshoot...

Thanks both!!!

L7

You can **** the plugs --just buy flooding it one time. I killed a brand new set--WITH ZERO MILES. I replaced them and the car fired right up.