Stranded sos!

[Kwest364]

Anyone near Parker, Quartzsite, Blythe, Arizona? Or Twentynine Palms/Joshua Tree, California? I'm stuck on the side of the road with mechanical problems I can NOT diagnose on my own. I've looked and asked everyone. Every forum, every video, every FB group, etc. I'm tapped out. It's just over my head right now. I need a mechanic or someone who knows this bus to help me. I've got parts on the way, but someone to help install would be ideal. And diagnose if I still have problems after, which I'm sure I will.
WILLING TO PAY OF COURSE!!!

Location: middle of CA desert, Rt 62/177 junction.

Bus: 1986 Chevy B6000/B60? 366cu in/6.0L V8 GAS, manual

My number 740-975-3309. I barely have service (in and out) and I've called EVERY mobile mechanic within hrs of me, NO ONE will come out to me.

A tow ain't gonna do much except get me to a city for hundreds of dollars and then I'm still in same boat, broken bus and no shop to fix it. Please, please, please, if you can help in any way, I'd massively appreciate it.

[jimmythomas]

What kind of problem are you having?
Very difficult to go to the middle of nowhere to help someone you don't even know....

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

ok
what were the problems going on before it died?
if you dont get this i will try your number

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

nowhere near you but can help figure it out.
throwing parts at a problem without knowing the problem is not it.
you mentioned limited service so i have also texted you.
if i dont hear back on either in ten minutes i will try calling.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

have been on the phone with him and waiting to hear back.
he has plenty of tools as he says
has sent pictures of an electronic dizzy.
so i have asked to look at fuel.
he has mechanical fuel pump so he is checkig fuel to carb from pump now and no way to check fuel from pump from tank.
in line fuel filter?
seen many pumps fail?
there are others closer to him than me

[Bus'n it]

HEI Coil module? I have had those give up the ghost in the past.

[magnakansas]

If the stranded person can put any kind of hose at all on the fuel line from the fuel tank...... try to blow into the fuel line...... better yet.... bicycle pump into the tank....... take the fuel cap off and listen to the tank for any noise at all....

I once used a bb gun to blow back into a suspected clogged tank....

a large syringe - like 100cc and try to put any kind of suck on the fuel line... seal with tape?

use compressed air and blow across the end of the fuel line and use the venturi effect to suck fuel out of the line....

william

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

i spoke with the original OP last night and they had spark and a good battery.
so i had them checking for fuel to the carb. and he has a mechanical fuel pump.
but he was by his self and had to hang up and check and i havent heard back
he said he had plenty of tools with him.
so hopefully he got it going.

[Brian-Ks]

Give it a shot of Starter fluid and see if it tries to start …….if it does then you know you have a fuel problem.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

figuring out the problem should be the first priority.
ether/starting fluid on any engine should be last resort.
but until hearing from the OP we wont know exactly what it was?
i spoke with him over the phone for almost an hour and havent heard back on here or the phone.
so either he got towed to a garage?
the advice i gave helped or it didnt help and he called BS and went some where else?
on the phone he was able to prove spark but not fuel with the phone in his hand and a mechanical fuel pump because he was solo.
if you dont know then ask me how he was able to check spark from the cab while turning the gas engine. while solo?
it can and does happen on the older stuff.

[Kwest364]

I survived. It was mechanical fuel pump. New pump, she's right as rain. Thank you all so much

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

thank you for responding back.
glad you got it figured out sir.

[Brian-Ks]

I’m not saying try to start it off of starting fluid I’m just saying give it a small shot to see it it fires….. then you know the electrical systems working and it has compression…..then you know to go look for a fuel issues because the rest of the systems are working…… simple and fast diagnostic work.

[BarnYardCamp]

may be a bit late...but if the mechanical fuel pump failed, then you should check the oil for the smell of raw gas...a lot of times when those type of pumps failed they pumped gas into the oil pan.

[LargeMargeInBaja]

Originally Posted by Brian-Ks

Give it a shot of Starter fluid and see if it tries to start …….if it does then you know you have a fuel problem.

.
Bingo!
.
We drove a tractor a couple hundred yards and into the shop using perfectly timed spritzes of ether into the air-cleaner...
...one brave soul laying atop the over-engine linear fuel-tank, holding on with two toes and the one free hand.
.
I was younger then, and prone to fits of courage.

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by LargeMargeInBaja

.
Bingo!
.
We drove a tractor a couple hundred yards and into the shop using perfectly timed spritzes of ether into the air-cleaner...
...one brave soul laying atop the over-engine linear fuel-tank, holding on with two toes and the one free hand.
.
I was younger then, and prone to fits of courage.

LOL I remember those days!!!!!!
Like the time I drove from Waikiki to Kaneohe Bay (over the top of the mountain) with a dead electric fuel pump. Had another Marine blowing into a 1 gal can of gas in his lap to force fuel through all the windshield wiper lines taped together to get fuel to the carbs. Gauht 'er dun!
A bad fuel pump in a gas rig is like the easiest thing in the world to identify. Gas engine, fuel, spark, compression......
A little fuel in the carb or throttle body, crank it, if it fires you have spark, timing, and compression and merely need to examine the fuel system.
If it doesn't fire, it's probably not fuel. Grab a plug wire and crank it...you'll soon know if you have spark (though it could be mis timed)