Bought a 1985 w250 with a 318 as my first truck. Will start when it’s warmer out but when cold it’s a no go. Cranks over , strong battery, new distributor cap/rotor ,ignition control module is newer but was replaced by last owner. ignition coil had the correct resistance checking with a multi meter so safe to assume it works. Odd part is when it does start it runs and drives, misfires a little. So why would I be getting spark to run the Vehicle* but not in starting? Could something in the distributor itself gone bad?

 

Venice?

 

sorry vehicle*

 

how many times are you pumping the gas befor trying to start the engine?

 

she normally starts after 3-4 pumps, I’ve had to pump it 8 before but yea on a good day one slow pump to reset the choke and while turning it over 3 pumps and she goes

 

To add on to this I checked a number of things today, ballast resister is good, ignition module seems to be good, but yea spark into the distributor cap none out.

 

You said it has a new cap and rotor, You might want to look at the cap/rotor to be sure it's in good condition. If so it has to be out of time where the rotor is not in line with the wires in the cap. Get #1 cylinder on TDC ON THE COMPRESSION STROKE and see where the rotor is pointing.

 

Alright, how can I tell if the rotor is in the correct position? And I was messing with the reluctor and when testing it, moving it by hand. Could I have messed up the timing of the rotor by doing so?

 

Yes. Rotate the engine by hand until the timing mark is at TDC. There is a timing tab to let you know when it's there. Use either a sharpie or soap stone to mark the position of the #1 plug wire. DO NOT USE A PENCIL!!!! The graphite will cause a short. If the rotor is 180 degrees off, rotate the engine one more time to get it to the compression stroke. If you rotor is pointing at the #1 wire, adjust a little until is is right at it. This should get you close enough for it to start, Then you can adjust from there.