ok as you know i had blown head gasket/cracked heads and i got all my parts yesterday. NEW heads, all hardware, gaskets etc. got it all put together tonight and i get in and try to fire it up and it cranked good for about 1 second, then its like it stutters like the battery doesnt have enough juice or its trying to fire cylinders that are directly opposite each other at the same time causing it to stop rotating. i tested the battery with a meter, it read 13v. ive checked and double checked my firing order, all good. what the hell is going on? i just want to be able to use this pile of crap. i love the truck when it works, unfortunately it doesnt work more than it does. any ideas?
im at a loss right now but it isnt getting any warmer out so ideally id like to be on 4 wheels instead of 2 on some of these chilly nights.

thanks guys
jesse

96 5.9 manual trans 4x4

 

Check voltage at the starter. What all did you tear into besides the obvious heads?

 

with ignition off and maybe with spark plugs removed, rotate engine by hand and ensure there is no binding or lock up.

 

97tn4x4 i dont understand ur question, i removed everything it calls for when removing the heads, replaced the heads and all gaskets and bolts. same with the plenum, all new gaskets and bolts

 

ok, so i just pulled the plugs and everything rotates as it should, no binding at all. i guess in my over tiredness last night i misread the meter, its actually 12 volts. 11.94 to be exact...

 

Did you remove the distributor? Did you perhaps put your plug wires on with the wrong distributor rotation in mind? Do you get spark? Injector pulse? Does the fuel pump prime?

Did you miss the ground wires on the back of the heads?

 

i had no ground wires on the back of my head on disassembly, so theres no ground there now. on my old heads i could see where there was a ground wire hooked up but its cut off. the previous owner swapped a 5.9 with a 5 speed into the truck which came with a 5.2 auto. i didnt take the whole distributor off, just the cap. i have checked the firing order a few times and it seems to be right, havent checked for spark or injector pulse, but the fuel pump primes. i gotta go out of town this morning so i wont get a chance to tinker with it for a while...

 

I'd put a couple ground wires on the back of both heads to firewall. Probably has the screws there and the wire cut as well.

 

Ill check for the wires and attach a couple grounds when i get home. As far as the firing order, i could swear its right, but those pictures of the firing order suck! The square part of the distributor cap closest to 8 according to the picture isnt in line with any of the plugs but on my cap it looks like its either smack in line with 8 or 1, not in between. I should be back in a few hrs, hopefully ill have some daylight left!

 

The cap has the #1 embossed on it. Unless you have a POS cap.