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Post by tpmccusker on Mar 29, 2023 20:57:06 GMT -5
Good evening all!
I've been browsing this forum for the last few weeks and finally built up the courage to get some questions together.
Long story short, I've been brought on by a friend of a family friend to get some old vehicles running, including a CJ2A! I don't know what year it is and the most history I have about it is that it came from a guy who had it...helpful. It idled fine but would sputter out and die with any throttle. If I would on-off-on-off on the throttle i could build RPMs to about 3k for a few second until it would cut out all together and die. I did some poking around and it had some Solex carburator knockoff. Spraying carb cleaner around the carb would cause it to react, particularly around the choke housing. Idle RPM was around 1100, I lowered it to 600, with some improvement but still more of the same. Dwell was also at 50 degrees or so. I also took the lid off and the float seemed to stick in just about every position I pressed it to.
The guy wants it "as close to an MB as possible" and I wasn't getting anywhere with the solex, so we ordered a Joe's Motor Pool Carter WO.
It came in today and I went through the advice for setting the float and metering rod. I also backed out the idle screw out and then did a turn and a half just as a starting point; haven't touched anything else.
I cranked it for a while to get some fuel in the bowl and put the choke to 1/3 and cranked and cranked with nothing happening. I tapped the gas a bit and it backfired out of the carb very loudly (.22 pistol).
Tried again without choke, tried again at full choke, no real luck with anything, just more loud pops. Eventually It started behaving as if it was about to almost turn over on every crank of the engine but still no luck. The intake gasket also started weeping quite a bit of fuel. I took the carb back off and the intake had a large puddle of dark murky gas in it.
I suppose my question is what should I do next? I'll be honest, my forte is with the old 80's Subarus, I have the Hitachi down but dwell and point gaps and some of these other things have me a bit mystified.
Other details: I'm in Colorado, about 6500 feet altitude. This jeep hasn't driven in the time the owner has had it, only idling and looking pretty. It has it's (original?) mechanical fuel pump with a filter between it and the carb and newish looking sparkplugs and wires. I'm going to check the gap on them as soon as I remember to get my little plug gapper. As far as I know it's only had ethanol free 87 octane fuel put in it too. Go easy on me, I'm still learning quite a bit and there's plenty of holes in my knowledge. This feels quite a bit different from an 1.6 litre Brat!
Thank you all! I'll try to answer everything as best I can!
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Post by Scoutpilot on Mar 30, 2023 4:15:18 GMT -5
Hello TP and welcome. At your altitude timing and vacuum are important. But first, some questions...
Are you certain the gas is Ethanol free and 87 octane? Six-volt or twelve? Points (set at .020") and condenser or electronic ignition? Distributor cap, brass or aluminum contacts inside? Plug wires, copper core, or resistor carbon? Sparkplugs (set at .030"), Copper core, or resistor? When was the last full tuneup? Do you own a Diagnostic Vacuum Gauge and a Dwell Tachometer?
We'll start there.
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Post by brucew on Mar 30, 2023 10:29:23 GMT -5
Where-abouts in Colorado? BW
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Post by tpmccusker on Mar 31, 2023 14:25:59 GMT -5
Hey Scoutpilot, thanks so much for your reply! I'm not sure about the fuel that's in there, but the guy has told me that he's only put that in his vehicles. It's A 12 volt system. I don't have a feeler gauge right this second, i left it and the vacuum gauge at home. It's condenser ignition. The distributor cap is brass contacts. Something I just discovered when checking the cap is that the rotor has broken apart since the point I took the cap off last week! I'm sure that's a good part of the recent issues! The wires appear to be copper core. I just verified that all four spark plugs were at .030, but some of them were pretty badly fouled. One had a bit of oil on it. I don't know if they're Copper or Resistor, but the numbers on the plugs are ac delco R46SZ. I know it hasn't gotten any sort of tune-up in the last year since the current owner got it. I have a diag gauge and dwell tachometer. 4 cylinder too!
I think the little diffuser gasket on the intake is pretty chewed up too.
Thank you!
ps, brucew, I'm in Colorado Springs! Some wind we've been having!
Thank you again!
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Post by Scoutpilot on Mar 31, 2023 16:37:00 GMT -5
Hey Scoutpilot, thanks so much for your reply! I'm not sure about the fuel that's in there, but the guy has told me that he's only put that in his vehicles. You'll know the next time you refuel.It's A 12 volt system. OK.I don't have a feeler gauge right this second, i left it and the vacuum gauge at home. It's condenser ignition. So far so good.The distributor cap is brass contacts. Something I just discovered when checking the cap is that the rotor has broken apart since the point I took the cap off last week! I'm sure that's a good part of the recent issues! Quite probably.The wires appear to be copper core. What color is the outer insulation?I just verified that all four spark plugs were at .030, but some of them were pretty badly fouled. One had a bit of oil on it. Hmmm. I assume it hasn't run in a long time. I don't know if they're Copper or Resistor, but the numbers on the plugs are ac delco R46SZ. The "R" indicates these are resistor plugs. You want Autolite 495. I know it hasn't gotten any sort of tune-up in the last year since the current owner got it. Guess what you get to do?I have a diag gauge and dwell tachometer. 4 cylinder too! Excellent!I think the little diffuser gasket on the intake is pretty chewed up too. They're about $12-$13.Thank you! ps, brucew, I'm in Colorado Springs! Some wind we've been having! Thank you again! OKAY! We have a good start.
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Post by tpmccusker on Apr 1, 2023 23:05:44 GMT -5
Good news! I got the thing running! Even drove it a tiny bit. Everything went fairly well! Timing outright was a bit of a pain, I could not for the life of me find any marks on the flywheel or crank pulley. I resorted to a timing flowchart guide off of a CJ2A forum, but wouldn't call that good yet. The #1 spark plug on the distributor is also at an 8 oclock position which didn't really feel like it matched any diagrams I saw. I adjusted the points as best I could but even with some trial and error the "worst" best I got was 75 degrees dwell and the "best" best I got was 48 ish degrees.
After I got it idling for better or for worse I just started tinkering with the carb, despite the massive vacuum leak at the gasket. I got it idling at about 750 rpm with a satisfying throttle response. I know it's all for naught until that gasket is replaced but it felt like a great accomplishment!
Other than some shenanigans with the transfer case levers popping out of their slots (and locking it in 4 low) and the radiator fan hitting the shroud, I think it's coming along quite well!
Thank you again!
Also, Scoutpilot, I stumbled across one of your videos today as well. Fun realization when I heard the name!
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Post by Scoutpilot on Apr 2, 2023 5:00:14 GMT -5
Okay! You're making progress! The only place you could find timing marks is on the flywheel, but if it is dirty, they may not be visible. As for the "eight o'clock" position for the number one plug wire, that would indicate an improperly indexed oil pump. No harm, no foul, just confusion and the probability that the distributor doesn't have its full adjustment range. You'll need a good friend, a long-shank blade screwdriver, a flashlight, a few beers, and a new gasket (maybe, if you're not lucky) for the pump when you pull it and re-index it. As to the Dwell readings. You need to check the distributor's fly-weight springs. With the cap off, grasp the rotor and turn it clockwise as far as it will go, which won't be far. Let go and watch for the rotor to spring back. If it doesn't, at best the "dizzy" needs to be cleaned, or, at worst, it needs to be rebuilt. For the points setting; with new points, you can use a blade feeler gauge. With old points, it is best to use a wire feeler gauge because of the pitting/pointing of the contacts. This should fill your plate for a while. Want to learn more? Let your fingers do the walking through this website. There's lot's of good, helpful information. More questions? The members here comprise over 400 combined years of hands-on, four season, mountains-to-seashore experience with Jeeps and will shoot straight with their practical answers. Videos? Look in the library for instructional videos and on my Youtube Channel for my work. Oh, and if you have an iPhone, we can FaceTime about your issues.
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