Engine help..

Hey guys. Ive been having a problem with my 73 cj5 the past couple of weeks and now im getting to a point where i am getting desperate.. heres my problem. It started with the engine having a hard time starting, once it finally got started, it would have a haaaarrrd time idleing.. i adjusted the timing and everything, got it to idle, and cut it off to go eat dinner, came back, then i was back at square one... it wouldnt start... I had a mobile mech come by and told me it was my carb... So, I went to advanced and bought a rebuilt kit with the acid stuff to soak the carb in. I put it back together today, Boom, it cranked right up. I tuned the carb a lil bit and it was even idling fairly decent. I went to work came back tonight to finish tuning it, and now its doing it again... having a hard time starting.... Im really running out of ideas as to what it could be... it sounds like its not getting any fire, but i checked the wires, coil, plugs, and dist cap and rotor. Ive acually replaced all of those things... Anyone have any idea wtf could be wrong with my jeep?... the only other thing i have left to replace really is the distrib... but i dont wanna buy it if its not going to fix the damn prob. Thanks for your time... any advise is good advise =\

 

Check the timing chain.

mike s.

 

well i checked to see if it jumped a tooth by pulling the numb 1 plug out and turned the motor over by hand until the num 1 piston was at its highest point, looked at the timing mark, and it was at TDC... should i still check it?

 

btw it is a 304 v8 if that makes a difference

 

Contaminants in fuel? Stick the end of the fuel like in a clear jar, crank the engine a few turns, let it settle few minutes, see if there is anything odd in the bottom.

 

i thought about that too considerin when i rebuilt my carb i saw alot of crap in there that shouldnt be... so i took a five gallon gas can and ran a host from that going to my fuel pump to see if that would help, motor just keeps turnin over, not even trying to start... but when it does, it just bogs down quick..

 

If its getting bogged down, it sounds like fuel to me, especially since you already replaced the electrical/starting components. Do you have an inline filter near the carb, maybe something got through before you flushed the line and it's plugging the carb somewhere. How about the fuel pump itself...is it new? The other issue is that it could the the in-tank filter is plugged up and you're starving the engine.

 

Another possibillity may be that the float seat is leaking fuel when the engine is off and its flooding the motor.

 

i went out and tried starting it this morning... cranked up.. still running off 5 gallon gas can.. i have changed the filter by the motor.. and the fuel pump is new.. Now i just thought of something here... i do have a points type distributor... i did set it with a feeler gauge because NO parts stores around here have a dwell meter... could this be a prob as well?... i did think about contaimentants in the fuel because i do have wholes in the top part of my tank.. and i have been submerged in mud/water.. (NO GOOD I KNOW!) But thats why im running the gas can for now... oh and the float was replaced when i redid the carb... and i set the dry float.

 

Have you checked the chain? with a timing light does the marks bounce around or stay solid? If it bounces alot with rpm change I would consider the chain. (had a 304 that would never time and stay in time took the chain off and you could make a half circle on the flat bend)

 

I haven't took the cover off and looked at it.. But when it was idling this mornin it was a solid mark.. But was waaay away from the markings... When ever I would go and retard the timing, it would go and try cutting off when it got to about A10 on the marking.. And book says 5deg BTDC.. I was thinking maybe points tho..
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Does it just turn over and over and sound like it's trying to start, but never does? Had this issue like 2 months ago. After replacing starter solenoid, battery, distributor cap, cables, plugs, fuel pump, and adding fuel drier the problem ended up being bad points. I ended up going with a solid state ignition.

 

yes... but sometimes it does start... i was thinking about the points.... cuz ive called every part store and tool store to see if they sold a dwell meter... guess what? no one has them lol

 

So how many miles on this engine? Do you have a lot of slop in the upper part of dist shaft bushing? Sounds like you have dwell changing radically.

 

trash back in your newley rebuilt carb. i know you state that you are running off of a 5 gallon can, but if you started it off of the tank it only takes a few seconds for all that crap to get in there, bet you have a big ole case of water in the carb

 

i'm not sure what tank is in a '75, under seat or rear. They probably both draw off of the bottom of the tank, one way or another. The under seat will suck in anything in the tank while the rear mounts may give you a half inch of room for floating stuff on the bottom.
Just guessing that your tank is pretty ugly inside.

 

well yes, i did start the motor with the ****ty gas tank... and after it ran for a lil bit then i cut it off to go to work and i was gonna tune it when i got home... but motor just kept turnin when i got home... and now it just seems like it will start when it wants to, runnin ****ty tho... ill pull the carb off agaain within the next couple o days and look inside the carb and see what i see... if i see something, ill clean it again and then just start it off the gas can just to see if thats my prob. and my tank is in the rear btw

 

I bet JACOBS has a elec ign for your dist. They are not expensive and well worth getting rid of those points.