Help Needed, Engine Problems Out Of The Blue

Some of you have you have followed my rebuild thread of my 1963 CJ5 Tux Park III which I finished last January of 2022. The Jeep only had 28000 miles on it when I did the restoration so I really didn’t do anything to the engine ( as it was running great) except I had the carb and fuel pump rebuilt and then I cleaned it and repainted it. So this past weekend (December of 22) I cranked her up and ran to the store just to run it for a bit and on my return trip which is only about 1.5 miles to my house the Jeep basically quit running as I was driving it. It was running great and I stopped at a stop sign and then made a right turn and it started sputtering and lurching. It stayed running but barely. There was a parking lot 20 yards away which I was able to get to and I parked it there. I opened the hood to look for any obvious signs of a problem and didn’t see anything major. The only thing I saw was my choke cable was loose so I fixed that and tried starting it again. It did run but was on the verge of dying at any point. Since I couldn’t drive home I walked to my house and got my trailer and then went and picked it up. Loading it on the trailer was a crazy story within itself but I’ll write about that later. The next day I checked out the plugs and they are sparking and then I thought it might be a fuel problem so I poured a little gas in the carb and it never fired up. It just turns over and that’s all it will do. The little 4 cylinder has run perfect for the last year. I drive it once or twice a week and I’ve not had a single problem. Could it be possible it’s a timing problem, as it got out of timing somehow.? I don’t have a way to check it but will get someone to help me, but I wanted to hear from some of the pros on this site first. Im hoping I can get some ideas to check before I find someone to work on it.

 

Very unlikely. But possibly points/condenser.

First off, there is no substitute for "get out and get under." Look around carefully and wiggle things, you often may find something crazy simple that is out of whack. Or more than one thing!

After that, could be many simple things, such as water in the fuel, crud in the carb bowl, a loose wire or vacuum tube, corroded connector, etc.

An occasional routine dose of Seafoam never hurts either. Last year my YJ died on the street - turned out that the weather was just enough to thaw and refreeze some moisture in the fuel line. Ran fine again the next morning when I came back with a trailer....

Start with verifying the basics. One thing at a time. Make sure each item meets basic FSM specifications for a regular tune-up. It all helps. But mostly that will give you the necessary base-line for further diagnosis, if needed.

Logic, not guesswork.

 

Check fuel flow to carb. If that is sufficient, check points/comdenser. Ensure the carb is tight and no gasket leaks.

 

If it did not fire up when gas is dumped down the carb the chances of it being fuel related are almost zip. I have run engines with no carb on them by dumping a little fuel in the manifold. SO its your electrical system you need to look at. Condenser first then connections leading to the ignition switch as well as the switch.

 

I’m still thinking its a fuel supply issue. Try a little starting fluid in the carb (brake parts cleaner will work too) to see if you at least get it to pop. What condition is the fuel tank in? Any filters between the tank and the carb?
Pull the fuel line off the carb and crank the engine over, looking for surges of gas from the fuel pump (after having a catch container).
Pulling up to the stop sign and making a turn might cause crud to move around in the tank and clog the outlet.
-Donny

 

Could be a clogged fuel supply, but that don't explain why it won't fire with fuel poured into the carburetor. You said you have spark, double check that. There are some really crappy ignition parts out there nowadays, particularly the condensers. I only use "Blue Flame" (standard motor products) points and condensors.

 

That would be my first guess too but the coil could also be the problem.

 

The coil wire could also be bad. Maybe there is a break in it? If you're using an ohm meter it could be saying it's fine 1 second and then if you wiggle it it could be bad.

 

Water will foul the plugs so that it wont start even with fuel poured in. but thats not to say its not an electrical problem.

 

Well I got the Jeep running again. The problem turned out to be trash in in the carb. I have a fuel filter on the fuel line so it had to come from somewhere past that point. Two pieces in particular were pretty big, almost the size of a pin head. I got it all cleaned out and put back together and she ran awesome. I’ve been driving it around for the past week and have not had any issues. Spring is here in Baton Rouge, so she will get plenty of driving time for the next few months.