Help! Engine Died

My wife and I went on our 1st big outing since purchasing our 75 cj-5. It has a 304 and MC4100. I just replaced the fuel pump/filter and the fuel sending unit. I drove it around all week without problems. Then today, while driving down the highway, it overheated and died. I let it cool off and tried to turn it over, which it did, but would not start b/f the battery died. I got it towed home, recharged the battery, and now when I go to turn it on, the battery shorts out and the starter doesn't even come on. I think that may be due to moisture on the coil, but I don't know where to start. The radiator still has coolant, although alittle low. There is oil, although again low. The clutch fan was not turning over when we tried to restart it on the highway. I'm just looking for a direction to start. Please let me know what other info would be useful. This is making me sick

 

Overheated? What do you mean? Did the guage go into the red, or did something more drastic happen?

If there was a lot of water under the hood, take off the distributor cap and clean out any moisture. That will keep it from starting.

What do you mean, "the battery shorts out?" Do you mean the engine does not turn over when you turn the key, or that nothing happens, or what? If nothing happens, how do you know the battery is charged?

You need to be systematic about diagnosing your problem. Most sudden "no start" problems are because there is no fuel or no spark. Do you have fuel? Does fuel squirt into the carburetor when you open the throttle? Do you have spark? When you crank the engine, is there spark at the coil? At the plugs?

You likely have a Motorcraft 2100, not 4100. The 4100 is an old Motorcraft 4V that was used on 289 Mustangs and full-sized 60s Ford cars.

When you own an old car, especially when it's new to you, you have to expect some surprises. I'm trying to gently suggest that at may be a little, umm, naive? to be upset about your problem. Calm down and we'll talk about it.

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Yeah, I guess it is a 2100. My bad. So back to the problem. We were on the highway, I noticed the temp gauge (aftermarket) start to go up from around 180 to over 200. All in a matter of seconds, the engine started knocking ( I guess thats the term?) and then the motor stopped and I rolled to the side. There was some oil coming out of the filler neck, which I think got on the coil. You could see coolant leaking from the overflow tube. No other leaks were noted. When I tried to start it on the side of the road, the motor would turn over but not strart. There was fuel in the filter and in the carb. After turning over a few times, the battery died. Once I got it home, I charged the battery and verified the charge on the charger (battery is a week old BTW). When I then tried to start it, I turned the key and did not hear any sounds (ie starter) except for a snapping noise. The volts on the dash then went from 14 to nothing. The battery was dead again. I looked a the top of the coil and felt some oil on the terminals. I'm gonna clean this off but I had to take a break. Does this help any?

 

sounds like your fan clutch is not working which caused the other problems

as for the battery you need to check the terminals for loose ness








jack

 

Thats what I was thinking but I wanted to ask the experts before I start tearing things apart. Is there any way to know for sure if you have a bad fan clutch?

 

I don't think your fan clutch is related to the problem. Is there coolant leaking from the front of the engine, or can you wobble the fan on its hub?

You need to be systematic. First, why doesn't the engine crank now? I would put a wrench on the crank pulley and see if I could move the engine by hand. I would recharge the battery again, and make sure all the battery clamps and cables are clean, tight and in good condition. Removing and replacing the battery may have compromised one of the battery cable connections.

Next, with good cables, and the key off and out of gear, try jumping between the large solenoid connections with one of you jumper cables. Clamp to the positive post and touch the other cable end to the starter cable terminal. This will connect the battery directly to the starter. You'll get sparks so don't be startled, but the starter motor should run. If no sparks, check the ground connections. If you can turn the engine by hand, and you get sparks at the cable, but the engine won't turn over, it's time to remove the starter (actually I might have my local parts store load test the battery first, or try another battery - then I'd pull the starter).

Just keep at it ... test all the systems that should work, step by step. You need to get to the point that you can crank the engine and can examine the spark at the coil and at the plugs.

 

I'll try those things when I get home tomorrow. To answer your question, you can wobble the fan and freely rotate it with the engine off. That's why I was thinking maybe it was the fan leading to the overheating issue. I also don't have a fan shroud which I need to get. I'll post more info when I get home tomorrow. Thanks guys.

 

Possibly the water pump shattered. I would try to crank it (after doing Tim's suggestions) with all fan belts removed.

 

So I jumped the starter. I got sparks, heard the starter click but not turn over. The starter is new so could it really be bad or is it just a bad battery, even though it is new too? I haven't removed the belts yets but I guess that's my next job.

 

I would focus on the battery first. Even if the water pump is frozen, I don't believe that the belts are enough drag to keep the starter from turning. If you worry about this, just loosen the belts by loosening the alternator bolts, and power steering pump bolts, if you have power steering.

If you have another battery, you could try that. If you recently bought the battery, you could take it back to the store you bought it from and have them test it... it should still be under full replacement warranty.

Depending on what kind of charger you have, if the battery is completely flat it could take a couple of days on the charger to bring it back up to full charge.

 

I don't think its the battery. I have a digital charger that shows the volts and they look good. I also jumped it to my Tahoe and still I only hear the starter click but not turn over. I read somewhere that you may have to roll the jeep to get the starter to engage if it has been rolled without starting. Is there any truth to this?

 

you need to verify that the starter currently on the Jeep is good and working.
take it off and have it tested
starters aren't meant to be used continually while cranking the engine over
it could be damaged or bad
until you get the starter issue solved, we can't really help
one problem at a time

 

OK, Illtake the starter and have it tested. In the mean time, I drained the oil. Don't see any metal, although it smells burned. I tried to turn the crank. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or not...I turned the bolt on the crank pulley, first ccw and this loosened it. Obviously the wrong way. Then I tightened it back down and tried cw...it tightens but doesn't turn. Am I doing this right? I didn't want to try any harder for fear of breaking the bolt. BTW, I have the fan and belts off. Please let me know what I need to do to verify the engine isn't siezed. Thanks for everyones help.

 

Remove all your spark plugs and make sure trans is in neutral. then try to move the engine with the socket and breaker bar in a clock wise direction. If the engine won't move then we have some serious problems inside the motor.

 

That's what I like about this board..."we" take some ownership and pride in "our" Jeeps.

 

Totally agree with nwedgar...
So I removed the plugs and turned the engine over, but it took alot of force. Is that normal? Gonna go get the starter out now.

 

So starter tested good...

 

Mmm. What was your oil pressure prior to the incident? You mentioned the oil smelled burnt, and was low? How low?

 

I don't know the pressure b/c the guage was leaking so its wasn't accurate. But I think I was about a quart low. I haven't noticed any leaks and it wasn't blowing smoke except right at start up. The oil had recently been changed as well.

 

Well, it does not sound very good.

With the plugs out, belts disconnected and transmission in neutral, the engine should spin easily with a wrench. You are turning against the friction of the rings on the cylinder walls, but there's normally nothing else adding a significant drag.

I presume that the Jeep rolls easy in neutral, and also rolls easy in gear with the clutch in.

The drag is now enough to stall the starter - that's quite a lot of drag. It's probably significant that the drag increased as the engine cooled.

I don't want to jump to any conclusions based on what little info we've been able to exchange, but I'm guessing that you have a serious internal problem with the engine. If it were mine, I'd drop the oil pan and take a look. Depending on other signs, I might be inclined to not mess with it any more, and pull the engine and tear it down on the bench.

I'm hoping that somebody here can think of something else to look at, but I'm thinking you've got some serious internal problem with that engine.