Dauntless 225 Help

I've got a 71 CJ6 that I'm having some issues with. I had it running great last year before i went into intensive body work. I dropped the fuel tank and cleaned it while all the body work was being done. Once I finished the body work and reassembled everything, it started up and ran great... for about 5-10 minutes. Then it acted like it was bogging down and choked out (luckily as I was pulling back into the driveway. Now, it'll start fine and run great with the choke fully engaged. It'll run for a few minutes then die, despite adjusting the choke. Any ideas? Its not fuel tank vacuum- I've corrected that problem previously. I've rebuilt the carb recently, and had it checked/adjusted professionally, just prior to going to work on the body. But I've never been able to keep it running longer than a few miles and around 15 minutes. It does the same thing- runs great, then chokes out and stalls.

By the way, its running a Holley 2 barrel carb and still has the original points distributor. Stock setup otherwise. As a side question- should I look to go to a pertronix or HEI conversion to gain some reliability?

 

Still sounds fuel related......Try loosening the gas cap next time you drive it............Does it start right back up after it stalls????.........................Once stalled have you tried taking the air cleaner off and hitting the throttle linkage and see if the accelerator pump squirts . that should tell you if there's any fuel left in the bowl?

If it squirts fuel then it's likely Ignition.............Put your hand lightly on the coil and see how hot it is , and the same for the condenser & points inside the distributor. If the points are blue change them along with the other associated parts .........a laser Temp gauge also works for checking this.

 

I would also consider vacuum leaks. Metal expansion from heat may be causing gaps.

 

My newish fuel pump just stopped working after sitting for 6 months. Take of fuel line, crank engine and see how the fuel goes into a cup. Don't blow yourself up. Check timing. Check points and adjust gap.

 

Volume test the pump by disconnecting fuel line at carb.
Add extension hose or whatever into a container.
Start engine, let idle.
Strong steady stream of fuel should be pulsating put the hose.
You can pull the coil wire and do the same test.
If you're not getting a strong steady stream, fuel supply issue.

 

Is there supposed to be heat shield between the fuel pump as the exhaust manifold? Not sure that this is the problem right now but it's definitely questionable. Vapor lock?

 

Do you have a return line? I didn't have one and it used to vapor lock. Installed one and no problems.

 

Sticking valves?

 

Thanks for the suggestions folks. I'll recheck the float itself and the float level.

I checked the timing the other day and it was off- way high and off the marked area, but it seemed to be running smoothly. Does that make any sense? I tried adjusting the distributor to get it back down around 7 deg but it wouldn't turn far enough to even get it back down to the marked area. How can this be corrected? Does it make sense that it's running smoothly but off in timing?

 

Sounds like you have other basic issues that first need correcting.............although timing should not make it just stop you should fix it just the same. If your out of movement you'll have to bring the motor back to #1 TDC and pull the distributor and re-position it over one tooth..............but you might first want to get it to TDC on your pointer out front and then take the Distributor Cap off and see where it points.

 

Vacuum line is attached from the intake manifold. The line is new and doesn't appear to have any leaks.

As far as pulling the distributor - what's weird is I've had it timed correctly and haven't pulled the distributor since. Any reason why it would get thrown off or why the timing would be reading off?


What's throwing me off is why it would run great for a considerable amount of time, then all of a sudden get choked out.

 

Ported vacuum is what you want, not intake vacuum. Thats all the time and advancing your timing at idle where it doesnt need it. Plug the line to set timing and then find a port on your carb that is not vacuum at idle.

 

Ahh, got it. That makes sense. Would that cause the main problem it's experiencing though?. Makes sense that its throwing off the timing but would it cause the delayed choking problem.

 

i Donno. fix one thing at a time. You know the vacuum advance is wrong. next replace fuel filter. Make sure you have fuel going to the carb in sufficient quantity. Next make sure the bronze cone thing on your carb fuel inlet is ok assuming its a 2 gc. Start at the simple stuff.

 

Awesome. Thanks, everyone for your help. I'll report back when I can get some time to do some tinkering.

 

Again it sounds like you have several issues..............the timing may be off if the timing chain inside the front cover is either loose or has jumped a tooth........Bring it up to TDC on #1 and then pull the Cap and see if the Rotor is pointing to number 1 position on the cap............

If you have this correctly timed and you have rebuilt the carb , and assuming the floats are correct and there is no internal vacuum leaks and the motor only runs for 10 minutes that sounds more like an electrical issue whereby something in the system is getting overheated. perhaps a bad Coil , points or condenser.

But again that may just be a starting point as your diagnose's continues to be a moving target..........it's a process of elimination , check off some of the Items previously mentioned and narrow down the field ..............the problem will show up.

 

Lots of good info above. Definitely fix your vacuum source and check your fuel delivery. Also check the resistor for your ignition. I've had the same symptoms on two different jeeps in the past. Both had bad resistors that would get hot and break down. Run it until it shuts down then check the voltage on the positive side of the coil with the points closed.