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SUCCESS!
On the 4th of July I drove the Jeep for the first time. The day started off ominously so I was quite shocked that the day turned out so well. I woke up that morning and remembered that I had forgotten to install the oil pickup in the bottom of the engine block before bolting on the oil pan and installing the engine! I removed the oil pan. One of the bolts closest to the bellhousing gave me trouble so it was a job just getting it out. Because of the angular shape of the oil pick up I could not screw it in with the engine installed without moving the right headers out of the way and removing the motor mount and mount bracket. In all it was a two hour delay but I was happy just to not have to pull the engine!
By late afternoon I had everything ready to detonate the engine. To my surprise it started with very little trouble. I spent a couple of hours piddling with the timing, carburetor settings and recharging the battery of course :) By early evening I loaded the kids in the Jeep and took a few laps around the yard.
I still had issues. A huge plume of gray smoke continued to bellow from the engine compartment. The engine seemed to have no power especially after it warmed up. Also, the engine would speed up when it should be idling.
Saturday morning I looked it over and discovered my problems. The smoking was caused by the oil pressure gauge tube coming in contact with the header and thus melted sending a stream of oil into a super hot exhaust pipe. Shew! This was an easy fix. I was concerned I would have to tear the engine apart.
The power and idling problems were related. I discovered that I had set the idle screw on the carburetor exactly opposite of what I was intending to do. I had screwed it all the way in which maxed the possible idle speed. I had adjusted the timing with the idle speed maxed. Basically there was nothing left for the engine to give me when I hit the gas. Dumb mistake but easy to fix, no harm done. I set the idle where it should be and timed the engine. I went more than 5 degrees before top dead center because it seemed to run stronger. I read on the Internet where a lot of hot rodders will run 15 to 30 degrees BTDC! I would guess that I am around 10 degrees that that is just a WAG.
On Saturday I replaced the master cylinder to try and improve the braking system and considering that I probably didn't help it any by cleaing it out with gasoline :)
Sunday morning constituted the first of the trials. I put a miles worth of laps in my back yard to get the engine exercised. I then parked it and turned off the engine. I waited about 15 seconds and touched the detonator to see if it would start up. It started up quite nicely! I aimed the Jeep at the dirt road catty-corner to my house that goes to my cousins house 1 mile away. I drove to his house turned around and make it 1/4 mile from my house before the back right tire went flat! :) Beats blowing an engine! I crept the rest of the way home. I was planning to replace that tire anyway because the inner side wall has some significant damage. The front tires are in great shape but the spare and the back right are toast. The back left is intact but does not have much life yet. I need to two new 33" inch tires and this rig will be ready for the road.
I think the Jeep will live again!
PS: Just for the record - the Jeep had 00463 miles reading on the odometer when I started driving.
Today I informed my regular "at work" Jeep Update email list that today's entry would be the last one. Only one begged for more :) These emails have constituted 100% of this log to date. All entries that follow will be entries I make soley for this web audience.
Two days ago I put new tires on the front, moved the old front tires to the back and kept the best of the bad rear tires as a spare. The old front tires have a lot of tread left so I did not replace them. I'm so far over budget by now that I would have a hard time replacing all the tires right now anyways! The tires are 33" x 12.50 x 15 BF Goodrich Mud Terrains and cost about $175 a piece after mounting, balancing and tax.
Yesterday I found a new problem but I had suspected it. The front breaks were leaking fluid and the front left bleeder valve was frozen. I removed the front left wheel and drum so I could take out the wheel cylinder so I could more easily work on loosening that valve. In the process I discovered the seals on the wheel cylinder pistons were blown and that's where the fluid was leaking. I'll have to replace the cylinder but fortunately they are cheap (about $9 each). Until then, almost no braking power :)
Last night I went for a more challenging test drive. I went to the gas station a mile and a half away and turned off the engine. This may sound like nothing but I was very concerned that it would not restart if I was away from home! I filled the tank and the engine restarted just fine! Shew.
I did identify a new problem. I had to go up a hill to get to the gas station. During the incline the engine cut out a couple of times. On the way back I turned down a side gravel road that had many small hills and it cut out some more. I then drove down to another road that was flat but very rough and it cut out so much that it died - many times. I suspected a carburetion problem. I talked to some friend and they suggested adjusting the float levels. This made sense. When the carburetor is bounced around or at a steep angle the fuel must not be reaching the outlet hole in the carburetor and thus not fueling the engine.
I picked up the manual for my new 1405 Edelbrock 4 barrel carburetor to learn how to adjust the floats. I was shocked and bewildered. There is no screw to adjust the floats. You have to remove the air horn (top half of carburetor), invert it then grab the float and bend their attached hinge! This is crazy! That is like adjusting your alignment not by screw in or out the tie-rods but instead bending the rods! The manual suggested about an 1" gap between the air horn and the top of the dangling floats. The gap had been around 1.5" from my crude measurement. A website I looked at later showed a tool designed to precisely measure the float drop - got to get one :) I grabbed it and bent it to what seemed to be 1" the best I could measure. I put the carburetor back together and started the engine. It seemed to start ok but quickly began to run very poorly and gray smoke bellowed out the tail pipes. The left side spewed more smoke than the right. There are two floats so I must have mangled the left more than the right. I suspect I over adjusted them both and the left more so than the other.
I noticed what appeared to be a fuel leak around the intake to carburetor gasket so I went ahead and removed the whole carburetor and retired for the night. The fuel might have come from the bowl when I was playing with the floats or the gasket needs to be replaced. I plan to go ahead an replace the gasket to be sure which I will do today. I'll try unbending the floats somewhat and put it back together as well. We'll see....
Drum brakes are evil. It took two hours last night just to change the front left wheel cylinder. It works very well now. I noticed that the front right is blown to so I'll need to replace it. I readjusted the floats and the Jeep runs good now but it still cuts out when it gets bumpy. There is a small trace of smoke out the left tail pipe still but substantially less than there was after the first float adjustment.
This evening I reset the floats back the way they were and the engine ran good like it used to but it still cuts out on bumps.
I also replaced the front left wheel cylinder. It took about two hours to do the first one but I did this second one in less than 30 minutes.
While lying in bed this morning and thinking about my engine cut out problem I wondered if the cause might be a loose electrical connection rather than a fuel problem. I got up and started the Jeep. WIth the engine running I wiggled all the cables. When I wiggled the wiring harness just before it goes in to the coil the engine died. I restarted the engine without trouble and pressed all the connections down real good. wiggling the connections no longer caused the engine to cut out. Maybe this was it? I went for a 50 MPH test drive down a bumpy gravel road with several small hills and had no problems at all. I might have fixed it!
As soon as I got back I noticed my radiator was dripping :) If it is not one thing it is another. The leak appears to be coming from around the lower water hose radiator neck. The hose isn't leaking. It looks like the water is coming through the braze of the neck where it meets the radiator.
When I was changing the front right wheel cylinder the other day I noticed evidence of an oil leak. Motor oil has pooled on top of the forward differential. A drop of oil was hanging from the bottom of the oil pump cover at the front right bottom of the engine. I surmised the oil leak is coming from that area. Evidence of oil leaks elsewhere in the engine is not obvious. I have checked the oil every day and it is still at the right level so any oil leakage is slight.
I picked up new brake shoes from O'reilly's but when I went to put them on I discovered they were the wrong ones. The old shoes had a lot of material left in them but the brake fluid soaked and ruined them. Cleaning them with brake cleaner did no real good. The surface of the brake material had becomes like hard slick rubber.
I exchanged the brake shoes for the right ones this morning and put them on in very little time. I am getting skilled with drum brakes now which surprises me. I did each side in less than 30 minutes easily (from tire off to tire on), maybe even 20 minutes. The new brakes worked very well on the test drive. Unfortunately the right rear wheel cylinder has blown so I need to replace the rear brakes.
I measured the front shackles to determine the lift that is installed on the vehicle and determined it to be two inches. I has guessed two to three inches just from the way it set. I needed to know exactly how much so I buy the right size shocks.
Over the weekend six of us piled on to the Jeep and went for a break in cruise around the country. The night ended with the Jeep stuck in a creek. We pulled the Jeep out the next day. No damage detected just muddy. A little over eighty miles have been put on the Jeep since the engine rebuild. The back brakes still need to be fixed.
Yesterday I picked up replacement rear wheel cylinders and brake shows. After taking the wheel off I realized the drums in the back are 10" unlike the 11" in the front and I had picked up 11" shoes. Today I exchanged them for 10" shoes. Interestingly enough when the salesmen looked up the parts he discovered that the 1976 CJ-5's are suppose to have 11" rear drums. The 1976 CJ-7 has 10" drums and the shoes for those look like they will work.
I could not get the new right rear wheel cylinder on yesterday. I could not squeeze it between the back plate and the wheel hub. I did notice that it would slide in further when I rotated the wheel. Hmmm. Unless something is crooked it should be as tight a fit no matter how the wheel is spun. I recalled that when I first drove the Jeep my nephew said my back right wheel was wobbling. I had assumed that I had put the tire on wrong so I took it off and put it back on. I used a tape measure and determined that there is a 1/16th of an inch wobble on this wheel or maybe the axel.
I have replaced both rear wheel cylinders, installed new brake shoes and bled the brake lines. I had to modify the rear wheel cylinders (which I purchased from Autozone) to make them clear the wheel hub so I could install them with out removing the axels. Just a little grinding on the top and bottom and it slid in to place. The brakes work well but not evenly. As long as I turn a little to the right when I brake hard the Jeep will stay straight enough :) It's too hot to worry about it right now any way.
I found one source to my tail light problem. Recall that the rear turn signals and back up lights work but the tail lights do not so I know that the tail light bulbs are good. I traced the wire harness to the left rear light and found a wire that had burned or split in two and two other wires that had burned off their insulation. The brades of copper on severed wires were both wound tightly at the ends and had a green copper coating around them so I speculate that they had burned thru or broke a part long ago and had been rejoined with a splice that has since fallen away. I respliced them, badly, the right way but the connection was intermittent so I just twisted the wires together and warpped a lot of eletrical tape around it. I also wrapped the exposed wires in tape. The left rear tail light works now but the right still does not. There seemed to be no apparent damage to the wires going to the right but there must be something broken that I could not easily detect.
Today I replaced the clutch fork boot. I still have a small oil and radiator leak to address.
I took the Jeep for a 32 mile road test to Bixby and back. I went there on the back roads and returned on the highways. It performed on the highway much better than I had anticipated. My speedometer does not work so I do not know how fast I went. I kept up with the slower traffic but did get passed but not blown by. Holding the Jeep at high way speeds for so long did bump the engine temperature over the 200 degrees and over the half way mark on the stock gauge. It started to cool down as soon as I returned to side road speed. The radiator leak is still just a small leak and didn't seem to be an issue for this trek. I may try to drive it to work on Friday with is a 45 mile round trip and 42 of those miles are highway.
Later in the evening I went to the gas station and filled the tank all the way. I discovered that when I fully filled the tank that fuel would drain our of the return fuel line. When I replaced the tank I discovered that what I think is the return fuel line is not fully hooked up. Basicly a fuel line comes out of the top of the tank and runs about two feet to an in line fuel filter. The other end of the filter is open. This is where fuel was pooring out when I fully filled the tank. I plugged the line with a screw and went on. This might be a pressure relief line. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet.
The weather was very pleasant this morning so I drove the Jeep to work a day ahead of planned. No problems at all! I took a few people for a short drive around the block.
I drove it to work again today but I had a problem. After the engine was well warmed it had a rough idle and blew black smoke. It was also hard to start but turned easily after it was warm. Researching these symptons on the Internet leads me to believe I have a bad PCV Valve. Before today I only knew that there were PCV valves but I had to clue what they did. PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation. A small amount of gases escape around the piston rings and into the crankcase. These gases are under pressure and will find a way out of the crankcase by exploiting weaknesses in gaskets and seals. These gases can also cause sludge build up which is not good for the oil. The valve allows these gases to exit the crankcase gracefully and be recirculated into the chamber. I don't know why this causes these symptions but we'll find out if replacing the valve helps.
I pulled the PCV valve hose off and performed the test specified in the Chiltons manual and it would seem the valve is in fact bad. It should be given the age and wear put on it. The test was to pull the hose and valve then with the engine running plug the hose with a finger and if the valve is good the engine speed should drop by about 50 RPM's. I do not have a tachometer but I could not sense any drop in engine speed at all. I will replace the valve.
I have been fighting this problem for a couple of weeks (but not everyday). I have increased my observations of the problem in an attempt to solve it. The cold engine starts very easily. It idles seemingly perfectly for about 15 seconds then it idles rough until it dies. When it starts idling rough I see gas start to seep through the top of the accelerator pump. I can also observe gas dropping from the front jets after the engine stops.
My first hypothesis was incorrectly set floats. I started off adjusting the floats to 7/16" per the manual. The flooding continued so I kept adjusting the floats more conservatively all the way to 3/4". Still it flooded. Too make sure the floats were closing the valves when fuel was pumped into the bowls I manually filled the bowls with fuel then set the air horn on the carburetor then tried to blow in to the fuel inlet but could not. I have removed, checked and reinstalled the float valves just to make sure they are not boogered up. They are fine.
I then theorized that excessive fuel pressure might be forcing the floats down. I replaced the new fuel pump with the old one but the flooding continued.
It ran fine for about a 170 miles then rapidly deteriorated. Something broke.
Today I completely disassembled the carburetor and studied it very carefully. I inspected it well enough to understand exactly how it works and how all the fuel and air/vaccum pathways are laid out. I am fairly confident the carburetor is in good working order except when the problem is finally resolved I may have to undo the over adjustment on the floats.
I have wondered if the lack of a return fuel system and the absence of a fuel pressure regulator are factors. While both of these would be a benefit I can not escape the fact that it ran very well for 170 miles with out them.
My current theory is a return to excessive fuel pressure. It is unlikely that both fuel pumps would be bad and it is also unlikely that a mechanical fuel pump would break and produce more pressure as a result! Well, maybe one would. I am not a mechanical fuel pump scientist. I read in the Edelbrock manual that one of the causes to a flooding problem might be a bad fuel filter. I have a new fuel filter but I have noticed two things. There was a lot of dirt in the carburetor and much debree on the float valve intake screens. I also jave the fuel filter laying on top of the right valve cover which may be causing excessive engine heat to transfer to the filter and cause it to break apart internally. If this has happened then the resistance the filter normally puts on the flow of fuel would be gone and dirt will get into the carburetor. I will replace the fuel filter and see what happens.
This morning I installed an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. During the process I discovered I had the old fuel filter in backwards. Oops! That would explain the dirt in the carburetor. The regulators is listed range is between 1 pound and 5 pounds but it appears to be adjustable between 1/2 pound and 5 1/2 pounds. I set it for 1 pound then started the engine and the carburetor no longer flooded! I turned it up to 5 pounds and still no problem. I left it set at 3 pounds then adjusted the timing using a borrowed timing light. After installing the regulator and adjusting the timing the black smoke and white smoke went away and the engine idled very well. I then realized I had installed undersize brass connectors on the regulator (5/16") so I swapped them out with 3/8" connectors.
I bought enough fuel hose to run a return fuel line but I couldn't find a filter at the store that had to lines out. To keep dirt from getting in the open hose on the tank I put a screw in the line and put a clamp around it.
I had trouble once I drove it. By the time I ramped up to 2nd gear the engine was cutting out very bad. I re-adjusted the floats way off the 3/4" I had them at to about 1/2" (the book says to go 7/16"). This helped some but it still cut out and seemed week. I richened the mixture from 2 turns out to 3 turns out and it helped a little more.
I drove it a mile and a half to a gas station and it died as I rolled up to the pump. I put gas in. It wouldn't start. I think it was flooded. I could see small pool of gas under the carburetor but it was not coming out of the top like it has been. I sat their like an idiot for a while just waiting for it to disipate. After five minutes or so it started but I had to work the gas peddle and keep the starter engaged while the firing slowly picked up strong enough to keep the engine going. At first it blew black smoke, then white then very little white. I made it home ok after that. I still have a fuel related problem but I think I am getting closer to solving it or giving up.
PS: A few weeks back I detected a problem with the electronic ignition control module. The heat appears to be melting the black putty like insulation off from the back of it. I noticed a trail of black gew running down from behind the module. It still works but I do not know for how long.
I is stupid.
I checked them. I swear I checked them. I checked them twice! I can not explain it. I checked the floats at least once maybe twice to find out if there was gas in them and there was not. So I am at a loss to explain why when I checked them today one of them had gas in it! It was more of a sinker than a float! I could not get the gas out. The entry point was undetectable. I theorize that under the pressure of the fuel pump gas was forced through a very small hole in the float causing it to take on gas and sink.
Ten bucks bought new floats. I adjusted them to 7/16" at both ends and set the drop between 1 1/14" and 1 1/2" per book specifications. Then I adjusted the fuel pressure to 5.5 pounds and set the mixture screws to 3 turns out and it ran just fine! I took it for a 5 mile test drive and it ran better each mile than the last. At first it seemed to be missing or cutting out just a little bit but it seemed to improve. Before I could get out of the yard I had to advance the timing by feel to get the power up. The engine was very weak at 5 degrees BTDC. I do not know what it is set to now but it is running ok.
At least not doing a good job checking floats is less of a set back than not tightening the main cap nuts!
I changed the oil again to get as much gas out of the crank case as I could. More gas had found its way in so it was a good thing that I changed it. I started it up and let it run. It idled seemingly well then suddenly died. This repeated over and over. It would die so suddenly that I suspect the cause is electrical. Module? My son noticed the back right tail light is out again. It is always something.
8/21/2003
I went for an 11 mile test drive and found a familiar problem. The 9th and 10th miles were on a "wash board" gravel road. No big holes but a steady frequency of bumps that shake any vehicle riding on it in a rhythmic way. This shaking would sometimes cause the engine to suddenly die. Sometimes it would restart on it's own after a few seconds (the vehicle still moving and gear engaged - sort of a rolling push start). Sometimes I would come to a complete stop then have to restart the engine. It would restart from a stop without problem. Once I returned to a smooth road the problem went away.
I have three hypothesis. One, the step up springs in the carburetor need to be changed for "off road conditions" such as this dirt road to handle the bumps. Two, the floats might be cutting off the gas flow prematurely due to the bumps so adjust them. Three, lose wire somewhere.
Seventeen mile test drive early this morning and no problems. Before the drive I reseated all the ignition cables on the distributor and the coil. I retarded the timing just a little bit. The oil still looked like new oil. The dip sticks indicates I have too much oil in the case but I only put 5 quarts in after I drained it earlier in the week. I had removed the oil filter and drained it although there wasn't much in it by the time I got it off. Earlier in the week I may have fixed the oil leak. I put silicon on the threads of the bolt on the oil pump cover that seemed to have oil leaking around it. I discovered that a few of the bolts didn't seem to be on very tight so I sinched them all down.
In the heat of the afternoon I went on a four mile drive to my sisters house and had problem in mile number two which is the washboard dirt road. It was the same problem. It cuts out for a few seconds. No backfire. Never died long enough to have to restart. It seemed better if I just backed off the gas and let it idle. I still suspect the electronic ignition control module. Dad thought I might try wiggling the key when it starts to cut out just in case the ignition switch is the problem. Not a bad suggestion. I have replaced the key cylinder but not the switch.
I installed a new electronic ignition control module today but that did not fix the problem of the engine cutting out. I can not reproduce the problem when the vehicle is not in motion. Neither wiggling the cables or key seem to make a difference. I now believe that sticking floats might be the most likely source of the problem. I put the new floats on the old pins. The hinge holes in the new floats might be a little smaller than the old ones which could cause the floats to stick.
I drove the Jeep to work today. I got up at 6 AM and worked on the carburetor. The engine has been cutting out steadily. I think the floats were sticking. I have replaced the ignition module and checked all the wirings. Got the carburetor put back together and went on a not so successful test drive by 7 AM. It still cut out but not as bad. Storm clouds were rolling in over Tulsa. My wiper motor works but I have no wiper blades. Just metal on glass. WTH I feel lucky today. Got back in the Jeep and headed for work. I stayed off the highway and took Memorial. Memorial is closer to auto parts stores than the highway. In north Bixby the rain started to pour. No top. Nothing could I do except sit in it, smile and try to extrapolate the road in front of my rain smeared windscreen. After a few minutes the rain let up. The engine never cut out. Wow. Made it to work by 8AM. It's one of those choices that if it works our you feel like you beat the odds and feel good about it but if it doesn't work out you just feel stupid and wet.
I had trouble on the way home. The engine started cutting out or missing almost half way home. Backing off the accelerator would clear it but I had to keep the speed down. I tried rocking the vehicle left and right to slosh the fuel around in case the floats were stuck. Wether that was smart or not it didn't help. When I got home I re-adjusted the timing because I knew it was fast. I had it adjusted probably 20 degrees or more BTDC. No joke. I slowed it down to 10 degrees BTDC. The power drop off was severe. On the test drive the engine still cut out just as it had been. Timing makes do difference on this problem. I now suspect inssufficient fuel pressure. I might out to bypass the fuel pressure regulator and see if that makes a difference.
Fixed! I put the new fuel pump back on but the engine still cut out under load. I then removed the fuel pressure regulator because it was not installed the last time it ran well. Presto! The carburetor manual specifies that 5.5 pounds to 6.5 pounds is the ideal pressure for the carburetor. The maximum setting on the regulator I installed was 5.5 and that is how I had it set. I guess that under load the carburetor wants more than 5.5 or the regulator is defective. With the regulator out of the equation the engine quit cutting out. Next I will advance the timing to give the engine more power.
Since the last update I have advanced the timing back to where I feel like the engine has the most power. It is definitely a lot more than 5 degrees before top dead center. I took the kids on a very tame four wheeling tour in the hills on mom and dads property. They had a blast. I went back the next by myself and was more ambitious. The highlight was fishtailing backwards thru a mud pit.
Now that the engine is in good shape, finally, I can turn my attention to non-critical details. High on the list is getting the rig ready for winter. Battery and tires are in good shape but I lack everything I need to put the soft top on. I found the two main tubes that make up the canopy frame but I do not have the hinge brackets to attached the tubes to the body. I have four steel rods that I think are part of the canopy assembly. It's been 13 years since I have assembled (or have seen) a correctly erected soft top so it's an amusing puzzle. The soft top that came with the jeep appears to be in just good enough condition to be worth trying to use but it is not pretty :) The canvas on both the doors have rotted off. There is no point in even putting the doors on until new door covers are purchased.
My car battery was dead this morning so darn, I had to drive the Jeep to work again :)
Car battery charged but the oil needs to be changed and dip stick found or replaced (oops). Also the whining sound form the belts really ought to be checked in to. Shucks, had to drive the Jeep to work again today!
I've driven the Jeep about 250 miles this last week and seem to be getting about 9 miles to the gallon. I think I got around 12 miles to the gallon on my dad's Jeep but it had a two barrel carburetor. The big news of the week is that I drove 250 miles without having to fix any thing!
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