While riding down the mountain this morning, this Jeep shut off two times. It cranked right back up. When I got to the bottom of the mountain, but still rolling downhill, it shut off a third time. I came to a complete stop , and it took several minutes for it to crank back up. I let it run for about ten minutes, turned it off, and recranked it. It cranked quickly, in about a second.
I then drove it back up the three mile mountain, and it did just fine. It now cranks fine.
Could I have a fuel filter problem on this Jeep ? On this model, where is it located ?
I would be checking out the engine to body mesh ground strap first. It should run from the rear of the engine up to the firewall. There also should be one going across an engine mount. If the ground is punky, the ignition module can shut down.
The gas filter should be right in front of the carb. It should have two outlets. The center outlet should go to the carb and the top outlet should go to the fuel return line. If the return line isn't at top, you can get airlocks in the gas line.
You don't say what carb or flavor of V8 you have in it. Some carbs just plain don't like going up or down steep hills. If the float isn't adjusted just right, it can stall out.
I have heard bad things about Holly carbs and hills, but don't know for sure. I have also heard bad things about the Carter BBD on hills, but have never had any trouble with mine or the ones I have tuned and kitted.
Just FYI, you have no CPS, just a pickup inside the distributor 'if' you have a stock Jeep engine in there.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: N>
Before we begin, let's define our terms -- because there's a lot of sloppy terminology about and words that mean one thing to one person says something completely different to another. I'm not trying to be mean, you aren't the first to do this here (think "Tower of Babel"), but your description doesn't tell us enough to help you yet.
CRANKING: Mechanical parts of an engine being deliberately put into motion by an external starting system. The term is decended from the early practice of using a ratching hand crank to start an engine. Does /not/ mean RUN.
SPIN/SPIN UP: Same as CRANKING. Does /not/ mean RUN.
RUN: An engine that produces enough power to complete the next power stroke, so that it will produce enough power to complete the next power stroke, so that...
DIED: An engine that, for no apparent reason, ceases to produce enough power to complete the next power stroke.
SHUT OFF/SHUT DOWN: An interruption of the electrical and/or fuel supply that causes an engine to cease RUNNING. This is generally deliberate.
POP-START: Putting the vehicle into motion and using the drive train to CRANK the engine in an effort to START it.
START: CRANKING the engine over by any means until it RUNS.
TRIES BUT DOESN'T CATCH: Engine cranks over, some cylinders fire, but engine doesn't produce enough power to RUN.
You were driving down a mountain this morning and your 1980 CJ-[uknown type] with a [unknown size] V-8 and an [unknown type] transmission and it died twice. The third time it died you came to a complete stop and it took several minutes for it to restart. Once it did start you were able to shut it down and restart without problems.
My /guess/ is that you have a fuel problem, either in the filter or the plumbing. Since it died going downhill, but not up, I'm guessing there's a problem with the pickup in the tank -- but I really can't be sure. On the other hand, it could be an electrical problem that only appears when the weight is shifted forward -- a bad ground strap for instance.
More information is needed:
This CJ is new to you? This CJ originally came with the 304 V8, or has it been modified? Manual or auto tranny? What restarted the engine the first two times -- starter or pop-start? Was the fuel tank full, half full or less? Any other symptoms like the radio went off, lights got brighter or dimmer, wiper slowed, everything electrical went out? Any recent repairs, additions, subtractions? Did you recently change your gas cap for a locking one? Any other odd things recently, like the left signal not working? Does your choke open when the engine is hot? Did you look to be sure?
Dunno, I've got the 258 I6. You can find the filter by following the fuel line back from the carb to the fuel pump. It's a cylinder about 3" long by 1 1/2" wide and it'll have three ports: upstream comes from the fuel pump, the center downstream port goes to the carb, the _top_ port goes to the charcoal cannister mounted on the firewall below the steering column. The top port must be on top, but if it isn't it didn't cause your engine to die.
No. A bad CPS on Jeeps generally show up as a no-start, not a dies-while-running-and-resumes. Your ignition, if stock (and IIRC), is a Ford breakerless ignition. Once it dies it has gone for good.
Let us know more about your CJ and we'll be glad to help you. One word of advice: Don't start replacing parts willy-nilly. That is just playing Parts House Roullette and the customer never comes out ahead.
-- "I defer to your plainly more vivid memories of topless women with whips....r" R. H. Draney recalls AFU in the Good Old Days.
Thanks Mike, those are good things to check, and I will have it done.
This Jeep has **only** gone up and down mountains since 1980, and I have never had this problem that I can recall. But, that doesn't mean that the carb float isn't out of adjustment either. This Jeep is only used while on vacation, so it sits a lot, and I wonder if that may have something to do with it. I have already used the old gas that was in it before its last use, so I don't think it could be bad gas now.
I will have those items checked, and also see how it does in the next week or so.
Since it sat with gas in the tank, I would be investing in a couple of bottles of gas drier just on general principles. If you look at aviation practices, you never park an airplane with a part-full tank and most still have water separators. A partly empty tank will breathe and water will condense as the outside temp goes down at night. The more air space, the more air and resulting moisture. Beside, the ethanol might clean some of the varnish from the old gas while you are at it.
Take up flying . You get anal about things like that since getting out to walk home is frowned upon. Seriously, I never saw much problem in places like Colorado but I saw a lot of water problems in farm equipment down in South Texas. Stuff would sit for weeks/months and we had water separators on everything. Always checked that before starting. Heck, I'm old enough to remember when my Ford V8 had a water separator in the fuel line!
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