Speculation, please?

Joe did pass the time by typing:

Nah. Greenhouse gas is just a bunch of hot air. ^_^

This sounds like it is running lean. The problem will be worse when the engine is cold or you are accelerating. It could be improper timing too, but I'd almost bet on lean fuel mixture. I would recommend checking the timing first, and while you're doing that, rev the engine up with the timing light on and see if the mark advances. If not, the mechanical advance is not working. You may also want to pull the cap and rotor and make sure one of the advance springs isn't broken or missing.

As far as the carb, I don't know what you have, but try turning the idle screws out a turn or so and take it for a ride like that. This will give you a small bit more gas and may lessen the problem. Other things to check are fuel pump output volume, fuel filter, check for cracked lines, and if it is a Holley carb, I would check the float level as well.

A loose plug wire will sure cause that.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

travis wrote:

A bang out the exhaust (unburnt fuel from a malfunctioning engine builds up in the exhaust, a spark sets it off) is *not* backfiring, although it is common to hear the term misused that way. The "back" means backwards, namely, out the intake.

I'm planning on doing a tuneup this weekend to my Jeep, but I don't quite see how a loose plug wire could cause the problem I have. The only way I could see it being an igntion problem would be if the "igniting" happened at the wrong time, like when the intake valve was still open. The banging sound is coming from underneath the hood. Just having a loose plug wire could cause the fuel to not get ignited, but that unburned mixture should still get shoved out of the exhaust port on the exhaust stroke. It's not like it would "build up" or accumulate in the cylinder. Just having the ignition cut out and come back (as far as I know) wouldn't cause a banging sound under the hood. It would cause a drop in power, but not the banging sound. As always, I could be missing something here. I hope I can figure out what the problem is and if/when I do I'll be sure to share what I find with the group. I appreciate all of the input. Travis

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 17:55:04 -0500, Mike Romain shared the following:

-- Travis

trails!!! :wq!

Spark issues sure cause a banging under the hood!

If the unburned gas gets back down the exhaust pipe it will blow up your muffler. Literally!

It usually ignites in the header area.

Mike

travis wrote:

I blew the back plate out of my muffler once. It was pretty cool. Mike knows what he speaks. As usual ;) KH

That wasn't the muffler that your charming bride ripped from the bottom of the car, was it?

accumulated.

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 19:27:13 -0500, Mike Romain shared the following:

Hmm... That makes sense...and...everybody keeps asking me if it's an explosion type of sound or a mechanical//metallic sound and I keep saying that it's really hard to say. That would sort of explain it if it was an explosion that was happening inside of my header since I would hear the explosion but at the same time those thin-walled headers already give off that distinctive metallic sound just from regular exhaust gasses going through them. Hmm... Thanks, Mike. Travis

-- Travis

trails!!! :wq!

LOL, nope. Come to think of it, I've gone through quite a few mufflers over the years. KH

Citing this doesn't make you look good.