What are my likely sources of error?

I think I would pull the plugs and dry them out before trying anything else. I have seen them get wet enough that crud washes in and blocks the gap.

Turning the distributor is a mistake though... There is no adjustment in there that needs adjusting. Either it works or you have no spark. There is a pickup coil in there. If you use a meter on ohms and check it it should be between 400 and 800 ohms.

Mike

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

griff>

Update: Starting with the plugs dry ...tried to start it. Then checked the plugs afterwards and all of them were slightly "wet" with gas and I tested them with a spark tester and all of them lit up. It's definitely getting gas to the float - as it seems to be sort of leaking there if I overflood it. However, I noticed today that the "fuel filter" I replaced is not the only fuel filter my Jeep has. The one I replaced is connected to the Fuel Vapour Accumulator thing-a-majig right against the driver's side near the ground by the firewall (coffee-can type deal). Today I discovered what appears to be the REAL fuel filter that is near the front of the engine and connects to the front of the carb, to the fuel line, and appears to also branch off around the passenger side of the engine, around the back, and seems to go into the fuel vapour thing. I will replace the second fuel filter tomorrow ...but I'm wondering if the fact that I replaced the other filter with the regular fuel filter is the correct thing to do or if that fuel vapour filter is a different type? The one I removed seemed just a LITTLE bit bigger than the new one I put on ...maybe it's just a different brand ...but I'd like to be sure.

It's almost starting tho ...it'll sorta start and choke and then die ...lot's of blue/black smoke. Guess I'm going to take the timing chain cover off this weekend and see if my timing isn't just completely FUBAR from a skipped tooth?

Just to be sure: are you sure that the distributor is clocked correctly? When you insert it, it rotates the shaft something like

15-20 degrees as it seats so it's pretty easy to be > Update:

I have no idea what that 'other' filter is.....

The real gas filter sits in front of the carb and has 2 outlets. The center outlet goes to the carb and the top outlet goes to the gas return line back to the tank. This second line needs to be at the top or gas will syphon back to the tank when it sits making it a bugger to start cold.

You can easily tell if that engine has jumped a tooth on the timing chain. Well, you 'should' be able to tell, but you have messed with the distributor rotation now eh?

Basically you can just put the crank at the timing mark and open the distributor cap and the rotor inside will be pointing at #1 electric post for the plug wire.

If the chain has jumped, (very very unlikely) the rotor won't be pointing at #1.

Did you check the play in the chain yet?

Are you sure you didn't just crack the distributor cap when you hit water?

Mike

griff>

OK, I've now replaced both fuel filters. I also checked the coil for between

400-800 ohms. I wasn't exactly sure which points to measure between but when I unplugged the connector running from the distributor and ran a check across the plug contacts, I get around 580-600 ohms. Is this correct?

I'm beginning to think that my timing is just either way off or my carb is plugged up somewhere. I get lots of fuel to the carb but it seems to just be accumulating there. There is gas getting to the plugs and I have dried them off before attempting a restart but to no avail. My dipstick does have a slight gassy odour to it. My last "easy" fix was a connector I found that had come undone near the front of the carb but I'll have to wait for the battery to recharge before seeing if that was the problem. Otherwise, I guess I'm going to see about the timing chain as my next step.

It really tries hard to start but it just sputters and dies and there's gas leaking out of the carb.