Newbie with Issues

[dnash]

I have recently acquired a 66 with a 289. Since I am new to Broncos, and for that matter carbed engines and vehicles that I expect to work on pretty regularly, I am probably going to ask a lot of dumb questions over the next few months. I want to make this into a daily driver but retain some decent offroad ability for the 2-3 times a year I might use it. I am replacing a late model Jeep with no mods and was looking for something similar performance wise. I am not completely clueless, but probably know just enough to be dangerous.

As a note, in driving it to get it home for the first time (several hundred miles) I found I had a problem with the charging system as well as the problem noted below. After getting things tested, my first project was to replace the alternator. Upgraded to a 3g and although it took a little longer than I would have liked, it seems to be good.

So my first major problem. Well hopefully not so major. It is not starting an staying running well. I started it to drive to work Wednesday, drove about 4 miles to the bank. It was pretty warm that day. When I got back out from the bank, it would turn over but it wouldn't start. Cranked pretty good at first and then got slower and slower. Earlier, it started in just a couple of seconds so it should have started. I tried a bit longer but the battery was getting weaker and weaker. I finally had my wife come jump me (this is about 45 minutes after shutting it down) and we got it started ok. I assumed, or maybe just hoped, that the battery had never gotten charged back up from the original electrical problems. It was showing about 12 volts but was still turning over slowly. I decided to drive around a bit more to get it charged up some more. I stopped at the post office and left it idling for about 15 minutes and another stop at a store for about 5. When I got a few blocks from the store, it started dying. I was able to coast into a bank parking lot where I then went through a similar routine as before. This time a waited longer to get it jumped and the jumping did not go as well. The battery was registering about 12.8V before I started jumping and it was still turning over. It finally started and when it did, it acted like nothing was wrong. Just turned the key and voila, running good. I started home and about halfway there, it started dying again. I took it out of gear, played with the gas and got it running again. I then drove another mile or so and it did the same thing. This time, I could not get it started again, but I was about a half mile from home so I hooked the tow strap from the jeep and pulled it. I have not been able to start it since, but I have only tried once for a couple of minutes.

When it is running, it "seems" to run well. The PO put on a new distributor and wires, although, for some reason they didn't replace the plugs which look old and rusty. He also had recently had the carb rebuilt but I can't attest to the quality of the rebuild. I had similar problems driving it home for the first time, but didn't see them as clearly with the electrical problems. I actually thought I had run out of gas once. I also had a nasty air filter that I replaced along the way. It was the oil type, but the housing had been modified so that it wouldn't hold oil and the filter was brittle was falling apart. I put a dry one in. It seems to start having problems when it gets hot although, I can't get it started now. It has an electronic ignition and a new solenoid.

I don't really know where to start looking. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[71 SPORT]

when mine acted that way it was a clogg in the fuel system( tank),might want to check or change the fuel filter drop the tank and clean it out along with the fuel lines.Scince it sounds like it sat for a while.

Or it may be a vapor lock problem switching to a carter electric fuel pump helps to solve that problem.

 

[thegreatjustino]

I had a very similar problem that turned out to be my coil.

 

[leucbronc]

When I first got my EB I had pretty much the same problems. For me it turned out to be a bad fuel pump that would get worse (pump less pressure) as the engine warmed up. Its a cheap part that you can get at any parts store, so if your's is old I'd say just replace it and see how things go.

 

[bronko69er]

To get a full diagnosis on the chagins system, did you happen to check the voltage when it was running with a load? How new/old isthe battery?
When My battery when it was really sneaky about it. It would take a charge, hold a charge but could barely put out the necessary amperage for starting. It would barely start but it'd run fine.

 

[70_Steve]

OK, so gas engines are pretty much all the same. They all need air, fuel and spark. It sounds like you're undecided as to which one of those three is the problem. That would be where I would start.

A can of starting fluid can be a pretty powerful troubleshooting aid. If it won't start, squirt a couple shots of starting fluid in the air cleaner. If it starts (or tries to start), the problem is fuel related...

 

[dnash]

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. I will start by trying the starter fluid and see if I get anything. The fuel pump was another thing the PO replaced, but I don't guess that means it is good. The filter on the other hand looks old. Should I just spray the starter into the filter, or should I take off the air cleaner and spray it into the carb?

And now for the dumb newbie question. Is the coil the little box that is wired to the distributor and how do I test to see if it could be bad?

The battery was new as well, but seemed small and cheap. Someone here at work mentioned that the battery might have been damaged in the numerous drain downs and chargings I had to do to get it home the first time. It read about 13.5 volts with the engine running connected to the alternator on Wednesday.

 

[evil69]

The coil is the coke can looking thingy that has a wire going to the center of the dizzy. The box you are reffering to is the ing module. The coil and ing module are less than $40 for both.

You can just spray a quick shot on the paper filter to see if it is a fuel issue. Fuel pump is most likely a $20-$30 part (I just bought one, but can't remember how much). Fuel filter is like $5

Check your ground cable. A loose ground on the engine block can do nasty things to ya.

You can change the plugs out (not that is your problem) and put anti seize on them for $10-$15. More or less, you can complete your tune up for around $100.

 

[evil69]

You can also take the batt out and take it to the parts store and have it load tested.

 

[dnash]

So I finally got a chance to do some more testing. I got it started the other day and watched the fuel filter that is between the pump and the carb. It ran for about 20 minutes and things looked good, but then I started seeing bubbles coming into the filter. The filter filled mostly with fuel when I first started it, but came back down to a quarter full pretty quickly until the bubbles started. The bubbles continued until it went completely dry and shut off.

I think this narrows me down pretty well to a fuel problem. Although I went ahead and replaced the coil just in case.

Yesterday, to test whether I had clogged lines, I ran a fuel line from the pump input to a gas can. I could not get it to start, but I did it again today and this time filled the line up first. It fired up and this time ran for over an hour. It did, however, start with the bubbles again after it warmed up.

A little more about my fuel system. I have 3 tanks, although I have only really used the main one so far. The two in the front seem to be aftermarket and they are all linked through a manual switch under the drivers seat. I don't believe there is anything to tell me how much fuel is in the add on tanks (sending units?) so it always only tells me what is in the main tank. There is only the one filter between the pump and the carb that I can find.

Here is my theory, but feel free to shoot it down or add to it, cause I am still a noob. I think there is some degree of clogging in the tank or the lines that let it run better when I went directly to the gas can. While it did run without shutting down today, I never put it under any load and I still belive that something is wrong with the fuel pump that is causing it to start pulling in air when it gets warm. I don't know if this air bubble thing is normal, but it seems odd to me. I also felt the lines around the pump and the filter to see if the gas was warm and it didn't feel overly hot to the touch.

Based on this, my first thought is to replace the pump hoping that will help keep the pressure up and then eventually clean out the tanks and lines.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks.

 

[evil69]

You need to replace that pump. You may also want to replace all of the rubber line and the plastic with metal line and new rubber. You may want to temporarily run around the switching valve straight to the rear tank for noew to be sure there is not an issue with the vavle.