dnash
Jr. Member
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.
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.