CJ2A Stumbling and Possible Solex Issues |
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cyates176FA
Member Joined: 12 Apr. 2022 Location: EAST TENNESSEE Status: Offline Points: 132 |
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I don’t disagree that this approach is somewhat piecemeal; but I do feel like these are all things that could use replacing, so it seems best to do it at once, instead of paying shipping on multiple purchases.
The springs we noticed when setting the points, and the pump leaks even after tightening the fittings. Given the price difference between a pump rebuild and a new pump, figured I’d just replace the pump. Mostly due to time constraints (work, school, etc.).
The WO I’m rebuilding was included with the Jeep (along with other extra parts), and I just would like to have the original carb on the Jeep if possible. But I would also like to have the Solex functioning properly as a spare. For the idle circuit, I can pull the Solex again later this week and give the air compressor and carb cleaner another shot. I 100% could’ve missed something, so it’s worth trying it again. This is the first time we’ve gotten into the fuel and ignition since I bought it last fall (also the first time I’ve had these issues). The problem with troubleshooting is that it leads to more issues. Should’ve learned my lesson on the other Jeeps I’ve had, LOL. |
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Michaeltru
Member Sponsor Member x 3 Joined: 22 Oct. 2012 Location: Arizona Status: Online Points: 988 |
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Have you measured the fuel pressure after the regulator?
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Mike in AZ
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aboyandhisdog
Member Joined: 10 June 2011 Location: Fort Collins Status: Offline Points: 465 |
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I don't think you need a pressure regulator. I'd take it out. The pump you have doesn't put out more than 3-4 psi and the Solex will run just fine up to 4.5-5psi. You must have a clean carb., of course and clean lines and filters as BW mentioned. I also agree that you need to address all of the known deficiencies with your rig, and to do them all at once just makes sense. Get the fuel and electrics in tip-top shape! There are about 7 brass "jets" on the Solex, all accessible from the outside of the carb. You can unscrew all of these and blow them out in less than 10 minutes. So do that. Then check all of the connections in the fuel line from the tank to the carb. It seems like air is being sucked in somewhere in the line. In these old jeeps the pump "pulls" the fuel so leaks are hard to find. A newer vehicle "pushes" the fuel and the leaks are more evident. I wish I knew a good way to detect just where the air gets in a fuel line when an engine pulls the fuel like in these jeeps, but I am just not sure. Maybe somebody here knows???
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aboyandhisdog
Member Joined: 10 June 2011 Location: Fort Collins Status: Offline Points: 465 |
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Another thing I might mention...the nuts on the throttle shaft (one on each side) are known to loosen up and allow for leakage at the shaft ends. Now I doubt this would be the culprit of your issues, but you can take the factory nuts and keepers off and replace them with those thin "stover nuts" from the hardware store. They make thin ones as opposed to the normal thicker nylock nuts. You might have to look around. Anyway, they work to keep the throttle shaft from leaking fuel out and sucking air in. I can give you another tip if you feel your choke is not working right, but I'll save that for another day... Don't write off your Solex. I have had great performance from my Solex, but they have a couple of issues you need to iron out to get them right. Once you dial them in, life is good! That said, I feel like your issue is fuel line and pump related. The pumps DO wear out. Edit: Rock Auto has a Carter pump for $26. It is the same pump exactly as the Airtex. They do actually work well. It might be worth trying in your jeep if you are looking for a cheap alternative to try.
Edited by aboyandhisdog - 20 June 2022 at 9:52pm |
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muley
Member Joined: 25 Jan. 2021 Location: idaho Status: Offline Points: 821 |
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I'll add this, not many guys know the solex like you do Tom. Your jeep always seems to run flawlessly as is where is.
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Joined Jan-8 2015
I never met a mule I didn't like! OD Mule 01-52 M38 Big Red 19fiddy CJ3A salad |
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aboyandhisdog
Member Joined: 10 June 2011 Location: Fort Collins Status: Offline Points: 465 |
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Thanks, Muley. I've been loyal and committed to my Solex maybe because I'm too dense to figure out my Carter. Honestly, the Solex is a beautiful piece of engineering and when the French built them in the '40's and '50's they were fantastic. As you know they are now built in India and the quality control is just not there. But...we can coax them back to their former glory with a bit of work. They are a better carb than the Carter when they work right IMO.
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Bruce W
Member Joined: 29 July 2005 Location: Northeast Colorado Status: Online Points: 9651 |
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Ya see, I told ya some guys like ‘em. Tom is right, the Carter WO, for a small, single-throat carburetor, is very complex. A Quadra-Jet is easier to overhaul. Tom’s Solex works as good as any other, Carter or Solex, and never gives any trouble. I guess he’s got it figured out. But he can have my share of the Solexes. 😉😎
BW
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It is NOT a Jeep Willys! It is a Willys jeep.
Happy Trails! Good-bye, Good Luck, and May the Good Lord Take a Likin' to You! We Have Miles to Jeep, Before We Sleep. |
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cyates176FA
Member Joined: 12 Apr. 2022 Location: EAST TENNESSEE Status: Offline Points: 132 |
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Sorry for the late reply; but here’s where it’s at right now.
We pulled and blew out the jets with compressed air. Not much debris in there; but there was some. Put a fuel pressure gauge on the line after the filter, and was getting around 2psi. (about 1psi off from the dial on the regulator). A couple of notes: The fuel pump is completely full, while the fuel filter is about 1/3 full. It will start but as soon as you try to give it throttle, it wants to quit like it’s starved for fuel. There is fuel leaking from somewhere on the pump. Doesn’t appear to be from the fittings, so I plan to proceed with the pump change once it’s arrives. I may pull the regulator and see what the pressure looks, and if it improves the idle. As far as the WO goes, it was included with the Jeep, so I figured I’d take a crack a rebuilding it, and see how it does on the Jeep. Worst case, I can potentially have a back-up carb for the Jeep. The pump appears more and more likely to be the culprit - though the other smaller issues could be making it worse (distributor springs, heat riser spring, etc.). I appreciate all the feedback, and I’ll keep you all posted. Worst case, it’s an excuse for my dad and I to spend some time together.
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aboyandhisdog
Member Joined: 10 June 2011 Location: Fort Collins Status: Offline Points: 465 |
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The only thing I can ad is you mentioned using one carb or the other as a backup. And it is good to have a backup, but you will find that the Solex and the Carter do not use the same fuel line fittings or throttle linkage. So swapping them out in the field is not a terribly simple process. Simple enough, but not the same as swapping out carbs that are the same make. Just something to be aware of. Best of luck and keep us posted! |
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cyates176FA
Member Joined: 12 Apr. 2022 Location: EAST TENNESSEE Status: Offline Points: 132 |
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Another update: still working on the Carter - not having much luck with the Solex that’s on the Jeep. A bit stumped at this point. I did the kerosene test to see if it’s pulling air in from somewhere; but didn’t hear the idle improve. Also looked for air bubbles around the base and the top of the bowl; but didn’t see any. I’ll keep chipping away at it. Stumped for now; but I’m sure we’ll get it. I feel like we’re hitting all around it. Edit: I pulled the plugs and checked the compression just to see if anything looked crazy. I got 90psi on each cylinder. Mainly just did that to make sure I didn’t have one that was way off. I did notice that that plugs had quite a bit of carbon on them. I’m checking to see what the factory setting of the idle screw for the Solex is. I believe I saw 3/4 turns open; but I’ll confirm that. Edited by cyates176FA - 27 June 2022 at 9:31pm |
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Oldpappy
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2018 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 4905 |
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Carbon, not oily ?
Dry fouling is almost always due to a too rich mixture. 90 lbs isn't great compression, but still serviceable. If the spark plugs are not wet with oil, but just dry carbon fouling, adjust the mixture screw by turning it in a little at a time to see if that helps.
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If you can't get there in a Jeep you don't need to be there!
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cyates176FA
Member Joined: 12 Apr. 2022 Location: EAST TENNESSEE Status: Offline Points: 132 |
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Seemed to be only carbon. It was chalky and came off relatively easily. On that same note, when I took the Solex off to clean it out, I noticed a lot of carbon build-up down in the intake.
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Silent Turtle
Member Joined: 08 Dec. 2020 Location: NJ Status: Offline Points: 32 |
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I looked through the post but didn't see anyone mention to check the distributor condenser. I had the same issue, I spent so much time working on the carb to figure out the issue....because it sounded like it was a fuel issue. Nope, turns out the brand new condenser I put in was junk. I put the old condenser back in and have not had an issue in 18 months.
I would bet money it is the condenser. Here was a similar situation:
48 2A running rough - Resolved - The CJ2A Page Forums - Page 2 Edited by Silent Turtle - 30 June 2022 at 2:26pm |
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cyates176FA
Member Joined: 12 Apr. 2022 Location: EAST TENNESSEE Status: Offline Points: 132 |
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Changed out the condenser and it fired up right away, which was an improvement over previous attempts. But the timing still seems off. Can’t hit the throttle very much without the engine dying.
Borrowing a borescope tomorrow to see the timing marks on the flywheel to be certain we’re bringing #1 up to TDC on the compression stroke. We’ve got fuel, compression, and spark getting to each cylinder. So at this point it seems like timing is the only thing left keeping it from cranking and running. Still stumped but we’ve got to be getting close to the issue. Let me know if there’s something I might be missing.
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cyates176FA
Member Joined: 12 Apr. 2022 Location: EAST TENNESSEE Status: Offline Points: 132 |
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After a lot of troubleshooting, it came down to the fact that we had compression, fuel, and spark but it wouldn’t run. Pulled all the plugs yesterday, and two were sparking fine, one was weak, and the last was intermittent.
New condenser, new plugs, new cap, and new coil. Seems to have just needed a tuneup. As usual, it was (mostly) an electrical issue. New fuel pump fixed the fuel leak. Compressed air cleaned the junk from carb jets. Addition of a fuel filter to make sure carb doesn’t get stopped up. Still plan to carry on with the WO rebuild; but it’s nice to have it back on the road for the time being. The advance weight springs will be in this week, and I plan to replace those as well. The springs on there now are a bit tired. Appreciate everyone’s help! Still getting used to the differences between my ‘77 CJ5 and this CJ2A. |
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Oldpappy
Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2018 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 4905 |
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A lot of the tune up parts on the market today are imported junk, especially the condensers. Good ones are available. Napa carries good ones, but I have been using "Blue Streak" brand points and condensers which I buy from Classic Military Vehicles (Dan Sharon), and since I installed those in my Jeeps I have never had a failure. Out of the box you can see the breaker points are superior quality compared to the no-name variety sold by many suppliers.
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If you can't get there in a Jeep you don't need to be there!
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cyates176FA
Member Joined: 12 Apr. 2022 Location: EAST TENNESSEE Status: Offline Points: 132 |
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Went with O’Reilly and Napa for the condenser, coil, and cap. I’ll keep the Blue Streak stuff in mind for the future. For now I’m back on the road, though, so I’ll take it for a spin if the weather holds out.
Appreciate all your help with this one. I’m sure I’ll be back once we dig into the transmission and transfer case this winter.
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ACRay
Member Joined: 14 Dec. 2014 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 19 |
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And ... now I know how the solex on my M38 did so well without the pressure regulator everyone says you need. The things you learn haha |
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