79 CJ7 runs then dies.

[gpdno]

Okay, I have a 79 CJ7 straight 6, Holley 2 bbl carb, HEI distrubutor, electric fuel pump.
On Thursday it rained hard and I went thru some big puddle. After about a mile Jeep dies. Started right back up with no problem and died again after about a mile. Drove home that way.
Got home pulled distributor cap, is was dry. Next day. Same thing starts fine, runs about a mile, starts right back up.
It will sit and idle for an hour in the garage. Go to drive, dies in about a mile. Starts right back up, repeat...
Thought vent line might be clogged. Drove with gas cap off. Dies in about a mile.
Drives longer if I keep in 1st but still dies and starts back up.

Any ideas would be appreciated

Thanks,

Greg


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[mriplaybass]

Where is your electric fuel pump? Is it possible that a wire got pulled loose, or perhaps the ground is faulty, especially if the pump is mounted on the frame under the Jeep. Same question for the HEI. Possibly the hot wire is loose. I know the HEI on our AMC 304 picks up its ground through the hold down clamp at the base of the distributor. Make sure that is clean and making contact. Another thought would be a worn ignition switch. You say it will run longer if you stay in first gear? Try driving slowly while driving in first gear, and jiggle the ignition key to see if you can cause the engine to die before it decides to die on its own. You may be loosing your 12 volts to the HEI if the switch is worn. Could even be a clogged fuel filter and the fact that all this started when you went through a puddle is just a coincidence.

 

[Hedgehog]

spray some WD40 inside the dist. You probably have water in the dist. that warms up and turs into steam shorting out the dist. WD40 won't hurt anything.