Does this look right? (is it broken?)

[cyberworm]

Hello!!!

I'm having problems with my CJ7 idling, hesitating, stalling, and spitting gas out of the exhaust. Had her timing checked, and installed new plugs. Still having the same issues. I don't know much about engines, but after having watched the carburator being tweaked and worked on to try and figure out the problem, I went out and played with it a little bit, to see if maybe I could find something that wasn't working right.

So, with a friend handy we started looking around, following vacuum hoses from their sources etc. Finally, I started to look at the carb and play with the throttle a bit. My friend (who is way taller than I am), says "that thing looks broken." It looks like a plastic lever, that is attached to what I am going to call "the choke plate"by means of a little metal rod, and from what I can tell, should maybe have some sort of spring attached to it since there is a spring loaded screw that looks like it should be touching it. The thing is just dangling there not doing much of anything, nor is the rod that is attached to the "choke plate." I played around a bit with what I would guess is the fuel/air mixture and the throttle, so I think (hoping) that I'm on the right track, with my basic knowledge of how these things function.

Attached are some photos, if anyone has any good photos of this carburetor, or can tell by looking, if this piece is broken, I'd appreciate it. It's a 6cyl AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l 2bbd.

 

[cyberworm]

Haha. I'm such a super noob. After posting this, I did what I should have done first, and read up on carburators and how they work. I know how they work in theory, but the actual mechanics are a bit off. I had someone show me what was going on. Apparently I'm suffering from a vacuum leak.

 

[coldair]

We all have to start somewhere.

 

[csuengr]

Haha. I'm such a super noob. After posting this, I did what I should have done first, and read up on carburators and how they work. I know how they work in theory, but the actual mechanics are a bit off. I had someone show me what was going on. Apparently I'm suffering from a vacuum leak.

That sucks.

 

[cyberworm]

That sucks.

Yeah, thankfully I haven't had to shell out money yet, but... Found the leak, and it was a broken hose AND whoever reattached the carb put the mount on upside down, so it was sucking air in through there as well. Now she's all put back together properly with a new vacuum line and is running OK. She still wants to hesitate a bit. The thinking is that it's the ignition, which was swapped out for another ignition module (but it's old as well... has the AMC logo on it), so I'm pretty sure I'll have to spring for a new one very soon. At that point, I'll just redo the whole ignition system and hopefully call it a day.

Now, my biggest problem is an oil leak, since after having the valve cover gasket replaced, they overtightened the cover and cracked it. *sigh* Now it's a waiting game for a new one.

 

[mtnwhlr]

She still wants to hesitate a bit.

You mite need to give it some more timming and I bet it will fix this.

 

[cyberworm]

You mite need to give it some more timming and I bet it will fix this.

Timing you say? Just had the plugs replaced Monday and the timing set. The mechanic said he set it at "10," which I presume is 10degrees. What is the proper timing for the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l ? Reading around on the forums it seems like 6-8degrees has been the recommendation. She feels good at a steady pace, but too much gas and she wants to struggle. It's like the same problem I've been having with the vacuum leak, just less pronounced. Seems fine at idle though.

 

[mtnwhlr]

I alway run as much as it can take. Try turning it up a little bit and see how it runs if it doesn't do it you can always turn it back down. As long as you are not getting pinning you will not hurt anything.

 

[cyberworm]

I alway run as much as it can take. Try turning it up a little bit and see how it runs if it doesn't do it you can always turn it back down. As long as you are not getting pinning you will not hurt anything.

Pinning?

Actually, thinking about it, would a cracked valve cover cause power loss/hesitation, or is it sealed off from the cylinders?

 

[mtnwhlr]

No all a cracked valve cover is going to do is cause a oil leak. Pinging is like a engine knock.

 

[cyberworm]

Ahh. Pinging. I thought that may be what you were talking about, but wanted to be sure. If the cover isn't causing a loss of power, I may just have to have them check the timing again. Poor me, I'm stuck on Venice beach, and I'm dying to escape for the weekend. Just have to get this girl running smoothly enough to hit the freeway. That's the trouble with living in the city. The main escape route is the freeway. Right about now, I'm missing a good old fashioned country road. Ha!

 

[mtnwhlr]

Poor me, I'm stuck on Venice beach,

Yea sounds like your life is hell. The factory specs are for a brand new motor when you get wear on stuff like your timming chain it just becomes a base to go from.