You have your priorities right - good brakes! !!
As they say in that phone commercial; "If the brakes don't stop it, something else will"
And old lifters will clatter a bit.
You have your priorities right - good brakes! !!
As they say in that phone commercial; "If the brakes don't stop it, something else will"
And old lifters will clatter a bit.
So update, even with this crazy Texas cold snap I managed to get out there and do a few things. On that note, he does not like the cold at all. But after some serious sweet talk and a little ether he fired and ran good. I did the first oil change and let me tell you I have never seen oil that black unless it came straight from the ground. But got it done and the plug looks to still hold a good seal with no leaks anywhere else either. I put 5 quarts of ND 30 and it seems to like that with hardly any burn coming out. I can also tell you that I have no idea how he even got for to start with the plugs that I pulled out of there. They were some kind of rusted on top and black as can be on the ends. But I got the new ones in and he starts great. Here are a couple of pics from those 2 jobs. Back to the front brakes as soon as I get the rest of the parts.20210213_130311.jpg20210213_130311.jpg20210213_130254.jpg16134961050644819590254450767563.jpg
I do believe you got every bit of good out of both the oil and plugs. He will sure like the new plugs and transfusion.
WOW! Texas crude. When you look at those plugs it is a great sign the ignition is strong. It had to be to fire those iron oxides!
Alright folks, I am kinda freaking out a little.So I told y’all about the trouble starting in the cold but eventually he came back to life. Ran great as always for a little while and then shut him down for the night. Not sure if anyone has been tracking the weather in Texas but it has been crazy for the area to say the least. Went back out this morning because I want to run him as often as possible to keep him from sitting while I work on the things to get him on the road. And what I heard has me really worried and almost lost. Almost a complete lack of wanting to turn over. Before there was no issue turning over just would not fire. Today it was almost like it was frozen from the word go. I didn’t want to try too hard cause I was afraid to do more harm than good. What in the world could have caused the sudden change. It has been converted to 12v, alternator, newer starter and the battery has some years on it but has been holding a charge. Please help me calm down or face what I may have to.
You might try putting an electric heater under it and warm up the block and see what happens. When I was in high school I inherited an old mustang from an uncle and it would do this in the winter time.Originally Posted by JoeyD
Deep breath, check out the easy stuff first Gotta check the condition of the battery. If you have no means to do it yourself (voltmeter), Take the battery to your local auto parts store and tell them to check it out. If the battery is good, rent or buy a 1 3/8" socket and a way to turn it. This socket should fit the crankshaft nut. If you have or have access to the hand crank, this will also do the trick https://www.kaiserwillys.com/starter...s-41-45-mb-gpw .
See if you can get the motor to turn over by hand. If it was running fine when you shut it off I am sure it will be running fine again.
Here may be an idea. The oil you drained was really nasty stuff, but we don’t know its’ viscosity. It could have been 10W30 or even 5W30. You refilled it with 30W non-detergent oil, a good choice normally - but in the current Texas cold, straight 30W is going to be hard to move around.
Check the battery. I agree with the heater suggestion - maybe even a blanket to hold warm air under the Jeep. Don’t panic yet, just make sure there is anti-freeze in it!
Thanks guys I really appreciate the suggestions and reassuring words. Trailabite I have been looking for a heater but of course those were the first things to go around here after the eggs and milk. Still looking and maybe I'll try the blanket in the meantime.
Bmorgil, I have had a charger on the battery most of the time but I didn't consider that at this point I may have gotten the last out of it. I knew you could hand crank but as strong as the starter and battery had been I hadn't thought that could be a way to rule some things out. I will see what I need to get to try that out. I really want this weather to break to see if that makes all the difference.
Larrbeard that has been running through my mind the whole time. Even growing up in Arkansas where it can get this cold I never saw this happen. But then again I never used straight 30W. I have already been religiously checking the fluid in the radiator and it has stayed consistent.
Would yall think I might just be better to let these temps rise before i try again and go from there? It is just real hard with all this free time and looking out the window at it just waiting to be driven. But I am going to keep tinkering with other things until this crap clears up. Hopefully before it ever happens again I can get moved to warmer weather. Thanks again and I will keep y'all updated.
I agree with the battery. Batteries will crap out overnight, when the weather changes drastically. In a usual warm climate like Texas, the battery doesn't see big swings in temperature over its life span. When you hit down in to the single digits, the battery can't take it. I've never had battery issues until moving to a warmer climate. In the far north, I could park a vehicle in the fall, and it would sit all winter without being on a charger. It the spring, fill up the float bowls with fuel and the garbage would fire right up. The temps in the winter would get down to -20 to -30 during the storage period, but it wouldn't effect the battery performance or the life span. Battery brands do not seem to make a difference around here either. I have run Interstates and Exides for years, and both do not last as long here in comparison.
I would also check the antifreeze to ensure that the freezing point isn't too high.
Reply With Quote
