AMC (non-Willys) Carburetor questions

[bmorgil]

I think you are all over it with your hypothesis on the choke. At 72 deg it should be closed all the way and with a small amount of preload keeping it closed. As soon as it starts you should see it come open about 1/4 and then open slowly from then on. After setting a while it might need a good 4 pumps or so prior to cranking it. Give it a few pumps and listen for the accelerator pump you should hear it squirting fuel. Hold the throttle open for a minute to vaporize the fuel, then hold it at about 1/4 and crank it. If the choke is OK and it still is giving you trouble, lets go deeper into it. These things can get fussy to start when they are stone cold. Each one seems to have a sequence all its own.

[test1328]

Thank you, I'll give it a shot and see what happens.

[test1328]

Thought I'd give you an update on this Jeep. Sorry it took me a while. Had to head out to CA for a week to see the boys play ball. That was enjoyable.

Anyway, when I got back, I adjusted the choke just a bit. I was pretty close, but after a minor adjustment, it seemed like I found the right spot. By the way, it is really tight in there with very little room to loosen the screws that hold the choke cap in place. You need a really stubby screwdriver. Even the 90 deg type screwdrivers were too long. I got the choke adjusted to a place like Bob described, where it is initially closed all the way but then opens about 1/4 once you start cranking on it. The only problem with all of this was that after doing this, I could not get the Jeep to start. It didn't matter how much I cranked on the starter or pumped the accelerator. So...I looked inside the carb and could not see any gas squirting in. I took the fuel line off the carb and cranked and was getting zero fuel. So, even though I had previously checked the fuel pump and once I got the Jeep started it would run without any issues, I believed I had a fuel pump that was on its last legs.

So, I took the fuel pump off and went and got another one. It seemed to me that it was the original factory pump that I took off, so I suppose it was time to replace it. Once the new pump was on and everything hooked up, wallah! The Jeep started right up. All seemed right with the world until I checked the connection of the fuel line to the pump for leaks and saw it was very slowly leaking at this connection. I had tightened it fairly tight I thought. I tried tightening it and got it about as tight as I dared, but it still leaked. So, I removed the line, figuring the threads on the fitting were just dirty and needed to be cleaned up. I cleaned up the threads and made sure they looked really good and tried it again. Unfortunately, I still had leaks. So, I figured I'd just keep tightening it until the leaks stopped. Wrong again! Of course the threads gave way and stripped. I removed the pump and line and took them back to NAPA. I really do think the threads on this new pump weren't quite right and fortunately, NAPA took the pump back and gave me another one. The fuel line fitting was also messed up, but NAPA didn't have that. Fortunately, KW had it and shipped it out pretty rapidly. With the new pump and fuel line, I once again hooked it all up and was able to tighten the fitting so that it didn't leak. Everything seemed to work well. I tried to start the Jeep several early morning when the temperature was down in the 30s and it started right up and ran well. Not sure if that will necessarily translate into starting easily when it's 0F or below, but for now I think I'm finally done with this issue. Thank the Lord!

Now to go back and try to get it to pass emissions. I did replace all of the vacuum lines and cleaned everything up. There are no indications now that any emission equipment was ever disconnected, so it shouldn't spark anyone to ask questions or deny the testing. I just have to hope it is clean enough to pass.

[bmorgil]

Awesome final result there! I think you are all set now. As far as the emission control check, be sure to review my post a ways back about "waivers" it is the easiest way to go. I am sure an estimate to repair any pollution control nowadays will exceed your waiver requirement for cost in your state.