1961 CJ5 Starting Issue

[LarrBeard]

Crap - I just started it and am hearing a lot of noise. The dipstick says it's full of oil. Should I drain out the oil and start investigating? Any recommendations?

I hate to try to troubleshoot by email and remote control = I almost always never have all the information I would like.

A. If you have not changed the oil, by all means do so. Look at the oil you drain out. Is it all oil? Is there water in it? Does it have gas in it? Water and anti-freeze whip up into a frothy mess that mixes in the oil. Do you see any metal shavings in it? I'd change the filter as well.

B. Can you get an oil pressure gauge that you can connect into the plug where the oil sensor mounts? That will tell you if you have oil pressure or not. At idle even 10 PSI should be enough to prevent engine damage, but you should see 30 PSI for a good engine. Low pressure could be oil pump, or badly worn bearings internally.

This is starting to look like more than we can do as an email troubleshoot - you might need to get a mechanic to look it over. In an hour or so he can probably give you a good idea of what is going on in that engine,

[Simpsomt]

I got the oil changed out and didnt notice anything out of the ordinary. I will try to oil pressure gauge tomorrow evening.

[gmwillys]

Noise isn't always the end of the world. If you didn't find metal, then some fresh oil would help. With a known good oil pressure gauge, check the pressure. Also pull the the valve cover to ensure oil is getting up to the top end. Most likely if there is noise, it comes from the top end first.

If you do not have any/low oil pressure, check the distributor where it connects to the oil pump drive. I have heard of, but not seen it personally, where the end of the distributor breaks off.

[LarrBeard]

I got the oil changed out and didnt notice anything out of the ordinary. I will try to oil pressure gauge tomorrow evening.

Clean oil always helps and not having any unwanted additives in the old oil gives you some confidence that you don't have an internal crack, head gasket leaking water into the crankcase or bearings scraping themselves into filings.

The oil pressure gauge will give you an idea as to just what is happening with lube for the top and bottom end.

gmwillys is right - noise isn't always bad. F 134 lifters make more noise than people are accustomed to in modern engines. In my '48 there is one lifter that takes about 30 minutes to get warm enough for the click-click to quieten down.

But - it seems to have started again....

[Simpsomt]

Checked everything out last night and had good oil pressure. Thank god!

[gmwillys]

That is a relief. So, how did it run after sitting?

[Simpsomt]

Didnt get a chance to take it out last night. Hoping to get it out tomorrow for a bit!