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Technical Forum The main forum for jeep related discussions. Mechanically Inept... |
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#1
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1974 J10 question
I'm trying to put a '74 J10 back on the road that's been sitting for about 5 years.
It was running when it was parked and the old Jeep is still in pretty good shape except for a few of those rusty spots that seem to be common on the older Jeep trucks. It's a 258 motor that still turns over but I'm having a problem getting it to fire up. I put in a new coil, points, condensor, distributor cap and rotor button but I still don't have any fire. I pulled the coil wire off and held it to ground while spinning the motor and I got no spark. Back in the day, when I had no choice but to do most of my own work, before electronic ignition this was about the limit of my mechanical skills. What do I need to look at now? Where does the coil get its juice? I'm kinda stuck at this point. Thanks, hudlow |
#2
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Re: 1974 J10 question
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Something has to supply power to the coil in both the start and run positions of the ignition switch. Get a volt meter and start tracing the power from the battery through the ignition switch and see where it quits.
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I am Savvy. |
#3
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Just tossing out my $0.02, but make sure you drain all the gas out of the tank as you can & not put 5 year old gas into the carb/engine.
You may have already did this, but I just wanted to toss it out for consideration. |
#4
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Blaine is correct, there should be a keyed 12V source to the + side of your coil. Turn the key to the on position and see if that is working. If not, run a wire on some alligator clips from the + to the battery, turn it over and see if you're getting any spark.
I'm not quite sure how you're testing your spark. A cheap way is to pull the wire off one of the spark plugs, put a plug in it and hold the body of the plug against a good ground. You should see the spark plain as day this way if you're getting one. One thing you may want to consider is switching to electronic ignition. I use MSD ignitions, but a lot of people I know speak highly of the Pertronix ignition. If you look around, you can find the whole system with wires for less than $100. Install time is supposed to be less than an hour. It'll work better than you can ever get the points to work. Listen to Joe and get that fuel cleaned out. Change the filters, fluids and your coolant as well. Throw a squirt of starting fluid in the carb and let 'er rip! Good luck!
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Jeff |
#5
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Thanks for all the advice!
I'm pretty sure all the fuel had evapped from the fuel tank in the 5+ years it was sitting. I tried to run a siphon hose to the tank but with all the turns in the fill line it was impossible. I thumped on the tank and it sounded empty and the gauge doesn't show any gas when I'm trying to crank it. I put a bottle of alcohol in the tank a few days ago and yesterday I put in a few gallons of fresh gas along with some gas treatment. I'm going to try to straight wire it today as Jeff suggested and then start tracing voltage with my meter. I understand there is a resistor somewhere in the line before the coil that I'll need to check. Thanks again for all the help, I'm going to get this truck running before I change out anything -I hope! I'll report in again later. By the way....where would the fuses be located on this Jeep? hudlow |
#6
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__________________
I am Savvy. |
#7
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Whenever I have 2 choices on what I should do...I go with my instinct..and then I change it to the opposite..works every time for me
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Ian McCutchon 08 JKU Rubicon 98 TJ |
#8
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I can see we're gonna have to watch how we word our questions here..... But I found them, they're exactly where they put all fuses in fuse blocks on 30 year old vehicles. ...and they were all good! hudlow |
#9
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Turns out we make a pretty good team. hudlow |
#10
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She's purring like a kitten!
I checked and found voltage all all the points I'd been advised to check. But she still didn't fire up. I decided to go ahead and change the plugs and I put on a new set of wires while I was at it - just to narrow down all possibilites of missing something. That's when I started adjusting the points. You gotta remember I haven't fooled with points since I had a '73 Malibu! So finally with advice and encouragement from a shaky neighborhood wino, my steady hands and using that "go against what you think is right" philosiphy that Cutch suggested we got the points in the right place. We hooked the jumper cables back up, poured some gas in the carb and she tried to fire this time. It took about 3 more tries like this until the Jeep started pulling gas from the tank and was running on her own. After that the little 258 was sitting there running like a Singer sewing machine. I had to take a flat tire to get fixed and then we rode around the yard a couple of times. Lord, that thing is geared low! I believe my John Deere has a higher running gear. Now all I gotta do is buy a tag, buy a battery, get it inspected, and wash it so I can see out of the windshield and we'll go from there. Oh yeah, the radio doesn't work, but it's AM only (maybe now that I know where the fuses -in the fuse block-are I can fix that) I remember when AM was your only option! Lights, wipers, heater fan etc all seem to be working OK. It has one of the most irritating horns I've ever heard - it's great! Now I've got to start searching for some panels to replace those rusty ones with. I guess you guys can help me with that???? I've had a good time getting this Jeep cranked. I know somewhere in the hereafter my Pa-in-Law is looking down thinking....." Good job son - but what took you so long?" Watch out for a green and white J10. I promised to take my wino buddy for a ride. Thanks again. hudlow |
#11
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Points? You might want to look into a more modern ignition LOL
Glad you got it running...old Jeeps are way cool. |
#12
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An old beater like I got will keep on running for many miles with the points out of adjustment or when they need cleaning but with an electronic ignition when it goes bad going down the road - you're down. There's just too many things that can go wrong. I can keep everything I need - about $50 worth of stuff: points condensor, coil and a rotor button in the toolbox and practically rebuild and adjust my ignition system on the side of the road with a thumb wrench and a rusty ol' flathead screwdriver. I remember hearing tales of cleaning the points by rubbing the contacts with a dollar bill or setting them using a dime for a gauge in a pinch and getting home. I know the old ignition system is outdated but it's something I can work on and I'm too old to start learning about the newer electronics. In fact I went by my mechanic today to set up a time for him to tune up my Tacoma. It's starting to skip a little starting off from a dead stop. I'm not saying I'll never switch it out but it's too early to be thinking about that - I gotta get my money's worth out of all this new (old timey) stuff I just put on the truck! Thanks, hudlow |
#13
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__________________
I am Savvy. |
#14
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Basically, you only need 1 wire to run it (12v hot key on and run). About the only thing that goes wrong with them is that the module can go bad so I keep a spare in the glove box for my truck (86 Suburban)..... its a 10 minute fix to pop the distributor cap, unplug the old module and replace it. Davis Unified Ignition (DUI) or Pertronix kits are essentially GM HEI copies for other engines. Besides.....if you need a dime to gap points....I think you might have other issues |
#15
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Those Singers just purr along like my little 258. hudlow |
#16
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Haven't you ever heard of "one thin dime"????? hudlow |
#17
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__________________
I am Savvy. |
#18
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A paper clip or the fat end of a matchbook where the striker pad is will be close enough to .019 to get your points running also.
Geez-I am showing my age again. |
#19
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I used to could make an old Chevy "walk the dog"....back in the day. hudlow |
#20
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I think I'll name my truck "Elvis" He was a good SINGER!!!!!!! hudlow |
#21
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Well it's off to buy insurance and a tag. Get inspected and relubricated today. Also I need to buy a battery and probably some new wipers.
Then hit the car wash. One thing leads to another. hudlow |
#22
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Ain't she a beauty? Not bad for an old truck that's been sitting outside - without being cranked since late in 2001. Except for the wheels I think this truck is completely stock. It was all I could do to get out of her to take this picture. I been puttering around the countryside all day at about 45 mph. That seems to be the preferred speed. It took $5.00 worth of quarters at the car wash to get all the crud washed off and I still have a few spots that need a little more attention. Now I gotta get to work on that rust on the rocker panels. hudlow |
#23
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Where ya at in western NC hudlow? I am over in Winston-Salem.
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Click for pics |
#24
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hudlow |
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