Installed new 258 and now it won't start!!

[iraq_vet_x2]

I just finished swapping my worn out 258 for a new one and now it won't start. It will turn but won't catch. I've adjusted the timing to 9 degrees while my wife turned the key; I'm getting fuel to the carb; and I put the timing light on all the wires to make sure they were pulsing, and they are.
Any ideas??

 

[Collin the Hen]

Have you made sure your fuel is going through your jets by looking down the venturis and seeing the squirt of fuel? Also, is the motor sounding or spitting at all, or does it just sound dry? Do you have any mods or swaps on your engine?
And thank you for serving our country.

 

[TerryMason]

Same carb from the old engine to the new?

It's been a long time since I've worked on a 4.2, but can you put the distributor in backwards (180 degrees from where it should be)?

Pull a plug or two, and see if they are soaked in oil or gas - It may just have been flooded.

 

[iraq_vet_x2]

Collin, to answer your questions, yes it is the original carb and yes i can see fuel squirting inside it; and yes it does spit every now and then, it looks like a mist coming out of the throat, but it didn't do it today when i tried to start it just now; no, i haven't done any mods to the engine. And thanks...

Terry, yes you can put it in backwards but i checked the timing and it's correct with the engine trying to start, so it's gotta be, right. I pulled two plugs like you said, and you were right, they were both wet. I let it sit over night last night and all day today, then tried to start it without hitting the gas, and nothing...it just spins.

I pulled one of the plugs and left it out (hooked up) while i had my wife crank it. the plug sparked like it should, so i know I'm getting electricity.

Please stay with me guys...this is frustrating the crap outta me. What am i missing here?

 

[SteelHeadz]

Okay, Sorry if i sound like an idiot. Just a few Info. to verify Timing. Spark plug gapped @0.035 in, Firing order(Clockwise) 1,5,3,6,2,4. with the #1 cylinder at top dead center, the index notch on the Damper is lined up at 0 degees on the timing cover. set the timing @ 4-8 degrees before top dead center. are all this correct?

 

[iraq_vet_x2]

yes all are correct...however, i think it might be possible that i timed it on the exhaust stroke instead of the compression...it's the only thing that makes sense, so I'm going to give the crank one full turn with the distro out then put it back in and see what that does.

I'll let ya'll know.

 

[iraq_vet_x2]

Okay, I tried it tonight, but I dropped the distro when i pulled it out and it spun to God knows where, so I'm back to square one with figuring out the timing.

Any ideas on how to figure out TDC of the compression stroke for the number 1?

 

[SteelHeadz]

Pull the #1 Sparkplug out. Find a small wooden dowel that's at least 8 inches long, prefferably 12. Diameter has to be small enough to go thru the spark plug hole and long enough not to fall inside without being able to grab a hold of it. With the ignition on off, rotate the the CrankShaft Clockwise while taking notice to the position of the dowel in the spark plug hole. be careful while doing this, pull on the dowel every so often to make sure it doesn't get crushed or broken in there. keep rotating the crankshaft until the dowel peaks at the highest point and the notch on the crankshaft is at TDC. If you have passed the TDC mark, you must rotate the crankshaft clockwise until you reach the right spot. Do not ever rotate counterclockwise when finding the TDC. when you have the marks lined up, remove the distributor and see where the rotor is pointed at. mark the base of the distributor for reference of the rotor. look inside the dist. cap and mark the outside of the cap of the #1 plug wire. line this mark on the cap with the distributor. since the rotor rotates Clockwise #1 is the marked position,#5 sparkplug,#3 sparkplug etc.

 

[jhoe_20]

i just put the distributor in and there is a 50/50 chance of it being in the right position, then check the timing and if it doesnt start, and is backfiring out the carb then your 180 off, so then pull the distributor out carefull and spin it 180 and check timing. It took me about 5 minutes to do it on mine, but i have a 4.3, still same concept though

 

[iraq_vet_x2]

Hey guys, this is great stuff. I'm going to give it a shot today and I'll let you know how it went.

 

[iraq_vet_x2]

IT'S ALIVE!! I got busy with work and wasn't able to get to it till tonight, but it's running now. There's a new problem though. (because it's a Jeep) It seems to be overheating or something. After about a minute, minute and a half smoke, steam, something starts coming from it. I filled all my fluids to their capacity by the book so I don't know what's causing it to overheat if that's what it's doing.
Neither my temp gauge nor my oil pressure gauge are working either. My temp wasn't working before so that's nothing new...I think it just needs to be replaced. However, my oil pressure gauge did work before and now the needle spikes all the way to max as soon as you turn the key to on. If it's a bad ground, does anyone know where that would be?

The engine isn't a junkyard swap, it's new.

BTW: a buddy of mine gave me an idea for making sure I was on the compression stroke and not exhaust.
1: Pull the number one plug
2: Get a buddy to hit the starter a couple of times for a split second while you hold your thumb over the hole where the #1 plug was.
3. The compression stroke will push air (hard) past your thumb.
4. As soon as that happens, your buddy can stop hitting the start.
5. Then just put the plug wires in the distro where they need to go by where the timing mark is on the dampner and the rotor is under the cap.

It worked great.
But like I said before, I still seem to be screwed.
Just to recap....
1. Smoking engine after a minute or so (doesn't really smell bad though)
2. Oil gauge spiking when it gets power
3. Temp gauge not moving at all.

Thanks for hangin with me.

 

[jhoe_20]

if it gets grounded out then it will max out

 

[SteelHeadz]

Check the wire on the water temp.sensor for a bad connection or a severed wire.if it checks out good, replace the Temp. sensor. The oil Pressure gauge reponds to the oil pressure sending unit. if it's constantly fluctuating, chances are, the sensor is also at fault. Isolate the Steam or smoke, you either have a water or oil leak. it could be as simple as a loose clamp.

 

[iraq_vet_x2]

Thanks man, I'll check all that out after work today. The oil pressure is going all the way to max and staying there (i think i worded that poorly before). I really hope it's a loose clamp or a bad hose or something...that would really make my day.

 

[jhoe_20]

yeah try disconnecting the sender wire on the oil pressure sending unit..if it drops to zero and then maxes out when you hook it back up, then it means the sending wire is being grounded out somwhere...thats how i test boat gauges to find out if its the gauge or sending unit...if its not grounded anywhere then the sending unit is bad.

 

[SteelHeadz]

yeah try disconnecting the sender wire on the oil pressure sending unit..if it drops to zero and then maxes out when you hook it back up, then it means the sending wire is being grounded out somwhere...thats how i test boat gauges to find out if its the gauge or sending unit...if its not grounded anywhere then the sending unit is bad.

Sorry, I would have to disagree with the First part of that test. The Oil Pressure sending unit works on resistance Internal to the sending unit. so if the sending unit is plunged in all the way, there will be 0 resistance and will give you a Maximum oil presssure on the gauge, same effect as Grounding the sense wire. one way to test the oil pressure sending unit is to get a 2 and 4 ohm resistor and temporarily installing them one at a time inline with the sense circuit while monitoring each reading from the fuel gauge itself. if the sense circuit is shorted to ground, the gauge will still read MAX on each of the test.if not, then replace the sending unit.

 

[iraq_vet_x2]

Awesome...thanks guys, I'll give it a shot. The wife's starting to get irritated that the Jeep's getting all the attention lately. That's not really a new thing though!