CJ7 258 Idle Problem

[Pearlandcj7]

Ok, First let me apologize for the novice nature of my post and the general lack of specifics. I'm so pumped about purchasing my first jeep. I've always wanted an older jeep to tinker with and use off road. 85' cj7 I6 258.

Anyway, I bought the jeep from a guy on my hunting lease. The jeep has been coverted from a manual trans to an auto. Not sure if this matters but I wanted to mention it. The jeep idles rough and stalls sometimes at stops. The engine was rebuilt (by a previous owner) about 20,000 miles ago ( 1998 ) and the entire fuel system was redone along with most of the under hood firing components (cap, rotor, wires plugs etc) last year by the last owner. He also replaced the carb with a Holley. The carb he put on it is a 4 bbl, I'm no machenic by any means but still cant figure out why a 4bbl was needed. Ive read about the TFI upgrade here and looked over the how to. It would seem this is a low price means to address the issue. The jeep seems to lack power, however, I'll admit I'm used to my Z71 V8.

I'd like some thoughts regarding this from some of you who may have had the same issues or experiences. I'd also like to know about the carb issue. Is a 4bbl overkill or helpful?

I'm not using the jeep for any extreme uses, just general off road use while hunting (Texas Hill Country) and giving the kiddo's something to drive while were out there. But, as with most things I'm sure I'll want to do more and more as time goes by.

If more specifics are needed I'll try to get them for you.

Thanks in advance.

My wife already thinks I'm crazy, I could have met my needs with an older truck, but I guess "its just a Jeep thing".

 

[LVRockCrawler]

first off, welcome to jeepz! you'll like it here.. lots of good folks and ideas/advice - as for the 4bbl - probably over carb'd - unless it was used as a hi rev mudder or something like that - i'd prob look for a stock 2bbl intake and run a ford carb (you'll find links for that on here) just seems a 4bbl carb is a bit too much for a stock 4.2 (assuming it is stock) - just my $.02 and i'm sure others will have better advice but i thought i'd chime in.... g'luck!

 

[Pearlandcj7]

Thanks for the response. The engine is stock from what I can tell. It definately doesn't respond like anything different. As I mentioned, no mudding or rock crawling. I have a buddy who is going to look at it once I tow it back to town (currently not registered or inspected). He used to be an AMC factory service tech. His firsts thought was that the tfi upgrade wasn't needed, but all of this is without a look or eval of the jeep.

For $100, I may look into the upgrade anyway.

Thanks again.