sudden loss of idle and power

[G-man]

I have an 83 CJ7 with a 258 w/ carter BBL. When I bought it the emissions were wrecked on it. After a lot of reworking and removing unneccessary items I had the thing running great. no stalling, spunky as hell and smooth idling. I had the normal heating problems that seem inherent in these but cured it by removing the thermostat. But two days ago during a short three mile drive to the store this thing wnet into fits and began stalling, spitting and didn't want to accelerate. I've checked plugs and wiring, vaccum lines but can't find anything wrong. After cooling down, I started it and it started fine and ran great for about a minute and started right back choking and sputtering. I've even tried adjusting the idle mixture with no success. Anyone have any ideas? Could there be a heat activated switch that affects carberation that may need replacing? I also checked fuel flow and filter, but those are fine too. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[BakedAlaskan]

I would think with the desciption you gave, it could be two things. Your choke is staying shut after it warms up. Or you got some real nice gas.

 

[west747]

check out your distributor..have you gone through any deep water latly? if so pull the dist cap off and spray wd-40 in her...if that doesnt solve the problem check the choke linkage for any missing/broken parts and spray it down with some kind of penetrating oil like wd-40 or liguid wrench. do you have a manual or automactic choke?

 

[G-man]

Thanks for all the tips. I have checked the choke and it's opening fine. I have an atomatic choke on this thing. It has not been exposed to any water, and it's running on the same tank of gas for a week now and I still have 1/2 tank left. So I shouldn't be picking anything up from the bottom of the tank.
It actually runs better when I manually close the choke plate. That seems to me to point to the engine running too lean. Which I can't figure out why, when it just started out of the blue. That's why my initial thought was a clogged fuel filter. But that was fine. I thought that maybe one of the computer controlled temp sensors might have screwed up causing the carb to run too lean. I'm really at a loss. I suppose there could be something clogging a jet in the carb. But I was hoping someone might point me in another direction.

 

[X_Factor]

time for new soft top, need advice

I had the same problem a few years ago and it turned out to be a clogged fuel filter. Changed it and it ran fine. Don't know if this helps, but it's worth a look.

 

[olyeller]

have you done anything to the carb?

 

[BakedAlaskan]

I agree, take your carb apart and clean out the jet, and venturies. Also check the float bowl for any debris.