Jeep88Comanche Posted May 27, 2023 Share Posted May 27, 2023 Good evening, Amateur here, I just replaced my head gasket, head bolts, exhaust/intake gasket. I am all buttoned back up but having issues getting the truck to start. I have been able to turn it over. But other than that. Nothing else. I know I removed the distributor and got it cleaned up and put back, made sure spark plugs and wires were cleaned. I've done all I can with what I know. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.. This is my DD and starting back work on Tuesday. Thank you again! Respectfully, Jeep88Comanche I6 4.0 4wd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scguy Posted May 27, 2023 Share Posted May 27, 2023 Do you have spark? Fuel pressure? Injector pulse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep88Comanche Posted May 27, 2023 Author Share Posted May 27, 2023 I have fuel pressure and pulse I'm unsure how to check spark. I am limited with tools. Any ideas? Thank you again for the information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted May 27, 2023 Share Posted May 27, 2023 Have you reconnected all wires you disconnected? I am thinking the CPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep88Comanche Posted May 27, 2023 Author Share Posted May 27, 2023 I'll be checking first thing in the AM. I think I fired my brain in the sun. So I'll give an update asap. I'm pretty sure I did but pretty sure isn't a 100%. So I'll check again. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tugboat95 Posted May 27, 2023 Share Posted May 27, 2023 Pretty much what is said above but did you put the distributor back in 180 out?? As for checking spark. If you don't have a proper tester, Disconnect a plug wire and hold with an insulated pair of pliers next to the block. Crank the engine. Look for the spark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep88Comanche Posted May 27, 2023 Author Share Posted May 27, 2023 Sorry, but what do you mean 180 out? And I have a feeling I need to take out the valve cover and check and see if the first cylinder is up. I didn't mess with anything other than the push rods. But I'm just flat out stumped. I'm going to try and do the spark test in a bit. My battery is dead and I can't get enough juice to start it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokinn Posted May 27, 2023 Share Posted May 27, 2023 53 minutes ago, Jeep88Comanche said: Sorry, but what do you mean 180 out? Check Cruiser's Tips #12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 2 hours ago, Jeep88Comanche said: Sorry, but what do you mean 180 out? And I have a feeling I need to take out the valve cover and check and see if the first cylinder is up. I didn't mess with anything other than the push rods. But I'm just flat out stumped. I'm going to try and do the spark test in a bit. My battery is dead and I can't get enough juice to start it.. The distributor spins once for every two turns of the crankshaft. If you turned the engine over while the distributor was out, even with a marked crank pulley put back to where it was, you might have lined it up with the wrong stroke of the crankshaft. But more likely what happened if you marked the distributor position, didn’t turn the engine over, and put the distributor back in, you’re off by a distributor tooth. The shaft rotates slightly as you drop it in and the gears mesh, so if you marked it before you pulled it and then line it up with your mark before dropping it in, you’ll end up lined up wrong. Another common spark timing issue that can happen while changing the distributor is clocking the firing order on the distributor cap wrong. If you didn’t mark one of the spark plug positions on the old distributor and put them back based on a diagram and the hold-down screws, it might not be correct. There’s a few diagrams floating around online with different clockings relative to the screws. And something else I discovered with an aftermarket distributor that has caused me grief twice now was that the clocking between distributor gear and rotor on it was not the same as factory, forcing me to insert the distributor in a different position than I had marked for the one I pulled out and reclocking the plug wires on the cap accordingly. Super frustrating. I ended up reusing the same distributor in two different engines in two vehicles, and it was when it didn’t directly drop into the second one either without screwing around again that I pulled and compared the OEM and aftermarket distributor gears and rotors and realized I hadn’t just screwed up the first time I put it in. But it may not be a distributor timing problem. Did you stuff anything into any intake ports or fuel lines to keep junk out and forget to pull it back out before reassembly? Did you put any ground wires you might have pulled off a head or valve cover stud back on? Plugged everything back in you unplugged? Made sure you didn’t pinch some wires under the head at the back of the engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep88Comanche Posted May 28, 2023 Author Share Posted May 28, 2023 Thank you all for the input! And the cruisers tips is going to fun to read. I like the thought, time and effort into that! The cylinder is TDC and then I made sure the distributor was placed carefully back into position roughly 11 o'clock. Along with rotor in 1st position. Spark plug wires all inspected and placed according to the book. But now you say some may not be this way. So I'm hoping this works.. Tomorrow morning I'll be starting it back up. And I'll be checking the wiring again. I went based of the book I have. Chilton's. I have another massive book I was able to aquire. From my understanding it is a shops mechanic book. I think I'll dig it out. Update more once I'm able! Thank you all again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZJeff Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 The Chiltons and Haynes manuals are marginally useful, at best. The ONLY real way to go for a service manual is the factory one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 I would follow cruiser’s tip for distributor indexing. But as far as working through the tips, other than looking at the ground refreshing for things you may have missed reconnecting, if you started with a running truck, it’s more than likely something happened during the process to prevent that. The first thing I would do is go back and check my work. Then I’d start basic diagnostics, do I have fuel, do I have spark, that sort of thing, then go back to worrying about timing when I knew all the other puzzle pieces are there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep88Comanche Posted May 28, 2023 Author Share Posted May 28, 2023 So... Here's the breakdown... I went and tested all spark plugs. Each one had spark.. Prior to me doing the spark test I did wire brush the tips to rid of any build up. Which there was.. placed back in. Next I removed the distributor and placed the timing at zero as well as TDC. I carefully placed the distributor with it aligning the rotor to spark #1. I did have a picture of the cap and wires prior and copied what it was before. I bolted everything back together and fired it up and it started. I assume it could have been some build up on the spark plugs. And distributor alignment. It sounded a bit rough at first but I think it may be my timing. I will be working on that now. I just wanted to thank everyone here who has helped me through this ordeal. This has been a very informative work I have done. And it was not possible without you all. Once I have it all cleaned up. I'll post up a photo of my Frankenstein Comanche.. the guy who had it prior had a lot going on with it. And did not take care of it. I reap the reward of fixing it when I can. Which I love doing. The interior definitely needs redoing. But again thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted May 29, 2023 Share Posted May 29, 2023 Congrats! Persistence pay off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep88Comanche Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 He it is! Been great driving it again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Mark Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 Sweet rocker skids, thanks for making my MJ look less beat up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep88Comanche Posted June 14, 2023 Author Share Posted June 14, 2023 No problem 🤣 it's been a blast driving. Grabbing some new tires soon and get to take it off roading. But I love the look of it. And I don't have to worry about scratching it 🤣 I get the worst mileage but it's a con I approve of! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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