Test Drive gone wrong

So I just got the old CJ5 up and running after about 4 years of restoration work and took it for a short test drive around the neighborhood, which ended in me towing it home, with an angry wife in the front seat. The Jeep started to overheat slightly and I lost all power in 2nd and 3rd gear. 1st gear would accelerate but when I up shifted I would lose all power and gradually slow to a stop. This happened two or three times. Finally it stalled once it stopped in the middle of a busy road and the battery was totally dead. I am thinking there are a few different problems. The overheating issue has me puzzled, I just added a full compliment of 50/50 antifreeze water into a new radiator. Radiator was still full once I got the jeep home, so it didn't leak out. The only thing I can think is to remove the thermostat (I am in hawaii and am never going to run a heater). The loss of power issue has me more puzzled. I am leaning towards the alternator being improperly wired and the battery is being totally drained. Thoughts? Advice? Thanks in advance.

 

Removing the thermostat will generally cause more overheating problems.
Replace it maybe and check to make sure your pump is in good shape and nothing is plugged up or air bubbles locking circulation up.

 

a little more information about jeep would help year / engine , yes to never remove thermostat , that removes the slight cooling cycle in radiator

 

Charging is probably related to loose fan belt bad alternator or incorrect wiring.

Overheating could be anything from wrong air fuel mixture on carburetor. Cooling system plugged or dirty either inside or outside of radiator. Can you hold flashlight engine side of radiator and see light through fins on outside of radiator? Might need a light pressure wash.

Could be thermostat not opening. Have you removed the water pump and seen the condition of the impeller on the water pump? I have seen them rusted away. Maybe water pump bad. Could be loose fan belt.

 

And might I suggest leaving the wife home for next test drive? Odds are the jeeps owner is likely more patient and forgiving of a botched first test drive that a wife

 

My first test drive required a tow home too. you'll be fine. fix one problem at a time in your driveway.

 

He said " with an angry wife in the front seat."

He didn't say it was HIS wife...

 

Air bubble in the cooling system? Did you witness the thermostat open and coolant flowing?

Alternator charging? I'd try charging the battery and checking the alt. in the driveway to see what it's putting out.

 

I hope you will excuse me if I am laughing, It sounds like a typical first test drive. We towed our MB out to a field in the '70's to see if what we had done was OK. Due to a bad exhaust system we destroyed a rubber brake line. A few months later the steering box broke on it, fortunatly we were only about 1 1/2 blocks away from the house. I was running next to the Jeep while my brother was driving, I would have to kick the front wheel occasionaly to steer it up the street.

 

Is it a V6 Jeep?I always have a hard time getting all the air out of the cooling system on mine after refilling it.

 

I always have the truck pointed out with the trailer hooked up and ready to go before any test drive. MAKES IT MUCH EASIER FOR THE WIFE TO COME GET ME.

 

Over heating can be from a lot of things. Not sure which engine but if I had to guess from your description with stalling happening in 2nd and 3rd then its a 4-134 F engine with the 3 speed. On the 4-134 F engine I have, there is a coolant bleeder screw on or near the top of the water pump. When I replaced the radiator on this 1961 I ran the engine at idle with this screw pulled so I could see if there was any air bubbles trapped in the system. When the coolant flowed out with no air bubbles I put the screw back in (its messy but if you don't and rely on the system to purge itself then for a while the engine temp may fluctuate quite a bit.

Also.....a combination of a leaky carb gasket and manifold gasket can lead to the overheating and stalling when the engine is under load.....just a thought. Squirt some carb cleaner around the gaskets and listen for the sucking sound from the leaks. A leak at the carb gaskets usually will cause a change in engine idle speed when it sucks carb cleaner through the loose or broken gasket.

Simplest thing to do for the dead battery syndrome is to pull the alternator if your year has one (instead of the generator) and have a place like Auto Zone test it under load. Also check your ground strap.......add a second one......can't have enough ground straps. If your ground strap is frayed or corroded the current will seek an alternative route like an accelerator or choke cable.......and it will usually fry them!

That's all I got......Happy New Year!

 

Thanks for all the thoughts. The Jeep has a F4-134 engine, T-90 and spicer 18. All were professionally rebuilt. I just put on a new solex carb and it is definitely running rich. I am thinking I screwed up the alternator wiring somehow. And it was indeed MY wife on the test drive , not someone else's haha.

 

Also, I did not remove the thermostat. That was a recommendation I got from a mechanic friend.

 

Make sure thermostat was not installed upside down. Don't ask how i would think of this :-(

 

" All were professionally rebuilt."

Just means the mistakes were done professionally. (Don't ask.)

 

Thermostat was installed correctly. It did smell hot. I noticed the smell before I looked down at the gauge and saw it was overheating. Yes I let it sit and run for awhile to observe cooling, charging etc. I have had it running for a few months but was unable to drive it due to small needed fixes. The engine idles fine without overheating and the alternator was charging the battery just fine.