No Power In Second Gear, Under Load..????

I had similar symptoms last year on my 5 but had a slight exhaust note threw the carb, not to be confused with a backfire. Idled fine but down on power. Ended up being I had a flat exhaust lobe on the cam. Might you have lost a lobe on the intake side? Just a thought.

 

Before you throw parts at this engine in a haphazard fashion, get the proper tools to discern your issue as best you can.

Have you done a compression check on this engine?

The vacuum gauge will tell you a lot about the condition of your engine and timing. Read the instructions and a harbor Fight one will be fine. You can also use it to check your fuel pressure.

The issues that others have stated are from experience and may be you problem, or not, but if you put new parts on your engine without the diagnosis, you are adding variables. New parts are often faulty and can create a real "chasing your tail" experience.

In so much as solar flares and disabling HEI distributors.. I feel this is dubious at best. If we have a solar flare that disables an HEI distributor, we have problems that are a lot bigger than your V6 ignition.

 

Solar flares causing cars to quit running reminds me of an episode of "The Agents of Shield".

I prefer a points distributor but only because I know how to fix a problem with one, but every vehicle I have owned with electronic ignition never needed any fixes, and were very reliable.

 

Well, more like "can be faulty." Certainly the likelihood of immediate failure is much higher for new than "seasoned" parts, especially for electrical components. But still unlikely if you buy quality parts.

Good advice otherwise. Measure. Divide and conquer. Understand the systems and think of simple tests that will tell you more. First eliminate gas and spark, then look for deeper issues that take more time to develop. JMO - any new-old car should get all-new fluids, ignition consumables, belts and hoses. This is basic maintenance.

 

Mine haven't been. I'll stick with points.

 

jeeps are unreliable enough that i would wanna keep 'em simple enough that i can work on 'em. i've had a LOT of arguments about this, it seems like the biggest argument of the car community, besides Ford vs. Chevy. Chevy is superior by the way...

 

i think i may have just figured out what's wrong with my jeep. low compression, can hear almost an exhaust note through carb. high range also doesn't work. it was backfiring, but i think the timing just needs dialed in.

 

Or more likely you have a burnt valve. You can pull the side cover off to see if all the valves are moving about the same amount when you turn the engine. That will identify a flat cam lobe pretty quick. It's *possible* it's an out of adjustment valve, but if it's ran any amount of time with a valve held open, it's probably burnt. The head will probably need to come off to see what's wrong.

 

Save yourself that hassle. Do a vacuum and/or compression test.

 

compression is just over 100 on 1,2, and 4, and around 65 on 3.

 

65psi is very poor, and significantly different from the average. That might be a bad valve or busted rings, or possibly the head gasket. A rhythmic beat of puffing/popping at the tailpipe can indicate a burnt exhaust valve.

Another trick is to set the cylinder at TDC on compression stroke, then apply compressed air at the plug hole - listen to see where it vents.

Not the end of the world. When I was young I did a head gasket and bad exhaust valve by the side of the road, in Germany, in January, with the tools I had on board.

Removing a jeep head is a half-day job.

 

Not really.
You do have a lot to learn.
Just takes......years and years.

 

I think they can be very reliable, but many or most of those that we see have been abused and neglected for decades.

I certainly agree with keeping things simple.

 

A new car runs, or it doesn’t. An old car can run poorly for decades.

 

To me, the beauty of a Jeep is it's simplicity. Same for cars like a Model A Ford. When put back right these simple vehicles are very reliable. I have a 47 CJ2A that was in very poor mechanical shape when I got it, but the engine still ran like a sewing machine, and it could still be driven even before I rebuilt the running gear.

With the way things are headed we may see a time when the internal combustion engine is no longer allowed on the road, and gasoline may someday become unavailable, but even then something as simple as a Jeep can be made to run on alternative fuels and I doubt we will live long enough to see a time when we can't drive them off road.

How many "new cars", will still be running 50-90 years from now?

I think there won't be many because of the complexity of the electronics and computerization I think they are designed to self destruct after a decade or so.

 

OK... sorry guys.... I deleted the thread because it looked like it was wandering off topic... into completely un-related subjects... so it is back now, thanks to Focker........ so here is an update,
Based on some good advice given from several members here........... I reset the odd fire timing, so that from TDC on #1, I pulled & rotated the distributor, so that it is TDC on #6 AFTER rotating the crank pulley 150 degrees..... thus getting the the points on the correct sequence of opening (firing), with the odd fire sequence of 150-90-150-90-150-90.......... This seams to make it run smoother
Then I replaced the coil with a built in resister........ and installed a new condenser..... This also seamed to help......... I was getting shocks through old spark plug wires, so now I have New plugs and wires to install......... and I bought a new Fuel pump..... in case the ancient one had a leaky diaphragm......... yet to be installed with the new plugs & wires......... I also replaced my electric choke with a manual pull/cable choke, on my rebuilt 2g...... the E. choke was sticking and not opening fully when warmed up..... linkage sticking.......... not anymore. I will keep you posted as I continue to replace old questionable parts......... Oh yes....... after I did the above changes I did a vacuum test, with a tee on the line between the carb base & the distributor.... and it read a steady 15...... so I tried adjusting the idle jets to bring it up... but couldn't get it above 15...... on the vacuum tester gauge instructions, it says that it should be between 17-22 .... but could be different based on ELEVATION....... I live here at 6,000 ft elevation...... could 15 be a good vacuum reading for my elevation...?????? So much to learn & so much I don't know............