Engine Questions

[James P]

Okay I have been working on getting the engine tuned to were it should be and found that I have a slight miss.
So I started going through the engine system by system and decided to check the spark plugs.
When I started taking them out I found a couple of things.

1. Heavy carbon on cylinder 1. (3 and 4 looked okay but not great.)

2. Cylinder 2 had carbon build up but was also "wet". Has any one seen this before  and what would be causing this?


3. Do I need to replace the head gasket if I take the head off?

[p3ferris]

I would check the carb...too much gas.  Look at your exhaust to see if it is black when reving it up

[James P]

No black smoke, but when I step on the gas the engine sputters for a sec and then it goes.

And it does have the older wire spark plug wires. You should be able to see em here in these pictures.



The offending spark plug.

[Bob W]

The head gasket should be replaced if you remove the head. I'd begin with the simple stuff. Do a compression test first. If the compression is good move on to a tune-up.

[p3ferris]

The wet being seen there is because of non fire  that is gas on the plug

[Gunslinger]

I think i would just replace the plugs and see how the spark is.  You can always go nuts from there, but Im betting its plugs and a bit rich.

[Carls_jeep]

Have you been driving this Jeep or is it a new project that has not been running?

[James P]

This jeep has not been driven on the road in 20 years. IF what I have been told about this jeep is right. The engine, transmission, and transfer case were all rebuilt less than 800 miles ago by a guy specializing in the willys. Then the guy moved down around me and it �sat for 8 years with old gas in the tank. When I bought it and cleaned everything out when I was 16. Then the last 10 years it sat again. Fires right up on the first push of the starter.

Hope that answers your question Carlsjeep. �;D


My dad thinks he has the equipment for testing the compression, so if he does have that I am going to borrow it. I figure it wont hurt to know how the compression is on the jeep.

[F Bill]

Probably the best thing to do right now is to give it a by the book tune up including setting the valves, change the fluids, and give it a tank of fresh gas. Then drive it for a while and see if it comes back to running well.  Unless you have a good reason to pull the head, don't do it for the time being.  Your miss could be many different things, and if it really only has 800 miles and years since the last rebuild, it is quite possible the rings are not seated and need some run time.

Keep a real close eye on your gages.....and shut it down if somehting looks wrong.