post-rebuild weird starting issue - F Head

Hi guys, my Jeep is misbehaving. Now that he's freed the shed again, he's up to some shenanigans.

We knew after we were done that the carb would need some mixture adjusting, we had him idling nicely yesterday when we were done. So we put him away after I drove him around a bit

OK so dead cold start tonight pull choke out, he fires right up. Drive thru my yard to my driveway shut him off. Get back in in five minutes turns over but wont start.
Try choke, try no choke, no good. Push start him no problem fires right up off I go, drive him around get him all warmed up and shut him off and he starts right back up.

Get home park in driveway for about 15 minutes...he wont start, almost turned over twice then decided it just wasn't gonna....to the point of the starter slowing down due to usage.

Push start down the driveway fired right up so I put him away, ticked. Happy feeling gone...but I know it's probably continued adjusting.....

Ideas?

 

It sounds like your timing may be off, try advancing it a little and see what happens. That would also explain why your starter slows down after turning it for a while.

 

I figured the slowing starter was the battery!

 

Check ground connections at the chassis, engine, and body. Common for them to corrode when sitting in a shed or outside. Doesn't take much. Could be with a weak battery and high resistance you have enough to crank the engine but not enough left to fire the engine. I acquired my first Cherokee very cheap because of this


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I actually think the battery is OK, the alternator is new, the battery stays well charged the starter cranks good and strong for the first ten attempts or so, and cold it fires right up.

 

replace all batt cables to be sure. ground batt. to frame, engine, and body.

 

If the timing is too retarded then it can start easily when cold but once hard to start once the engine is hot. It also makes the engine harder to turn over when hot, which explains why the starter is strained.

If I read your description properly, it turns over OK when the engine is cold but struggles once the engine is hot. I think this would rule out battery problem.

 

It starts fine cold and it starts fine if I shut it off hot but start it again relatively soon after. It wont start if I start it cold run it briefly then shut it off cold, and it wont start if I run it to hot and let it sit for 15 minutes or so after it is hot...
Batt cables are already replaced and good, will recheck ground