1956 CJ5 stalling in 2nd and 3rd gear

I have a '56 CJ5 with the Hurricane 4 engine. I was driving it today and felt teh engine sputter in 2nd gear a few times and then die. I pulled to the side of the road and tried to restart, but nothing. My first thought was maybe a lack of fuel. I checked the tank and could still see fuel as it was full. I got it started only to have this happen again on the way home. I eventually had to have my friend tow me home (totally embarrassing). My second thought was maybe the fuel pump is not functioning properly. I got the Jeep with an aftermarket electric fuel pump already in it. The guy I bought it from said he thinks it pumps too much fuel but I don't think the engine died from getting too much fuel. I have not changed the fuel filter so that is my next step. What else could it be? I don't want to be on the open road and need recovery assets again! Haha

 

OK, according to my research and inspection of my jeep, there is no replaceable fuel filter. There is a Fuel filter that needs to be cleaned out and put back in place. I have been told it is in the gas tank and also been told it is "a non replaceable filter screen located in the fuel pump bowl". I do not have the original mechanical fuel pump. I have an aftermarket electric fuel pump. There is a small filter on the input side of the electric fuel pump but thats it. It also appears to be new and clean. I am at a loss...

 

Could be lots of things, but a fuel clog is likely. Could also be a flaky condensor in the distributor. But your gas tank is 55 years old, if original, and God only knows how much crud is in there.

I don't know the history of your '56 and what you've already done to it, but I'd recommend you do yourself a big favor and go through the entire fuel system from tank to carb, and clean it totally. Maybe even take the tank to a radiator shop and have it boiled out. Loose poop in a gas tank brings no joy.

There's also the possibility it has the wrong gas cap too, and it's not venting properly. If the tank can't get air in through the cap, it can "vacuum lock" and shut off the fuel flow. Like sucking on a soda bottle until you can't suck out any more.

That happened with my lawnmower last year, the gasket rotted away and the cap was sealing tightly to the tank neck, and it wasn't venting. Mower would run for awhile and stop. If it was full it would only run a few minutes, if it was half empty I could mow until it ran out of gas. Drove me freakin' batty for months. Turns out the cap gasket is designed to allow a tiny bit of air to get past to vent the tank.

 

Thanks alot! That all sounds reasonable. I guess my new project is to gut the fuel system and clean it.

 

Keep it in 1st gear

JK

 

What condition is your tank in? I have a 68 and had a similar problem. The tank had rust scale. I used a 3 foot length of flexible rubber magnet which I removed from an old refridegerator door which I inserted into the tank and when I pulled it out, the magnet had a lot of rust attached to it. I removed the tank and flushed it out with water, and found that the liner coating was coming off the walls. Had large and small pieces of that floating around as well. I pressure washed the tank and dried it out, only to find that now it leaks, so have removed it temporarily and am using a plastic boat tank until I buy a new tank.

The problem was that the rust and sealer/liner meaterial was plugging the fuel inlet inside of the tank. You could blow air backward, and it would work for a little while, only to happen again.

Hope this helps.

 

DiggerJeep,

I think I have the same problem you outlined above. This weekend I am going to remove the gas tank and see what kind of rust is in there and give it a good cleaning. Hopefully it is not too far gone.

 

So I removed the gas tank and fuel line. It seems the gas tank has a welded patch on top. It seems to be in pretty rough shape so I am just going to replace the fuel tank. My question is: what tank is better to get? The original metal style or a plastic variant. I am leaning towards plastic because I am told it is safer. Also, the fuel lines I removed are not original. They are black rubber hoses. Is it better to use this style or the original metal style fuel lines?
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I suppose it's up to you and what you want to do, how you're going to use the Jeep, etc., and I'm sure there's lots of opinions. Myself, I'm replacing my gnarly original tank with a new steel one from Walck's, with a new steel fuel line. The original design is fine for me and my plans. I'm going more for a restoration, with minor safety/performance mods, but I basically plan for it to look like a new '56 CJ5 right off the showroom.