Fuel delivery issue ?

Happy Easter everyone : ) I am in the process of bringing a 59 cj5 back to life. I seem to be having problems getting the fuel system to prime. It seems to be sucking air to me. The glass bowl is not filling up and only fills half way. I can get it to run for a few seconds and then it dies. When it shuts down you can see alot of bubbles coming into the glass bowl. Bad seal at the glass bowl ??
Bad Fuel Pump? Carb was just rebuild by previous owner...not confident it was done right by shop. Let me know what you think...Thanks guys

 

Could be a plugged fuel line in the tank. Had a similar problem with mine. The tank had a lot of rust in it, and when the line got plugged in the tank, all I would get air bubbles in the glass bowl. Pump created enough vacuum to overcome the seal around the glass bowl. Glass bowl is on the low pressure (vacuum) side of the fuel pump, and filters the gas before it enters the pump.

Then connect a long rubber hose from the input side of the pump into a nearby gas can, and see if the pump then works ok. It probably will once the air is pumped out of the hose.

If that works, then the input line to the tank is probably plugged (with rust, varnish, or old tank liner which has detached from the tank wall). IN my case it was all three. I used a strip magnet from a refrigerator gasket inserted into the mouth of the tank, and it came out covered with rust. I pulled the tank and cleaned it out with water and that is when I discovered the detached liner floating in the tank. I used a small piece of chain to knock off the rust, and cleaned the tank again. Let it dry, and reinstalled the tank back in the jeep. It ran fine, but in an hour or so, the seams were leaking. I've purchased a fuel tank restoration kit and will be doing that process when I get a day above 60 degrees. The tank is perfect. and the kit is $49.00 vs a couple of hundred for a new tank.

I suggest that you remove the input line from the fuel pump (the one towards the gas tank, and gently blow air (only a couple of pounds pressure) and see if it temporarily clears the line. If this restores the fuel flow, I suggest that you drain the tank. Yours should have a drain plug in the bottom, accessable from underneath. Be careful when you remove the plug, and support the outside nut with pump pliers because you can twist the plug and threaded hole right out of the tank. If you drain the tank into another container, use a large funnel with a piece of cheesecloth across it to catch the rust.

Let us know how you make out.

 

Thanks for the info....I dropped the tank and pulled it tonight and found some rust like you said. I'm going to clean it out and see what happens. Did a 59 have a liner in it ? It looks like bare steel to me inside. Thanks again : )