Inconsistent curb idle and low power at RPMs

I believe so, yes. That's the round plastic thing with a plunger on one end and a locknut on the other that has a vacuum hose and an electrical connect, right? Where the plunger meets the solenoid, the rubber is completely destroyed and it disconnects completely from the solenoid body, so I just backed the screw off so it wouldn't contact the solenoid at all. I'll post a picture when I get home. The only thing stopping the throttle from completely closing are the fast cam idle screw and the curb idle screw (or stop screw maybe?).

WONDERFUL! I was hoping you'd respond, Medic, since I have been reading quite a few of your reviews. That's why I posted on this forum instead of another one. I have lots of problems with my Jeep so you'll see plenty of posts from me over the next few weeks/months/years. Would love to work with you to get my rig running as best as possible.

To answer one of your questions.I LOVE MY JEEP. She is my baby. I've been waiting a long time to take care of her, and am willing to take all the time (and hopefully not too much money) to make sure she runs as well as I can possibly make her run. I played with '84 and '83 CJ7s all through high school. Did some minor repairs, but never could call one my own. Now I can. I am an engineer so I have a slight mechanical disposition, but I have little experience doing high end engine work.

Basic CJ specs. In line 6 cyl. 258. 4 speed. Before I bought her, most was stock. I'm the third owner. The second owner replaced the oil filter and that's about it. The one before did a decent job keeping up with basic necessities such as oil, hoses, lubricants, etc. Things are pretty gunked up under the hood. Lots of grease covering most everything. Standard 1985 wear. Tubs rusted, some surface rust on frame. That sort of thing. So I know I have my work cut out for me. Which is actually exactly the way I want it.

OK here's my new update. This is definitely an air/fuel mixture issue. This is how I know. At normal operating engine temps, I noticed my choke plate was still pretty closed. I pulled off the carb again and adjusted the cover for the electronic choke to lean up the mix a bit, and now at normal operating temperatures the choke is close to wide open. However this made things worse. I have terrible power at higher RPMs but the good news is my idle is at a nice smooth 700RPM. Again, I'm eating through fuel which is no good. The new distributor cap did make a difference. The old one had some pretty bad corrosion.

Quick side note, I found a source of a gas leak. The hose to my liquid check valve on the back fender was completely disconnected and open. The connect port to the valve was broken, but I did my best to find a hose that could clamp down on what was left of it. I'll have to find another lvalve at a junkyard to ensure a good tight fit.

The engine emissions in NC are pretty tight I'm afraid, so I'm going to have to do my best to make sure things aren't too dirty out of the exhaust. But we have a full year to get everything in working order to pass inspection.

So here's my current situation, to sum things up. Tight choke - good engine power, bad idle. Loose choke - good idle, bad engine power. I'll try and adjust the electronic choke to find a nice halfway point. In the meantime, you might be right about a vacuum leak. What's the best way to go hunting for one? I'll adjust the electronic choke cover once more and retime again. I'll make sure I can get a good idle before retiming though. Glad you highlighted that.

Should I just buy a new carburetor? I can. Sort of afford it. Thanks for the feedback. Looking forward to getting her working well.

Here are some picks. One of which is the solenoid plactic-thingy that I think racefan was talking about. Where would the idlestop solenoid be? Also, there looks like some kind of aftermarket mechanical choke was installed, but I have no idea if it's connected to anything or not.

OK good news. It doesn't look like my vehicle has to pass an emissions test, only a safety inspection (headlights, wipers, turn signals, etc, which by the way it would fail). So we can rip off as much as you'd like from the carburetor.

I was talking about the choke plates earlier, not the throttle plates. And yes, I have thought about a mechanical choke. Actually, I think that white switch thingy in pic 2 above may have been an attempt to install a mechanical choke. I don't think the throttle plates stick because every time I pop the hood to take a look at why the heck it's idling so high, the idle screw is firmly on the stop. The fast idle cam screw isn't engaged either. The the throttle return springs feel pretty tight. The throttle plates might not be sealing evenly. When I rebuilt it, I did notice some sort of dried black resin stuff on the edges of the throttle blades as well as the barrels.

As far as the mixture screws. Well. I think Joe Shmoe may have done a number on them. I don't have any limiter caps. They're gone. Also when I was reading about carb tuning, this "full rich stop" kept coming up. I don't have a full rich stop. If I keep backing off the mixture screws, they pop right out. Another thing that might be a problem is when I tighten the mixture screws all the way in, the car still runs. Granted, that's only for a fast idle, but still might be a problem.

She's dieseling really bad now. I have to pop the clutch or she'll literally just keep chugging. I let it go for a full minute just to see how long she'd keep going.

As far as systems. Not entirely sure what you mean, so I'll just go through everything. 3 speed dana 300 transfer case. 4 speed tranny with reverse. AMC 20 (or 30 I can't remember) rear axle which needs a lot of work. Dana 30-or-something front. Locking front hubs. In line 6 L head AMC 258 ci engine. Some nice bookshelf speakers lying in the back which were a nice surprise after I bought her. Headlights used to work 50% of the time. Now they don't work at all. No blinker lever, but I have a new one I haven't installed just yet. Floor dimmer switch for headlights doesn't work (probably why the headlights don't work either). I have an aftermarket tach that I haven't installed yet (it's easier to use for timing than the multimeter so I've put it off). Voltmeter and oil pressure gauges appear to work ok. None of the temperature amenities work (heat, AC, vent, etc.). Looks like she has a new radiator. Maybe a new catalytic converter? It just looks kind of shiny which is rare for things underneath jeeps. New fuel filter. New-ish air filter. Everything looks stock besides the mystery switch under the steering wheel. So literally no mods (except for the uninstalled tach).

I'll play with her some more at some point today. Let me know what I should try.

Here are some more pics of the CJ itself. It has a hard top, but I almost always have it off. That open air feeling is one of my favorite parts of owning a jeep. By the way, nice trailer, Medic. Bout the best way I can think of camping with a jeep.

PS - you may have found a rival novel writer. Or a fellow one.

Whoops, two were upside down. Let's try again.

One more thing I just remembered. Before I started the carb rebuild, I noticed that the stepper motor was disconnected. After the rebuild, I reconnected the stepper motor. Perhaps it was disconnected because it wasn't working anymore?

Also no power brakes.

Yes, there is a return line for the fuel filter. One in. Two out - return and the other to the carb. Sorry the pics are so small. I'll fix that in future posts. I have all of the tools in your pictures (multimeter, tach, timing light) but I don't have a vacuum gauge. I can pick one up though.

I disconnected the stepper motor and played with it a bit. I was able to drop the idle to 680 today and it stayed running fine. Took it for a test run and the power wasn't as high as it used to be a day or so ago but at least I could make it up a hill. When I pulled to a stop the idle would drop back down to 680, and then bump back up to around 1100 after a few seconds.

As far as the rebuilt carb.I'd almost rather just pay another $50 or $100 for a brand new Holly or Weber. Also looked at guides about disconnecting all emissions regulations stuff. Pretty much leaving only the PCV and the advanced vacuum lines like you said. Also wiring the distributor directly to the ignition module.

Awaiting instructions.

Quick question. On the label under the hood, it says to set the timing while at 1600RPM to 9* advance. Do I set it to 9* at 1600RPM or at the 680RPM idle? I've been following the hood label.

Also the mark jumps around quite a bit during timing. Maybe two or three degrees every few seconds.

After work tomorrow I'll make the adjustments and post an update. Thanks again.

Also you sold me on the rebuilt carb. I'm open to it if necessary.