Fuel Filter

Hey guys i know this isn't the right board, but its for my dad hes got a cj5 with a 360... this is actually two questions. First its an 82 360 does he need the fuel filter return line hooked up or can he bypass this...he said that it starts kind of hard and thinks the return line could be why.

#2
He is running at 230 degrees and can't lower the temp.. new thermastat 190. its got a high eff water pump and a 3core radiator. we cannot figure out why he's running so hot. new anti freeze new cap.
the thing i was wondering was maybe his v-belt waterpump was supposed to be a serpentine belt one, and the previous owner put a vbelt pulley on and the water pump is running backwards.....how could i check to see if this is happening?

ok thanks a ton guys i know some of you will have some good suggestions thats why i came to ya
if this is in wrong spot please move
thanks
david k

This really belongs in the "other tech" section. I imagine it will end up there, but I'll take a crack at it now.

Is this a carbureted or fuel injected engine? How is it plumbed now, and what is it using for a fuel pump? A carbureted engine should not have a return line.

Coolant flow with the pump should be drawing from the bottom of the radiator, and feeding back into the top. If the pump is actually running backwards relative to the engine, it might be noticeable when you run it without the radiator cap on. On the other hand, if it's a pump made to run the other way around, but now running in the correct direction for the engine, it might just pump very poorly and not show, although a bad water pump will also often make a lot of gurgling and sloshing in the system, so I would still check for that. I don't know how you could tell for sure, though, other than by taking off the pump and looking at the impeller, unless you can get the model number off it and check it that way.

I'd also double check the thermostat, and make sure it's in the right way around.

It would help a lot if you knew what the donor vehicle was, so you could determine what has been altered.

the jeep has a carb and then engine is from an 82 wagoneer. i am not sure what you mean by plumbing..as well i don't know the fuel pump...

as to the water pump... we did run it with the cap off, but we couldn't do that for long without the coolant starting to run over. I was hoping i could see what way the coolant was running in the radiator to see if it was indeed coming in from the top passenger side and leaving at the drivers side bottom.... do you know if this way is typical for a 360? ok any help will work...i can have my dad double check the thermastat, but he;s been working on cars for years and can't imagine he got it wrong after the problems he's been having. we are just stumped as to why it gets so hot, because this is under moderate driving ( just 25-40) around town. One thing is that he has a 9500lb warn on the front as well as a tranny cooler, and power steering cooler in front of the radiator. the radiator space open space is limited by the tranny cooler, but i know many cars run like this.

i guess the next step will be to try hood louvers.. they look pretty cool anyway, any suggestions as to where to put them...i was thinking towards the firewall so that any wind/air coming in could exit by bouncing off the fire wall.

thanks for the help
david k

I wouldn't have thought you'd need hood louvers for normal driving, but I suppose it might help. I don't know where to put them, but it depends on whether you want the air to go out or come in. Remember that near the windshield is a high pressure area, so don't put exit louvers too far back. If this is a CJ5 with the slotted hood hinges that allow it to come right off, you might get a good idea of whether this will work at all by just taking the hood off for a drive.

It occurs to me to wonder if the fan is right way around. If belting has been changed, make sure the fan isn't blowing backwards.

Otherwise, I'm pretty well stumped on the cooling. I do think you should repost this question on the "other -tech" board here, and you might get luckier.

As far as the fuel plumbing goes, assuming this is a carbureted engine, make sure that there is no return line, and that whatever you're using for a fuel pump is not putting out too much pressure. The original mechanical fuel pump was probably only good for about 10 psi, and the carburetor float valve expects that. If you're using a low pressure pump, make sure the filter isn't one for a fuel injected engine either, because it might be too dense for the pump to pull against. For a carb and mechanical pump you want the filter on the outlet side of the pump.