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BREAKER POINTS FOR BEGINNERS

By Steve Turchet

once knew a twenty-something guy who purchased a 1964 CJ-6 and
was unhappy with his Jeep because it didn’t start, run, drive or
perform like a modern SUV. The Jeep was hard to start when cold
because the young man was from a generation that had grown up with
electronically fuel-injected gasoline engines in cars, light trucks and
SUVs, so he didn’t understand how a carburetor worked or why it had to
be choked.
He also found that the Jeep was “hard to steer” because it didn’t have
power steering. It was “hard to stop” because it didn’t have power
brakes, and “underpowered and slow” because its four-cylinder engine
had only been born with 72 GHP.
In addition to these faults, he thought the transmission/transfer case
was worn out “because it made a whiny sound,” and the gears always
ground when trying to shift. Plus it leaked oil. And the (vacuum)
windshield wipers didn’t work right when the Jeep was accelerating or
climbing a hill.
Had he kept the Jeep, instead of selling it to me for less than he’d
paid, he would have probably found many other things “wrong” with it
and/or to be frustrated about. If he took to a “quick-lube,” he might
have been billed for extra grease and gear oil because it had so many
lube fittings and gearboxes. This is assuming that the quick-lube people
were knowledgeable enough to check not only the transmission, transfer
case, and front and rear differentials, but also the front axle steering
joints. There may have also been a problem when it came to finding a
replacement element for the bypass oil filter, not to mention servicing
the oil bath air cleaner.
There probably would have been more frustration if the Jeep had
needed a new or rebuilt generator (not an alternator), a voltage
regulator, a starter, a water or a fuel pump, because most of these items
wouldn’t be found on the shelves of typical auto-mart stores. There may
have been additional problems locating basic tune-up items such as a