jdjonesdr

I drove to work the other day. I pulled into the parking lot at a low speed, and as I positioned the truck to park in my spot in reverse, I heard a sort of "Clakity-clakity" noise and it shut off.

When I attempted to start it again, it would only catch infrequently, or if it turned over more than a few revolutions, but very rough.

At first I thought it was the CPS, so I threw in a new one. Nada.

I thought perhaps it was the timing chain that had maybe jumped a tooth (crazy thoughts), so I installed a new one with gears that I had laying around.
It goes without saying I did the correct aligning of gear marks, and the 15 pins check on the chain.

Still no go.

Any suggestion on what could have taken a dive to knock out a perfectly fine running engine?

cruiser54

Is the distributor rotor turning?

jdjonesdr

Yep.

Also checked the fuel pump ballast resistor. It's new, but I ordered another of those just in case too.

I also set the rotor following your "set the rotor" guide.

I pulled the EGR valve for $hits and giggles. It ain't looking too hot either, so I've got one of those on the way as well.

I don't think that's the problem, but that's the only thing that hasn't been replaced.

I'm really getting depressed with this thing. I've put a ton of money into it restoring it back to like new condition, but I just can't seem to keep it on the road. It's left me on the side of the road on more occasions than I want to think about.

When it runs, it runs like a dream. It's getting great mileage (for a Cherokee), it doesn't have a single rattle or noise, the A/C is scary cold, the transmission is as smooth as silk, it never overheats, even in traffic jams down here when the temp is in the high 90's. Everything works.

I just can't seem to keep the motor running.

Maybe I should do a V8 swap?

jdjonesdr

Well...

The beast is still dead.

Changed the EGR, the timing gears and chain, new CPS.

When we set the timing according to cruisers guide, it starts fine, runs for a few seconds, then runs rough for a second and shuts down. If we can get it to start again,
it will barely idle, and the idle is like it is waay out of time. Also strong smell of gas.

I know this may sound dumb, but i think I've either got a broken crank or camshaft.

Time to pull the motor out of the beast and dig in.

cruiser54

Test the fuel pressure.

This problem is not internal to the engint.

A bead MAP sensor and/or the line to it could cause this issue.

Orlo

Are you for real? So far you've jumped on replacing several parts without a shred of logic to troubleshooting. You've wildly suggested a v8 swap, which has to be a joke. Now you're somehow on the path to a broken crank or cam shaft. I don't think there is enough collective patience on the forum to walk you through this one.

Did you do a compression check? Did you pull the valve cover and actually look the components? Did you poke around for obvious problems before deciding you wanted to replace a timing chain..... Which is a life time part that almost never fails?

jdjonesdr

I'll test the MAP, even though it's new. I've got a new fuel pump in there, but to be honest, I didn't check the pressure. The resistor is also new.

jdjonesdr

Yeah, obviously the V8 suggestion was a joke.

If you've been following my progress with the beast, you'll know I've been throwing new stuff at it since I bought it. It wouldn't make much sense to throw all of that out the window to throw a V8 in a DD.

For what the new stuff costs, I'm not bothered by replacing parts that could be contributing to the problem. I can tell you I'm certainly not as experienced as some of you guys when it comes to troubleshooting.

I did pull the valve cover when I changed the timing gears and chain, just to make sure everything was moving like it should. I also replaced the distributor.

I didn't do a compression check because when we set the timing and line everything up, it starts and purrs like a kitten for 30-40 seconds or so, then goes into the death idle for a few seconds before dying.

Bad compression would certainly make it sound like it had a miss.

Next step is to check the MAP/tubing and fuel pressure.

jdjonesdr

I think I found the problem, and I was the cause.

Not too long ago, the beast shut down while I was driving. When I reached up and checked the CPS, I found it had came in contact with the exhaust manifold.

I happened to have an extra (fancy that) in the trunk, so I did a roadside repair and installed it.

When I was finishing, I felt the socket come off of the driver, but I heard it hit the ground(I thought)

The motor cranked right up, I pulled ahead a few feet to look for the socket, but couldn't find it in the high grass.

When I pulled the engine, what was left of the socket fell out of the housing. Surprise. No wonder it didn't want to run.

Here's pics of the plate. I'm guessing a new plate is in order.


I'll take the opportunity to change the rear crank seal, and oil pan seal while it's out..

DFlintstone

Better safe than sorry I'd suppose...But...If a close inspection shows no cracks, just de-burring and cleaning it up may be fine. The teeth are OK? The CPS just uses those holes to do it's magic. (it's a hall effect transducer), I gather.

jdjonesdr

A quick update. Threw in the new plate, new seals on the tranny while it's accessable, put it all back together, and it started right up.

It doesn't want to idle, so I'm tracking down the vacuum lines. I'm guessing I've connected something back-asswards.

I've been in and out of the hospital with some health issues, or it would have been back on the road by now.

Once I'm up and running again, she'll be up and running again.

cruiser54

Here:

jdjonesdr

You read my mind!

What would I do without you, Cruiser?


You need to come down to the Caribbean so I can buy you all those beers I owe you... lol

cruiser54

No kidding!!

You know that you can click on the link below to my technical photos, right?

jdjonesdr

Yep, I had seen them before, but to be honest, had forgotten they were there.

I played around with the beast yesterday and found a couple of lines that were not correctly connected, so I knocked that out.

It still idled rough as hell, so I did another check of the MAP line, and sure enough, it was cracked.

I changed that out, plugged it in, and she immediately dropped back into her normal idle.

The only problem left (I think) is the 4WD light on the dash isn't illuminating when I put it in 4WD.

Off the top of your head, do you know where the switch is that lights that puppy?

I didn't get a chance to test the 4WD, but I'm pretty sure it's engaging.