audballbandit

i have a 96 cherokee 4wd with at 4.0L inline six with well over 100k miles on it. it's been sitting for a year and a half, recently decided to put it back on the road. starts and idles fine. however, after it's been running about 10-15 minutes, it begins to buck/stutter like it's starving for fuel. changed the fuel pump, strainer, and filter yesterday. noticed the gasoline coming out of the filter had a lot of sediment in it. took it for a test spin, and it's still doing it. any suggestions?

thanks for all your help in advance!

cpnwrench

probably, fuel pressure regulator too.... its on the fuel rail in the engine compartment. probably have a lot of residual gunk and stuff in there.

might also check dist cap and wires and plugs etc etc etc.

also, can you pull codes on it?

just my two cents......

good luck sir!

cpnwrench

:drink

wjnfirearms

Sounds like you did things right except one which is pretty important for vehicles left sitting for a long time....drain and clean out the tank. It doesn't do a lot of good to replace a bunch of fuel system parts just to have them contaminated by crud sitting in the bottom of the tank. Sounds like you need to drop the tank again and clean it out along with the new system parts.

audballbandit

@cpnwrench- i don't have the equipment to pull codes, and i'm afraid it won't make it to the local parts store will take your advice to heart and check all those goodies out.

@wjnfirearms- d'oh! shoulda thought of that while we had the monstrosity on the ground!

will check things out and report back.

cpnwrench

hmmmmmmm......

thought you could still do the "on" "off" "on" "off" "on" "off" then "on" with the key and watch the check engine light blink seqeunce in 96.........

try it let me know.......

good luck!

cpnwrench

audballbandit

@cpnwrench- check engine light has yet to come on (weird, no?). checked regulator, etc. everything looked okay. did notice that the aux fan isn't coming on when it should be. unplugged coolant thingy (am a mechanic newbie, so not sure what its called; it sits about 2 inches from the fan itself) and the fan took right off. also, crawled underneath and unplugged a sensor from the transfer case, trans. fluid poured out of it. wasn't sure what it done, but quickly found out (speedometer!). still pretty sure trans. fluid shouldn't be in there.

so...now what? again, thanks for helpin this poor girl!

VTJeep

o2's

CattyXJ

X2 on this ^^^^. Also is it 'starving' while idling or while your moving? A multimeter at Walmart cost $12.99, you can find write ups on the forum that will tell you how to test all of your sensors so you dont have to use the shotgun method of getting your problem fixed. I would think the first steps would be new fuel, a seafoam treatment and a TB/IAC valve cleaning are the first things to do, (how to's for all this on the forum) as well as completing your tune up with a new cap, rotor, plugs and wires. Cheap stuff thats good to do no matter what. Let us know what happens, Good luck!

audballbandit

@cattyxj- it 'starves' while moving, usually doesn't do it until it's moving 45-55 mph. also, it did get started fairly often, just not driven, during it's not-driven hiatus (moved for mowing grass etc).

replaced distributor today on the advice of a mechanic. the old one had a wiggle in it, however, didn't cure the problem, it just seems to idle better. after coming back from test run, noticed a gurgling sound coming from the exhaust and a smell of rich gas. also noticed it's burned 1/2 tank of fuel just going approx. 2 miles to see if it bug jumps!

CattyXJ

Have you pulled any of the plugs and seen what the ends look like?

Bradford97

It almost sounds like I am having a similar problem, but at a lower level. I am still able to drive around, but afyer a bit of driving i have that "starving" of something while driving and stiiting at lights. I was told to clean or replace the idle air control valve. Ill get into that tomorrow and let you know.

audballbandit

@cattyxj- not yet, but will try to tomorrow. what should i be looking for?

CattyXJ

Well if your exhaust smells like gas, and it's running rich, the plugs will be black. Let me know what you find.

Bradford97

Cleaned the IAC valve, helped but didnt fix. I replaced the O2 sensor and now runs great.