white guys srt8

History: Owned for 1 week> Recently picked up a cool little XJ jeep. previous owned drive it rarley, it has 150k on the odometer and she has about 15k worth of dealer receipts from maintenance and what not.



Ive driven this jeep a total of 50 miles, including to the dealer for safety and emissions and on my way home from the DMV... lol. I filled the tank with some 93OCT last night because it hadnt been driven much, tossed in some LUCAS in the gas tank, let it clean up a little bit and let it idle. I did degrease the engine a few nights ago, BUT ALL IS DRY now and i do not see any water anywhere... (temps have been 100+ here in STL)

While giving it a little throttle today omwh after a 30 minute drive it stalled out on me.. faint back fire and then nothing... belts are on, good battery, i believe its not getting fuel? its not locked up everything spins freely, it cranks.

The jeep will turn over, chugs a little and then nothing, a few back fires here and there...

- - i checked the cap on the fuel rale drivers side, unscrewed the black cap (schrader valve inside i think?) i was going to test pressure, the second i turned the black cap all gas started spraying out...so there IS pressure... i think that valve inside may be bad? no clue? but its a similar setup to the AC black cap... it just sprays gas everywhere tho. letting it cool off before i unscrew it totally

all fuses are good, relay i swapped around, the fuel pump is making a whistling noise when the key is on, i can hear it turning over when turning the key as if its pumping fuel over... i floored it a few times the first day i got it to make sure no issues..


sorry the above is so out of wack, if anyone can decipherall of that an help a brother out id appreciate it lol

white guys srt8

small update, i let the 95 degree temp outside die off so i could take a look at the jeep.

the battery went dead :-| ... apparently the fuel pump had some sort of whistling come from it when i walked out there as if it had a constant power to it.. i pulled the relay and waited a minute, put it back in hoping it was a bad relay but no go.

ive read the tutorials on how-to test the pump/rail but its weird to me for it to just completely stall out and die, never to turn back on again even after banging on the tank.. jeep thang?

Turbo X_J

If the fuel pump just died, then yep it would be dead. First see if it has a bright white spark, then check the fuel pressure with a gauge.

white guys srt8

Going to give it a shot. Im Getting over pneumonia. So it takes me a bit. Going to pick up a pressure gauge.

white guys srt8

Updates, bought a pressure checker, 45psi across the board. No issues. pump is good... noise was coming from low battery perhaps?

- crank sensor and cam sensors are being checked next... it cranks hard, its delivering fuel. the distributor is new as well plugs and wires.

after the last few times ive turned the key it let off a few nice backfires, now the exhaust is rattling... i think? or something near the exhaust... unrelated im sure. old exhaust problems im sure...

white guys srt8

Bump - this forum isnt very active... is there a better spot to be? I've been apart of NASIOC for many years and by now this thread would be flooded..

white guys srt8

update - new crank sensor is installed...same result. engine sputters sometimes now, fails to start still... if anyone can help that would be appreciated ...

white guys srt8

Cleaned out a few sensors, noticed some moisture near the distributor connectors. Cranks over, sputters and back fires now...suggestions ?

BlueRidgeMark

Crank sensor is the first suspect, but you've replaced that.

But... did you replace it with OEM? Or aftermarket? The aftermarket stuff is so bad that dead out of the box is not uncommon.

Another suspect is the Cam Position Sensor. It's in your distributor.'


Another thing to check is your grounds. Unlikely the PO paid any attention to grounds, but they are critical on these beasties. See cruiser54's tips on grounds. It's mostly Renix info, but it applies to the later Cherokees as well.

white guys srt8

thank you for the reply,

the sensor was purchased from O'rileys auto parts. It is "close to oem" according to their website. it was $92

- im leaning twords the distributor cap/ sensor.. when i pulled the plug on it, i noticed oil was inside of the actual connector to power the distributor...

the previous owner installed new wires, plugs and a distributor about 5 years ago. It has been driven under 20k miles since then so i didnt really think it would be distributor related..


- checking the grounds out, they all LOOK solid...this jeep was garaged its whole life shockingly lol.



- current symptoms ... turns over hard, chuggs every few key turns, fuel pump still delivering pressure, i sprayed a little throttle body cleaner in the TB with no luck. often it will backfire while trying to start, but no further luck.

I would hate to drop it off at a shop over something so stupid. anyone local? lol full fridge full of beer

Turbo X_J

What are the exact codes?

white guys srt8

There are none

white guys srt8

Alright so update: checked everything BUT the distribuotor, figured hell...why not? its practically brand new...might as well?

- so keep in mind im thinking its sparking obviously because of the back fires correct?

- pulled the cap off, and i heard something fall ... the rotor metal clip fell off? arent these suppose to be soldered or something inside? I think this is the issue...if it just fell off after pulling up on the cap...

- so question? would this just break while mid driving? i was half throttle 0-40mph and the jeep just completely turned off? i assume so? no spark?


thanks to all who attempted to help, hopefully this is the culpert ...the jeep is super nice and i would like to keep it around....

BlueRidgeMark

Yes, it could just break mid-driving. I have had it happen on an old Ford Falcon, the 6 cylinder.

There are junk parts out there. I go NAPA on the cap and rotors.

And don't just look at grounds! See my sig, #1!!!!

Turbo X_J

Is there a lot of play in the distributor shaft?