tcdave

I've had this ol' Jeep for about six years. It's got about 140k. All I've had to do is regular oil changes and replace a belt on this straight six 4WD. I love this ol' fishing Jeep.

A couple of weeks ago, she did a little "chug" as I was climbing an overpass. The Check Engine lamp illuminated at that same instant. The little chug would return every now and then, seeming to happen more often. I stopped in to the local Auto Zone for a computer check. They found a crankshaft sensor code. I took it to my local mechanic and he too noticed the same on his analyzer.

He replaced the crankshaft sensor (along with replacing my leaky power steering pump, and juicing up my freon for the ac). I made it down the road from his place about ten miles when the "chug" and check engine lamp returned. Long story short, I took it back and left a little discouraged.

Would any of you fine folks have any ideas as to what might be taking place?

If that wasn't unpleasant enough, the power steering pump wouldn't pump at idle. I found that out while trying to initiate a turn after getting down the road from the mechanic's shop. But no worries, that's life. Thanks in advance.

tcdave

I wanted to follow up on this thread even though it appears few have had this symptom.

My mechanic found the problem was an intermittant short. The camshaft sensor that is located under the distributor cap has wiring that connects to a small connector. The insulation had slipped back exposing bare wires in the harness allowing them to short together at times. Each time this happened, the engine would stop for a second.

He separated the exposed wires and re-insulated them. So far so good.

letsgomuddin

This is actually more common than you think, i've had 3 jeeps in the last 5 years that have done this, 2 XJ's and a TJ. It was a PITA figuring it out the first time, but afterwards it was the first place i checked

tcdave

Thanks for the input Letsgo.

As Paul Harvey used to say, "Now for the rest of the story."

I drove the Blue Goose to work today. After work, I took about a ten minute drive to warm things up, and headed for the local vehicle inspection station. Pulled in, gave the guy my proof of insurance card and sat down for the wait. In a little while, the tech came up to me and said that I was good to go. Whew! I paid up and was headed home.

I got no more than two miles down the road and my check engine light returned. But I didn't have the sputter that has been associated with it coming on before. Bittersweet. New inspection sticker = Good, Check Engine Light = Bad.

I'll get it checked out and hope it's something simple. Yeah, right!