Cross posted in another thread. Reposting due to no answers.

I have a 1987 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer 4x4 with the 4.0L and a 5 speed transmission. Yesterday I was driving it home from the gas station and got a block or so away and went to stop and notice it was idling high and was increasing. I got it to another gas station and stopped and noticed that it was dripping a little bit of oil, not much (but hasn't dripped since I owned it). I got it home and started it back up and all seemed normal. I went to engage the clutch and it started to sputter and misfire then die. I finally got it to let me shift and when I started going each gear made the whole Jeep shake violently. It was also very hard to shift. I actually had to put a lot of force into shifting it to get it back into my driveway.

*UPDATE*: Now when I try and start it with the clutch engage it make a horrible grinding noise. It wont even start in neutral. I don't know what's wrong with it but I need to know soon or it's going to the scrapyard.

*UPDATE 2*: I found the cause of the grinding when the clutch is engaged while trying to start. A bolt came loose and fell out from the motor and trans bell housing.


So now I am back to it shaking in every gear (checked motor mounts and trans mount they are good) and the Jeep dying or misfiring when the clutch is engaged.

A friend of my dads said that on the transmission there may be a box that may be broken or have a loose wire causing everything. Would love to know....

Now my Jeep won't start at all. Like it's not getting a spark. It has half a tank of gas. I replaced the CPS and still no start or even a spark? What is it? The Distributor? Under the steering wheel stuff?

Really need answers to these questions. Need this Jeep for work and School.

 

Have you pulled a spark plug and verified there is no spark? How about at the coil wire? Is there power to the coil?

 

Pulled the spark plug and verified no spark (brand new spark plugs by the way). Should have power to the coil. All the wires are there and tight.

Forgot to mention that I had to back it up in gear not running. But didn't start before then either.

 

Explain that. Where did the bolt come from? Where did the bolt go? Did it fall into the bell housing? Did you replace the bolt? What do your flywheel and clutch look like? You sure about that CPS? What did the CPS (the one you replaced) look like when you removed it?

 

Bolt came from the bellhousing/engine bolt up. It just fell on the ground. I ut it right back up there and tightened all the bolts, all were slightly loose. Previous owner (before my cousin owned it for a month) replaced clutch and flywheel in july 2013. The CPS that I pulled out was in bad shape. Where the little magnet was it was cracked there were strands of what looked like small copper wire coming out of the end of it.

* Bolt fell out after I backed the Jeep out of the driveway through cranking. Only way to move it by myself in negative weather.

 

Have you checked all your fuses?

Something hit that CPS, either the transmission shifted in relation to the engine or something went rock crusher in the bell housing. I would start by checking fuses, then I would check the condition of the flywheel.

 

I'm not good with electrical, so what fuses exactly should I check?
And the it doesn't sound bad when i try and start it, sounds like normal cranking.

 

Test the CPS. How did you route the CPS wires?

Renix CPS Testing and Adjusting



Renix CPSs have to put out a strong enough signal to the ECU so that it will provide spark.

Most tests for the CPS suggest checking it for an ohms value. This is unreliable and can cause some wasted time and aggravation in your diagnosis of a no-start issue as the CPS will test good when in fact it is bad.

The problem with the ohms test is you can have the correct amount of resistance through the CPS but it isn’t generating enough voltage to trigger the ECU to provide spark.

Unplug the harness connector from the CPS. Using your voltmeter set on AC volts and probing both wires in the connector going to the CPS, crank the engine over. It won’t start with the CPS disconnected.

You should get a reading of .5 AC volts.

If you are down in the .35 AC volts range or lower on your meter reading, you can have intermittent crank/no-start conditions from your Renix Jeep. Some NEW CPSs (from the big box parts stores) have registered only .2 AC volts while reading the proper resistance!! That’s a definite no-start condition. Best to buy your CPS from Napa or the dealer.

Sometimes on a manual transmission equipped Renix Jeep there is an accumulation of debris on the tip of the CPS. It’s worn off clutch material and since the CPS is a magnet, the metal sticks to the tip of the CPS causing a reduced voltage signal. You MAY get by with cleaning the tip of the CPS off.

A little trick for increasing the output of your CPS is to drill out the upper mounting hole to 3/8” from the stock 5/16”, or slot it so the CPS bracket rests on the bell housing when pushed down. Then, when mounting it, hold the CPS down as close to the flywheel as you can while tightening the bolts.




Revised 01-26-2013

 

Like I said, I am no good with wiring or the electric components of this so you lost me.

What bothers me is it cranks normal, is getting gas, and has a new CPS.

I heard something about a black box under the dash that could be the problem.
Can someone explain?

*EXTRACTED FROM YAHOO ANSWERS*
Man I have delt with this one before. Look on the steering column under the dash. There is a black plastic box with wires. It is party of the ignition system. It cost about $15 and if you replace it, your Jeep should run. I had the same problem with an 88 Cherokee. Replaced everything. The little black box was the problem!
*EXTRACTED FROM YAHOO ANSWERS*

 

Take it to a mechanic then. There is NO little black box under the dash.

 

If the engine/bell-housing bolts were loose there is a chance you boogered your CPS.

You just unplug what looks like a three wire connector, (that only has two), and probe the two to the cps while you crank it. Like Cruiser says, if you can't do that you likely will need some help. It's AC, (on the 200V scale), on the $5 meter from Harbor Freight..... .35 might be close to the minimum it will work at.

Good luck!

 

I don't have money for a mechanic and the CPS is brand new (Napa brand). So there should be volts. I think there may be flooding. Gas in the oil.

 

$5 meter to verify. Keep guessing /searching rather than verifying. Don'tt listen to us *******es whatever you do.

 

But the CPS is new so it just couldn't be bad! It isn't possible for a new part to be defective!

 

Without a doubt you are correct. I can't remember the last time someone got a bum CPS, can you?

And being they take 22 seconds to check with a meter using some very simple instructions provided on this forum, I'd surely keep fumbling around with other stuff as a priority...........