Nugget

I just picked up an 01 with low miles. I drove 3 hours to get it. When the seller got there he turned it off. It sat for a few minutes then I started it. Fired right up and idled perfectly. Drove it, drove well, everything was perfect.

We drove for about 15 minutes, n overheating, nothing funky so we head back to meeting spot. I open the hood, crawl around it etc. I make him an offer, bam, done deal.

I fire it up and drive across parking lot to gas station. Seller leaves.

I ****, pump gas, gas up the wife's Wrangler and get it in the Cherokee. Start it up and it ides ROUGH. Give her a little gas, still rough and very choppy. Feels like it wants to stall. I throw it in gear and leave for the 3 hour drive.

She drive great, pulls to the right but got me 19mpg and was great. No bad idling at stops etc.

Get home and its still rough idle a start up. Cold A/C everything works.

I let it cool for 3 hours then Pop the hood and cover everything but coils and Alternator in degreaser because it has never been cleaned under the hood.

Wait a few minutes then grab the garden hose sprayer and rinse it all off.

Fires right up and idles bad. Now the underhood light doesn't work, the rear lift gate light doesn't come one when I open the hatch and when I go to turn the A/C on, all I get it HOT air through all of the vents. WTF?

Klutch

Welcome to the club! I bought a 2000 XJ in January and I've been working on it ever since. :-) I like the color of yours much better than mine, which is gray.

The rough idle after a warm start is a known issue with the 2000-2001 4.0 engine. The number three fuel injector gets hot from the exhaust manifold when you shut off the engine and the coolant stops flowing. The hot injector causes vapor lock and you get a rough idle.

Jeep issued a service bulletin about the rough idle issue. Their solution was to install a small heat shield around the number three injector. Apparently, sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. My Cherokee had this heat shield, but it's a two-piece thing and it was just sitting loosely on the injector. I put two tie wraps on it to snug it around the injector. This helped a lot, but I still sometimes get a slightly rough idle after a warm start. (Not nearly as bad as it was before I installed the tie wraps.)

As for the other issues, I'm wondering if you blew a fuse? Check all the fuses and grounds, of which there are many. Also make sure your battery terminals and cables are clean and securely fastened.

Loggerhead

Dang it, boy! Sounds like we just bought the same rig, but looks like you picked up a better looking rig than mine. Oil leaks, switches working intermittently, no heat or AC, more rust than my 72 Bronco. Good thing I only gave $1600.

Klutch

Well, the people at my local O'Reilly all know me by name, if that tells you anything. I am fortunate that my XJ doesn't have any rust. But to give you and idea, when I first got it, I:

- Changed the transfer case fluid
- Changed the trans fluid
- Changed the rear diff fluid
- Changed the oil and filter
- Replaced the spark plugs
- Replaced the air filter
- Replaced the steering dampener

Then the radiator started leaking, so I:

- Flushed the cooling system
- Replaced the radiator
- Replaced the thermostat
- Added new coolant with Water Wetter

After that, I was losing coolant. Turned out I had a cracked cylinder head and I:

- Installed a brand new head from Clearwater
- Replaced the power steering pump
- Changed the oil and filter again

During that job, the exhaust pipe came loose and I had to take it to a local shop to have it welded. Then I smelled gasoline and discovered the fuel line was leaking. Luckily, a found a good fuel line at the local Pull-A-Part.

After that, the engine was running well, but I had a bit of "Death Wobble" so I:

- Replaced the track bar
- Replaced a tie rod end
- Had the front wheels aligned

Last Friday I went to start the Jeep and the battery was dead. I later jumped it, drove it around to try to charge the battery and had it tested. It was bad. Bought a new, kickin' battery with 1000 cold cranking amps.

Mrs. Klutch complained my Jeep wobbly. She was right. Yesterday I replaced all four shocks. It still had the factory originals.

My Cherokee will need new tires soon. And now, I think I have an axle bearing going out and the front pinion is leaking. Yay! Again, welcome to the club!

BrawnyDog

^^^ nothing but rush week for all xj owners.

Dumajones

This is that service bulletin on that issue.

TSB1803103 - 4.0L ROUGH ENGINE IDLE AFTER RESTART FOLLOWING A HOT SOAK
Date: 09/05/03 (supercedes 1802702 dated 09/06/02)
Model Year(s): 1999-2004

Description: NOTE: This bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a 4.0L engine. This bulletin involves the installation of a fuel injector insulator sleeve.

Details: Customers may describe a 20 to 30 second rough idle following the restart of a heat soaked engine. This condition may be most noticeable when the engine is restarted following a prior 10 to 20 minute heat soak in hot ambient conditions of approximately 32 C (90ºF) or higher. This condition may be consistent with short city stop-and-go driving trips and can be aggravated by the use of fuel with a high ethanol content. Depending upon various conditions a MIL may occur due to DTC P0303 - Cylinder #3 Misfire.

This condition may be caused by heat from the exhaust manifold that following engine shut down migrates to the area around injector #3 and causes fuel vapor to form within the injector. This in turn may cause a momentary misfire of cylinder #3 until the fuel vapor is cleared of injector #3. The insulator sleeve lowers the injector #3 temperature to a point below which the fuel will not normally vaporize.

If vehicle exhibits a rough idle, and if a misfire of cylinder #3 is observed following a 10 to 20 minute hot soak, perform the Repair Procedure.

Parts required:
56028371AA Ignition Wire Shield

Repair procedure:
1. Cut insulator sleeve, p/n 56028371AA, to make two (2) insulator sleeves about 25-30 mm (1 in.) in length. See diagram.
2. Install one sleeve around injector #3, with the slit on the upward facing side of the injector. Install the other sleeve with the slit on the downward facing side of the injector.
3. Confirm sleeve is flush to intake manifold surface around injector.
4. Check injector #3 wire and ensure that the injector is rotated to a 2 o'clock position.

6Cylinder

There are a lot of shady people out there willing to capitalize on not telling others the real problems with their cars to get an extra buck. These people are called thieves and they run rampant in the auto industry (both commercially, and private party).

Bought my jeep thinking it was a steal but in reality I was getting stolen from. Drove home and thought it was all gravy but I didn't have it for even 3 days before I had to remove the engine and replace it. I've had it for about 2-3 weeks and I'm *** deep in the rebuilding process. Haven't even enjoyed driving it yet. All because a nice old 78 year old war vet withheld some pretty serious info from me.

I'd figure out which problem of you think need to. Be fixed first and start there then knock them out one afterthought e other. Trying to fix everything at once can be overwhelming.

Larry's XJ

Umm, Caveat Emptor

I've had problems with brand new vehicles, your point is??

MurderCityXJ

Hahahaha, perfect!

jeepkid03

The electrical issues sound like a result of the engine bay washing. I've seen it happen before with other vehicles

My 2000 also had the rough idle on hot restart issue and so did my buddy's 2000. I took mine to the dealer (6 years ago before I did my own work) and they installed the injector heat shield on #3 injector. They also reflashed the computer and now my electric aux fan turns on whenever I hot start the Jeep. This eliminated the problem completely.

I installed just the heat shield on the #3 injector on my friend's XJ and that solved his rough idle as well.

Klutch

Interesting! I had not heard of the computer reflash that kicks on the fan. I wonder if the dealers can still do this and, if so, what they would charge.

extrashaky

The heat shield is what fixed it. The fan wouldn't do anything to alleviate the issue. The heat soaks the injector while the fan is off, so the vaporized fuel is already in there when you crank it. Any cooling effect from the fan would take some time to manifest, during which the engine would still be coughing and stumbling.

If the heat shield doesn't completely fix it (which it sometimes doesn't), some people have had success with hood vents and/or shielding between the exhaust and intake manifolds.

SomeGuy138

I had the same problem with my XJ the first Summer I had it even tho its a 99 model.I took the whole fuel rail off and wrapped the whole thing in Reflective Heat Tape and also wrapped all the injectors and it fixed it about 90%.It will still do it every now and then if its really hot out but its WAY better then it use to be.

Nugget

Awesomr, thanks guys. I just bought some new OME rear leaf packs locally and now I just need to find some good quality 4" front coils and a trac-bar.

jeepkid03

The heat shield fixed it but the fan definitely helps cool things down in the engine bay faster. I notice a difference between both my XJ and my buddy's who has the same year and everything. Although the heat shield helps that one injector, the fuel in the fuel rail and the air temp in the intake manifold is still really hot from sitting there baking.