97 xj 4.o the motor is knocking at me. i have put it off but found a video on youtube. of a 4.0 doing the same thing anyone got any idea what it might be

 

flex plate is lose pull the cover off the bottom of the trans by the back of the oil pan and tighten up the bolts

 

allready did that and its still there. also its really bad when the motor is cold could it be the flex plate bolts at the crank?

 

maybe on my gfs it was on the tourqe converter

 

Could be a broken valve spring or a rocker arm...Id say pull the valve cover and take a look and see what you find.

 

ok checked that too. also checked the tranny to motor bolts but were tight too

 

Worn camshaft like the problem was in the video? Also maybe a bad wristpin for the pistion?

 

i had this issue too. came and went on on my 96 xj. then one day it started louder than before on the way to work. on the way home it turned into a squeal, then silence and i was free reving. after getting towed home, i got under it to remove the starter and dust cover. from what i could see at the time, there were deep groves in the backside of the cover, as if a bolt had been grinding on it in the circular pattern of the t/conv or flexplate. that was as far as i went in the street at the time. i put my ramcharger back together to drive and will start on the xj now that the garage is empty again. i'll let you know what i find in the next week. wrench time is hardest to come by right now.

someone has been in this thing before, all my ujoint bolts are rounded off. but what do i expect for a cheap buy with 200k on it.

 

blueduster yes let us know would love to figure this out its driveing me nuts

 

Looks like we both need engines.....fun, fun, in good ol' western michigan winter weather.....lol!

 

yea frank looks that way also i do belive that i need a new ecu as well

 

ok will post whats wrong it got really loud today. so started to pull the motor and see what i find

 

well i finally found what the problem was. 3 colapsed lifters and a broken piston skirt. dam the bad luck!!!! time for rebuild

 

Stroke it while youre at it.