94JeepCherokeeMan

Ladies and gents of the forum,

I'm having starting issues with my Jeep. I picked up a new battery a couple weeks ago and the Jeep was cranking right up like it should. It's one of those Duralast Gold 800 CCA batteries. Had to modify the tray just a bit to get it to fit. Anyway, after replacing my water pump, t-stat housing, t-stat, and all cooling system hoses, I noticed my Jeep wasn't cranking nearly as fast as it did when I got the battery. This was on Thursday. Drove it for the weekend in the mountains and I noticed that at each successive startup, it cranked a little bit slower, a little bit slower... Still started up fine, but was getting weaker and weaker.

Went to Autozone on Tuesday to get it checked out. Battery is 100%. Alternator was charging. It cranked over, but it was very slow. They tested it on that super fancy handheld computer unit that does load tests and everything. That day, after a couple more startups that were super sluggish, it gave up when I tried to go home from work. I have power, accessories, everything, but NO CLICK coming from the starter. I successfully push-started it and drove it ten miles with ZERO troubles.

Yesterday, I pulled the starter and took it to Autozone after cleaning it up (It didn't look like a starter, it was so nasty). The old guy threw it in their testing bay, hooked it up, and said it was good to go. The computer screen read "STARTER IS GOOD..." Came home, cleaned everything up that I could get a hold of, according to the NO CRANK diagnostic write-up here:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/no...nostics-78934/

I cleaned all three of the grounds: inner fender, back of engine block/valve cover, and oil dipstick tube attachment. I removed them all and they all looked good, but I gave them a wipe-down anyway. All were bright and in excellent shape, no rust and now no engine grime. Still no crank. I proceeded to check the relay with the ol' switcheroo trick with my A/C relay, no crank. Checked and reconnected all fuses in the PDC. No crank. Checked voltage at battery leads, 12.5 V. Checked voltage at starter relay socket, 12.5 V. Checked voltage by disconnecting battery, disconnecting small-post wire on starter, re-connecting battery, hooking (+) lead to that wire that was on small starter post, (-) lead to engine ground, and giving the ignition switch a push. 12.5 V. That means the ignition switch is good, especially after I pulled it yesterday and inspected it from stem to stern. Looks like it's in good shape.

Finally, I just tried jumping the starter. I pulled it from the engine, hooked up black jumper cable to (-) battery post and starter housing in clean location to establish case ground. Hooked positive to battery and touched the small post with other positive end. I get sparks and the starter gear pops up, but doesn't spin. Is there another connection I need to make to be sure this works?

Anyway, I can't figure out wtf is wrong with my starting system. This is a long-winded explanation, but perhaps somebody knows what is going on.

I appreciate the help.

Regards,

Rob

94JeepCherokeeMan

I've done some more reading. I'm going to re-install the starter and try jumping it with a screwdriver by connecting the large post and small post.

94JeepCherokeeMan

Nixed the jumpstarting. I just cracked open the starter and it's filled with crap.

94JeepCherokeeMan

For anyone that's interested, I got my Jeep running. I finished going through the starter, cleaning it up and re-greasing everything. It cranked my Jeep right up. It starts hellaciously quick now. I may do a How-To thread for the starter rebuild.

Muaddib420

Did the same thing to my starter. Took it apart, cleaned the crud out. Worked great for about six months then died again. This time it was a broken copper brushing. Just sayin', cleaning it out will probably just buy you time.

cruiser54

You beat me to it. Now, fix your oil filter adapter seal leak.........

94JeepCherokeeMan

I'm planning on buying all-new copper brushes. I might make my own, seeing as how I work in a jewelry shop and can cast just about anything. I'll bet brass would do really good, but I'd have to check out conductances.

Cruiser, good point. At my next oil change I'll be doing the oil pan gasket and the oil filter adapter o-rings. If my RMS is suspect after further inspection, I'll take care of it, too. There's a lot of oil under there...

cruiser54

I wouldn't do the pan gasket until I had already successfully done the oil filter adapter seals and driven it for a while.

Ever read this?

A
　
I'd be looking up ABOVE first, and VERIFYING the source of the oil leak YOURSELF.
Everybody, who doesn't own or have to pay for or perform your vehicle repairs, loves to poke their noggin UNDER the Jeep and come out bearing the false bad news that your RMS is leaking.
Many mechanics, friends, people on Jeep forums who can’t see your Jeep from where they’re at, and good old Uncle Bob seem to enjoy telling you it’s the rear main seal. Has a catastrophic ring to it, doesn’t it?
A simple leak at the back of the valve cover or other source could produce the same symptoms. You don’t need to be a mechanic to figure this out. If you have good eyesight and a dim flashlight, you’re good to go on your own. Don't jump on the RMS/oil pan gasket bandwagon right off the bat.

Almost any oil leak on your 4.0 is gonna drip from the RMS area for two simple reasons.
First off, the engine sits nose-up and any oil will run back to the RMS area. Secondly, the RMS area is also the lowest point on the engine. Simple physics and the old plumber's adage apply here. "$hit flows downhill".

Valve cover gasket, oil pressure sending unit, oil filter adapter seals and distributor gasket, in that order, have to be eliminated as possibilities first.
Revised 02-26-2013

94JeepCherokeeMan

Yup, sure have Cruiser. I've read a lot of what you've written!

I would really just like to reseal my engine. It's never been done, and it sure would be nice to get it all cleaned up, sealed, and painted. My valve cover has leaked for years. I tightened it down a few weeks ago. The reason I'd like to do my oil pan is also so I can check out my bearings and con rods. There's oil up by the front of the pan, that's why I'd like to reseal the whole whoppin' deal. There's also oil on the passenger AND driver sides of the engine and transmission bellhousing/clutch area. I might post some pics and discuss that further with you.

cruiser54

I'd still work from the top down. Your bearings are probably just hunky-dorey if you have no noises. Seal behind the balancer leaking? Use the good FelPro valve cover gasket.

94JeepCherokeeMan

I've always used and recommended felpros. Even their cork gaskets work, at least on the old 318 they did. I'll be going through it.