XJ_ND

Hey fellow Jeepers. I drove my 2001 XJ about 300 miles this weekend on a road trip to Pennsylvania, and now I'm stuck here with a dead XJ. Could really use some help / advice. Long post, but necessary context.

Context:

- 228,000 miles
- Had an 0331 head, P.O. ran it w/ cracked head for 2,000 miles
- I replaced it with a TUPY head from a grand cherokee about 8k miles ago. Did it right, got it milled / pressure checked, new gaskets, reused the good rockers and rods, new-ish valve cover.
- engine has been running strong since then, always performed general maintenance, oil and coolant, etc. Slight hesitation in accelerating on highway, likely due to hole in muffler
- CEL was on for a major EVAP leak, found a severed hose to the gas filter, rigged up a quick-fix fitting for it, and now have a CEL for small EVAP leak
- this vehicle is my daily driver and only car, and I need to be ~300 miles away from here for work starting tomorrow morning

I have no way to check the codes right now, unless I want to risk limping to an autozone or something. I don't have AAA, but a friend does, that's really a last resort for me.

With about ~100 miles left on the highway the "Check Gauges" light came on and my oil pressure dropped to almost zero. As I looked at this with fear, it shot back up to ~20 - 25, and the engine felt totally fine other than this glitch. So I got off on the next exit and looked a few things up, figured it could be a sensor since my jeep is old with 228k on it and has been running very well. In fact, I had just replaced the leaf springs and felt great engine power and no vibes up to about 92 mph, which is the best it's ever been in my hands.

Then with probably 15 miles left to my destination, the oil pressure dropped to zero and stayed. It was very late at night and I was alone on an empty country road, so I pressed on slowly. With about 5 miles left, it died on me when I came to an idle, and let out some screechy, rattling death noises as it did so. No cell service, nobody on the road, in the middle of nowhere, I gathered my thoughts and started checking things out. Oil dipstick read almost nothing, thought it could be because I was on a steep incline, but threw in a quart of oil I had in the back for good measure. Started up, sounded ok, oil pressure at ~25 again. Made it to my destination.

So now I'm leaving and figure I need to do an oil change because perhaps I was just low. I empty the oil and measure only 1.5 quarts of oil exiting the oil pan!! (this includes the 1qt I had just put in 5 miles prior). Holy crap, now I'm freaked out. I have small leaks around the main seal, power steering box, and oil filter attaching area, but nothing where I could lose all my oil. I hand tighten the oil filter about another 1/2 turn and pray that it was just loose in some freak way and dropped all my oil. Put new 5 quarts in, starts right up and sounds great, other than a weird sound that varied with RPM's after about 2500 rpms. No oil leak revving it in the parking lot.

So I go back out on the road, and now it seems OK, but about 2 miles later it has almost no power and cannot go more than 35-40 MPH. Crap. Throw on the hazards and pull over, as the oil pressure reads almost zero once again....

I limped back to the place I was at, but I'm stuck here now. I'm young and don't have much money / resources, but I've got every tool I used to change the head and leaf springs in the trunk, along w/ a torch, sawzall, angle grinder, drill, sockets, etc... Just not sure what the issue is. I'm hoping to find advice on what to check, self-diagnose with the help of the forum, and get a ride to an auto parts store to get what I need / fix myself in the driveway, if at all possible. I just need to get home, ~300 miles, and plan on pulling the engine for a rebuild next spring, so I don't mind driving w/ knocks, ticks, etc.


So, where do I even start? I've read posts about oil pumps going bad, or the gears in the cam synchro wearing off. But figured it'd be best to post first, in case others have this issue. I've seen threads where people have it drop to zero but don't have the same rattling / loss of oil symptoms. The engine starts, but oil pressure is between 0 and 5 or 6, sometimes bumps briefly to 10, and sounds pretty bad.

Thanks for any help guys

BlueRidgeMark

Oh, man, that hurts. I have been exactly where you are. Stranded by the side of the road, a good 300 miles from home, out in the middle of nowhere (50 miles north of Las Vegas) at midnight, with a dead vehicle that I had just killed. Long story. Not fun. Not only did I not have any money, I didn't have any credit card, either.

I wish I could tell you some good news, but it sounds to me like the only way that Jeep is going to move is on the back of a tow truck. Take advantage of the AAA offer.

I would love to be proven wrong, but I think you ran it way low on oil and killed it dead, dead, dead.

XJ_ND

Thanks for the response. I'll talk to the friend about AAA, but my understanding is that is just a tow. If my engine is toast, I'd rather save them the money and just limp to a mechanic nearby ~5 miles away.

Is it worth going to AutoZone to buy a code reader, maybe an oil pump and screen, or check out the main bearings? I've never dropped the oil pan but I've got a bottle jack and stands in the back so I could do that, too, if that helps diagnosis...

BlueRidgeMark

I'd limp it to a mechanic. Since you have Internet access, do some checking of reviews to try to avoid a rip-off place.

One thing you might try - call some churches in the area to see if anyone can recommend an honest mechanic. I've had success with that approach.

If you have a compression gauge, check that. My guess is you'll find it's pretty low.

XJ_ND

I'll probably head out to AutoZone and grab a compression tester, thanks. What would cause the low oil pressure to being with though? Perhaps just low on oil --> low pressure --> shot bearings, which then cause low or no pressure even when the engine has a fresh 5 quarts in it?

jordan96xj

As a shot in the dark, you may want to disclose your precise location. You never know when a fellow jeeper might be close to your location and willing to help. Or perhaps put in a call to a jeep club they know that might have members willing to help.

BlueRidgeMark

Yep.

Good idea from jordan.

XJ_ND

Thanks Jordan, I'm at Lake Wynonah, about 80 miles north-west of Philadelphia. I'll see if there are any clubs nearby.

Also, I just went up and did some jeep cleaning to take my mind off things. Decided I should move it a bit, so I started it up, and it sounded great.... It could rev and everything with just a small lifter tick which has been normal for me, plus had solid oil pressure...

Then about three minutes later, as the engine warmed up, it started making noises again and I shut her off. Weird. There's a family friend coming up to the area tomorrow morning to help diagnose the issue, but if worst comes to worst, do you guys suggest I pay to have a diagnosis, or even a donor engine dropped in? Or is it worth it for me to pay $350 in UHaul fees to trailer it home and rebuild the engine myself?

dmill89

That would be my guess, what exactly caused the low oil to begin with might be hard to say, but running low on oil likely trashed the bearings and maybe the rings and/or cam too which would cause the issues you're having now.


As for what to do next jordan96xj's recommendation of trying to see if there is any help is a decent one. Aside from that, depending on what's wrong you may be able to get it running well enough to get it home, but will likely need an engine rebuild/replacement in the near future due to the damage and then you run the risk of breaking down in a worse place (middle of nowhere, no cell coverage, etc.), so you have to weigh that versus the cost of transporting it home (likewise weighing the option of having it repaired at an unknown shop near where you are versus towing it home and fixing it yourself or having your trusted local shop work on it).


Allot depends on what you can spend and how many days of work you can afford to miss (if you decide to get it fixed where you are, expect a shop to take several days if an engine rebuild/replacement is needed).

andrewmp6

Crawl under it and find out where the oil is going,A small leak can turn in to a huge one if let go long enough.You gotta find the problem before you can fix it.I hate to say it but things like this are why i always rent a car for a road trip.

XJ_ND

Unfortunately I won't have a place to stay while the car is in the shop around here, so it looks like I'll have to trailer it home... Bummer, but it is what it is.

Still trying to reach out to people more experienced than myself, hopefully something comes through, otherwise it's off to the UHaul. Thanks for the input guys.


EDIT: There's some pretty significant rod knock, and I can limp around at 20mph with some decent oil pressure, but that's about all she wrote. This isn't making it home. The guy who came by today is pretty experienced and agrees with me, said I'll probably need to machine the crank and rods and get new bearings for them.

Off to the UHaul...

BooGTS

Sounds just like what happened to me (non XJ) when the oil pump failed. I'd look around for a used 4.0. Rebuilding an engine that was starved of oil will be pricey.

Firestorm500

Your engine is toast. Sorry.

If you have the credit and can swing the payments, you might want to trade it in as-is for a small down payment on something newer with less miles.

It might be hard to find that "good used engine" from a 00-01 because of the head cracking problem, which quickly leads to scored bearings and low or no oil pressure due to coolant contamination.

freegdr

What oil filter you running ? Id at least try new filter for ****s and giggles.

sgtskid

It's been said by others but it sounds like the bearings are toast. If your engine is worn out, chances are you were losing oil by the rings and never knew it. Oil by the rings = low oil = low oil pressure = destroyed bearings.

To confirm you could drop the pan and start checking the rod caps. A spun bearing should be pretty easy to spot as the rod will be loose on the crank. A flat head screw driver can be used to apply pressure between the cap and the crank if needed to see if it wiggles.


Had an old Diesel Mercedes 240D spring an oil leak on a road trip and drained the pan without ever knowing it was leaking. We made it to within a mile from home and the engine locked up. Let it cool and it drove the rest of the way home but the #1 bearing, rod, and crank journal was annihilated. Strange thing is, it would sit and idle great from cold but once it warmed up it had a sharp squealing noise.