LupinVII

I apologize for the long read, but I want to be as descriptive as possible so you guys know whats goin on.Ok, heres my problem. I have a 1990 Jeep Cherokee 2 door with a 4.0 engine, and at least once a week..sometimes several times a week..or several times a day..my jeep wont start. It always turns over, but it wont start. When I was buying the truck from a friend of a friend of a friend, he told me that from time to time it wont start and I'll need to take the hose off the air housing box, spray a little starter fluid in there, put it back on and then it'll start. I only had to do it maybe 2 or 3 times before I took my truck in to get a tune up and oil change and have a bunch of other little things done like new spark plugs and new distributer wires (the old ones were so corroded they broke when they tried to take them off). I also had a new fuel filter installed.

Everythings fine for a month..and then it happens again. No big deal, probably just happens every once in a great while. A week later it happens again as I'm trying to leave work, and I actually had to spray starter fluid in there twice to get it going. I get home, change out of my work clothes, and head back out to get my hair cut..but it wont start again. I spray starter fluid in there 2 or 3 more times and it finally starts. about 8-10 hours later around midnight I wanna go to this girls house..and it wont start again. I spray starter fluid once and it starts. Normally it'll last about a week before it happens again. I've had 2 separate occasions where it wouldnt start no matter how much start fluid I put in there. I actually got a new battery and new cable heads since with the old battery I could only try starting it 4 or 5 times before I needed a jump. One such time that it wouldnt start, even when I sprayed about half a can of starter fluid in there (not all at once, I had to go back and forth about 10 times), it started after my dad wiggled some hoses and took the distributer wires off and put them back on. Another time it started after I squirted a little fuel out of the pressure testing nozzle (my mechanic showed it to me so I can know for sure if fuel is getting to my engine).

I had my fuel pressure checked since my boss said he doesnt think fuel is getting to my engine, but the pressure was only about a pound off. My mechanic said he thought it was that it wasnt getting any spark to start it up, so he showed me a way to test it next time it happens. He had me take off the coil wire, put a small screwdriver in there, and set it down on a rubber hose. Then he tried starting it so I could see what it would look like when it did have a spark, which I saw. When I tried this test later with my boss he claimed he didnt see a spark, even when I used 2 different screw drivers (I'm not sure I set it down on a rubber hose though so that could be why, my mistake). I then brought it to my mechanic and told him about how the spark test didnt show a spark, and then I sprayed starter fluid and it started. He told me if it wasnt getting a spark then it should'nt have started at all so that cant be the problem after all.

So basically, I'm stumped. My mechanic says he can trace the problem if he can look at it when it wont start, but he doesnt wanna guess and replace a bunch of different things just to see if it helps (hes a good friend and wont rip me off). However every time I try to leave the car with him over night, it always starts, so he cant trace it. Does anybody have any idea what the heck is going on? Please help, I have a very tight budget and cant afford to replace everything in hopes that my problem goes away.

tjwalker

If it starts when you spray starting fluid into the intake, that confirms that the spark is sufficient and also tells you that you have an intermittent "fuel delivery" problem.

LupinVII

So what would I do to solve that? The fuel pressure has been tested and is fine. Is there 1 part that I can replace to fix my fuel delivery? I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to these things.

Another thing I just thought of, I occasionally have a problem with my gear shift getting stuck in neutral (I have a manual transmission) when I'm at a complete stop, and I have to put it in reverse to release the tension (thats how it feels to me, it'll vibrate hard when I put it in reverse while its stuck and then the vibration stops and it releases as the gear shift is all the way in reverse). My mechanic told me I should downshift as I come to a stop and that has seemed to help, it doesnt do it that often and its probably just because I didnt know how to drive manual til I got this truck a few months ago so I'm still learning kind of. I'm not asking for help on that since its an easy fix, but almost every time my truck wont start and I finally get it running, the gear shift will be stuck and I have to put it in reverse 1-5 times before it'll let me get into gear and go.

LupinVII

I'm taking my jeep in to my mechanic on friday, its been getting worse and doing it pretty much every day. Can anybody else offer any advice?

1989cherokee

Do you hear the fuel pump turn on when you turn the key on? I had a similar problem this winter. It would sometimes not start then 5 min later it would start. When I tested the fuel pressure it tested fine. so I fixed a bunch of other things trying to find the problem but it ended up being the fuel pump. It would not turn on every so often causing it not to start. Your problem sounds like the fuel pump to me.

tjwalker

Let's talk fuel pressure some more. So with a fuel pressure gauge, do you have 31 psi of pressure at the fuel rail? You said you have correct pressure, but we should discuss the actual number.

MISS4X4

Hey my jeep won't start unless it wants to too... it just cranks and cranks till i let the key go. I checked for the fuel pump noise and it was pretty loud, do you know how long I should wait to see if it makes the noise again? I heard the noise this time but it also started this time. It was choking on fuel when it started (I assume from the cranking I did before that) so I think it's getting fuel. What are some of the other things you replaced? I'm looking at a coil, distributor, and ignition control module right now...but those are all big bucks so I'm trying to narrow it down to one or two of those. Any more ideas would be much appreciated.

LupinVII

I think he told me its supposed to be between 32 and 39...or maybe 31 and 38...I can't qite remember, but I know it was about 1 pound under so either 30 or 31. He said that isn't enough of a difference to be causing it. I'm pretty auto-challenged so I'm not sure what my fuel pump is supposed to sound like when I try to start it. I postponed my appointment til next week since I have a dentist appointment today that's gonna take all day, so he isn't gonna look at it today after all. Also, my truck doesn't jut start up if I wait 5 minutes, I've tried waiting a few times and it only left me stranded longer. The only sure way I can start it is with starter fluid.

LupinVII

@ miss4x4- I've only replaced a bunch of small things like my spark plugs, distributer wires, fuel filter, air filter, annd I think that's it. I can't tell you yet whether replacing more important parts will help..but I'm pretty sure its not a problem with the spark.

vg66baller

If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated... first of all I have a 1988 jeep cherokee 4x4 automatic with an inline 6.... this baby only runs when she wants to...sometimes will fire up..than sometimes it wont start for months....recently it has been starting up witho a problem..than I was gonna take her out fir a spin (she's not my daily driver) seems like she knows...she wont start.....I know when it will st because I will hear the ignition or fuel pump engage for a couple seconds. If I don't hear tha know it wont start....when I hear it engage she works like a charm...when it doesn't. I don't hav spark or fuel....????? I've changed the cps on th bell housing tried to bypass the fuel pump but still nothing .......any suggestions??? Oh btw do this year jeep come with an alarm....I've noticed clifford alarm almosts looks like a kill switch underneath the dash...do you think it might be related to this issue???... any answers would be greatly appreciated...Thx

tjwalker

Best to start your own new thread. Less confusing for anybody reading this one and you'll get more accurate replies.

vg66baller

Been trying to...where do you start a new thread? ?

tjwalker

Upper left of the page, click on the small link called "NEW THREAD"

Bustedknuckle

Everytime you shut the motor down, the very last drip of fuel to come out of the injector starts to drip, but with the instantly hot temp, it'll vinylize onto the tip of the injector. Repeat this over several years, I could see it clogging, explaining the pressure but no start, but with the aiding of carb & choke cleaner it kicking over. Just a thought.

Also, I would throw a new coil in just for kicks and gigglys. The Renix coil has a habit of behaving fine on cold start, but after warming up and running & underhood temps, it'll cook the coil, and over time, won't amply enough spark internally from metal fatigue. Doesn't explain the carb & choke assisted starts, but you may be fighting two symptoms at once.

Just my $0.02.

LupinVII

When you say replace the coil do you mean the coil wire that hooks up to the distributor? Because if thats what you're talking about, I already replaced that.