So, before i get into the bread and butter, I want to say I am a new Jeep owner and I already have fell in love with the car (aside from the many annoying issues I've already run into). First post on this site so I say a hearty hello to you all.

What I know:

Vehicle is a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2WD I6. 250k Miles with NO rust and very minor body damage. Jeep has sat a year and bought off a friend who was moving and didn't want to deal with fixing it himself. Initial reason it sat was a blown drain plug from what I'm guessing was a failure in the radiator. No engine damage (good engine psi) and does not burn oil or coolant. No corrosion or any deposits or blockage in the water passages behind water pump and thermostat on visual inspection. No corrosion under rad cap, in fact it was spotless. Oil was old and worn but had no signs of water, coolant or metal shavings (grey oil) in it. Also, had battery disconnected the whole time it was sitting. Vehicle did not hold any water (leaks) during its time sitting. Vehicle was drained of coolant while sitting as well. Water pump, battery, key cylinder, thermostat, radiator, and coolant have all been replaced.

Problems:

Problem 1:
OK, so for starters, have seen this issue all over forums and ask sites everywhere, and every answer and solution seems a little different so I will explain my situation very specifically so I may get a good reply on the order of solutions.
My oil gauge seems spot on when i first start the Jeep, goes to approx 40 psi while moving and around 25-30 psi at idle. This slowly deteriorates to approx 20-25 psi under light loads while moving and anywhere from ~20 to 40 psi under heavy load. I have only had the psi tank to 0 once, and that is when I drove the Jeep for approx 40 minutes without shutting down the vehicle. I have checked oil levels constantly, and it has the correct amount of oil. What should I check first? I've heard many solutions like that the oil pressure sending unit needs to be replaced, to blow out the oil galleys from the top of the engine under the valve cover, and also being sure you don't use a fram filter due to the filter elements containing a cardboard material that deteriorates and breaks off. I want to know what is a viable procedure so I don't just throw money at it till its fixed.

Problem 2:
Second, I have almost no heat coming through my vents. I have already replaced the radiator, water pump, and the thermostat because they were very worn upon buying the vehicle (and why not? the pump was under 40$ and the rad was blown. Do not want to take any chances). When I filled the Jeep with coolant i can hear the air pockets rushing through the heater coil when water starts to flow through it. The mix doors work properly. The vehicle get comfortable enough after running for about 20 minutes, but I am concerned something is not right. Is there a way i can verify the coil isn't half clogged?

Problem 3:
Third, Every time I first start the car and I take that first initial turn out onto a main road, the car seems to stutter for only a second then recover. Also, which I believe is related, on deceleration the car seems to cut for a split second then recover, like you turn off the car and turn it back on very quickly. I know it's a drivabily issue and can almost be anything, but I was hoping maybe someone had this issue before and found a solution.

Problem 4: SOLVED!
The next problem is more of a "The previous owner F****D this one up royally" issue.
When I got the car I had to replace the battery. When I went to start the car, I realized the "start" position did not work. I then noticed a large button on the floorboard with wires running through the door. I pressed it, and the starter engaged.
Now I understand what you are probably thinking. "That isn't good for the starter" or "You really got yourself a rigged vic" but to be honest it was only a minor inconvenience and has been fixed.
Problem now is that I have a dead battery every time I go to start the car now, and didn't exist before replacing the bad key cylinder (the notch at the end of the cylinder was broken and didn't fully turn the ignition switch).
I have verified that everything was installed correctly, and i have done an amperage pull test which yields .180 amps. I know that isn't much but it is enough to drain my battery by morning (this might not be the case if it was warmer, the car almost starts but has just not enough to do so. FYI it's been about 28-40 Degrees F out recently).
The problem might not be related to the replacement of the part, due to me driving the car so little. Maybe it has been wearing down on the battery the whole time? Is there a common bad circuit that goes bad on my year and model?

Problem 5:
When I replaced my radiator, I forgot to pull the isolators off the top of the radiator, and didn't get back to the store quick enough to grab them before it was shipped off somewhere. I can not for the life of me find that part ANYWHERE! To be specific, The isolators were mounted on top of the radiator between the top radiator beam that holds the hood latch and the radiator itself. The part has 2 holes that goes over the radiator studs on the top, 1 stud that holds the radiator shroud and one stud that protrudes through the mounting holes in the beam that covers the radiator. If anyone knows where I can get 2 of these that would be awesome. (Not even the Junkyards have them!!!)

Problem 6:
This issue is more of a question of how. When I replaced the radiator in the Jeep I had to take off the angled tube that fits the transmission line near the bottom of the radiator in order to get it past the power steering pump. With a lot of things in the way when it is installed, I can't get a good hold of the nut to tighten the tube to the radiator, so it leaks. Is there a specific tool I can use to tighten this bolt, or am I just being plain out dumb?

Maybe a Problem? SOLVED!
I also want to ask this question because i watched a video and it's different than mine. The top radiator hose goes over my A/C compressor, and in the video his hose goes BEHIND the compressor. Is there an alternate hose to be able to go behind the compressor? I do not like the idea of my hose being so close to the ac pulley, and I'm also concerned that my hose will wear quicker vibrating on the compressor.

I know this is a lot to post on only one topic, but I hope I can have some light shed upon all that I am trying to fix. Been working on it for a straight week, doing a lot of research and head scratching. It's a fun vehicle to work on, and definitely one of the easiest of all my vehicles I've owned.

I would really appreciate any input on these issues. If you have anything else you know of that I need to watch out for, please enlighten me. I can give more details if needed.

 

Hello Yibba and welcome to CF! We've got a good bunch of guys here and we'll help all we can. Just remember that this is an OPINION site and not all responses should be taken as FACT.

It sounds like you've found a good jeep. Don't let the fact that it's a 2WD put you off, it's still fun to drive. You'll also have less mechanical problems with it. The 4.0 has a lot of miles on it but should still give you good service if you don't abuse it. Take good care of the transmission because that's the weak link. 2 Suggestions, shift to neutral after initial cold startup and allow the fluid to circulate and warm for a couple of minutes before you drive away, and don't use Drive as a brake to stop a rearward roll. It's hard on the clutches.

I would suggest you remove the valve cover and clean out any sludge or deposits around the valves so the oil can readily drain back to the pan and change the oil pressure sensor for a Mopar one. I personally use a Mopar oil filter and 10W30 synthetic oil in my '00 4.0 WJ. Your oil pressure is what I would suspect for an engine with that many miles on it. The "O" psi incident may be slow drainback from the head. The Mopar filter is only $6.50 from my dealer. IDK your location, but you may want to use a 10W40 oil.

You can do a flow test on the heater core with a garden hose. Disconnect both hoses from it and flush water thru it both ways. When I fill the system, I remove the temp sensor next to the thermostat and fill the system until coolant flows out of the hole, then install the sensor and finish filling. That gets all the air out of the system pretty much. If you hear coolant gurgling in the heater on startup, you've got air in it.

A 0.18 amp draw is about right. That's just the PCM (computer) and radio memory draw. With a good battery with over 500 amp/hours capacity, that should last over 2500 hours before it's dead. Admittedly, you need around 300 amps left to crank the engine, but it shouldn't be dead overnight.

You upper radiator hose should have a protective woven nylon sleeve over it where it crosses over the compressor. This just slides onto the rubber hose.

That's about all I've got now, but it should give you something to work on.

 

Thank you for you input Dave1123!

Oil Sensor will have to wait till payday, should I not drive it until i get a new one? Oil Change will be done tomorrow if all this ice goes away quickly.... Maybe tonight... Have Mobil1 Oil (high mileage synthetic blend) and a STP Filter. Any issues with a STP?

Heater Coil flush will have to wait till it's above freezing. Will do ASAP.

Car starts up great today on a very cold morning. I cut the rigged starter line, so maybe it was partially shorted? Before start batt was at 12.4v.

The nylon piece you mentioned... is a plastic piece that is like electrical tubing that you can slide on over wires... I don't trust it... Maybe I'll hit up NAPA for a better one.

As for the pressure, I will do a good cleaning on the heads when I can get a new valve cover gasket (leaks a little...)

Thank you for your input again. Time for another day of tinkering! Will update on any developments. Still need some input on some other issues that were listed, so if you see this please feel free to give me any kind of input!

 

So I finally got around to doing a good lookover on the Jeep, and I noticed a few things:

I noticed that the trunk is a little difficult to open (gotta hit it twice while holding lever to open). I did not see an obvious way to adjust the trunk latch. Is there a way to adjust this? No damage to rear end.

Another thing I noticed is that the tailpipe is about to fall off. I'm thinking about rewelding it. It has a relatively new catalytic converter from magnaflow, but the welds are TERRIBLE! I will try and fix it so I don't have to dish out any more money. Will be uploading pics of the Jeep in a few.

Edit: Muffler fell off right after I wrote this post.... lol

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the Jeep.

The Jeep

Inside

Engine Bay

The Plastic part on the water hose

New water Pump

The terrible welds

The 2 empty holes are where the isolators go underneath it. I NEED THESE!

 

I'm going to suggest replacing the crank and cam sensors as cheap insurance from stalling in the middle of nowhere. What is your temp gauge reading after the engine has been running for a while? If your thermostat is stuck open or opening too soon you will have low heat output. And one more suggestion, stop calling your Jeep a car! You're in an exclusive club now, be proud to call it a Jeep.

 

Temp reads normal (~190-210F) and thermostat is new and have boiled it to verify it works. The crank and cam position sensors will be added to the list of things to replace, but before i do is there a way to test them?

And OK I'll be sure to call her a Jeep from now on. :P

 

Don't bother testing them, just replace them with Mopar parts if you can. You don't want to cheap out on those two sensors.

 

Listen to Busted. He's been around jeeps longer than I have and is one to trust. Although he's in warm CA and I'm the frigid NY!

That rad hose protector is too short. It needs to cover the bolts as well. Maybe 3 of those with wire ties to keep them closed. Mine is just a woven nylon net but all it touches is the A/C high pressure hose.

 

I'll try to find some material that will work well. Will update on that fix... low on cash ATM.

 

On my '97 I6 GC, after I changed the coolant in late Fall, the heat wasn't hot. I tried removing the temp sensor and filling until it ran out the hole, but that didn't fix it. I ended up taking the heater hoses off the water pump and t'stat housing, holding them up, and using a funnel to pour coolant down each one to try to make sure I got all the air out of the heater core.

 

The 97-01 XJ and the ZJ use a very similar liftgate mechanism, and it's a common problem. Here's the trick to opening it. Push in on the brow over the license plate, than while pushing in, pull the handle. Should open right up. Also make sure nothing inside is leaning against the gate. There is a permanent fix listed on here, but I'm lazy and that trick works.

 

I will try that tomorrow... hopefully that fixes my issue. Will report if that works!

 

I use a similar trick... I hit the lower part of the liftgate and it opens... only reason I want to fix it is because... well I want everything to be in tip top shape! HAHA I will look up that solution on the forums. Thanks!

 

Another reason to fix the tailgate, you don't want one of your friends yanking on the handle hard enough to break it off!

One thing I've noticed about my heater. When it's REALLY cold outside, like below zero, my heat seems to be poor. I've come to the conclusion it's not my heater that's the problem, it's the outside air is cold enough to not warm up coming thru the heater! If I switch to "recirculate", it gets hot enough to make me sweat. Also, lower fan speeds work to make the air hotter. You probably don't have this problem in Tennessee.