Brought my 1997 Cherokee to my mechanic after I “broke” down on my way to work. He thought it was my battery connecting and my alternator, both were fine so he later says it’s the fuel pressure, says it’s only giving out 9 psi. How would I fix this? The estimate he gave me was 800$ and I think that’s just crazy.
the car will start but make a sound like it’s trying to keep running but won’t run for more than 10-15 seconds before completely dying.
Any suggestions?

 

Nick, welcome to CF. It sounds like it's probably the fuel pump module needing replaced. Depending on the parts used, condition of vehicle and labor rate, $800 may not be out of line. Consider a 2nd opinion if you believe that's crazy.

If you're mechanically inclined you can start here to diagnose it yourself:

http://www.pacificcoastmanuals.com/1...ce_manual.html

If you're not, I wouldn't recommend DIY.

 

Is it possible for the motor to even crank with 9 psi?

You can verify the fuel pressure yourself easily enough. There's a schrader valve on the fuel rail where you hook up a gauge. Borrow a fuel pressure tester from Auto Zone and follow the instructions on the box. Or buy your own, since they're not that expensive.

If you want to do it yourself, buy the FSM from Pacific Coast (the link in 4WD4EVER's post above). Alternately, some of the XJ Facebook groups have document pages in the menus on the left hand side of the page where people have uploaded a lot of the FSMs for various years, so check for your year if you're a member of any of those groups. The FSM will give you all the info you need to test fuel pressure and replace the fuel pump if it really is low.

The fuel pump is in the tank, and you'll have to drop the tank to replace it. Gasoline weighs 6 lbs per gallon, so you'll want to run it as close to empty as you can get it if you want to drop it rather than doing it with a full tank and trying to wrangle 120 lbs under the Jeep. You can get a Bosch fuel pump from Rock Auto for $170, but the dropping the tank mess is something a lot of people don't want to do and is why the mechanic can charge $800 for it.

 

There's something weird about these that have skid plates. Anyone ever notice they are not bent before you take them off, but they are bent when you go to put them back and the bolt holes don't get even close to lining up anymore? Trying to get the skid plate back on is worth about $200 in labor alone. lol

 

$800 might be a little steep. But a new module will be in the $250 range, give or take. You will have to drop the tank and access it all from the top

 

 

Sounds like they've got it right. Do the testing and the repairing yourself if at all possible.