jj_jeep
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Posts posted by jj_jeep
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You never know where a thread will go! I have never washed my cars under the hood. I guess I've always been concerned that I would do more harm than good. I have definitely cleaned the battery and terminals with baking soda and water. I've heard a legend that in a case where a car wouldn't start, a can of coke poured over the battery terminals had enough effect to get the hulk started.
I did speak to the auto parts store about battery cables and they sell the universal ones which have a ring terminal on one end and a terminal for the battery post on the other end. But he mentioned they also will make cables for you with the giant crimp tool and 1/0 cable and shrink tubing (no solder - they don't want to risk employees burning themselves). The only hitch I see is there doesn't seem to be a great battery post terminal that accepts two cables like the original equipment did. That's why I wondered about junctioning to everywhere from the firewall. Biggman's suggestion of using the marine terminal on the battery and then stacking cables with ring terminals seems to be the closest "off the shelf" way to do junction the block and firewall both to the battery like the OEM cables did.
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O-rings! Biggman, I think the O-ring is the bane of modern man. They often serve such a key function, yet they usually are wedged into a small space to create a seal and you can't verify if you damaged it during installation or not. The space shuttle Challenger disaster was said to be due to a flawed selection of O-rings that failed in the unusual air temperature on launch day.
For oil and filters, I never did anything fancy. When the Jeep was new, I always used Motorcraft oil. When that became harder to come by, I ended up switching to Valvoline. I have always followed the owners manual running 5W-30 in the winter and 10W-30 in the summer. During the misfire issue, I've been running Mobil high mileage 10w-40. I hesitate to say the filters I use as some might consider them a 4 letter F word. I can only think of a couple times where I stretched the oil change interval to 6k or 7k miles, otherwise it was always about 5k miles. My commute for 15 years has been straight highway with cruise set to 60 mph - really easy miles on an engine. It's probably why I'm still on the original clutch (although it seems to be on it's last legs) and the original brake rotors.
When I first started tinkering with the misfire, I was having a noisy tick coming from the engine too. I suspected a stuck lifter and I thought, I have nothing to lose, so I tried a half can of Sea Foam in the crankcase for a couple thousand miles and then drained and filled with 10W-40. That seemed to loosen the stuck lifter - or at least alleviate the ticking if it was something else. Of course, it took a new injector to solve the misfire.
I've looked at the Advance Adapter ax15 and that looks pretty good. I wonder what the degree of difficulty is on a tranny swap and a new clutch.
Moses, I am interested in the quick timing chain wear test. In the course of the misfire diagnosis, I looked through my records and I can't say for sure that the timing chain/sprocket have ever been changed.
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Makes good sense. Thanks, Moses.
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When I pulled the fuel rail, the manifold end of every injector was sooty and dirty like that. In fact, the manifold holes had a ring of soot around the outside too. I tried to wipe the manifold holes off a little with a rag, but I also didn't want to mess with it a lot and risk pushing that stuff into the manifold. I cleaned every injector with a rag and WD40 when I changed the injector O-rings.
When I pulled the dispstick at the last oil change, it was still in the hatched "safe" zone. I have never had to add a quart to this engine. I attached a picture I took of the #1 and #6 spark plugs a while back when I was verifying that the misfire wasn't plugs or plug wires.
I liked your write up on the vacuum test, so I picked up a gauge tonight and made a quick video of the vacuum gauge on my TJ.
I am encouraged that the vacuum seems to be decent considering the miles on the engine, but the needle does wiggle. And the vacuum drops considerably when I throttle up to 2k RPM and then let the throttle slam shut. That said, at 2k RPM, it does pull 21 in hg. Manifold vacuum also bounces up and down when I pump the brakes and release the brakes. Not sure if this says more about the brake booster or the engine?
Third gear - I've skimmed through your writeup on the AX15 rebuild. I've never changed a clutch or even dropped a tranny, so I must admit it looks intimidating. Would you say it requires more skill, or just great care in keeping track of all the parts and putting them together in the right order. Interestingly, I did call a tranny shop a while back about this and I was surprised they didn't want to touch it. They thought I'd be better off with a tranny swap. I thought if people rebuild these at home, a tranny shop would certainly do it for three digits... Not sure if that means it's difficult, or just really time consuming to rebuild? You might be able to talk me off the ledge. I've certainly dug into this misfire with your guidance! Really interesting, and pretty fun to get results.
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I mentioned on the cylinder 1 misfire post a while back... I cut the neg terminal off the factory cable. The cable was corroded a bit, so I cut it back an inch or so, stripped the wire, tinned the ends the best I could with a small electronics solder iron, and crimped on some copper ring terminals on the two cables (one goes to the firewall, one to the engine block). Then at Biggman's suggestion, I put a marine terminal on the battery post so there was a place to attach the ring terminals. It was a quick, cheap fix to see if the cable was part of my misfire problem. Not clear if it was (didn't completely fix it - had to replace injector to do that), but it seems like my headlights are brighter now (placebo effect, or real - not sure). And I know I need to reckon with these cables one day. With that in mind...
I did some more searching about battery cables and the car audio guys actually call it "the big 3 upgrade" referring to new, higher amp capacity cables for the alternator to batt, batt to firewall, batt to engine block - and battery to frame - so it's 4 in the case of Jeeps. There's a decent You Tube video on a Jeep TJ (search - Jeep TJ big 3 upgrade featuring 12 volters - if interested). What I was curious to ask is... these guys connect the battery to the firewall, and then it appears they run their other new ground cables from the firewall instead of from the battery (firewall to frame and firewall to engine block). Whereas, my Jeep from the factory had a cable from the neg batt to the firewall and another cable from neg batt to the engine block. The question is, does it matter? Is there an advantage of one over another? Just wondering why Jeep did it one way and the aftermarket appears to do it another way. It seems like a clean way to do it - it solves the problem of connecting two cables to one battery post. They also paint over the finished connections as Rare posted. I've heard of conditioners and coatings that can be applied to the terminal on the battery post as well - do people recommend this?
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I really like the guidance OBD2 offers. And I think the cheapest scan tool out there is probably the best one for most novices like me that are going to tackle problems that haven't disabled the Jeep but have turned on the MIL. Because I'm going to take the code directly to the internet and look it up. The scan tool doesn't have to offer advice.
I've been carpooling to work ever since gas prices jumped ~5 years ago, so the TJ doesn't get 20k miles per year on it like it used to. I drove it a bit over the weekend and took advantage of the beautiful weather this evening and drove to the next town and back with the top down and the radio up. The engine is running much smoother. Idling at red lights you really notice how much smoother the engine is running - the rig doesn't shake and vibrate - and so far, no check engine light. I think the new injector has about 35 miles on it, so things are looking up. The engine also doesn't lug down and growl as loudly anymore either. In residential areas I'm in 4th gear, because the 3rd gear synchro is shot (I think - a future post I'd like to make - but I'd like to check leak down to estimate what kind of life this engine has left before I think about the transmission).
There is a small hill nearby that made 4th gear in the Jeep sound like a semi truck creeping up Pike's Peak in the wrong gear. With the new injector, it's not nearly as loud (a little hard to tell, because I think I have a cracked header - but there's a difference) and I don't have to jump down to 2nd gear to get up the hill. And after driving it, there's no gas smell under the hood (gas smell showing up in the exhaust through the cracked header?).
Here's some hi magnification pictures of both ends of the bum injector #1. I've never looked at an injector before, but by my estimation nothing is wrong with the orifice of the injector. The O-rings also appeared OK. I'm left to wonder if the filter screen was clogged or if the solenoid in the injector was malfunctioning.
Old and new.
Fuel rail end.
Screen inside fuel rail end.
Manifold end.
Another one of the manifold end.
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Well, so far, so good. After replacing injector #1, I have not seen a check engine light.
The injector nozzle end didn't look suspicious to me. I do wonder about the other end - is there a screen in there that can clog? I'll try to get a couple pictures of the bum injector at work. And we'll see if the check engine light stays away!
Still thinking about that cylinder leak down test. I'd like to know the health of this engine before I move on down the list of other work this Jeep needs. The link you provided has the lowest price I've found. And OTC seems to be the best "entry level" model out there. Summit Racing has a nice package that comes with a stethoscope and a compression tester, but was quite a bit more money. Other brands seem to be limited in the pressure they can use or read.
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I first read Moses's writing when I bought his Jeep Owner's Bible years ago. As my TJ has gotten older and higher in mileage, the stroker upgrade all over the internet caught my eye and led me to Moses's video series on the topic - I highly recommend watching it. I trust the advice that I get from Moses because of the research he does and the volume of knowledge he shares on topics, in addition to his credentials. For Pete's sake, Jeep calls Moses!
I joined the forum to solicit advice on my cylinder #1 misfire. My mechanic advised replacing the motor due to the 250k mileage. Moses started with fundamentals, rather than part swaps. And other folks here have chimed in with additional advice. The misfire topic is getting a lot of views, so I assume there's a bunch of other TJ owners whose Jeeps are aging and need some attention. I agree with Biggman, joining this forum and posting a question is going to get you help and educate the rest of us.
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The fuel rail is kind of a pain in the neck to wrestle off and on. After considering the prospect of doing it twice (once to swap injector #1 to another cylinder, and then a second time to swap in a new injector), I was thinking I would prefer doing it once. I stopped by the auto parts store and they had the injector in stock, so I made the $70 bet that the injector was the problem and bought it. I finished swapping the new injector onto cyl #1 tonight.
After the TPS and the new ground battery cable terminal looked good for a day, and then weren't the final fix, I don't want to jinx the injector! So we'll see how it runs through the weekend, but suffice it to say the light is not currently on.
For the uninitiated, swapping an injector was a doable task for a novice.
I followed the Haynes manual which advised disconnecting the neg batt terminal, opening the fuel cap, and relieving the fuel pressure from the fuel rail at the Schrader valve into a rag. There's a good amount of fuel that comes out, so I left this rag outside to air out. Note that later, as you remove injectors to replace the O-rings, there is more fuel in the fuel rail that can spill out. Keep lots of old socks handy.
The air intake comes off fairly easily - it helped me to remove the air filter cover end of the intake and then rotate and pull the intake at the throttle body.
Next the throttle cable bracket comes off. I tucked the cables under the rod that goes from the grill to the firewall and that pretty much kept them out of the way.
Four bolts hold the fuel rail on the intake manifold. The one by the firewall also held a sensor in place, so there's a nut to remove first.
The fuel rail takes some patience and elbow grease to pull it free from the intake. I must admit my wife had the brilliant suggestion of shooting a little WD-40 on the injectors at the air intake to help wiggle them free.
Once the rail was loose, I left the fuel line attached since it's flexible hose and I just flipped the fuel rail and tied it in place so I could remove the injectors. I cleaned up the injectors with WD-40 and a rag and put new O-rings on them and swapped the offending injector from cylinder 1. I lubed the O-rings with WD-40 to put the injectors back in the fuel rail.
Everything goes back together in reverse order.
When done, I did take the precaution to turn the key to "on" to run the fuel pump and pump up the fuel rail and checked under the hood for fuel leaks. I thought I'd rather discover a leak before I started the engine. There were no leaks, but thought I'd pass this along.
Drove it around a bit. Seems less prone to burbling and backfiring when I get out of the throttle.
More to come...
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The menacing P0301 cylinder 1 misfire came back. But not to be deterred, I tinkered with the injectors a bit and found some odd behavior. My neighbor saw the hood up and came over and asked what it does if you unplug injector number 1. We did and nothing noticeable happened. Hmmm, that doesn't seem right. So we confirmed by unplugging injector #4 instead, and then the engine stumbled MORE. I checked the codes and you get a P0201 or P0204 depending on which injector you unplug.
Moses, you suggested swapping injectors. I would like to do this and just double confirm that replacing the injector is the fix (versus say replacing the electrical connection to the injector if the problem stays with cylinder 1 for instance). Is it best to have the proper O rings on hand for putting these injectors back in place? Or do they come out and go back in pretty easily?
I've read the procedure for doing it - in rough outline, you relieve pressure in the fuel rail, then unbolt the fuel rail and pull the rail and injectors from the manifold. At that point I can swap #1 with one of the others and repeat the procedure in reverse... Any tips here for avoiding creation of new problems?
In the event that the problem follows the injector indicating the injector is bad, I see various options for dealing with it. Is there "better" logic to one of these options over another?
1) Replace the bad injector and move on with life.
2) Replace all 6 injectors (are injectors an item where it's recommended to replace all together, rather than just one?)
3) Replace all 6 injectors with the higher pressure injectors for the potential stroker build some time in the future. Do the injectors recommended for strokers perform fine with a stock (albeit old) 4.0 L?
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After the jumper cable experiment showed some promise, I made a quick trip to the auto parts store and with Biggman's suggestion, picked up the marine terminal add-ons for the battery post and a couple copper crimps. I wanted to try a quick and dirty fix to see if this battery terminal has been the issue all along.
After a lot of idling in the driveway and a couple test drives, there was no check engine light! I was optimistic.
I attached a picture of the cable. Once I cut the 1998 factory battery terminal off and stripped some insulation, one cable had a little green here and there, but the other cable (the factory terminal has two cables - one for the firewall and one for the block) was heavily corroded. Minnesota winters and road salt are probably the culprit here. I stripped both cables back to clean copper, tried to "tin" them the best I could with the small solder iron I have, and crimp the copper terminals on (the other attached picture shows the two terminals attached to the marine battery terminal and the battery post.
Admittedly, it's a hack job. The terminals were maybe a 1/16" big for the cable and, a neighbor crimped it for me with a tool slightly undersized for the job. The guy at the auto parts did mention that they actually will make battery cables for me. They have the "one-ought" cable and the $300 crimp tool and shrink tubing to do it. But I wanted to complete a low cost fix first just to see if the misfire was an electrical problem or something more foreboding (read expensive) like engine wear requiring an overhaul.
More to come... but at present, that looks like new battery cables. Expect an update.
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Okay, I feel like we have a little more progress. OBD2 codes were reduced to a single code: my friend the P0301 (cylinder 1 misfire). The TPS code and injector code were not present.
Battery checked out fine at NAPA - the store clerk came outside and connected their battery tester to my Jeep and he checked it with the engine off, on and on with headlights and HVAC fan on. This surprised me after the lower voltage readings I got. Must have been because the Jeep sat for a couple weeks before I measured the battery voltages? I checked some voltages again today and got 12.66 V off, 13.74 V engine running, and 13.45 V running w/lights and fan. Perhaps, Moses, as you mentioned a dirty case is bleeding off some voltage as it sits? Not denying that I should get a new battery, but really desiring to understand what costs are in front of me to keep this Jeep running another year before I commit.
There were no family plans for the weekend, so I've been tinkering and I think, Moses, I proved your point about the ground terminal replacement being a must. Here's what I did:
1) Disconnect neg batt cable from batt
2) Connect a jumper cable to the neg batt cable so the jaw of the jumper had a nice, tight grip on the neg batt cable terminal
3) Connect the other end of the jumper cable to the neg batt post (carefully keeping this birds nest away from the pos batt post and the engine belts and fan)
4) Start the Jeep and let it idle with scan tool monitoring for codes (borrowed a scan tool from a friend at work)
Results - idled several minutes with no check engine light! I am cautiously optimistic, because this is how things looked after idling with the new TPS several minutes, until the code returned the next day. But I don't dare drive the thing around with dangling jumpers connected to the battery.
Could we conclude from this, that a slightly loose negative battery terminal can cause a cylinder 1 misfire? You recommended last post, that a neg terminal replacement is a must, and might resolve this misfire issue?
Incidentally, a quick call to the Jeep dealer parts dept revealed battery cables are no longer "supported" for the 1998 Jeep Wrangler. So apparently factory cables can't be sourced from the dealers.
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Should be able to check codes, then load test battery Friday with a stop at Napa. Really curious about the latest codes. Still thinking about the scan tool options for reading codes at home. And the battery cables... I might try a new terminal on the old ground cable to save cost until I know where I'm at with this misfire. Battery is 6 years old - where did 6 years go? No accessories, but it did sit for a couple weeks while we were gone to camp. I re-read your comment about the clean battery case. I've kept the battery blanket that came on the battery from the factory so it covers the case. I'll check it out when I replace the battery.
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This won't help you at all because you can't buy this car with AWD from Ford, but have you seen the latest Ken Block videos on You Tube? Perhaps he had Subaru issues too
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More good advice... shopping for a scan tool to get the codes.
Meanwhile, I took some more voltage readings...
Lights and engine off
12.27 V alternator housing to alternator battery terminal
Headlights on, engine off
11.88 V alternator housing to alternator battery terminal
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Thanks for the testimony on different scan tools. I checked around the net this afternoon at some of the models you mention as well as the competing models. Numerous consumer reviews of these items indicated a theme of the "extra" features on the scan tools (SRS and ABS) not working on some vehicle models even though they were specified to work on those models. Didn't seem to matter which scan tool brand or model. Or for some of the models that work with smartphones, you often had to buy additional software to unlock additional features. I would be interested in a model that scans airbag lights as my airbag light is on, but based on the reviews I'd be better off buying a low cost, very base model just to get OBD2 codes otherwise I might be paying for more than I am advertised to get. Any comments on scanners you are using and whether they have been compatible with OBD2 Jeeps for OBD2 codes in addition to SRS and ABS codes?
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Helpful replies from everyone.
Moses and RareCJ8 gave helpful insight on making cables.
I think Biggman probably described my current status in his first couple paragraphs. An insert or a new negative terminal might do the trick for now until I understand the condition of my Jeep cylinder 1 misfire a little better. I had a couple pictures, but I haven't yet figured out how to put them in the post.
I checked out the Painless Performance website - like a candy store for wiring! It did surprise me that with all the harnesses they offer, they don't show replacement cables specific to the TJ application. I'm referring to the two cable negative battery terminal that has a cable to the firewall and a cable to the engine block. It seems like a very clean way to do it, but the terminals on the PP cables allow for only one cable.
I'll have to check the negative cable on my Jeep and see if there's enough slack to allow me to cut the end off the existing cable to put a new terminal on. You're pretty well committed once you cut the old terminal off, aren't you! And I suppose you can't truly know the condition of the cable until you cut back the insulation and check the cable. I also wonder if the cable could look good at the battery terminal, but heavily corroded at the firewall terminal due to winter road spray. These ideas lingered in the back of my mind when I considered just replacing the whole cable. I also checked the price of cables and holy cow! It would be nice to save the cable and replace the terminal.
Thanks for your feedback...
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Just back from a good week at Scout camp with my son and his troop. Based on Moses's feedback about battery voltage and battery cables, I spent a few minutes poking around my Jeep with a multi-meter just to try and rule some things in or out as the cause of the cylinder 1 misfire I'm having.
These readings were all taken with the engine off.
12.25 V probing from positive battery post to negative battery post
12.22 V probing from positive battery post to alternator housing
12.22 V probing from positive battery post to engine block negative battery cable terminal
2.3 ohms probing from injector 1 red wire connector to negative battery post (the cylinder that is misfiring)
2.3 ohms probing from injector 4 red wire connector to negative battery post (just a random other cylinder for resistance comparison)
With the engine running:
13.80 V probing from positive battery post to negative battery post
In short:
- According to Moses' guidance, my battery is showing signs of wear (12.25 V I have is lower than desired 12.4 V), but I assume it's not enough to cause a cylinder 1 misfire.
- Battery voltage reads 13.8 V steadily with engine running - no issue there?
- Battery Cables don't look corroded, but they are covered with insulation and the OEM terminal, so can't really tell
- Resistance of the one injector wire (ground I assume?) looked fine compared to cylinder that is not misfiring
- Check engine light is on - haven't scanned the codes yet. I'm assuming (and hoping) this will reveal a great deal more with a new TPS installed. I don't have a scan tool (I borrow the one Napa loans out at their store) - started another post under tool and equipment sources to see which OBD2 scan tools people like and why as I'd like to pick one up.
- Cylinder leak down test - no progress yet - busy summer
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My 1998 TJ has the original factory cables and terminals and after 250k miles, they're getting a little worn. The negative terminal will not connect as tightly as I'd like to the battery post, so I'm thinking of replacing them. I noticed the negative is actually two cables too. One goes to the firewall and one to the block.
After a quick look around the internet, it looks like buying replacement battery cables is not as straightforward as I thought it would be. I thought the internet Jeep parts retailers would have them, but you get 6 pages of electric winch cables and dual battery kits.
Are people making their own by buying cable, terminals, and shrink tubing and assembling? Or buying them from some of the home cable makers that are selling them on the internet?
Just wondering if someone has a battery cable solution that went well for them...
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Curious which scan tool people like/recommend. I see there are now Bluetooth units that talk to your smart phone or PC. Are these a nice way to go so you can read all the sensors, log data, and get easy software updates for scanning?
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Day 2 with the new TPS. After some idling in the driveway yesterday and the check engine light did come back on. I don't own an OBD2 scan tool (yet), so I haven't been able to see what the current codes are indicating. I did take the opportunity to clean up the battery connections since I disconnected the negative terminal to swap the TPS. When I reconnected the battery I did notice that the negative terminal is not as tight as I'd like to see it. It's the original factory terminal and cable, and after about 3 batteries and a few cleanings over the years, it's a bit worn out. It's not going to come off, but I can wiggle it. I don't suspect that it's causing any electrical problems, but I thought I'd mention it in case the forum thought otherwise. A quick internet search seemed to indicate that purchasing replacement battery cables for a Jeep is not a straightforward thing to do. Might make for an interesting topic/article, Moses. I'm going to submit one under tools to see which OBD2 scan tool people like.
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I called the local Jeep dealer yesterday for a Mopar TPS. It arrived today and my wife was gracious enough to stop by and pick it up for me. It was $106 plus tax. The auto parts store wanted $60 for a TPS - not sure what their brand was, but I was hoping with the new OBDII codes I wrote about last time, that a new TPS would alleviate the trouble, so I didn't want to mess around with a potentially flakey off brand sensor to save $40.
I installed the sensor this evening. One of the screws was a bugger to get out. I did use a bit of liquid wrench and I tapped on the screw and after a time it finally worked loose. I didn't want to strip out the small torx head. It went just as you said, Moses, it kind of plugs in and rotates into place with just a little spring resistance. I followed your recommendation and put a little dielectric grease on the rubber seal on the plug. It seems like a pretty good seal design because the old plug was filthy on the outside, but clean on the inside.
After installing the new TPS, I let the Jeep idle for a while in the driveway and then took the Jeep for a spin. After more idling in the driveway, I am encouraged to report there has been no check engine light. Normally idling at a stoplight would cause the engine to stumble and the check engine light would come on with the cylinder 1 misfire code.
We'll see how tomorrow's drive to work goes. But early indications are good that the TPS was causing me a lot of grief!
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Hi Moses,
I have a small update on my cylinder 1 misfire on my 1998 TJ with 250k miles (and counting).
I stopped by the auto parts store to shop for a cylinder leak down tester. I've read what you wrote about how to do the cylinder leak down test and I was making a list of what I'll need:
Leak down tester
air compressor (I only have a small tire/ball inflator)
Looks like about a 3/4" bolt to turn the crankshaft to TDC (I have basic wrenches and sockets)
A spark plug wire boot puller because the one on cylinder #1 is tough to remove because of the AC plumbing
More to the point, while I was there I thought it would be good to borrow their OBDII scan tool and check the recent codes just to see if any other cylinders are misfiring. Every time I've checked it (until today), I get P0301 Cylinder 1 misfire detected.
Today I got three codes - maybe this gives some more valuable clues as to why my engine is misfiring... With the engine off, I plugged in the scan tool, turned the key to on (engine not running), and here's today's codes:
P0201 Injector circuit open cylinder 1
P0123 TPS/Pedal position sensor A circuit high input
P0301 Cylinder 1 misfire
I still like your approach of checking the health of the engine with the cylinder leak down test to tell its viability. Armed with additional OBDII codes, does this now suggest the more immediate problem is in the electronics? Should I be replacing the TPS sensor (throttle position sensor, I believe)? NAPA had one for $60. I have not yet looked at my Haynes manual to see what's involved. I am interested in your feedback.
I've enjoyed reading some of the other posts and the magazine. I have a few more topics for future posts I can add later just to stir up some conversation. For instance this Jeep of mine has been without 3rd gear (AX-15 5 speed manual) for a year or so (I just wind up 2nd gear and skip to 4th). Also my airbag light is on and my cruise control no longer works (related? clock spring?). And it's got a bit of death wobble despite replacing a very worn out front track bar. And lastly, I thought I read you were planning a write up about air conditioning - I've added refrigerant to mine in summer's past, but it doesn't last as long as it used to - looking forward to your future articles!
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Hi Moses,
Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate your use of fundamentals when troubleshooting. Our family has a busy summer ahead, so I'll try and post some results when I can. Probably not for at least a couple weeks. I need to scare up a leak down tester. I saw a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvG22YMOzUI on how to do it that looked pretty good.
I suspect #1 - cylinder seal - may be a problem because of the high mileage. I was hoping 10W40 might help extend the engine a bit here?
I suspect #4 - valvetrain wear - may also be a problem due to high mileage.
Based on the oil pressure gage in the instrument cluster, #2 seems OK as oil pressure runs where it has been for 15 years.
I'll have to check past repair slips, but I think for #3 the timing chain and sprockets and water pump were replaced in the last five years.
I hear and smell exhaust under the hood when the engine is running. The engine used to have the standard ticking of the tappets, but now it makes a putt-putt sound like an old tractor. I'm still running the stock header after all these years, so perhaps it is cracked or maybe the gasket between the header and head has failed? Any reason to believe this would relate to a misfire?
Adding to my puzzlement is the fact that this engine consumes no measureable amount of oil and has good power. The dipstick reads full even when I'm ready for the 3k-5k oil change.
Thanks again
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Adding Difficulty Ratings for Shop Projects
in Off-Topic and General Discussion
Posted
I've noticed some of the online Jeep parts retailers list how many "wrenches" the difficulty is. And then they list how many hours it would take along with some remarks about the work involved. Ratings are definitely a helpful start.
For a novice like me, it's nice to see the relative difficulty - how hard is it compared to changing the differential fluid? Or to removing a pitman arm?
And then some comment about special tools and how long it takes to do the work. For instance, rotating tires is a simpler job which requires no special skills or in-depth knowledge, but when you do it by hand like I do (no impact wrench), it takes some time. I have no idea how hard or easy it is to swap a tranny or replace a clutch. Those might top the list for what I'd try on my own at home, but I'm only guessing.
So for me, here's a rough cut at some of the things I've done on my Jeep listed in order that I think is least to most difficult.
Air filter change
Rotate tires
Replace headlight
Battery Change
Oil/filter change
Flush/Fill coolant
Replace serpentine belt
Tune up (new plugs, wires, cap, rotor)
Replace alternator
Replace power steering pump
Change transfer case fluid (special fluid transfer tool helpful)
Change Manual Trans fluid (special fluid transfer tool helpful)
Change Diff Fluid (special fluid transfer tool helpful)
Install car stereo
Replace fuel injector
Replace steering gear (Pitman puller and 16" crescent wrench)
Haven't done these, but I'm imagining most of these jobs being harder than anything on my list... but maybe not?
Install receiver hitch and trailer wiring
Disassemble/Clean/Reassemble throttle body
Replace clock spring (how big is airbag risk - best left to pros?)
Install 3" lift kit (springs, shocks, track bars, etc.)
Replace AC Condenser
Replace in-tank fuel pump
Install aftermarket belly pan
Replace axle seal or pinion seal
Replace fuel lines
Replace brake lines
Install SYE kit
Swap transmission/Replace clutch
Change differential gear ratios
Swap Engine
Rebuild transfer case
Rebuild AX15
Rebuild engine/Build stroker
Maybe others who have done these jobs can rearrange the order of difficulty here. And then new items can be inserted into the rankings for reference... My two cents... JJ