Jeep Cherokee Stalling Issues

[nissangirl74]

A good friend of mine has a 1997 Jeep Cherokee that she is having issues with. Below is the list of things that she has done to it already and what the car is doing at the moment. Any input you guys have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo
178,400 miles


June 3
Serpentine belt replaced
Brake pads
Brake rotors Total labor/parts
Harmonic balance $440.27


June 26
New Battery $120.71



August 23
Catalytic converter replaced
(converter burned up) $246.93



September 12
Defective serpentine belt replaced (no charge)
Electronic computer module replaced $374.07


November 2
Serpentine belt replaced again.(no charge)
Realigned bracket that holds belt tension.
Cleaned throttle body
Swapped relays from horn to shut down relay.
Test drove, did not die $88.84


November 4
Second burned up catalytic converter replaced.
Muffler shop felt sorry for me and gave me a
break. $150


November 22
Power steering pump goes out.
Thats replaced. $334.25


December 2
Diagnostics shows bad crank sensor & coil.
Replaced $324.77







Grand Total $2,079.84



Current problem:
Car is stalling either while I'm idling or driving. Happens at random. Dosen't matter if engine is hot or cold. Engine starts back up after several attempts. Smelling a lot of fuel after several attempts to restart engine. Dealership is having trouble locating the problem. The car does not stall on them and/diagnostics shows no problems???? My car stalled on me several times this morning while I was idling. Took several attempts to restart. Drove the car straight to dealership and diagnostics shows no problems???

If you guys have any specific questions you need me to ask her, let me know.
Thanks again.

[Towncivilian]

My first thought was a clogged fuel filter, but there is no external in-line filter on XJs (verified with some quick Googling), just some sort of filter in the gas tank itself. It'd be weird if that got clogged, and since the fuel tank needs to be dropped to check/replace it, that is an extreme PITA to rule out. The severe service replacement interval for the fuel filter is 60k miles, FWIW.

How are the spark plugs/distributor/rotor? Take the distributor cap off and make sure there's no dirt or dust on the LED, or just replace those parts if it's been a while - the severe service replacement interval for spark plugs is 30k miles, and "ignition cables" (I assume that means spark plug wires) is 60k. I dunno about a replacement interval for the distributor/cap/rotor.

[Kompresshun]

Does this one have the 4.0L I-6, or the V8? They offered both at that time, so that's important in this case. It sounds like this is an ignition issue though, just from the way you've described things so far. It's possible that the fuel injectors have issues as well though, but i'm leaning towards a sensor/ignition issue.

Matt, it's a ZJ and not an XJ. The XJ was the regular Cherokee, which only came with the I-6 and the ZJ was the Grand Cherokee. Sorry, just wanted to point that out, since the GC had a lot more issues than the XJ did for some reason

[nissangirl74]

Not sure if it is an 8 or a 6. I asked, i'll let you know as soon as i find out.

[nissangirl74]

It's the I-6

[Kompresshun]

It's the I-6

FTFY

To me it sounds like a crank sensor, or ignition coil, but since those have already been replaced, we'll rule them out right now. It is possible that they are defective though, so keep that in mind.

It's possible that the knock sensor is bad, but that's the only other sensor I see that might relate. Beyond that, I would say that if it hasn't had a tune-up, then it may need wires, distributor cap, and rotor button. It doesn't sound like fuel is an issue in this case, so I would say those things would be all that's left to consider. If those things aren't the issue, I would re-visit some of the things already replaced, because at that point I would believe that something is defective, or wasn't installed properly. The 4.0L I-6 is a fairly simple motor and 170K+ is nothing for that motor.

[sx moneypit]

Check the wiring harness that runs down the side of the valve cover where it turns toward the passenger side. They have a problem with the harness chaffing on the stud on top of the head bolt in that area.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

The fuel smell has me thinking.
Next time it happens, try holding the gas pedal to the floor.

Back when I was a mechanic, I made note of how s*** the majority of Chrysler's idle air control valve designs were. Some were plunger type designs on solenoids which often got clogged/jammed up. If the plunger isn't opening, she's not getting air to allow the vehicle to idle correctly, which would cause the rich condition (smelling like fuel), which in turn could destroy your catalytic converter.

IIRC, the IACVs were internal to the throttle body, although I'm not sure about that engine. I'd look into that and try cleaning/replacing if it isn't too expensive.

[Bubba1]

Dumb question, but did the same shop replace all those serpentine belts + cat converters? If so, I question their ability to fix the vehicle correctly, and she might want to consider a change in shops to an independant. The fuel smell that comes with slow starting is not unusual. That's the engine getting flooded. If the diagnostic is clear, and it's having trouble starting, I'd start with the plugs. They might need changing, especially if they get soaked in gas from flooding..How far she drives once it fires up also makes a difference with fouled plug. Takes a long drive for an engine to get hot enough to burn off the crud from a mildly fouled plug. If she's doing all short jaunts in the car, that might explain the stalling. Also might want to check how old the spark plug wires are. They might be original. Another thing to ask is if the car is "using" oil and or antifreeze.

[Oatmealman]

Had a very similar problem in my s-10 up camping one day,it ended up that my cone filter( i had oiled to much by accident) coated my maf in oil and it did the exact same thing.if i ran it above 3k it had no problems running,any less than that it would die after 30secs or so. but seeing as jeeps don't run a maf check the map.

[Mr1der]

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/jeep-c ... sor-17310/

I'll bet 100 bucks that's the issue. It'll probably finally totally s*** the bed.

I did one in a gas station parking lot back in July.

ask them if the speedo or tach go all goofy right before it dies.

[pawprints7399]

Hello,

I'm Vanessa, owner of the Jeep. I appreciate all the advice!

I bought the car used 2 years ago. It has not had a tune up since I have had it and don't know if it had before I purchased it.

Just started having major problems out of it since August when the 1st converter burned up. My regular mechanic, I pretty much lost faith in him and questioning his staff's ability after I have spent a lot of money and the car not fixed. I would ask him a question and he could not give me a straight answer? Yes, they were the ones that replaced all the serpetine belts but they did not replace the converters. I had a local muffler shop in town do that. After the 2nd converter was replaced and was still having issues thats when I decided to start taking it to the dealership. There they found the crank sensor & coil needed to be replaced. A couple of days after that, I'm still having stalling issues! Take the car back to the dealership but their diagnostics finds no problem!? I thought the exact same thing, "their parts were defective"! The car always stalls on me but its awfully funny it does not stall on them when they drive it! I'm wondering if they are even driving it enough!? From what I'm understanding, my computer will not give a code unless diagnostics is done as soon as the car shuts down That dosen't make sense to me. I'm told because my computer "is not advance enough" for that year & make. The car shuts down anytime anywhere! Its very dangerous. Yesterday I was turning onto another road and in the middle of the turn engine shuts off and of course my power steering goes with it! Thank God there wasn't another car there or I would have smacked into them head on!

I am OUT of patience & money

[Bubba1]

The nice thing about Jeeps is that they can be fixed by anyone, so you are not a slave to a dealership. What city are you near? Perhaps a Niconaut in your area can recommend a local mechanic they know and trust.

[pawprints7399]

Near Johnson City, Tn

[nissangirl74]

Badger would be the closest. He lives in Johnson City. I'll send him a link to this thread.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

For something as major as the crank angle sensor to be giving the ECU wacky signals, it should DEFINITELY be stored in the ECU's system for 55 start cycles if I'm not mistaken.

[Oatmealman]

For something as major as the crank angle sensor to be giving the ECU wacky signals, it should DEFINITELY be stored in the ECU's system for 55 start cycles if I'm not mistaken.

it would make no sense that its not throwing a code for a cps,although I have seen major things go wrong and mil not come on

[Mr1der]

get on the Cherokee boards. They do stupid stuff when it goes out.

[Jesda]

For something as major as the crank angle sensor to be giving the ECU wacky signals, it should DEFINITELY be stored in the ECU's system for 55 start cycles if I'm not mistaken.

it would make no sense that its not throwing a code for a cps,although I have seen major things go wrong and mil not come on

When the CKP/CPS goes out on the Cadillac Seville and Deville, it doesn't always throw a code either. It just stalls.