adam_knox Posted October 28, 2009 Report Posted October 28, 2009 Tired of carpooling with the fiance since the demise of my beater car 2 months ago got us a 94 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. Excited, no more having to shovel the car out in the morning to get to work in the winter. Milwaukee sometimes has flooded streets which I no longer need to worry about, as it's outfitted and has the snorkel accessory! I can't imagine driving that thing in water as it would probably float, the wheels are an inch short of being a yard high... Anyways, excited to have another Mopar in the fleet, grinned when I popped the hood and saw the Mopar manufacturers sticker. Gonna enjoy the excitement before gas prices rise and the tires go bald... Quote
greg g Posted October 28, 2009 Report Posted October 28, 2009 Have fun with the jeep just be prepared to pa at the pump. With stock tires they don't get much more than 15/6 mpg running around town. Withthe mudders who knows maybe the biger diameter will trump the high rolling resistance. Oh and maybe you should invest in some ear plugs for long rides, with them growling at you. And watch tose wide tires trying to float on top of the snow rather than chew through it to good traction. I know from my ice racing years that when it comes to snow and ice narrower is better. Quote
adam_knox Posted October 29, 2009 Author Report Posted October 29, 2009 Thanks for the tip about the width on the tires. That's one of the reasons we were okay with getting the lifted Jeep with the large tires, thinking we wouldn't be held hostage to the weather and the city plows...Oh well, the plans of mice and men... =) Quote
greg g Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 You can always go back to the stock tires and wheels for the winter, it may look a bit silly on the lifted suspension but it will be more effective getting throughthe slop. Especially if they use a lot of salt and you get the slush thats a couple inches deep. That stuff is instant hydroplane. Quote
MacGyver Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 I had an 86' Jeep CJ-7 with rebuilt 258(0.030 over, mild cam), 32" BFG Mud Terrain tires. I used it as a daily driver for about 5yrs, parked it on my buddy's mom's farm as a "toy" a few years ago and actually sold it on Sunday. I miss that truck already. I used the soft top for summer and had a hard top for winter which I highly recommend if you can part with the dough. Have FUN! Those things are a blast! Mark Quote
Young Ed Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 Jeeps are fun. Dad and I fixed this one up a few years back. I miss it too. We painted the inside and got a maaco job on the outside. Its 2004 Vue light yellow. Everytime I see a saturn that color I think of the jeep Quote
adam_knox Posted October 30, 2009 Author Report Posted October 30, 2009 That is a cool looking Jeep! Murphy's Law kicked in. Today was the first day in legal ownership, got plates and all the fun stuff. Drove it. Left the parking lot tonite and stalled it when backing up (I'm used to the fluid drive!). So I go to start it. No go. Cranks, won't turn over. 20 minutes I try everything trying to get it to go, thinking maybe there's an odd trick. Try it in 1st with clutch, nuetral, even buckling my seatbelt thinking maybe there's a million in once chance this was some demo in 1994 with a safety feature or something. Finally turns over after a good rainfall starts. Get on the freeway, won't go faster than 52 mph....Got the thing floored in fifth, no acceleration, no studdering, just like its at its top speed. RPMs aren't crazy or anything. I was thinking fuel filter. Wouldn't be fuel pump right? Got any ideas? Engine and components are stock, 98K on it... Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted October 30, 2009 Report Posted October 30, 2009 :eek:Hmmmm......now we know why the price was so reasonable.... Hopefully it's a simple problem. Maybe fuel pump, fuel filter (is it in the tank?), cleaner spray for the throttle body??? Try some fairly simple things first. Quote
greg g Posted October 30, 2009 Report Posted October 30, 2009 Try changing the fuel filter should be inexpensive, also put some Fuel Injector cleaner through it. One thing on those that can be problematic is the Idle Air controler. They get clogged up with carbon, and sometimes when you start the Jeep it will jump to a real high rpm level and won't come down. Its a small black deal bolted attached to the throttle body with a couple of screws. Remove it and give it a cleaing with hrottle body cleaning spray. I have never seen one cause a no start problem but it might be related. Quote
spartanbilly Posted October 30, 2009 Report Posted October 30, 2009 If it runs smooth without apparent misfire and top speed is low, I would check the catalytic converter. If it's plugged it will limit power and top speed. One way to check it is to hook up a vacuuum gauge to the manifold and rev up the engine to about 2000 rpm. If the vacuum steadily drops over a short period of time the exhaust is restricted. Just a thought. Quote
Niel Hoback Posted October 30, 2009 Report Posted October 30, 2009 Hook up a code reader so you know what you're looking for. Gets you a clue at least. Quote
busycoupe Posted October 30, 2009 Report Posted October 30, 2009 If you have oversized wheels and tires you could be going considerable faster than the speedo says. Perhaps 52 on the speedometer is more like 70mph on the road. You could be near top speed. Check it with a GPS or have someone follow you. Quote
adam_knox Posted October 30, 2009 Author Report Posted October 30, 2009 Thanks for the tip on the Idle Air controller. I'd do the code reader, but no indicators popped up on the dash. The speedo is off with the over sized tires, gauge said 45 mph, I figure its slow by about 7 mph judging from traffic. Picked up the filter for 12 bucks, so hopefully that'll do the trick. Timing just couldn't be worse, this is the busiest next five days for me... Don't have a vacuum gauge, is there another "poor man's" trick to catalytic converters to check 'em? Gonna work swap out the filter tonite and spray down the throttle and Idle controller and with the injector cleaner, figure that won't take more that 45 minutes (hopefully), and see if that does the trick. Thanks for all the tips guys. I'll let ya' know if anything does the trick. Quote
Niel Hoback Posted October 30, 2009 Report Posted October 30, 2009 You may be able to get the codes by turning the key on and off twice and then on so the check engine light can give you codes. Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 Have to do the key thing 3 times on our PT Cruiser to get codes. Quote
Norm's Coupe Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 Yes, it could be the fuel pump. I had a 90 Caravan that would do the same thing. Finally, one day it wouldn't start at all when it got warm. Had to let the van sit for about an hour before it would start back up. That only happened to me once because I then had the pump replaced. But........it could also be any one of the other things mentioned, and they are cheaper to fix. So.......check them out first. Quote
MacGyver Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 I had 32" tires on my CJ7 and the speedo was about 12mph off. That being said, I wouldn't run it more than ~70mph (actual speed, not at the speedo). Its just a big box pushing a lot of air out of the way to move. With the gear ratio in the diff the motor was really spinning fast at that speed. I believe the 91-95 YJs had multiport injection rather than throttle body...(?) If so, you could check the pressure at the fuel rail, should be about 31lbs (37-41lbs with vacuum disconnected from the fuel regulator). If its less, try a new fuel pump. Or maybe the throttle position sensor??? These guys got me out of a lot of jams, perhaps give them a try. Just like this forum, there are a lot of good folks that know the quirks of these things; . www.jeepforum.com Quote
Furylee2 Posted November 1, 2009 Report Posted November 1, 2009 Could be the catalytic converter. I once had an 84 Shelby that just didn’t have any power. Cleaned out the catalytic converter and welded it back shut. Put it back on the car and got a ticket doing 70+ in a 55 the first time I took it out. Quote
JerseyHarold Posted November 1, 2009 Report Posted November 1, 2009 Check the Mass Air Flow sensor if it has one. If dirty, it can cause poor performance without setting a code. If the Jeep is a '94, it has OBDI which has a less-complex computer than OBDII. Quote
adam_knox Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Posted November 3, 2009 Well, new filter and nothing changed. Took it to a trusted mechanic, he'd bet his money (or my money) that its the fuel pump or fuel pressure sensor (i'm sure that's not the techinical name, my mind is fried). Unfotunatly he quoted me 500 bucks to do the job. The Jeep won't fit in the garage, so hoping the future father-in law will let me use his heated garage. Need to go to the library and see if they have a manual I can check out. I really wasn't planning on putting any money into the Jeep, only going to have it for 7 months... Thanks for the link on the jeep forums, plan on joining over there. Going to go through and clean every sensor before I tackle the fuel pump. Holding off on the catalytic converter at the moment, that part is around 80 bucks. Never had to replace an in tank pump, hopefully it goes easier than some of my other projects have been lately! Thanks gang, you're the best! Quote
Young Ed Posted November 3, 2009 Report Posted November 3, 2009 Most of them require the tank to be dropped. Once you get past that its pretty easy. I have heard of a few Mopar cars having an access panel in the floor to allow it to be done without removing the tank. Quote
Merle Coggins Posted November 3, 2009 Report Posted November 3, 2009 Adam, One of my friends, and co-worker, is a huge Jeep nut. He has a built up CJ7, but works on his buddie's Jeeps too. I mentioned your problem to him yesterday and his first though was fuel filter. But now you say you changed that without any change. He's pretty confident it shouldn't take much to get it running. Does it have an electronic carb or is it fuel injected. He mentioned the electronic carbs being junk and easy to switch over to an older one. Like I said, he's a Jeep nut and would be more than willing to help you get it running, for probably much less than your local shop. Feel free to call me. (414-573-8260) Maybe with his knowledge of Jeeps we can help you out. And if you can get it over to Butler, where we work, I can convince him into having a look and advising you on what it will take. Merle Quote
Merle Coggins Posted November 3, 2009 Report Posted November 3, 2009 I just talked with Ken again. I first reread your posts again to refresh the details. Since the filter didn't fix it he though for a few seconds and then mentioned vacuum lines. He's seen vacuum lines come off causing very poor performance. He also said that a '94 Sahara should have the 4.0 High Output engine with multi-port fuel injection. He has a similar aftermarket setup on the 258 in his '86 CJ. There are a few sensors related to the system that could cause problems, but they should also trip a code. He mentioned cases where distributor gears stripped, but in those cases the engine wouldn't accelerate past idle speed. Bottom line... check your vacuum lines first. And if that doesn't help feel free to call me (414-573-8260) and I'll get him more involved. I know he has sources for used parts, so he might be able to get you up and running at less expense. Merle Quote
Norm's Coupe Posted November 3, 2009 Report Posted November 3, 2009 As bad as it is, I really think it's the fuel pump. I had an 87 Reliant with a 4 cylinder in it years ago. I had real problems keeping a MAP sensor in that thing. It's also run off vacuum. But.........as Merle pointed out, that would trigger a code if it was bad. Each time it went out though, the car was hard to start. Once started it didn't idle very well either. But...........once at driving speed you didn't notice anything, until you came to a stop and it would either be a rough idle, or die altogether. That was why I didn't mention the sensor originally. Quote
adam_knox Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Posted November 3, 2009 Thanks Merle, I'll probably take you up on the offer. If I was more familiar with Jeeps and on not so tight on budget and time I wouldn't mind so much, but just feel like I'm in over my head. Darn thing won't even fit in the garage if I pull the Chrysler out! Norm, picked up a fuel filter, but then realized if that's it, should probably get the whole assembly set up for like 50 bucks more. Just need to head to Napa and see if they got it, store across the street has one five days shipping away... Luckily the thing is holding out for the week so far, but don't want to push my luck (which lately only comes in one flavor: bad). Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.