Blake Noble

Well, I decided to have the muffler and cat replaced and it seems to have cleared up the hiccuping issues I mentioned so far. It's also nice to have a decent muffler again. I knew the exhaust needed a mild overhaul when I bought the Jeep, but original muffler had begun to rot away on the top facing the floorpan in a way that was impossible to initally see. In any case, I believe I will have the fuel pump/filter replaced (since it's all one part on later model XJs) at some point in the near future just be on the safe side, but so far I'm sailing smooth again. Plus, with the new high flow cat and the Dynamax Turbo, the exhaust note sounds nice and throaty now, especially at idle. Eventually, I'll have the header, downpipe, and tailpipe replaced and it'll sound that much better.

Honda still builds the Accord coupe as of today. Nissan, however, did decide to drop the Altima coupe.

The thought certainly crossed my mind. I should add that the random stalling/restart issue while driving below highway speeds seems to happen regardless of whatever the tank has in it.

Fix one thing, another thing breaks. I spliced a new hard line in to fix the bad brake line (the hard line busted right around where it screws in to the bracket that holds up and mates it to the soft line), now I have the oddest stalling and sputtering issue along with what I still suspect is a rattling flex plate. I spoke too soon about sailing smooth, but whatever. I'll navigate through the choppy waters. If the Jeep has less than an 1/8th of a tank, I've noticed that it will randomly buck at highway speed (55 to 60 miles per hour) and stall at a dead stop. It will also randomly die and somehow revive itself while driving at speeds of less than 40 to 45 miles per hour, especially with light throttle (it's speedy about waking back up if you depress the throttle about half way and tap it a few times). I'm not sure if I have a filthy IAC sensor, nasty throttle body, faulty TPS, or a lethargic fuel pump. It defintely seems fuel related to me, and the PCM doesn't store any codes when the Jeep takes one of these epileptic episodes. There's a remote chance that this could be caused by a (suspected) faulty flex plate, the CKS, or the CPS. As for that flex plate, I'm not 100 percent certain about it. I'm confident there's a light clacking sound coming from somewhere underneath the Jeep where the engine and transmission meet, but it also sounds like a clogging cat or possibly a bad main bearing. Thoughts?

I haven't had the chance or much time to get new pics, but the Cutlass now has a set of original Olds Rally rims painted to match the car.

I wasn't able to, but the injector change seems to have worked for now. Now I have a busted driver's side rear brake line to deal with and loose flex plate bolts. I also removed the console and seats today to clean the carpet. I never, ever want to do that job again. Ever. I should have worn a fricking HAZMAT suit, it was that much of a disaster area. The odor of pet urine was almost overwhelming after I removed the back seat. I also discovered a mouse had made the HVAC duct work its home for a period of time. I had old Honey Comb cereal in my vents. It's clean now, though, and it's going to stay that way. I'm also convinced that this Jeep doesn't have 280,000 miles. Honestly. I'm going to pull the DMV records on it and see if the cluster was swapped out for a higher mileage cluster at some point before I bought it. The more I work with this Jeep, the more I believe it's more like a 180,000 mile vehicle. This Jeep needed intensive cleaning and a few odds and ends, but I've been sailing way too smooth so far to be dealing with a vehicle with almost 300,000 miles on it. I know I have a reciept showing this Jeep only hit the 100,000 mile mark in '06 or so. Something doesn't add up.

I've already had the injectors cleaned, so that's out. I'm going to inspect the harness running from the injector and possibly replace it along with the injector.

And there is also Fiat and Alfa Romeo in that picture as well.....Fiat for small cars, Alfa Romeo to target VW and Acura cross-shoppers, maybe... Alfa will be going into waters much deeper than Volkswagen and Acura territory. Marchionne wants Alfa to target BMW buyers. That said, there's still room for Dodge. Chrysler will go after VW. Or, to put it another way ... Fiat: Small cars sold here for CAFE ratings. Dodge: Budget performance with heritage. RAM: Truck brand. Jeep: SUVs and crossovers. Chrysler/Lancia: Entry-level premium cars with an emphasis on a higher content of luxury and technology than Dodge. Think Oldsmobile, less Buick or Mercury. SRT: In house tuning division for Chrysler products. Think AMG. Alfa Romeo: Premium brand. Maserati: Luxury brand. Ferrari: Halo brand. That's nine brands total. With the Mopar (just OEM motor parts), Fiat Professional, and Iveco brands thrown into the mix, the number grows to twelve. For the record, that's still a few brands less than VW Group.

If I have some time after work tomorrow, I'll snap some new pics. I think ocn will like the latest update.

The injector is bad, or at least that's how it's turning out so far. Used the old "screwdriver as a stethoscope" trick to listen to each injector and the number three injector doesn't sound ... healthy, I guess?

Sigh. Okay. Cue the obligatory smk post that goes, "Well that's another reason why Cadillac sucks. Mercedes-Benz hasn't changed their logo in eleventy billion fricking years. Blah, blah, blah." Anyway, I can see them dropping the wreath, but the crest is probably going to stay.

I wish I were that lucky. For 2000, the 4.0 went to a distributorless ignition system. The coil pack is overall easier and cheaper to replace than a distributor and wires, but it makes plug changes and inspections a headache.

Well, the damn cylinder three misfire code reared its ugly head again last night on the way home from work. As an added bonus, it brought a friend: a code for an open circuit on fuel injector three. So, I'm going to chuck the whole Jeep. Stupid piece of crap. It's up on Craigslist right now and I hope I never see it again. Just kidding. I think I've got a good idea of what could be going on here. Theory one (most likely): It's a bad fuel injector, so spend about $100 bucks (that's parts and labor since I don't have exactly the tools to work on the fuel injection system lying around) to have the faulty injector replaced. I'm going to pull the coil pack and the number three spark plug to check for any fouling or carbon build up. If there is, then I'll feel even more certain about replacing the injector. Theory two (also likely): Many XJ Cherokees produced between 2000 to 2001 have "heat soak" issues. Basically, because fuel injector three is so close to the exhaust manifold, the heat coming from the mainfold combined with an already hot engine (a heat soaked engine) will sometimes cause fuel to vaporize within the injector and then a subsequent misfire (so, basically, this is sort of like vapor lock just with a newer engine). Theory three (less likely, but still likely): It's a bad coil pack. I know my local Advance Auto liked pushing that idea when I had them read the code this time. I mean, I know how a bad coil pack could cause a misfire on that cylinder, but it doesn't explain the fuel injector. Alternatively, it could be a bad Camshaft or Crankshaft Positioning Sensor, but I'm not betting money here since the Jeep doesn't have any major stalling or sputtering going on. I also bought some repair and restore items for the old Jeeper today. Fun stuff should be in the pipeline after I get this engine hiccup sorted out.

... Anddddd (almost) done.

Well, the old gal started running a little rough tonight and the CEL came on, so I swung by O'Reilly's and hooked it up to a reader. The scan came back with a misfire on cylinder three. Long story short, I bought a set of plugs and immediately changed out the number three spark plug. Problem solved. The CEL went off and she's running smooth again. Why, exactly, did this happen? Because someone wanted the best of the best for my old XJ, they went ahead and put a set of Bosch Platinum 2 plugs in it. Believe it or not, many 4.0 I-6 engines don't like Bosch Platinum plugs and will burn through them. There's a hole where the electrode should be on the old spark plug. It's also my understanding the 4.0 requires a longer tipped plug for the best spark and the Bosch plugs are too short.

Expect this platform to be used elsewhere, not just at Alfa.

You know, the old Cherokee Casablanca concept was kind of cool. Hmmmm ...

Trust me, though, you'll want to keep that WJ of yours regardless. The Back to Black helped quite a bit, but I'll look into a restoration kit eventually. I'm not terribly worried about the front bumper end caps. The passenger side end cap does have a crack in it, so it'll have to be replaced ... or thrown away if I buy a winch/bumper combo from Quadratec. Ditto the tires. I've scrubbed the living hell out of them and gave them two good coatings of tire foam and that nasty red clay mud is still buried down in the rubber. They're on the block to be replaced after the coming winter months with a set of these:

Here are a few new photos. First few are before I threw some Mother's Back to Black on the bumper end caps, ripped the crappy door guards off, and scrubbed the wheels down for the billionth time. Here's an up-to-date pic after some further cleaning. I'm stil not done with it yet. I'm going to spray the living crap out of the underside of it, try to clean the engine bay out, and clean the seats and carpet again to get the million year-old dog and kids smell out of the interior. I'll admit, the mileage was a little off-putting at first. The more I checked the Jeep out in depth, though, the more I could tell it really wasn't horribly abused. I'm almost convinced that someone was beyond determined to drive this Jeep until they were on their death bed. Like I said earlier, I've driven and owned XJs with fewer miles that were in far worse condition than this one. Just for the record, this was the first XJ I bought, a '98 Cherokee Sport. It only had about 163,000 miles if I remember correctly and it already needed the top end of the motor rebuilt and a decent number of cosmetic problems sorted out. Granted it was only $450 dollars, but even still. It had fewer miles and it was in dire need of intensive care. Just for the hell of it, here's what I managed to turn that Jeep into after a thousand gallons of elbow grease and a few hours with a socket set. It's also neat that I have plenty of reciepts, warranty cards (for the aftermarket stuff), and all of the original books for my Jeep. That's just further proof that it came from a loving home. Usually, someone would've just thrown that stuff away or misplaced it by this point.

After driving it for a total of 60 miles today, it has 280,227 on the clock. I don't want to jinx my luck so far (this is a 0331 4.0L Cherokee after all), but this Jeep may just last for another 200,000 miles without any major problems. I do want to give most of the cooling system a thorough updating, however (flush and fill, then install a new lower main radiator hose, water pump, and thermostat). I don't think it's really needed, but it would be extra piece of mind. I may have to make a trip to Hobby Lobby and buy some material (as long as it isn't the $h!ty stock rat fur stuff) to fix the headliner soon. It sags worse than a fifty year-old coke whore. It also likes to play with my hair like I would assume a fifty year-old coke whore would do as well. I'll have some updated photos on here tomorrow. I still have more cleaning to do, but she's really shining up nice.

Well, I had to clean a whole can's worth of corn out of the Jeep today. Lucky for me, it was still in the can. I also found my rear view mirror. Okay ... the real one is still in the Jeep, I just have to reattach it to the windshield. Thank ya, sir. I have to dig in a little more on the clean-up process tomorrow (shampoo the seats and brush the stupid dog hair out of the carpet) and blow the cobwebs out of the fuel system, but I don't think I've ever seen an XJ with over 200,000 miles this solid before. It doesn't even rattle, squeak, or clank over bumps! And, yep, it's too bad Jeep didn't take this approach for the KL Cherokee ...

Thanks, man. This is the third XJ I've had, but the first that's actually fit to drive. I had photos of how bad the rust ate away the floorpans of the '91, but I lost them when I had to restore my phone back to the factory default settings. After knocking the loose dirt and grit out of the pans with a wire brush and sanding them out, you could see a good amount of earth around the area where the rear leaf spring mounts welded to the driver and passenger side frame rails. Spending the money to fix something like that wasn't out of the question, but in the end it made more sense to just cut my losses and move on to another Jeep In the end, though, I don't completely regret buying the other two XJs. They were both weren't terribly expensive in the end and turned out to be invaluable hands-on learning experiences in what to look for and consider when buying a decent Cherokee. Also, now that the dust's settled, I also feel pretty confident tinkering around with them. The 2000's power windows are sort of wacked-out, but I know how to fix them after working on them in the black '98 I had.

Guess I should finally post an update here. The green Jeep, obviously, is long gone. I eventually reached a point in the teardown process where I discovered the rust was far, far worse than I had initially realized and had to come to the conclusion it sadly wasn't much good for anything else other than a trail toy. So, I sold it to trade up to a better Jeep that I had found through AutoTrader at a small Chrysler dealer in Paris; this one was a solid '97 five-speed two-door model. Long story short, someone came in and snapped it up what could only have been hours before I showed up with the money. From there, I sourced a cheap '98 four-door SE model missing a fender flare and stereo for $850 through Craigslist. It was driven by an older man and was well maintained for most of its life. Despite this, I was a little leary of buying another sub-thousand dollar XJ and wanted a night to think it over. When I finally decided to buy it, it too had already been snapped up. So that finally brings me to what I've finally wound up with here. This is a rock-solid 2000 model Cherokee Sport in Desert Sand featuring the uncommon Selec-Trac NP242 transfer case with full-time four-wheel drive. It has a few niggles and it needs to be cleaned horribly, but it's been well taken care of for most of its life and (it's sad I'm happy to share this) I drove it home without any drama. Third time's the charm I guess.

I don't know if I would jump to conclusions about that car based on a spot of rust on the rear bumper. Judging from the pictures, that one spot is the only rough area on the entire car. Who knows? I've seen cars develop surface rust just from sitting in an average garage with wildly fluctuating humidity levels. Overall, the car looks clean enough to merit checking out, but whatever.