I've had it with this Jeep!!!!

[CLynn85]

Sorry, just been a rough night. I had a slight miss when I left for classes this morning, never a good thing, a small miss always turns into a big miss for me. Sure enough by this afternoon it was barely running. Finally threw a CEL so I could read it, Cyl 5 misfire, cyl 1 and random cyl misfire pending. I have some gremlin in my electrical system that I can't seem to get rid of. The entire thing's been replaced since I've owned it and still no luck. Add on the mystery squeek in my front end that doesn't seem to be brake or wheel bearing related, the rust coming through the body in the rear, and the broken exhaust hanger that resulted in folding and cutting off the tail pipe this week, and I've had it. I should've bought a Toyota!!! Sorry, just needed to vent a little bit, long week and now all this crap on top of it.

[flyingwil]

Sorry, just been a rough night. I had a slight miss when I left for classes this morning, never a good thing, a small miss always turns into a big miss for me. Sure enough by this afternoon it was barely running. Finally threw a CEL so I could read it, Cyl 5 misfire, cyl 1 and random cyl misfire pending. I have some gremlin in my electrical system that I can't seem to get rid of. The entire thing's been replaced since I've owned it and still no luck. Add on the mystery squeek in my front end that doesn't seem to be brake or wheel bearing related, the rust coming through the body in the rear, and the broken exhaust hanger that resulted in folding and cutting off the tail pipe this week, and I've had it. I should've bought a Toyota!!! Sorry, just needed to vent a little bit, long week and now all this crap on top of it.

Carl-

What do you plan on doing to fix it? I understand your frustrations being a former Jeep Owner. My '74 CJ-5 would never dail in properly on the Pro-Jection. It was a daily fix or attempt, on a brand new 304, that was never happy!

[CLynn85]

The weather's supposed to be complete crap for the next few days so I don't know when I'll be able to work on it, 70% chance rain/thunderstorms, not lookin good. Guess I'll pull the plug wires and check the ends and give em each a shot of contact cleaner and put them back on. Try that, if not pop the dist cap off and take a look, which may be a PITA cause I siliconed it on the last time hoping to aleviate my water problems. Just take it a step at a time. It just came at a really bad time.

[cshontz]

Carl,
The misfire could be related to the clock spring behind your steering wheel. This went bad on my 99 TJ after I accidentally dumped a bikini top full of rain water on my steering column. The trouble codes pointed to the throttle position sensor, and then they replaced the computer when that didn't work - and then they finally found the clock spring was the problem. Fortunately, it was still under warranty at the time. A clock spring problem can seemingly cause misfires like those you are experiencing, and can also cause your horn to sound at random intervals. Fun.

Also, your mystery-squeak could very well be the double-cardan assembly on your front driveshaft. These joints tend to squeak after they become dirty and dry. Pain in the butt, but a little TLC fixes 'em right up.

Hope these ideas help!

[CLynn85]

Well I found the source of my misfire. Somehow moisture found it's way into my dist cap, condensed, and corroded the terminals again. Is there anyway I can stop this? Everytime I went through water I'd get it wet, and it'd miss until it dried up, so I siliconed around the seal and hoped that would take care of it, and haven't had any problems really since, until this week. I guess it came in under the little vent cap at the top somehow.

[HongerVenture]

...condensed, and corroded the terminals...so I siliconed around the seal

Siliconing the seal probaby created the problem... that is, it prevented any moisture that entered from ever being able to drain out. Who knows how it got in there... but it did. Probably just condensed in there on a hot, humid day.

I can't remember where I saw it, but I saw a cool "mod" for highly exposed distributors. Take a rubber surgical glove and cut off the fingertips. now, run your plug wires in through the tips of the fingers and connect them to the distributor. Cover the rest of the distributor with the palm portion of the glove. This should keep water out. I wouldn't leave it on all the time... you want the distributor

Do this whenever you will be trapsing through water... or just carry a can of WD40 and spray it out whenever you get water up in there.

Come to think of it, using some dielectric grease on the plug wire connections and spraying inside the distributor with WD40 every couple months might just be good preventative maintenance.

In high school I was with a buddy in his Ford Ranger... we were puddle-jumping. He hit a huge one and got tons of water in the distributor... it started running really rough. He was afraid he'd damaged the engine, so he shut it off. Couldn't get it started... his dad came out, sprayed WD40 in there, and it started right up. All this to say, I'm sure glad I have coil packs and not a distributor.

Joel

[CLynn85]

That's true. And I've been weighing all the ideas back and forth in my head a lot. I left the vent unsealed last time when I siliconed around the base of the cap, thinking it would allow it all to evap out, I mean, they put the vent there for a reason... And it didn't really look like water had come up under the vent cap and into it, I just can't really tell. An the dist is mounted very low. So without sealing it it's almost inevitable that it'll remain dry during creek crossings. I think this time I'm going to seal around the bottom again, modify the cap with a barbed fitting and run some 1/4" hose up higher and see if I can find a dry spot for the vent.

[flyingwil]

Carl-

I am not too sure on the size of the distributor, but you could fab up a cover out of tupperware, and seal the holes for the wires. When you see condensation build up just pop the lid and let it dry, and reseal.

Just an idea....

[blaze one]

" I should have bought a Toyota ! " ...... that's funny , where have I heard that before ? ...... oh yeah , I say it every time I sit in my Chevy Blazer !! .
Live and learn i guess , even though not all Jeeps are bad , and not all chevy's are bad either . I have a love/hate relationship with my truck , and any car/truck i have ever owned , so maybe there is no "correct" answer to a vehicle .
Sorry for the rambling , just thought I could help rationalize your situation .

[HongerVenture]

I have a love/hate relationship with my truck

You non-Toyota owners shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Some days, I feel like I have a love/hate relationship with my Toyota too. For instance, recently the light bulb in the dash board that indicates when I'm in Drive burnt out... the process to tear apart the dash just to replace the bulb is ridiculous! Argh!

Albeit, if that is the most significant problem that I have, I guess I shouldn't complain. I'm just saying that all vehicles have their quirks.

All courtesy and helpfulness aside though... You should have bought Toyotas!

Hehe, forgive my twerpishness.