hi from md/ poor starting KJ

[mushmelon]

hi all. new member from central maryland.

have an '02 limited w/all option minus side curtain and abs.

bought new in october during the post 911 economic slump (wanted to do my part).

now showing 82,000 on the clock and has been pretty good with the exception of a few faults maybe you can chime in on- some big, some not so much:

1) eats front rotors every 30,000 miles. changed to aftermarket after the second set of oems- no further problems so far
2) rear diff. gave up at 68,000 mi after towing a light trailer 500 mi. covered under extended warranty, but finding a competent dealer to do the work was a challenge. had it 'fixed' 4 times, and still have some gear noise...
3) driver seatbelt latch has issues. needs a new one. no biggie.

here's the clincher:

4) intermittently cranks excessively before firing (although its getting worse). been stumped by this one. have changed fuel filter and pump, check valves, etc. it gradually loses fuel pressure down to 0 over time- but only sometimes. i'm now thinking its leaky injector(s). anybody else have the same issues?

thanks for your help!

 

[Dave]

Just out of curiousity did you ever change the spark plugs. I'm sure this is not it, but the OEM plugs are good for about 30,000 miles and then the gap is pretty worn/spread. It could be a contributing factor.

Dave

 

[sleeve]

hi all. new member from central maryland.

Hello and welcome to the boards!

1) eats front rotors every 30,000 miles. changed to aftermarket after the second set of oems- no further problems so far

I had a similar problem with my 2002. My fix was to adjust the rear drums every time I do a tire rotation now. I think what was happing was, with no rear brakes, the fronts were doing all of the stopping instead of getting that 25% assist from the drums. This caused my KJ to eat rotors like no tomorrow. Now though (75K miles) I am happily not replacing rotors all the time. This might not be your issue, but it never hurts to share experiences

2) rear diff. gave up at 68,000 mi after towing a light trailer 500 mi. covered under extended warranty, but finding a competent dealer to do the work was a challenge. had it 'fixed' 4 times, and still have some gear noise...

I'm no help here... I do know and hate the sound of an improperly installed ring/pinion set.

3) driver seatbelt latch has issues. needs a new one. no biggie.

My release spring is weak now-a-days. It's rather annoying. I've been meaning to head to a junk yard and pull a newer one to replace mine with.

4) intermittently cranks excessively before firing (although its getting worse). been stumped by this one. have changed fuel filter and pump, check valves, etc. it gradually loses fuel pressure down to 0 over time- but only sometimes. i'm now thinking its leaky injector(s). anybody else have the same issues?

The only thing I can think of is water in the gas tank. But you said the starting issue is random...

 

[JeepJeepster]

Since its leaking down to 0psi(I assume PSI), try turning the key on and off a couple times before you start it. Wait around 5 seconds before you turn the key off and back on so the pump has time to build pressure. If it starts ok then, you know it has something to do with that.

It may be leaking back into the tank, not into the engine. Not sure what keeps that from happening. Could be part of the fuel pump but you said you already replaced that..

 

[2003KJ]

If it's like most other vehicles, there is a one way check valve that is supposed to prevent the fuel from running back into the tank when you shut the Jeep off. This are quite common to malfunction on most vehicles, and show the same symptoms you describe.

Turning the key on and off a couple of times (with a couple of seconds of a pause each time the key is on) usually takes care of that.

 

[Prospect62]

If it's like most other vehicles, there is a one way check valve that is supposed to prevent the fuel from running back into the tank when you shut the Jeep off. This are quite common to malfunction on most vehicles, and show the same symptoms you describe.

Turning the key on and off a couple of times (with a couple of seconds of a pause each time the key is on) usually takes care of that.

I tend to agree with that. You're losing pressure somewhere if it leaks down to 0. If only you could figure out where...

 

[mushmelon]

was in fact the injector, gas was leaking into cylinder #4. finally got bad enough to throw a code- P0304 (misfire #4).

replaced the injector, all is well. simple enough job- much better than replacing the fuel pump/filter/sending unit module.

also- if any of you do this job, be cautious about the injector electrical connectors. the lock slides on mine got very brittle with age/heat. 5 out of 6 broke unfastening them.