New to NAXJA, and a newb question

Hey all my names Josh , Im new to this forum, and to jeeps in general. I come from an old Toyota past. I have a 1997 Cherokee Sport with the 4.0.
Now the problem is that at times it will start idleing rough and missing and the rpms drop and everything. Sometimes while its having these running issues the idle will jump up to a little over 1000. It does this quite often. It also has the problem while driving sometimes. It starts jerking a little and wont go, even if i floor it it just runs rough and wont accelerate. Eventually it will snap out of it and i can resume driving as normal. This seems to happen more when its cold/half warmed up, but will also do it at operating temp.

The other thing is that there is this loud rattling from under the car sometimes, i think this is from the catalytic converter being busted up inside but im not sure, anything else it could be?

If any of you guys could help out this inexperinced jeep owner it would be very much appreciated:laugh3:

Thanks.

Get access to a code reader. They are cheap, and available for free at most parts stores. It sounds very similar to how my son's 97 was behaving, but without the codes, it's hard to say.

Alright, ill do that tomorrow, i think me neighbor has one. Ill post back with what it says. Im thinking IAC, or Throttle position sensor maybe? Plugs or wires?

97cherokeeSport said:

Alright, ill do that tomorrow, i think me neighbor has one. Ill post back with what it says. Im thinking IAC, or Throttle position sensor maybe? Plugs or wires?

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A tune up certainly wouldnt hurt..

My 97 does the same thing. It usually happens when I have been driving it enough to get to operating temp and then park for a while and then drive again when it has cooled some but not completely. I think it may extend from a problem with the upstream O2 sensor but I haven't completely narrowed it down yet since it is not a pressing issue. Please let us know if you solve the problem.

Some cats have a heat shield that is tack-welded to the corners and sometimes the welds break or rust off and then the shield vibrates. If you do indeed have a clogged cat/broken cat, then that can cause driveability issues(bogging, running hot, more).