HellcatFlyer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Bountiful, UT
This is for a '93 XJ Sport with the 4.0L engine at 270K miles or so.
I had the distributor out the other day to replace the pickup coil (AKA camshaft position sensor) due to a crank but no start situation. I had it all put back together and took it for a 15 minute test drive, working it hard to check for any missing or other ignition problems. Everything wwas working and sounding good, so I parked it for a couple of days. My wife hopped in it to drive it to work one morning and got a few blocks away before the engine began making ghastly sounds and quit on her. I asked her what the oil gauge said before it quit and she had no idea, but I'm sure it was at zero. We got it towed home and I started it up for about 30 seconds to see what I was dealing with and the oil gauge read zero and the engine was making terrifying sounds. It was more of a grinding sound than just a tapping.
So, I checked the oil level with the dipstick and it read full to the line. Next I removed the distributor cap and distributor hold down bolt. I didn't notice it while I was removing the bolt, but when I went to pull out the distributor, I saw that the bracket had snapped off the distributor body. An inspection of the broken piece reveals that there had been a crack for some time that must have propagated the rest of the way through sometime after I torqued it and did my test drive. So, first problem is I obviously need a replacement distributor body.
I think that perhaps the distributor/oil pump drive shaft may have dis-engaged from the oil pump drive due to the broken bracket. Interestingly, the gear does not appear to be worn (on either the camshaft of the distributor shaft), and the engine seems to have kept the correct timing, because it does start up and run without missing or backfiring.
I wanted to check the condition of the oil pump, so I used a long slotted screw driver to manually turn the pump drive through the shaft opening and found it very stiff and difficult to rotate. I don't know how that compares to before I changed the pickup coil, so it might have been that way for a while. Does anybody know how easily that should turn by hand? Perhaps it's time to replace the oil pump. I've had the jeep for 10 years, since it was at 169K miles, so maybe it's just due for a new oil pump.
My biggest concern at the moment, however, is what might have been damaged by letting the engine run dry of oil? I was so hoping to squeak 300K from this Jeep and if I can salvage a few more miles from it, I'll be pretty happy. What should I suspect is damaged, and how can I check to know for sure? I'm pretty handy at most mechanical things, but I've never undertaken anything so major as an engine rebuild. Please chime in and help me figure out what to check and look at to get this thing running again.
Thanks!
I had the distributor out the other day to replace the pickup coil (AKA camshaft position sensor) due to a crank but no start situation. I had it all put back together and took it for a 15 minute test drive, working it hard to check for any missing or other ignition problems. Everything wwas working and sounding good, so I parked it for a couple of days. My wife hopped in it to drive it to work one morning and got a few blocks away before the engine began making ghastly sounds and quit on her. I asked her what the oil gauge said before it quit and she had no idea, but I'm sure it was at zero. We got it towed home and I started it up for about 30 seconds to see what I was dealing with and the oil gauge read zero and the engine was making terrifying sounds. It was more of a grinding sound than just a tapping.
So, I checked the oil level with the dipstick and it read full to the line. Next I removed the distributor cap and distributor hold down bolt. I didn't notice it while I was removing the bolt, but when I went to pull out the distributor, I saw that the bracket had snapped off the distributor body. An inspection of the broken piece reveals that there had been a crack for some time that must have propagated the rest of the way through sometime after I torqued it and did my test drive. So, first problem is I obviously need a replacement distributor body.
I think that perhaps the distributor/oil pump drive shaft may have dis-engaged from the oil pump drive due to the broken bracket. Interestingly, the gear does not appear to be worn (on either the camshaft of the distributor shaft), and the engine seems to have kept the correct timing, because it does start up and run without missing or backfiring.
I wanted to check the condition of the oil pump, so I used a long slotted screw driver to manually turn the pump drive through the shaft opening and found it very stiff and difficult to rotate. I don't know how that compares to before I changed the pickup coil, so it might have been that way for a while. Does anybody know how easily that should turn by hand? Perhaps it's time to replace the oil pump. I've had the jeep for 10 years, since it was at 169K miles, so maybe it's just due for a new oil pump.
My biggest concern at the moment, however, is what might have been damaged by letting the engine run dry of oil? I was so hoping to squeak 300K from this Jeep and if I can salvage a few more miles from it, I'll be pretty happy. What should I suspect is damaged, and how can I check to know for sure? I'm pretty handy at most mechanical things, but I've never undertaken anything so major as an engine rebuild. Please chime in and help me figure out what to check and look at to get this thing running again.
Thanks!