New Member Needs Help

[CNTRYCOWBOY]

Hello to all. I have been reading up on XJ's for quite a while and yesterday I bought a 1990 I-6 off of a buddy of mine for $500. The battery was dead so we jumped it and it started right up and we drove to Auto Zone to get a new battery. It ran fine the several miles to the store. We get new battery connectors and a new battery, I get back in to head home and it won't start. I'm getting power, and its trying to turn over and eventually will but will sputter out within a few seconds, and if it does run it runs very rough and spits out black smoke. I can hear the fuel pump running, but I can't keep it running for very long. I did some searching and found some info on the cps and a couple of other parts. I was just wondering if anyone had this problem or know what it might be. Thanks for any help in advance, and look forward to posting more that I now have an xj.

 

[churky89]

First thing I would do is change the fuel filter.
If it has been setting for a long time,there may be sediment in the tank..
Put some 93 octane in it...
You didn't mention whether it was TBI or MPFI...
Check each and every vacumn line starting at the vacumn canister,passenger side behind the front bumper all the way to the firewall,and in the engine compartment.Those hard plastic lines are notorious for breaking.Breaks can be spliced using 5/32 ID gasline hose.
I am sure that some of the others will chime in with other ideas...

 

[8Mud]

Check your air filter for oil. Check the oil filler cap for excessive pressure. Pull a couple of plugs and check for oil or an oily crust. Take a look in the spark plug hole with a flashlight, and see if the piston top (may have to turn the motor over a bit by hand) is oily.

 

[Sarge]

93 octane gas isn't going to help it any. The 4.0 isn't set up to run that high of an octane. The higher the octane the slower the burn. Use the regular gas and run some Techron or similar efi cleaner thru it.

Sarge

 

[CNTRYCOWBOY]

Thanks for the replies. Its broken down at my friends house so I'm getting ready to head down there and try a few things. ie fuel filter, some fresh gas. I'll post some pics when I get back

 

[CNTRYCOWBOY]

I replaced the fuel filter and the pressure regulator and it starts, but I don't have a good seal on the regulator going onto the fuel rail. Had to stop work tonight b/c of day light, I will resume in the morning.

 

[CNTRYCOWBOY]

Got the pressure regulator on along with new cap rotor plugs. Now I have another problem. I am not getting any spark. I put one of the old plugs back on and I was getting a faint spark, but no spark with the new plugs. They were obviously firing before I changed everything, because I could get it to fire but it would not stay running. The new plugs are the right plugs (autolite) and i used them to replace bosch platinums, and I'm getting more spark out of the nasty bosch's than the new plugs. Any other opinions? I've had the jeep two days and still have not driven it anywhere? I have been searching all night and from what I have seen it can either be the CPS or TPS I have tried searching!