renix Experts! i can't get my jeep to run right!

hey guys, a couple months ago, i dunked my 89 wagoneer limited in the drink.
i swapped the motor, and every sensor under the hood, and the bendix computer unit under the dash(just swapped computer this morning). it won't run right, no matter what i do, and i have thought i had the distributor off a tooth several times and i keep pulling it back out, lining everything up, putting it back, and it just doesn't get any better! i'm running out of ideas, and my wife is getting very, very tired of sharing her car with me. i consider myself a decent mechanic, so i don't really think that taking it to another mechanic is gonna help me, especially since i'm so low on money right now.
89 wagoneer limited
4.0l/aw4/np242/d30/d35
all power options.
cleaned all connections under the hood,
replaced cps, tps, iac, O2 sensor,Map sensor bendix ECU, ENGINE,
all fluids, sparkplugs, coil, module, dizzy, cap, rotor, wires.
this has become a very expensive wheeling trip, and i still can't get it to run well enough to drive it home!
when it ran its best, it dumped raw fuel out of the tailpipe, and only ran well above 2k rpm.
thanks guys! i really need my jeep back!!!

wonder what the RENIX has to say for itself? If you can find one, get a RENIX factory service manual and start checking the values at the diagnostic connector. Most of them can be read using a standard multimeter or at most a DMM.

What is the motor doing and not doing?

so you have the tps adjusted properly right?
checked fuel pressure, and spark?
cleaned out the intake?
knock sensor?
thoroughly cleaned all grounds?
making sure the alternator is giving proper voltage?
made sure injectors are good?
sure battery connections and battery is good?
i once junked a jeep to a friend and the battery was slowly going out along with the fact i never tightened my terminals very well, i was 17....
ignition coil is good?
fuel pump is good?( when you check fuel pressure you will prob find out)
once again, the tps is new right and adjsuted properly?
no vacuum leaks?
checked the fuse box ?
egr valve and egr solenoid (i test mine with a mittyvac, can be a problem for sure)
grounds!!
youre 100% the dizzy is at tdc right?
igniton control right below the coil is good right?

also , you say it wont run good, but what exactly are the symptoms? misfires? stumble then die? really really rough?
check throttle valve cable
check voltage to all sensors(or ohms, whatver) to help pinpoint a mess up in the wiring harness somewhere if you know the sensor is good and the voltmeter is off?



this is obvious but are you 100% sure you have your plug wires in the correct order? firing order is on the manifold. i know a guy that bought a nice ass jeep cuz it was running like hell. recognized the owner had the plug wires crossed and he got a very good deal and drove it home after paying the guy...

it's kinda intermittent. for now, the best it will do is start up, run semi ok until i try to rev it up, then misfire, sometimes backfires, then when i let off the gas altogether, it'll sputter out and die. once it does that, you hafta let it sit for a week or so before it'll come close to running right again.(ok, maybe not that long, but that's about how much time elapses before i have another opportunity to drive an hour to my friend's house and mess with it some more.)

Sounds like too much fuel to me, but that's a complete WAG. Are the injectors working properly?

And yeah, what Jon posted is a great list of things to check to start out.

not sure how to tell if injectors are good, but they were before the dunk. i swapped in an engine from a 92(ran good, but the jeep was totaled), which doesn't take a knock sensor, but when i did the same swap on my last xj, the knock sensor didn't make it run bad, because i didn't hook one up. egr is bypassed, as it was on my old jeep. i do know that the dizzy is in the right spot. intake got cleaned out with the engine swap, although it was pretty clean. the water it got dunked in was crystal clear. tps is off a junker, but worked on it.

Did you pull the flexplate off of your 89 and put it on the donor engine?

stockli said:

Did you pull the flexplate off of your 89 and put it on the donor engine?

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yes i did. donor jeep was a 5spd, so i had to to keep my aw4.

did you seperate the C101 connector (if you have one) and dry/clean all of the pins?

Just spitballin' here....HTH.

Jeff

edit -> wait a minute......you said you kept the flexplate off your 89 and reinstalled it on the 92 engine? 89 is Renix, 92 is HO. That ain't gonna work (or work well, as you can see)

Hes running all Renix electronics I assume.

Did you keep your intake and everything off your RENIX?

Everything you need to know about Renix sensors: http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Engine/Basic_Sensors_Diagnostics.htm

You MUST post up info on your tests--fuel psi at the Schrader valve with and without vacuum to the regulator; compression; CPS/CKP resistance; TPS reference voltage and output voltage; synch sensor (CPS/CMP)--MUST use analog voltmeter for this; MAP values; MAT values.

Until you post up NUMBERS you will continue chasing your tail, swapping parts, and getting nowhere.

If you test the components at some point you will find either a bad component, or something in the harness that isn't right (especially after using it as a submarine and then letting it sit and corrode).

thechief86 said:

yes i did. donor jeep was a 5spd, so i had to to keep my aw4.

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does this mean you bought a new flexplate. if donor was a 5 speed and has a flywheel, what is on the engine and connected to the aw4?

other then the flexplate/flywheel, you also need the distributor from the old engine.

more details are needed. are you using just the block from the 92 or the block and head, what intake and throttle body.......

You selling the 5 speed and clutch from the donor?

When indexing the distributor you should be standing at the passenger side fender. Directly across the dist from you is 12'oclock position. So then the distributor will be set that way if that is not how you have been doing it. I bought a jeep one time that needed to be reindexed because it was clocked 90 degrees off. The issue you are describing sounds very similar. it would start and run at a high rpm while dumping fuel in the cat causing it to glow in daytime. it ran very rough when the accelerator was depressed, coughing and sputtering.

Stihl029 said:

When indexing the distributor you should be standing at the passenger side fender. Directly across the dist from you is 12'oclock position. So then the distributor will be set that way if that is not how you have been doing it. I bought a jeep one time that needed to be reindexed because it was clocked 90 degrees off. The issue you are describing sounds very similar. it would start and run at a high rpm while dumping fuel in the cat causing it to glow in daytime. it ran very rough when the accelerator was depressed, coughing and sputtering.

Click to expand...

Is this where the 11 and 5 oclock postitions come into play? I couldnt for the life of me figure that out. Some guys say put the oil pump slot at 11 and 5 and drop her in and good to go, are they talking about standing on the passenger side fender while doing it?

i could prolly sell the ax15 and clutch....
as far as numbers, i have no testing equipment. i'll try to get some help from someone who does this weekend i guess. i'll try the fuel filter and maybe the pump since the filter's cheap, and the pump is under warranty. while i have the tank open, i'll drain it and refill with fresh gas. i'm tired of chasing my tail, but i guess that's what i'm stuck with for now.

stockli said:

Is this where the 11 and 5 oclock postitions come into play? I couldnt for the life of me figure that out. Some guys say put the oil pump slot at 11 and 5 and drop her in and good to go, are they talking about standing on the passenger side fender while doing it?

Click to expand...

yes, passenger side fender.