Rocky and I had round one today...

[Cnickgo]

So I traded the baby Jeep for a 1995 YJ 2.5L AW5. Top and interior are pretty darn good. It has a good amount of rust on it, originally from PA, about the same as the baby Jeep had being from Maine. I have named the YJ Rocky, after Rocky and Bullwinkle, because it is powered by angry squirrels. Previous owner was chasing an intermittent immediate shut-off while driving. He did:

New:
-fuel pump
-starter
-MAP sensor
-Fuel filter
-muffiler
-ignition coil
-sparkplugs and wires
-full size spare.
-Idle Air Control Valve (IAC)
-Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)
-Crank Position Sensor (CPS)
-Fuel Pump
-Distributor
-Rotor button

Wow! Also kept all the old parts so I have a good stock of spares. My research points to a bad ground, possibly fuel pump, possibly ignition, possible PCM. It got pulled onto the trailer. When I got home I started tracing wires and checking grounds hoping to find something. It would crank and crank and crank but no start. I found a plug missing a relay just hanging next to the battery, so I jammed the horn relay in there. It was apparently coincidence, but bam it started! I achieved my first goal, which was to back Rocky off the trailer and into the driveway under its own power. Drove up and down the street, cut it off, started it back up again, all was good easy fix, done right?

Went to dinner at Smithfields, got home, cranked it up for Sid and it idles for a couple seconds then dies. Back to square one, crank crank crank no spark. Check the relay I plugged in, looks fine. Scratch head and look around a lot, try to crank it more. Put a spark plug tester on it, Sid say no spark. put multimeter on coil while unplugged from distributor cap, it reads good (I think I need to double check my method there). I started doubting the spark plug test so we threw a spare plug on a plug wire, grounded it, Sid turns over the key expecting to prove to me that the plug tester was working just fine and holy crap there is spark and it starts. Couldn't repeat the issue for the rest of the night, including when I actually wanted it to start so I could go home... it starts.

-It's not fuel. It doesn't die like fuel, wont start on starter fluid.

-Seems to be completely random like a loose connection, but maybe more apt on a cold start, I will see in the morning.

-I've typed so much I forgot what I was going to say here.

Really I'm waiting for it to not start again so I can test the ignition switch and/or ignition lock cylinder. The guy's veteran Chrysler mechanic had a hunch for a bad ground in the column, and this is the general direction Sid and I are heading right now with the ignition switch. I was going to post a few pictures, but I got way into diagnosing and next thing I knew it was dark and I was tired. I am looking forward to some top down daily driving.

 

[shortxjdoug]

it sounds like a serious ground issue....or if its is similar to the 4.0 injection there is a cam sensor in the distributor that controls spark i would go through those connections...even though he put a dist in it the connector may be scuzzy


buy that big tube of dielectric grease and just go crazy with it....that shit works wonders

 

[cabz]

A 4cyl YJ?, copy cat just remember once you get it going good . they like a good beating.

 

[Cnickgo]

A 4cyl YJ?, copy cat just remember once you get it going good . they like a good beating.

At least yours is a different color! It matches my neighbor's YJ up the street exactly. The nice thing is he has already been down here to see it and already offered a whole bunch of stuff he has taken off of his, like 30x9.50 BFG ATs

Oh--- and it started this morning with no troubles.

 

[Cnickgo]

There she is, washed awaiting wax. It's actually a really nice color once its clean and I got a good look at it wet. Going to see what wax does but it may need a clay bar or something to bring it back to life.

 

[IllianaXJ]

Nice. That's what I was looking for when I traded for my 2 door XJ.

 

[043500]

So now it's getting a 2 car hauler...since you brought no jeeps to the crawl this year...you are now required to bring 2 next year. LOL

 

[Cnickgo]

So now it's getting a 2 car hauler...since you brought no jeeps to the crawl this year...you are now required to bring 2 next year. LOL

I would really like to find a 2 place trailer. But one of the Jeeps would most likely be Tim's.

It would be funny to bring two though... Wouldn't be sidelined after breaking one!

Spent 5 hours hand stitching about 10ft on the soft top today. Its cool when different hobbies come together, I used my leatherworking needles and braided fishing line. Also removed the trashed O2 sensor and installed the new one.

 

[kastein]

The electronics are very very similar to the same year XJ. Most of the same wiring, just laid out differently due to the ECU and fusebox and some other stuff being in different spots on the YJ and XJ.

Check your grounds for sure, also try literally shaking the wiring harness and/or tapping the fusebox with a wrench. Chasing intermittents sucks, but once you narrow down the area it's in, they aren't too bad really.

 

[Ghost]

Nice! I ran that same drivetrain for about 5 years in my 84 XJ. It is the same electronic system as the 4.0 of that year. Like they said stuff might be layed out different but its the same Codes and such.

 

[stumpXJ]

Spent 5 hours hand stitching about 10ft on the soft top today. Its cool when different hobbies come together, I used my leatherworking needles and braided fishing line. Also removed the trashed O2 sensor and installed the new one.

You're so damn handy!

 

[Ghost]

You're so damn handy!

Don't you have a jeep to destroy... er I mean build!!??

 

[XJFrankenstein]

I have a '95 YJ 4 banger and I experienced the exact same problems. Kastein's advice is on target (as usual). Check/clean the grounds and wiggle the harnesses. My problem turned out to be the wire harness connector that plugs onto the coil. I took some pliers and squeezed the 2 female connectors to tighten them up, and now the YJ runs like 4 scalded squirrels.

The AX5 is not the most robust tranny, so I recommend changing the oil (something that's easy on brass synchros) and no hard downshifts.

 

[Cnickgo]

You're so damn handy!

Hey, handy is essential when unemployed!

I went another round yesterday and started one today. A neighbor gave me some 30x9.50 BFG ATs that he had taken off of his YJ. They vary in tread depth but they were free and better than running 215s! Put them on my eccos I kept from a earlier stage of the rocket. I tore out the exhaust, the previous owner had partially cut it before the cat because the cat was clogged, and I think he couldn't remove the muffler or whole system? I dunno but for whatever reason the downpipe was cut and the sound was obnoxious. I yanked it all out, separated the muffler from the cat, played the maracas with the cat for awhile until everything was busted up enough it would come out the output, booger welded everything back up with a borrowed harbor freight piece, and ahhhhhh... Quiet.

The intermittent issue has still been plaguing me. It affects start ups and driving. I grabbed both the digital and analog multimeters and wen't to town on sensors yesterday. Everything looked good. I was a bit disappointed because I was hoping to find that one of the replaced sensors was bad from the start. A lot of the behavior led me to TPS or MAP, but both were great on the multimeter.

I brainstormed a lot last night and came up with a list of diagnostics. Today it misbehaved during the short drive in the neighborhood. Misbehaved in the driveway. First on the list was to clean, refresh, and slather dielectric grease on all the grounds. So far it's running great in the driveway. It makes sense, as the problem is intermittent and almost seems to pick whatever bad sensor it wants to imitate at the time. Cross your fingers.

 

[Cnickgo]

I have a '95 YJ 4 banger and I experienced the exact same problems. Kastein's advice is on target (as usual). Check/clean the grounds and wiggle the harnesses. My problem turned out to be the wire harness connector that plugs onto the coil. I took some pliers and squeezed the 2 female connectors to tighten them up, and now the YJ runs like 4 scalded squirrels.

The AX5 is not the most robust tranny, so I recommend changing the oil (something that's easy on brass synchros) and no hard downshifts.

Nice! You posted as I was typing that "update". Hopefully the grounds are it. I might have bumped/shifted that connector to the coil too while I was cleaning the dipstick ground.

I put Redline MT-90 into the AX-15 in the rocket. Definitely made a difference. You must not know my driving habits though (things tend to go boom). That is a good suggestion I will put the trans fluid change on the list.

 

[kastein]

The AX5 is not the most robust tranny, so I recommend changing the oil (something that's easy on brass synchros) and no hard downshifts.

Agreed. I have seen 3 exploded ones in the last 6 months (from different vehicles.) I combined them all into one working unit to keep on hand as a spare in case someone asks me for one. Rebuilding em isn't all that hard, even with the wrong tools and used parts. I just tore them all apart, set the parts out in 3 piles, removed the obviously FUBAR stuff and threw it in the scrap pile, then took the best one of each remaining part as I rebuilt it :confused1

Run MT90/MTL90/whatever they call it, Pennzoil Synchromesh, or full synthetic 10W30 in them. NO GL5 unless it lists yellow metal safe, no GL3 "compatible" unless it's not GL5 compatible and/or lists yellow metal safe.

 

[stumpXJ]

My buddy also destroyed his ax5, but beat the crap out of it.

 

[Ghost]

My buddy also destroyed his ax5, but beat the crap out of it.

There is a great solution for that.... its called the AX-15.

 

[043500]

AX-15 out of a 2.5L Dakota.

 

[cabz]

i have been through 3 ax5's they realy dont like lockrites. The backlash from locked axles tears em up pretty good.