ghetdjc320 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Ok all, it’s the end of a long day working on the Jeep in the heat and I can’t track down this problem. I was back stateside for about a month and when I got back it didn’t want to start. It finally did fire up bu once I had it running again I noticed I was down on power. That progressed to the occasional engine cutout once it was warmed up it would act like it lost either fuel or spark for half a second and come back. RPM gauge would drop too. Of course, out comes the parts cannon and I replaced the O2 with a genuine NTK, new NTK CPS, new Mopar TPS and IACV. The Jeep hasn’t had any issues firing up since I got back until now. Today I replaced the coil and dizzy since I assumed my cutting out issue likely was there. Once I had them installed (and the distributor was perfectly indexed by the way), I cranked for a while and then sputtered to a terrible idle. It got smoother over time and cleared up. I shut it off and went to restart but it wouldn’t come back on. Acted like it was flooded so I left it for an hour and had lunch. Fired right up after that so I assume it was flooded which of course is not common on a FI engine. Since then restarts have been very hard, it is way down on power (like there is maybe 50 left lol). I pulled a plug and attached it to the coil wire. Got good spark. Pulled the fuel rail and the i hectors are all firing. Compression tested each cylinder and they are all great. So I got out the multimeter and vacuum gauge. Vacuum is low and flutters like crazy around 10-12Hg. MAP is reading 3.1v at idle which is not very smooth. I feel like I have too much fuel and bad timing. I am sick of the inability to fine tune both these items but have to live with it for now. Desperately in need of some assistance here on this one. Also swapped the CTS with a new Mopar one. Even had a spare ecu I tried and they are both the same. Can’t find any sort of vacuum leak either and I checked everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cummins93 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Any chance your timing chain is worn? You tested fuel pressure under load/ while the problem is happening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 13 minutes ago, Cummins93 said: Any chance your timing chain is worn? You tested fuel pressure under load/ while the problem is happening? I’ve thought it may be a timing chain issue. Haven’t checked it yet but it’s on the list. Pump was replaced, no difference. I have adjustable roller rockers also so I was going to check out the valve adjustments. Just a huge pain to get to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 this isn't one of those nightmares that started with bad gas is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 The gas is good. Filled up 2 cars same time same pump. It feels like I have a slight mechanical issue (maybe timing chain or cam???) and the computer is going nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 Ive been in the same boat all year. Can lobes wore i bet. Rebuild it inside out. Next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted September 4, 2021 Author Share Posted September 4, 2021 8 minutes ago, MiNi Beast said: Ive been in the same boat all year. Can lobes wore i bet. Rebuild it inside out. Next. A good possibility especially with my 505 “performance” cam. I have good compression but zippo power Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 Ever bend a push rod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted September 4, 2021 Author Share Posted September 4, 2021 Ok se here are the latest test results: pushrods are not bent and it does not seem like there is a worn or wiped cam lobe. Compression tested great on all cylinders around 150. I have adjustable roller rockers so I did do some fine lash adjustments but nothing was really out of whack. What I did find came in the way of distributor indexing. The distributor is not lining up as it should. Now consider I have an aftermarket cam and this may account for it. I may have to cut the ears off the distributor and get it properly set. Currently the rotor is too far clockwise when installed and properly lined up with the bolt hole. my cam sensor also looks a bit different than most I see. Tagging @Minuit since I know he also has an HO. I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting. Here is where the rotor should line up (this is not my picture, it’s from angelfire). Note that I have a different cam sensor but you can still reference the position based on the metal tab. The rotor should point to the 5 o clock position with the engine at TDC on compression stroke. Here is where mine lines up with the engine at TDC and the dizzy fully seated and lined up with the hold down bolt: Here is where mine should line up if I use the pin through the factory holes method: But when the rotor (and consequently the cam sensor) are in the right position, it will not align with the hold down bolt: And this is what my cam sensor looks like: Now i can theorize that one of three things is the issue here. 1. This is an aftermarket cam and I may have to cut off the distributor ears to properly index it since the valve timing may be a bit different from a factory cam. 2. My timing is off a tooth and causing this or is in some way damaged. 3. There is some other electrical issue that is the underlying problem. If I’m going to tear into the engine to replace the timing chain I may swap in a different cam and get rid of this obd1 fuel injection all together. I don’t like it and can’t get feedback from anything. If i do that I’ll go with a Holley terminator X or HP system. I already built a nice base tune for this engine in the Holley software. But first of all I need to figure out if I have a mechanical problem here. Any thoughts? And here is a pic of the beautiful valvetrain that unfortunately is always covered with a black tin can: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 cruiser54.com has a write up on distributor indexing. I think I would start there and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted September 4, 2021 Author Share Posted September 4, 2021 58 minutes ago, watchamakalit said: cruiser54.com has a write up on distributor indexing. I think I would start there and see what happens. That indexing is for a renix distributor on a stock engine. Doesn’t really apply in my case but I did check it out. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 6 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said: That indexing is for a renix distributor on a stock engine. Doesn’t really apply in my case but I did check it out. Thanks! Well then my next step would be swap in a renix system. But then again I have never claimed to make wise decisions..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted September 4, 2021 Author Share Posted September 4, 2021 56 minutes ago, watchamakalit said: Well then my next step would be swap in a renix system. But then again I have never claimed to make wise decisions..... If I swap efi systems I’m going aftermarket for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 It was running well before, right? Can a distributor just all of a sudden be indexed wrong on its own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 8 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said: It was running well before, right? Can a distributor just all of a sudden be indexed wrong? Thats a good point. Mechanical components general don't fail sitting. I would lean more towards an electrical problem due to corrosion being the issue. Was it running when parked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Jiggle the coil connection wires. Mice damage? Hei distributor upgrade to join the list? You have bbq going...I'll be right over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghetdjc320 Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 It was the distributor indexing. That along with some fresh plugs and it fired right up and runs great. Had to cut the tabs off the dizzy and just use the regular hood down clamp. Made sure the cranks was dead on TDC and adjusted the dizzy using the pin method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted September 6, 2021 Share Posted September 6, 2021 Good to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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