Advice on 2006 jeep tj

[MariaManche]

I have been having trouble with my 2006 jeep TJ for the past year. Hopefully some CC members can help me out. 

 

SYMPTOMS

When driving, no matter what gear, I feel a slip. It seems to be more prone to slipping after driving 10 to 15 minutes. I watched this morning as it was slipping and I don't see a noticeable change in my engine rpm. 

 

WHAT I HAVE DONE

1. Replaced clutch.
2. Replaced Rear Main Crankshaft Seal. (thinking oil was getting on the clutch)

 

To me, this has to be my clutch slipping.... The rear main seal job went smoothly and it is no longer leaking. 

 

Any Advice?

 

[watchamakalit]

Did you have the flywheel resurfaced when you changed the clutch? 

[MariaManche]

 

1 hour ago, watchamakalit said:

Did you have the flywheel resurfaced when you changed the clutch? 

I did not. Because It is a tapered flywheel and from what I have read resurfacing it will remove that taper. 

 

I inspected it, and removed any contamination. It has 150k on it. Would you suggest digging back in there and replacing the flywheel?

[GrandBoost98]

3 hours ago, MariaManche said:

I watched this morning as it was slipping and I don't see a noticeable change in my engine rpm. 

This seems odd and would make me think that its not "slipping" if you see no change in RPMs

[MariaManche]

Well it might be such a quick slip that its not very noticeable in the rpm. Most of the time I am not watching my rpm when it happens. I will try to get better information on that on my way home from work if it does it.

 

I would say this slip happen 30% of the time I drive it. When it first started acting up, I parked it until I replaced my clutch. Now, I am not worried about it breaking down on me but its just extremely aggravating. 

 

The reason I went after my rear main seal was because (1.) It was leaking and (2.) After a trip where the jeep would slip, I could smell a burnt oil aroma in the driveway. 

 

This is a 6-speed manual by the way. 4.0 I6, NP231, Dana 44 rear

[gogmorgo]

If you don’t resurface the flywheel the part that the clutch bolts to ends up raised above the friction surface, meaning the pressure plate has to make up extra distance and may not be able to clamp hard enough. Sometimes you can get away with not doing anything, but if there’s a step worn into the flywheel something will need done. 

[MariaManche]

42 minutes ago, gogmorgo said:

If you don’t resurface the flywheel the part that the clutch bolts to ends up raised above the friction surface, meaning the pressure plate has to make up extra distance and may not be able to clamp hard enough. Sometimes you can get away with not doing anything, but if there’s a step worn into the flywheel something will need done. 

Would you bother resurfacing it or just replace it with a LUX flywheel? Seem Reasonably priced.

 

One thing I continue to learn the hard is to replace/refurb components associated with what you are repairing... 

[ghetdjc320]

Does it slip while in 4high? Does it slip in 4low? Have you tried popping the clutch to see if it will slip? 

[gogmorgo]

If it is slipping likely the best way to confirm is by getting some load on the drivetrain (driving uphill for example) and giving it some significant throttle. If RPM goes up but speed doesn’t, then it’s slipping. 
Pulling a transmission is not a small job, so I don’t really want to tell you to go change the flywheel it if it’s not actually going to fix your problem. I don’t know that we’ve confirmed that you have a clutch slipping problem yet. You should at least hear the engine rev up while it’s happening. 

As to resurfacing vs replacing, up to you I guess. I’ve seen a few people say they’ve resurfaced it without issue.

Supposedly (I haven’t confirmed myself but it’s been reported from a few sources) the factory service manual says not to resurface because of the “proprietary contour”. You can sand light grooving (0.001-0.003”) if you want to but anything more than that and you should replace it.

I’ve also seen people report using a straight edge and being unable to see the “proprietary contour” on a new flywheel. I’ve never personally checked one. I see more than a few people report finding a contour on their used flywheel, but measuring a wear surface while you’re replacing components that are worn beyond wear limits is not exactly going to give a reliable indication of what the thing originally looked like.

I have a hard time imagining the aftermarket would be making flywheels with the “proprietary contour” or clutch discs to fit it, so with that ASSumption you’re probably fine resurfacing. But the easiest way to get peace of mind that your clutch and flywheel match would be to buy them both from the same manufacturer and replace them as a matched pair.

[MariaManche]

Update..... I think this was self-caused and I am an idiot. 

About a year and half ago, I replaced my camshaft and crankshaft positioning sensor trying to get rid of a rough idle issue. Didn't fix the idle issue and my check engine light came on. The Jeep seem to run fine so I just told myself I would replaced the aftermarket sensors with OEM whenever I got the chance. I ran my codes yesterday and I've got P0016, P0501, & P0344. 

 

P0344 is Intermittent loss of cam sensor signal and from what I have read can cause your jeep to go into "limp" mode. Maybe this is the "slippage" I am feeling...

 

I am going to order the correct MOPAR cam and crank sensors and hopefully this fixes the issue. Not sure. 

[JZLAJeep]

Glad it sounds like an easy fix.

[ghetdjc320]

The Mopar opda units are known to be defective. The crown opda is the upgraded version.