89 cherokee hesitation

[rotorfloat]

Hello all,

I've an 89 Cherokee laredo, 4.0/5spd, and all the sudden one day, and all the time now it'll nearly stall as I begin to clutch it away from a stop, you know..just a touch of gas and the tach drops right off and if I don't push the clutch back in, it'll quit. It's a real pain revving it way up all the time to get moving.

Any ideas out there would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
rf

[gtmud]

Is it like the engine is lacking enough torque(power).
CHeck your timing, plugs, cap, rotor. Then I would look into your fuel system.

[rotorfloat]

ya gtmud, new plugs/wires/cap/rotor...getting prepared to delve into electrical..not my forte...there's no moving parts!!

the power returns after the brief hesitation/rpm drop as I get moving from a stop. I can also mimick the problem by upshifting early, and trying to apply the throttle gently at low revs, it just cuts out, but then returns.

[gtmud]

You have fuel injection right? I would look at your throttle position sensor on the side of the throttle body. Look for any vacuum leaks, carb cleaner or brake cleaner sprayed in the engine area works great for this.

[rotorfloat]

Thanks gt, with george's link in another thread, I'm going to scour over all my sensors and see what's what. If it'll stop raining that is...

[rotorfloat]

Grettings again all, I thought I'd top this thread, read of a few others on here with similar problems. My hesitation problem has been solved, with more accurate symptoms. It only became sluggish after warming up...ran fine when cold, I did all the usual stuff, plug/wires, checked tps, cps, iac motor.

As it would turn out, the problem was the EGR valve and solenoid, opening too early. Parts were just under $200 (canadain, so like $5 for you guys....lol). Problem solved. Thanks for all the help.

[rotorfloat]

Ok, another gripe, the EGR valve does not come with a gasket, so I go back to the dealer to order one. They say no, the gaskets come in packs of 5, and they'll never sell the other 4...go try somewhere else....bah!

[cbc racing]

RF,

Very glad to see that you have your problem solved (or at least going in the right direction). I have an 87 Cherokee doing nearly the same thing. I am familiar with a solenoid but neither my husband nor I can seem to determine what an EGR valve is. Can you please clarify for me, I would greatly appreciate it as we are both looking at your resolution as a ray of sunlight in what has been a very grim couple of weeks.
Thanks in advance.
Chris
CBC Racing

[JDPascal]

HI cbc.

An EGR valve recycles some of the exhaust gasses into the intake and cylinders to be reburned to cut down on emissions. If the EGR valve is open when it shouldn't be, the fuel mixture is diluted and a lack of power or a rough idle is the result.

The valve on your engine should be sitting somewhere around the middle of the manifolds. It will have a vacuum servo and vacuum line to it.

If you remove the vacuum line and plug the line then run the engine like before, you will soon know if that is the cause of the problem.

JD

[cbc racing]

Thanks JD for the clarification. Anyone have any ideas on how to bypass the stinking EGR Valve. They are over $100 online and for what we are using the Jeep for (a mudbog competition truck) there is absolutely no reason to have it in there. As always...would greatly appreciate any help.
Thanks guys.
Chris
CBC Racing

[JDPascal]

Hey CBC

FOR OFF ROAD ONLY, you can permenently disconnect the vacuum line and if the EGR valve is not leaking, there should be no problem. I've made block off plates for some situations using gasket material and 3/16" flat plate material then you for sure have it out of the picture. (but we'd never do this for on road would we???)



To make a pattern of the shape and get the bolt hole locations, lay the gasket material over the manifold location and tap the gasket material with the ball end of a small ballpeen hammer. The tapping will cut the paper and there is your shape and a gasket all at the same time.

y'all prolly new that anyhow but just incase there it is.

JD

PS: went to some serious mudbogg racing on July 31/04. There was all classes from these mud dragsters down to the street class. Some pics for you to see at this host.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v254/jdpascal/mud%20bogg/

The truck on the “hook” did the pass in 2.73 seconds but could not control the bounce while stopping in the short runout track and he rolled it in slow motion. Only broke two rims but couldn’t find replacements and was out for the day.

[cbc racing]

Thanks JD...that seems to be the consensus. We were just concerned about the computer having issues with it but everyone we have talked to is saying the same thing Awesome pictures by the way. We are a little lower tech than what those appear to be and we run down, around the corner and back. But...not sure where you are from...but we have a bug that runs that looks almost exactly like the one in your pictures. Too funny...we thought we had a one of a kind thing in the circuit that runs around here, guess not
Thanks again everyone. Will let ya know when we have it all fixed and how she is running.
Chris
CBC Racing

[mansjeep]

JDPascal

Why for OFF ROAD only? I don't see the reason why it can't be on-road. I also would like to just take out this EGR (don't have problems with emissions here). Please elaborate? Thanks!

[JDPascal]

where there are no emission tests done you would have no hassle with the regulators.

where emission testing is done there are possible fines and the equipment has to be fixed before it is allowed back in use..

Aftermarket equipment is often labeled "for off road use only". This means that if used for normal transportation, that the vehicle will not meet emission standards.

JD

[tgrudzin]

Had the same problems with a 94 Saturn, guessed it was an EGR valve, but the part alone was $165.00 (US). Anyway, before I could really narrow it down to that, ( and trying to save money) it died on the road and had to be towed. I suggested the EGR valve to the mechanic, and the following day he changed it. They do show signs of going bad. In my case, it was the engine failing to drop RPM's quickly after shifting.
Oh well.

Ted