LOST JEEPS
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/

Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=91686
Page 1 of 1

Author:  litton [ Sun Sep 20, 2020 1:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

A couple of days ago I got a frantic call from my wife. She was stranded after there was a Clunk Clunk from the engine and it stopped running. Fortunately, she was able to get it safely parked but she was not a happy camper. I, of course, figured this was the end of our little Liberty as clunking noises from an engine seldom bodes well. When I got there I figured might as well try turning it over and, guess what, fired right up and ran like a top.

More info came out, the engine never stopped running, just lost power and, when she stopped, it was idling just fine with no warning lights. We drove it over to our repair shop and left it overnight. The next day the report came in, no codes, nothing in history, and test drives with the computer hooked said everything was working just as it should. He did say some items like crank and cam sensors and not monitored as well as the fuel pump

What on earth could this be? My confidence in the car has taken a hit and I'm not sure if I can trust it not to take a dump when my wife is on the freeway or someplace else less convenient. Maybe it's time to let it go.

The Jeep is a one owner, always garaged, 83,000 miles, new timing belt 6K miles ago, all services done, and with a GDE Hot Tune since 39K miles.

If anyone has any thoughts about what to do next it would be appreciated.

Author:  PZKW108 [ Sun Sep 20, 2020 2:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

Might be a piece of metal on the road !

Author:  WWDiesel [ Sun Sep 20, 2020 3:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

Crank sensor? Has it ever been replaced?
They are notorious for stopping the engine and not setting a code. :banghead:

Author:  PZKW108 [ Sun Sep 20, 2020 5:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

WWDiesel wrote:
Crank sensor? Has it ever been replaced?
They are notorious for stopping the engine and not setting a code. :banghead:


According to OP story, the engine never stopped !

Author:  iakj11 [ Sun Sep 20, 2020 6:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

Engine running, loss of power. Transmission?

Author:  Jett [ Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

WWDiesel wrote:
PZKW108 wrote:
WWDiesel wrote:
Crank sensor? Has it ever been replaced?
They are notorious for stopping the engine and not setting a code. :banghead:

According to OP story, the engine never stopped !

Maybe you need to go back and read his OP again? :wink:
litton wrote:
A couple of days ago I got a frantic call from my wife. She was stranded after there was a Clunk Clunk from the engine and it stopped running.


“More info came out, the engine never stopped running, just lost power and, when she stopped, it was idling just fine”

Maybe YOU need to read it again. And maybe we all need to hear the wife version of the events, since she was the only one there lol.

Kinda tough to diagnose a problem with a Jeep that has no problems, third hand. Knowing how women describe car problems, I don’t think we can really trust any of this. Sounds like it lost power for a sec and freaked her out so she parked and shut it down and called you. I hope you praised her as this is EXACTLY the correct protocol. Unfortunately with the sign off from the tech, kinda have to let it get worse before we can hope to make it better.

Author:  PZKW108 [ Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

WWDiesel wrote:
PZKW108 wrote:
WWDiesel wrote:
Crank sensor? Has it ever been replaced?
They are notorious for stopping the engine and not setting a code. :banghead:

According to OP story, the engine never stopped !

Maybe you need to go back and read his OP again? :wink:
litton wrote:
A couple of days ago I got a frantic call from my wife. She was stranded after there was a Clunk Clunk from the engine and it stopped running.



LOL

Author:  layback40 [ Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

I think it must be a full moon on you guys side of the pond!
Need you all to take a chill pill.
:POPCORN: :5SHOTS: :ALONE: :SOMBRERO:

Author:  litton [ Mon Sep 21, 2020 3:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

I appreciate all the replies. Yeh, when she called the report was that it stopped running but when I got there and more info came out she had meant that it stopped responding to throttle input. After she pulled off and it idled for a bit and the engine would not go above idle she shut it off and did not try to restart.

LOL, one of the first things she did was to check to see if it was in gear.

Do you think I should just go ahead and replace the crank and cam sensors out of an abundance of caution? Or just sell it?

Author:  casm [ Mon Sep 21, 2020 3:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

litton wrote:
Do you think I should just go ahead and replace the crank and cam sensors out of an abundance of caution?


See if there are any stored codes first, but replacing these isn't necessarily a bad idea. I've seen cam and crank sensors fail intermittently before, and not always with a code being thrown - but if there are any in there, it would help to know about them before throwing parts at the problem.

Did she happen to notice any unusual soot output when this happened? I'm suspecting a sensor, but there are a couple of other things that could be at play here.

Quote:
Or just sell it?


Not just yet... Pretty sure we can get this figured out :D

Author:  WWDiesel [ Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

There have been quite a few reports of engines stalling due to a failed crank sensor that never set any DTC (diagnostic trouble code).

But since we now know the engine did not completely quit running when it lost power, it could simply be that it got a small slug of air in the fuel.
That could have caused what was described as well if you do not have an intank fuel pump installed.
If you can catch it doing it again, pump up the fuel pressure using the manual pump on the fuel filter head and see if it cures it.
Without a trouble code being set , it is very hard to diagnose the problem without additional information. :banghead:

It may be something very simple causing the problem which can be easily fixed. So I would not jump to selling it.

Author:  litton [ Mon Sep 21, 2020 5:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

I really appreciate all the help. I do not have a booster fuel pump and that, along with the aforementioned sensors, do not throw a code. As far as the crank and cam sensors go, I would rather throw parts/money at the problem than have my wife break down somewhere. Reliability is the overriding factor. FYI, I have already replaced the fuel/water separator when it started to leak and caused the poor thing not to start.

Any recommendation for a fuel booster pump.

If I am not mistaken, a slug of air in the fuel will cause a clunk noise.

Author:  casm [ Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

litton wrote:
I really appreciate all the help. I do not have a booster fuel pump and that, along with the aforementioned sensors, do not throw a code. As far as the crank and cam sensors go, I would rather throw parts/money at the problem than have my wife break down somewhere. Reliability is the overriding factor. FYI, I have already replaced the fuel/water separator when it started to leak and caused the poor thing not to start.


Just to clarify: was the entire fuel filter head replaced, or only the filter and water-in-fuel sensor? I think I know what you were saying, but want to be sure.

Quote:
Any recommendation for a fuel booster pump.


I'm using a Carter P76148M pump and Sasquatch Parts' wiring harness for the same. You can also roll your own harness by modifying one taken from a gas KJ; see this page for installation details.

Check all of the usual suspects (Amazon, eBay, Rockauto, etc.) for pricing on the fuel pump.

Quote:
If I am not mistaken, a slug of air in the fuel will cause a clunk noise.


It can. Out of curiosity, does the primer pump on the fuel filter head go soft after the KJ's been parked for a while until you pump it up again?

Author:  Jett [ Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

How much fuel in tank?
As far as thunks they are a bit subjective but yeah, an engine starving for fuel could make some thunks.
Get scanned and come back.

Author:  AlexLogger [ Mon Oct 05, 2020 3:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Wife Heard a "Clunk Clunk" and Lost Power

maybe there was something iron on the road

Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/