interesting engine issue

CGman · **Posted:** Tue Jul 02, 2013 6:06 pm

I decided to push my luck and take the jeep on vacation to Colorado this year. it made the 600 mile journey out in 100 deg weather, spent a few days at 7000 ft or higher and then climbed Pikes peak yesterday in the hail and sleet! (14000 ft) :shock:

when we got back to the camping area and packed up it was raining, so I jumped in, fired her up, put her into gear and and hit the gas. we got about 100 ft and the engine started idling very tough, the RPMs started going down and it felt like it was going to stall. I shut the engine down and started again, it fired up, but the rpms immediately stated going down as the engine stuttered. I didn't want to get out and look under the hood because it was now sleeting, so I gave it one more shot, and it started up and ran like there was no problem! Needless to say, I didn't shut the motor off for the next 4 hours until we got to our destination!!
Has anyone else had a similar issue, and is it something i should look into?

flash7210 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 02, 2013 6:25 pm

Check your fuel filter and priming pump. You may have an air leak.

CGman · **Posted:** Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:00 pm

I didn't experience any power issues in the mountains before or after, and no codes were stored that the cheap OBDII reader could find.

MedicPatriot · **Posted:** Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:42 pm

My laymans guess is fuel filter issue. If you have the 1st gen fuel head suspect air in the system. Happened to me before with my old fuel head and restarting it made it go back to normal. With the gen2 fuel head I have quicker starts and haven't had this happen.

CRDsyeruncle · **Joined:** Fri May 10, 2013 10:03 pm **Posts:** 71

How much fuel did you have in the tank, and were you parked on any weird angle? I had a similar stutter and loss of power, then my liberty stalled and wouldn't start until I had primed it. This happened when I was on a ferry ride (1hr 30min), the boat was riding on slightly rolling seas, and I was parked on an incline. My gauge read just over 1/4 tank.

geordi · **Posted:** Wed Jul 03, 2013 12:30 am

Fuel filter. Happens just like that, no warning.

CGman · **Posted:** Wed Jul 03, 2013 1:21 am

jeep had a full tank of fuel, and had been sitting at a slight angle...initial movement was at a nose down direction, fuel filter has around 10k miles on it

usa591 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 03, 2013 2:59 am

This doesn't really help much, but I've also had the occasional engine "fart" as well--no clear pattern, other than I need to pump the manual priming pump a few times until it's hard again when it happens. Then it's all good for another 5,000/10,000 + miles.... weird, right? No sign of fuel weeping around my first gen fuel filter head.

It definitely makes you a little nervous when it happens, that's for sure. Ha ha ha -- "yes, honey, I totally knew what I was doing when I bought this rig..."

MedicPatriot · **Posted:** Wed Jul 03, 2013 3:28 am

usa591 wrote:

This doesn't really help much, but I've also had the occasional engine "fart" as well--no clear pattern, other than I need to pump the manual priming pump a few times until it's hard again when it happens. Then it's all good for another 5,000/10,000 + miles.... weird, right? No sign of fuel weeping around my first gen fuel filter head.

It definitely makes you a little nervous when it happens, that's for sure. Ha ha ha -- "yes, honey, I totally knew what I was doing when I bought this rig..."

I always thought that too, until I actually unplugged the heater element. Then I realized there was diesel leaking around there.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:44 am

X2, the 1s gen filter head heating element can leak so badly as to visible produce a stream of fuel when bleeding the filter head or, as mine did, not appear to leak at all until I inserted a "Q" tip in the recess and found it lightly coated and heavily smelling of diesel.

naturist · **Posted:** Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:48 pm

I'd suspect the filter head before the filter for the simple reason that if the filter itself were the problem, it would not act up on startup and then later run fine. It would start up fine and then act up when power was called for, at which point it would go into limp mode and require a restart.

However, for what it's worth, having "only" 10,000 miles on the filter is not an indication of remaining service life. If you get a tankful of really, really bad fuel, it can completely use up a brand new filter.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 09, 2013 10:12 am

I had a similar event with mine a few weeks ago on the way to work. blocks from the building on the trip of like 8 miles or so it just lost power the engine would rev up to like 3000 but no power and it idled rough. I got to the last red light and could hardly make it through the intersection when it changed to green of course as soon as I stopped. as soon as I could pull over I shut off the engine and let it set a minute then it restarted like there was nothing wrong. There never was a CEL so no code set. this has happened to me a few times since i owned it. I even have gen 2 fuel head and a GDE tune. No clue why mine does this once in a blue moon.

there are a few things it don't take kind to. If you don't have a GDE tune riding the gas and brake makes it unhappy.

I had let a former significant other drive it when we were going somewhere. He started driving like a dickhead, impressed with its power and started messing around, Floored it let off quick and floored it again like a dickhead. the CEL came on and it went to limp mode on the motorway. I insisted he caused it an he pull over now turn it off and let me drive. He claimed it was the Jeep nothing he did and I didn't know what I was talking about or how to drive because he was a truck driver LOL. I got mad nearly punched him before he pulled over. Of course I got it started fine but with a CEL still on. took it to an auto parts store and used a code reader to pull and clear an overboost code, Of course he never drove it after that and is now long gone. you have to drive it decently its not a gasser you can't rev it up high either and play game with it.

fatweasel · **Posted:** Tue Jul 09, 2013 7:05 pm

Mine first CRD did that several times before it ingested a valve into one of the cylinders (over the course of 6 months).

In hindsight I think I had a stick valve and when the engine shut down it "un-stuck" itself.

CGman · **Posted:** Sat Jul 13, 2013 1:03 pm

rest of the trip was uneventful, except for a slow coolant leak due to a crappy spring steel coolant hose clip. made the 500 miles back home ( with a 40 mph crosswind) on one tank of fuel (18.8 gal)
...at ave speed of 70 mph

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:08 pm

Why were you driving so slow?

DOC4444 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:17 pm

To actually "average" 70 MPH, he would have had to travel for extended periods of time at at least 100 MPH. I suspect he means he frequently traveled at 70 during the trip.

DOC

geordi · **Posted:** Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:47 am

Not really - My trips to and from South Florida typically "average" about 70mph, because over the 500 miles the drive is, I only stop twice for bathroom / fuel and the stops are predictable - less than 15 minutes over a 7 hour drive where I am actually doing 80.

FYI: the numbers come from my GPS which I use for calculating my fuel, and the overall average tends to be between 65 and 68 most often unless the traffic borks me.

interesting engine issue

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