Topic: jeep grand cherokee:Running rough and strong smell of petrol (Read 13415 times)

bunnykins · « **on:** May 16, 2009, 09:36:55 AM »

my jeeps been running rough and there is a strong smell of petrol.

i have just changed 5 of the 6 spark plugs [ all 5 of the old ones were black - could not get to the one nearest the radiator ! ]

/ new distributor cap and rotor / and 5 new leads. afterall that its still running rough.

any jeep mehanics out there with ideas what needs attention ?

is it the cat lamda sensor or injectors ? how do you clean the lambda sensors ?

the RAC cleaned the distributor before i changed all the above and it seemed to go fine for 20 mins.

i also filled up £50 of petrol in wales coming home, could it be dirty petrol ?

i also did realised that i ran out of water in my coolant tank before this happened but did top it up.

thanks

Panic mechanic! · « **Reply #1 on:** May 16, 2009, 11:20:10 AM »

you can't really clean lambda sensors, you just replace them,its good if you can get oem ones but some jeepers including myself have used the universal ones,give lighthouse a call about them ( you can find their number in the suppliers section)
If your jeep is running rich then usually it is down to them, they control all the fueling to the injectors so change them and then run some injector cleaner as well and hopefully it should be sorted.
(p.s they can be a complete arse to get out, especially if they haven't had copper grease on the threads when fitted)

greggmo · « **Reply #2 on:** May 16, 2009, 12:14:42 PM »

has your catalist gone?

Bishops Finger · « **Reply #3 on:** May 16, 2009, 08:48:05 PM »

Is it intermittant...?

bunnykins · « **Reply #4 on:** May 16, 2009, 08:52:20 PM »

Quote from: "bunnykins"

my jeeps been running rough and there is a strong smell of petrol.

i have just changed 5 of the 6 spark plugs [ all 5 of the old ones were black - could not get to the one nearest the radiator ! ]

/ new distributor cap and rotor / and 5 new leads. afterall that its still running rough.

any jeep mehanics out there with ideas what needs attention ?

is it the cat lamda sensor or injectors ? how do you clean the lambda sensors ?

the RAC cleaned the distributor before i changed all the above and it seemed to go fine for 20 mins.

i also filled up £50 of petrol in wales coming home, could it be dirty petrol ?

i also did realised that i ran out of water in my coolant tank before this happened but did top it up.

thanks

bunnykins · « **Reply #5 on:** May 16, 2009, 08:53:11 PM »

Quote from: "Panic mechanic!"

you can't really clean lambda sensors, you just replace them,its good if you can get oem ones but some jeepers including myself have used the universal ones,give lighthouse a call about them ( you can find their number in the suppliers section)
If your jeep is running rich then usually it is down to them, they control all the fueling to the injectors so change them and then run some injector cleaner as well and hopefully it should be sorted.
(p.s they can be a complete arse to get out, especially if they haven't had copper grease on the threads when fitted)

thank you will ring them monday for one

bunnykins · « **Reply #6 on:** May 16, 2009, 08:56:00 PM »

Quote from: "Bishops Finger"

Is it intermittant...?

yes was intermittant, but now...............its not !

i havent driven it since i changed all the bits as it was still running rough, was not sure what i need to do so better not to drive
as i may damage the engine ?

bunnykins · « **Reply #7 on:** May 16, 2009, 08:57:05 PM »

could it also be the cat ? how much for one of those ? :shock:

Bishops Finger · « **Reply #8 on:** May 16, 2009, 08:59:02 PM »

Wouldn't drive it at the mo...hopefully the doc will have an idea

Have you refilled it since the dodgy petrol..?

Bubba · « **Reply #9 on:** May 17, 2009, 10:40:56 AM »

if not the catalist i think it may be the downstream 02 sensor

Mike Pavelin · « **Reply #10 on:** May 17, 2009, 11:39:08 AM »

Most likely cause is upstream O2 sensor but the thing should run ok from cold even with the sensor shot to pieces as the PCM doesn't look at it until it's up to temperature.

BTW, when you say you ran it out of coolant, did it overheat? They have a habit of melting pistons when that happens. That'd sure make it run rough.

bunnykins · « **Reply #11 on:** May 17, 2009, 07:26:50 PM »

Quote from: "Mike Pavelin"

Most likely cause is upstream O2 sensor but the thing should run ok from cold even with the sensor shot to pieces as the PCM doesn't look at it until it's up to temperature.

BTW, when you say you ran it out of coolant, did it overheat? They have a habit of melting pistons when that happens. That'd sure make it run rough.

where are the o2 sensors ? i've just read that its the lambda :-)

the coolant tank [ expansion tank ? ] was empty when i first discovered the roughness, but the temp gauge was normal.

Tank · « **Reply #12 on:** May 17, 2009, 08:13:14 PM »

I thought Lambda and o2 sensor was the same thing.... :?:

Panic mechanic! · « **Reply #13 on:** May 17, 2009, 08:51:03 PM »

they are,lambda sensors the geeky name for them

Mike Pavelin · « **Reply #14 on:** May 18, 2009, 07:31:59 AM »

The O2/Oxygen/Lambda sensor you're looking for is in the front downpipe.

Do you have a regular misfire on one cylinder or random roughness? It might be worth doing a compression check before changing any more electrical bits.

bunnykins · « **Reply #15 on:** May 18, 2009, 07:23:44 PM »

Quote from: "Mike Pavelin"

The O2/Oxygen/Lambda sensor you're looking for is in the front downpipe.

Do you have a regular misfire on one cylinder or random roughness? It might be worth doing a compression check before changing any more electrical bits.

i wouldnt know how to.

Bishops Finger · « **Reply #16 on:** May 18, 2009, 09:58:49 PM »

Not all of us do

Where are you based dude..?

bunnykins · « **Reply #17 on:** May 19, 2009, 06:59:08 PM »

suffolk

Bishops Finger · « **Reply #18 on:** May 19, 2009, 08:30:08 PM »

FTE

Mansfield

Doc

bunnykins · « **Reply #19 on:** May 20, 2009, 10:01:33 PM »

ordered the lambda will fit this weekend.

bunnykins · « **Reply #20 on:** May 23, 2009, 08:02:31 AM »

fitted the lambda, still not cured the problem. the lambda sensor was covered with black soot.

took it to mansfield 4x4 and they are puzzled, nothing has showed up in the codes.
and they cant look at it till tuesday.

could it be something simple like the auto chock is on ? or any of the fuses is blown
is there anything else that controls the air/fuel mixture ?

battery reading is ok / temp guage is ok / oil reading is ok .

?? thks

Panic mechanic! · « **Reply #21 on:** May 23, 2009, 08:09:08 AM »

its normal for a lambda sensor to come out covered in carbon, the only other thing I can think it may be worth a look at is the cold start system, is there a cold start sensor thats died and the engine is always thinking its not warmed up.

PtP · « **Reply #22 on:** May 23, 2009, 05:46:08 PM »

I’m surprised the O2 sensor didn’t resolve the problem.

Have you checked the air intake system is not blocked with something? What state is the air filter in?

The other things to consider are the MAF, TPS, CPS and the downstream O2 sensors. I think you can just unplug the first two (one at a time) and see if this makes a difference at tick-over. You will probably end up with the EML light on on the dash though.

Just my 2p worth!

PtP · « **Reply #23 on:** May 23, 2009, 08:22:27 PM »

Quote from: "bunnykins"

……the RAC cleaned the distributor before i changed all the above and it seemed to go fine for 20 mins……

I’ve just re-read the original post and there is also a camshaft position sensor in the distributor, could this be faulty or loose even?

?

I bought a new O2 sensor recently for my TJ off ebay and some of the ebay sites explain the symptoms that their products will fix, so it might pay you to search on ebay for MAF, TPS etc. (not necessarily for Jeeps) and see what symptoms they describe each sensor will fix.

bunnykins · « **Reply #24 on:** May 24, 2009, 08:58:01 AM »

Quote from: "PtP"

I’m surprised the O2 sensor didn’t resolve the problem.

Have you checked the air intake system is not blocked with something? What state is the air filter in?

The other things to consider are the MAF, TPS, CPS and the downstream O2 sensors. I think you can just unplug the first two (one at a time) and see if this makes a difference at tick-over. You will probably end up with the EML light on on the dash though.

Just my 2p worth!

its all too technical for me, whats MAF, TPS, CPS ? thanks

Author Topic: jeep grand cherokee:Running rough and strong smell of petrol (Read 13415 times)

bunnykins

Panic mechanic!

Bishops Finger

bunnykins

bunnykins

bunnykins

bunnykins

Bishops Finger

Mike Pavelin

bunnykins

Tank

Panic mechanic!

Mike Pavelin

bunnykins

Bishops Finger

bunnykins

Bishops Finger

bunnykins

bunnykins

Panic mechanic!

bunnykins