She's getting old and going down hill

[ShadowedXistence]

Seems like there are tons of problems these days...

P0300
P0306
P0522

I know what they mean, but don't know if the 0522 could possibly be causing the others... don't know how the oil works in conjunction to everything else.

Had the P0306 problem about 2 months ago, replaced the fuel injector, ignition coil, and spark plugs. Light went out for quite a while until about 2 weeks ago and then would come back periodically; more so when it sat for about a day and was a little colder outside...

The misfire only happens in idle, no shutter or anything while driving... the jeep sat for about 2 days and I started it up on sunday, and there was like a knocking, only for a couple seconds... turned the engine off... started it again; same thing... off and on again... no knocking.

The engine has never over heated since I have had the car... EVER!

There seems to be a slow drip of water coming from my exhaust pipe regardless of the weather or temp.

Also, heater only works when foot is on the gas pedal... coolant is full. I was having a problem with it not working AT ALL, then added coolant, and it worked for a while... but now I am having this problem and the coolant is still full...

Also, when accelerating I can here a swooshing noise from the engine bay, almost like a swoosh gurgle kinda thing. IT'S WEIRD!

Im starting to loose it with the engine, can't figure it out... just had a baby and don't have the money to be taking it to a mechanic... somebody help please...

 

[kb0nly]

Hmmm... with your coolant related problems i would say the best thing to start with is see if you can get someone to do a compression test on all cylinders just to diagnose the engine first. Could be a failing head gasket? But then you said the coolant is staying full so that leads me to believe you were just low and you might also have some air in the system.

An air bubble would cause problems with coolant flow to the heater core as well. Did you mean that you have air flow but not hot air?

I would try bleeding the system to see if there is air in it. I had a loose radiator hose clamp that was dripping slow and i kept adding coolant as i was tracking it down. The shop i bought it from flushed the coolant and put on new hoses when i bought it. So after a few heating and cooling cycles the clamps needed to be retightened... Anyway i kept seeing the coolant level going down a little bit every couple days and was worried i had another leak, then one day i was topping it off when it was cold and i had just started it and started to hear a gurgle/whooshing sound and some air bubbles were showing up in the overflow, still had the cap off, after a minute or so the bubbles stopped and now a week later the fluid level hasn't changed at all. So i had some air in the system yet from when they changed the hoses evidently.

As for the water from the exhaust, pretty common, unless its like running out in a stream its probably just normal condensation. When i start my KJ or the wife's PT in the morning i see a good spitting of condensation out for a few minutes and then a drip now and then even after they are warmed up and idling.

The other thing you might want to check is water pump, see if there is any signs of it weeping coolant. When you mentioned you had to keep on the gas for heat, again do you mean blower airflow, or actual heat flow?? If your having to be on the gas to keep heat going into the airflow then it could be a weak water pump, but it could still also be air in the system and the added engine speed is helping force coolant through the heater core.

 

[ShadowedXistence]

Yes precisely... it is blowing out air at normal speed but heat doesn't come out unless I'm on the gas... I have a compression tester... I'll check that out... also, might sound dumb... but how do I bleed the system to get the air bubbles out if that happens to be the case?... AND thank you! Very Helpful!

 

[kb0nly]

Yes precisely... it is blowing out air at normal speed but heat doesn't come out unless I'm on the gas... I have a compression tester... I'll check that out... also, might sound dumb... but how do I bleed the system to get the air bubbles out if that happens to be the case?... AND thank you! Very Helpful!

There is what looks like an allen head bolt where the top radiator hose goes to the engine, you loosen that a turn or two with the engine cold and then start the engine and let it warm up, now someone can correct me if i am wrong but i don't believe the KJ has a solenoid in the heater hose line so you shouldn't have to turn the heat on to be circulating the coolant through the heater core, and make sure your reservoir is up to the cold full point, about half full and keep an eye on it and also leave the cap off. As it warms up the thermostat will open and coolant starts to flow through the engine, you watch that bleeder and leave it open until you get a solid stream of fluid out, no air or gurgling and bubbles. Once its just fluid coming out tighten it down with the engine still running, top off the reservoir to the fill line if needed, and put the cap on.

One the minivan we had i bleeded that thing after replacing the water pump and everything was fine until it got cold in the fall... Turned the heat on and pushed a massive air bubble into the system, there is a solenoid that turns off the coolant flow to the heater core unless the heat is turned on.

 

[kb0nly]

Oh one more thing....

Does the engine get up to normal temp, about the halfway mark of the temp gauge?? If not you could have a stuck open thermostat as well. The thermostat housing is also a pretty common place for leaks it would seem.

You might also want to try replacing your pressure cap on the reservoir if you purge air out of the system and get the heat working but still have a leak. Those caps can go bad over time and allow the pressure to blow out some coolant over time.

Lots of things to check!

 

[ShadowedXistence]

Yes the engine gets up to normal temp

 

[valvestem]

Throw this in the mix...

Failing water pump?

 

[kb0nly]

Failing water pump?

That's what i am starting to suspect... But he also might have some air in the system and a quick check with the bleed screw will rule that out.

 

[ShadowedXistence]

a bad water pump could cause a misfire?

 

[tjkj2002]

You have a coolant leak,air is making your coolant level look fine.Better be checking the radiator side tanks,top corner right by the battery.If your t-stat was stuck closed you would overheat,if it was stuck open you would never fully warn up and would get a OBDII code for that.If the water pump was not pumping again you would easily overheat.You also would not have a plugged heater core.That "gurgling" noise is air escaping from your leak in the cooling system,may or may not have coolant leaking also.You wouldn't have a cracked head or bad head gasket either since that would cause you to overheat or have oil in the coolant.

I have replaced 2 radiators in my KJ and neither time have I had to "purge" air from the system,it simply did it itself when I added coolant and let warm up with the cap off,anyways that plug is most likely seized anyways since it is steel threaded into aluminum with sealant.

 

[ShadowedXistence]

very VERY useful info. again tho, is this something that could be causing the misfire. if not then i need to be searching for something else also. thanks again.

 

[tjkj2002]

very VERY useful info. again tho, is this something that could be causing the misfire. if not then i need to be searching for something else also. thanks again.

A coolant leak can not cause a misfire unless you are overheating which you said you are not.The misfire is a totally separate problem.

 

[Dave]

very VERY useful info. again tho, is this something that could be causing the misfire. if not then i need to be searching for something else also. thanks again.

With just a misfire on one cylinder the first thing I would think about is the coil pak. Swap that #6 coil pak with one of the others and see if the misfire code follows the coil pak.....just a thought.

Dave

 

[ShadowedXistence]

A coolant leak can not cause a misfire unless you are overheating which you said you are not.The misfire is a totally separate problem.

thats what i figured. i ordered a oil pressure sending unit from wyckoff parts... because every time the 0306 code comes up so does the 0522 code. could be separate issues, but not sure what effect if any this part would have on this problem. i know the 03 models had a valve spring problem, which is the only other thing im leading towards, since no codes come up for other sensors. not sure what other possibilities could be causing the misfire?

 

[ShadowedXistence]

With just a misfire on one cylinder the first thing I would think about is the coil pak. Swap that #6 coil pak with one of the others and see if the misfire code follows the coil pak.....just a thought.

Dave

By coil pak, if you mean ignition coil...? I have already replaced it with a new one, as well as the fuel injector on the same cylinder, as well as all spark plugs... this is why I am at a loss, especially with no overheat problems... there also is no rotten egg smell commonly associated with failing cats... don't know of any sensors that would only affect one cylinder... I am just... lost

 

[Dave]

By coil pak, if you mean ignition coil...? I have already replaced it with a new one, as well as the fuel injector on the same cylinder, as well as all spark plugs... this is why I am at a loss, especially with no overheat problems... there also is no rotten egg smell commonly associated with failing cats... don't know of any sensors that would only affect one cylinder... I am just... lost

Yes, that was what I meant. If it is running smooth maybe it will reset itself after a few cycles unless you clear the code and see what happens.

Sounds like you need Troy to chime back in since he is a professional mechanic.

Dave

 

[ShadowedXistence]

Yes, that was what I meant. If it is running smooth maybe it will reset itself after a few cycles unless you clear the code and see what happens.

Sounds like you need Troy to chime back in since he is a professional mechanic.

Dave

see thats the thing! it's not running smooth... atleast in idle! when i'm moving, it's fine but when i first turn the car on, it's pretty bad. just trying to catch it early before it gets worse.

 

[tjkj2002]

see thats the thing! it's not running smooth... atleast in idle! when i'm moving, it's fine but when i first turn the car on, it's pretty bad. just trying to catch it early before it gets worse.

The older 3.7's also have a carbon built up problem.Have you had a professional fuel induction cleaning done before? If not have one done,most places charge between $70-$150 for this service,make sure you change the plugs afterwards since if you had alot of carbon it will foul out the plugs.

 

[ShadowedXistence]

so have the fuel induction cleaning done then change the spark plugs again? how often should i be having the system cleaned? im at 90000 miles now

 

[tjkj2002]

so have the fuel induction cleaning done then change the spark plugs again? how often should i be having the system cleaned? im at 90000 miles now

It's now recommended to have it cleaned at least once a year or at least every 30,000miles.Do not do it anymore then once a year though or you will be buying new cats and they ain't cheap.

Plugs are cheap,total cost is like $12-$18 for good ones(that's for 6 plugs) and 20mins of work.