About beginning of this year, my 2003 TJ started the ticking sound (or 'a' ticking sound). 4.0L with 227k miles. No increase in volume but speeds up with revs. At first I thought skirts, or maybe rockers and push rods from trawling various message boards, but my FIL showed me the trick to use a long wooden pole as a 'stethoscope' and listen to different parts of the engine. The ticking sound seems to be coming form the drivers side (fuel rail side) of the engine around cylinder no. 3.
So now I am thinking a bad injector. Another thing that seems to confirm this is that my oil has a bit of a gas smell to it, and my oil volume seems to be increasing between oil changes which I think could be from fuel leaking into the oil pan from the bad injector. Not burning any oil and oil cap shows no sign of water condensate. She actually seems to run really well, just ticks constantly. The tick does seem to reduce once the engine fully warms up.
Three questions:
Kevin
So now I am thinking a bad injector. Another thing that seems to confirm this is that my oil has a bit of a gas smell to it, and my oil volume seems to be increasing between oil changes which I think could be from fuel leaking into the oil pan from the bad injector. Not burning any oil and oil cap shows no sign of water condensate. She actually seems to run really well, just ticks constantly. The tick does seem to reduce once the engine fully warms up.
Three questions:
- How hard is it to change the fuel injectors in the 4.0L? I am a bit of a novice shade tree mechanic. Just changed the water pump (fan clutch nut was a *****), and am comfortable with jobs like that but never worked on a fuel system that wasn't carbureted. My 2003 is my daily driver so if it is difficult to do on a Saturday, then I may let a 'pro' handle it.
- Is it okay to just replace one fuel injector or should you replace them as a set?
- Are Bosch fuel injectors good? Seem to be about 1/2 the price of Mopar and I can get them easily. I know to steer clear of Duralast (or any 'bargain' set on Amazon). Also don't think I should buy off ebay (even 'Mopar') since who knows where those actually come from. How about the set sold on Extreme Terrain for $146? Mopar parts are beginning to get hard to come by for less than an arm, a leg, and first born child. The Mopars I see online are like $100 each or more.
- Any benefit to the 4-hole injectors I see sold on some sites?
Kevin
