Jeep won't start

Mower2339

Mower2339

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2019
Messages
64
Location
Manti, Utah
Hoping someone can point me in the right direction here. So to give the full story the Jeep had been giving me an small evap leak code for the 5 months I've owned it, and an occasional crankshaft position sensor code. I got in a bad habit of clearing them and continuing on down the road. Two weeks ago after a longer drive (around 200 miles round trip) the CEL lights wouldn't stay off for longer than 5 minutes so I decided it's time to actually fix the issues. I go to start the Jeep to move it into the garage to work on it and it won't start, making a lot of loud what sounds like air being released fast, choking noises, I fiddle with a few of the connections, see if they are tight to the crankshaft POS sensor, the TPS, and when I got around to the camshaft position sensor notice that it would spin 180° and the hold down bolt was lose. I turn it the way I thought it was originally (plug facing can) and it fires up. I drove it around town, mainly to charge the battery back up from cranking on it over the previous day's, and on my way home it bogs down, eventually killing. Starts back up, and was able to limp it back home. This weekend I've replaced, the TPS, the crankshaft position sensor, cleaned the IAC valve, and just today the camshaft position sensor, all with factory OEM Mopar sensors with the exception of the camshaft position sensor which I couldn't find OEM so I used Napa Echlin one. The Jeep seems much harder to start now, sputters and dies giving me codes for all the sensors that I just barely replaced. I've got the following codes P0340, P0123, P0352, P1391, P1391 PD. I am so frustrated as I was hoping all these brand new Mopar Sensors would make this thing run like a top. The only thing that I can think of is that I didn't get the Camshaft position assembly in at the right angle, is there anyway to tell which way the "slot" down inside there should be pointing i.e. side to side with the Jeep? Front to back with the Jeep? I had to get a flashlight and look down in there and it was on like a 45 degree angle, so I turned the piece that I was installing,to match so it would fully seat, tightened down the hold down ring, plugged it in and now it will hardly start at all, if it does it will sputter right out and throw all codes again. I should mention that I did take off the positive battery terminal, hold it on the negative for about 60 seconds, hooked it back up, turned the key on, headlights on, headlights off, key off right after I switched all the sensors. I am wondering if it's out of timing from the OPDA being lose for who knows how long. I have no idea how to check that. The teeth on the OPDA do not appear to be scarred hardly at all. No metal shavings ect. Any help would be awesome, I have several vehicles, don't need the Jeep, but it's my favorite one to drive,
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: Jerry Bransford and Steel City 06
Mower2339 said:
Thank you so much! I guess that is what these forums are for! I downloaded that service manual the other day, why didn't I think of that🤦🤦🤦🤦
Click to expand...
Took me forever to find that section, it says to crank the motor by hand until you feel "compression" by putting your finger in the spark plugs hole for cylinder one, then turn until timing index mark is at TDC, and not to turn the wrong way, and I can't find out which way to turn the damn thing........
 
The engine should turn clockwise if you're looking at the front. If you accidentally turn it the wrong direction, it's not a big deal unless you were working with the timing chain/sprockets and lost the reference. Just turn it clockwise once you finish so there's not a bunch of slack in the chains. I've turned it in both directions frequently with no issues.

You can stick a long screwdriver in the spark plug hole to get you close to TDC, though that won't tell you if that was the compression or exhaust stroke.
 
Steel City 06 said:
The engine should turn clockwise if you're looking at the front. If you accidentally turn it the wrong direction, it's not a big deal unless you were working with the timing chain/sprockets and lost the reference. Just turn it clockwise once you finish so there's not a bunch of slack in the chains. I've turned it in both directions frequently with no issues.

You can stick a long screwdriver in the spark plug hole to get you close to TDC, though that won't tell you if that was the compression or exhaust stroke.
Click to expand...
What will TDC feel like with a long screwdriver stuck in there? It'll just hit the top of the piston?
 
Steel City 06 said:
The engine should turn clockwise if you're looking at the front. If you accidentally turn it the wrong direction, it's not a big deal unless you were working with the timing chain/sprockets and lost the reference. Just turn it clockwise once you finish so there's not a bunch of slack in the chains. I've turned it in both directions frequently with no issues.

You can stick a long screwdriver in the spark plug hole to get you close to TDC, though that won't tell you if that was the compression or exhaust stroke.
Click to expand...
Also Do I turn it with a pipe wrench on the giant nut behind the fan? In neutral? Or is there a better place to hand crank from?
 
You'll need to use the finger trick to figure out if it's the compression stroke or the exhaust stroke. Pressure will only build in the compression stroke. Once you've determined which stroke you're on, stick the screwdriver in the hole and use it to feel the top of the cylinder piston. You can pretty easily feel when the piston stops riding and starts to fall.

It won't be exact, so you'll need to find the timing marks (not exactly sure where they are myself) and set it as close as possible to TDC.

Best place to crank from is the nut on the harmonic balancer. You can reach it most easily from below, but also sometimes from above.

You can also sometimes crank on the giant nut that holds the fan to the water pump, but be careful it doesn't loosen (if it does, just tighten it back up). Sometimes the belt will slip and this won't work, hence why the usual recommendation is to use the harmonic balancer.

Make sure you do NOT have the key in the ignition while turning the engine by hand. You don't want to accidentally half-start the engine. Best practice is to disconnect the battery, but the odds that something will happen are minimal with the keys out.

The transmission will need to be in neutral if you have a manual, or park or neutral if you have an automatic. If you have a manual, you can actually also rotate the engine by putting it into the highest gear and pushing the car forwards.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Schwifty Rich
Top Bottom
Back