Newbie - help figure out issues, starting problems, exhaust leak, carburetor

[mkawski]

I have a 2.5L 4 cylinder 1985 Cherokee
Been having lots of problems, posted a while ago but didn't get the issues resolved. Maybe someone can help me diagnose and fix these issues, I'm really trying to avoid taking it to a shop because I don't have all the money right now and would love to learn how to fix things on my own anyways.
So far the things I have fixed myself (with some help) are:

replaced clutch master cylinder and bled system(2 person bleed)
replaced serpentine belt
replaced water pump, fan clutch
flushed cooling system, had tap water in before and was all junked up
put in a new transmission bell housing cover plate
attempted to bleed brakes on own, not sure if it worked 100%??

Just for comparison, so you know my experience with cars. This is my first car, so I'm pretty new to it all and figuring things out. Please try to avoid slang if possible, and over-explain rather than under-explain. I also have a hard time finding parts, so if you could also point out locations that would be great. Appreciate the help!!

So here are the issues:


1. starting problems - once in a while the Jeep won't start at all, usually after I drove it a short distance. the engine turning over sound will gradually get slower and slower (battery dying probably with each attempt?). The first time this happened I parked my car in a lot for 4 hours, came back, it started fine. The second time (yesterday), I couldn't leave it for that long so I just had to get it towed.
I'm guessing this is the carburetor not being adjusted, and flooding? I don't know too much about this, correct me if I'm way off.
Also usually I have to pump the gas a bunch of times while starting, and it takes 3-4 times typically to start the car. I thought this was probably my fuel pump, and was going to replace it. Stupid question, but I can't find my fuel pump. Where should I look for it?? Any advice on replacing fuel pumps?
Also was going to replace the fuel filter while I'm at it, advice for that as well?

2.
Other huge problem lately is that there is a significant exhaust leak, my car sounds like a dirt bike when I accelerate it gets louder. Pretty sure it is the exhaust manifold gasket, but again not sure. Is this a simple fix, or would you recommend taking it to a shop for this? I read mixed advice, some say the bolts will snap easily and isn't worth it to try on own.

3.
Missing a tube from my air cleaner? Not sure if this is contributing to the carburetor/led to an exhaust issue? I don't think it is exactly a "cold air intake" but there are 2 photos attached
Blue circle - intake to air cleaner
Red circle - is there supposed to be a vacuum line or something here??

4.
My e-brake doesn't quite hold. I read that you can just tighten it by twisting a nut, but wasn't quite clear. Any extra tips for this? Torque specifications?

5. Recently noticed some new coolant leak below my air cleaner, haven't looked into it too much, but it was steaming and hissing after driving a bit and the leaking fluid appeared to be coolant.

6. The power steering started whining significantly. Not sure if its just a fluid issue, or compounded from the several other issues.

So yeah if you have any advice on where to find parts, about difficulty/ease of specific repairs, or any other general advice please let me know. Any help is greatly appreciated!

I got a job in Oregon for the summer, so ideally I could fix this all in the next month and drive up from Arizona. I'm skeptical right now because problems keep popping up, so I'd like to see if I could get it to be reliable before then.

[4.3LXJ]

Caught you on the other forum, but I think some of your starting problems when hot is the choke is not set. Just one of those things when driving a carbed vehicle. Depress the gas pedal about half way to allow the choke to close and bump up the idle a little. The ebrake is adjusted underneath the vehicle. There is a long threaded rod. Tighten up the nut. There are no torque specs for this. You can over tighten it and make your rear brakes drag. Take it slow. Might want to take a peek at those brakes anyway. Not sure on those bolts, but the ones on the 2.8L can cause you some grief. Better narrow it down to where the noise is coming from. From your description I think it is coming from somewhere down the line. Bad manifold gaskets make a kind of cracking sound. I don't know how to describe it better.

[nickyg]

My power steering pump has been "Groaning" for about 6 years now. As long as it's not leaking and still works fine I wouldn't worry about it.

[slvmart]

Given the age of your XJ, the vacuum diagram sticker (probably on the drivers side fire wall) may not be legible anymore, if it is even there. But you should be able to find one somewhere online. These are from the Autozone Repair Guide, always a good place to check, but not guaranteed to have what you need. The 1st diagram is for California vehicles and then one labeled as Canada. You'll have to take it from there to see what matches what you have, as close as possible :
Doubt if the exhaust leak is actually causing you not to start. This, like the vacuum leak, will most likely just cause it not to idle well. I would check that all the grounds and battery cable connections are in good condition, clean and actually attached well. It wouldn't be the 1st time that a bad connection disconnected on a hot engine.
I would recommend that you iron out these issues 1st and then worry about the rest.

[mkawski]

4.3LXJ:
4.3LXJ
you said: “The ebrake is adjusted underneath the vehicle. There is a long threaded rod. Tighten up the nut. “
This may be dumb, but how do you tighten the e-brake nut? There’s 2 nuts back to back, do you hold one and tighten the other? Loosen one first? Also a good way to hold it without twisting the whole cable?

----------------------------update:
I looked around a bit more, looks like the noise is coming from the engine block area, not really farther down like by the catalytic converter or muffler.. Might just take it to a shop to figure out, I really don’t know what the sound is from.

Also checked and the power steering pump was completely empty .Going to fill it up and then have a friend turn the steering wheel so I can look for a leak.. Or is it possible that there is no major leak, that it just “ran out” of fluid eventually? I can at least start with filling it back up.

[mkawski]

Here are some photos from my manual:



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#7 Ambient Air Duct is what I originally circled in blue
Also noticed there is #6 Heated Air Tube missing, which might be why my heater isn't working

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Lines 1 and 2 I couldn't find on my car.. see photo below:
9120 Doesn't appear to have the two lines to the catalytic converter

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[slvmart]

The lines going to the exhaust should be for a air pump. Does yours still have the air pump installed ? The air pump would be belt driven and on the front of the engine. It would look like this : http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/A1_Cardone/Air_Pump/A132112.html

[4.3LXJ]

4.3LXJ:
4.3LXJ
you said: “The ebrake is adjusted underneath the vehicle. There is a long threaded rod. Tighten up the nut. “
This may be dumb, but how do you tighten the e-brake nut? There’s 2 nuts back to back, do you hold one and tighten the other? Loosen one first? Also a good way to hold it without twisting the whole cable?



There are two nuts. One is the adjuster nut, one is called a lock nut. The lock nut is on the near end. loosen it and run it down a ways. Then turn the one towards the end of the shaft and tighten it. There are several inches of threads there, don't run it down all the way. Tighten it up an inch or so and try the brake. Repeat the process until it works. Then tighten the lock nut. When you replace the rear brakes, which you should be checking since I suspect they are loose and not adjusted, back the nut off again.

[mkawski]

Hey so I took my Jeep in to the shop to get looked at for the noise and the non-starting issue. $200 of diagnostics later, they told me that a rough estimate would be $1700 for a repair. I didn't quite understand all the details, but here is a basic summary of what they said:
The noise seems to be coming from inside the cylinder head.
It could be stuck exhaust valve in head, or could be cracked exhaust manifold but that would be a lesser issue.
They would need to remove the cylinder head, and send it to machine shop to check it out/
The shop could check the head for cracks and recondition, would cost $350.
The shop would also be able to check manifold at that point.
The labor to remove cylinder head runs at $715, also adding in labor costs for checking/replacing gaskets.
Would also replace upper and lower radiator hoses and thermostat, spark plugs, oil change
Rough estimate: $1700 and a week of work

So I bought the Jeep for $2500, and already put in a bit of money and work into it (replaced clutch master cylinder, water pump, flushed cooling system, replaced some coolant hoses, worked on brakes, new mud tires).

Looking for advice on how to go forward.
1. Try to sell my Jeep and buy a more reliable, newer one? Not sure how much it would sell for now, as it is running pretty roughly (loud noises and doesn't always start). It's been a bit difficult to figure out working on a 2.5L and finding parts for an older 2.5L Jeep, a 4.0L might be easier to do repairs on?
2. Pay the shop to do the work, for a hella lot of money.
3. Buy a new cylinder head ($340-450) and replace it myself, hope that is the only issue. And also hope that I can figure out how to replace a cylinder head myself with my limited experience.

[slvmart]

Find a buddy that has worked on engines. Have him help pull the top end of the 2.5 apart to see if, and what, may be the problem with the engine. Get some experience in the process. Priceless !

Then if you want to sell it and buy a 4.0, you won't have lost that much money. You should be able to recoup some of the cost of gaining experience.

I think, you will find that most of us, here, started by diving into the deep end and learning how to swim.

[4.3LXJ]

That is good advice I think. There are a number of 2.5L engines in the wrecking yard. A good place to start is going to a pick and pull and pull the head off one there yourself. You will gain valuable experience doing that there. Also note, the Wranglers had that 2.5L in them too. Anyway, once you get the hang of it, you can tackle yours. If it is a stuck valve, the machine shop can recondition the head for you and take care of that. Once you have taken one apart, you can reassemble it with a few more pointers, such as torquing a head properly etc.

[prerunner1982]

Here are some photos from my manual:
#7 Ambient Air Duct is what I originally circled in blue
Also noticed there is #6 Heated Air Tube missing, which might be why my heater isn't working


#6 Heated Air tube is not related to the heater of the vehicle. It pulls in warm air off of the exhaust to go into the engine. There is a vacuum operated door on the intake tube that opens/closes to pull air from the Ambient Air Duct (outside air) or the Heated Air tube (warm air).

My Chevy pickups of the same 80s era had them and running without won't hurt the engine.

[GoneWithTheWind]

It sounds like the engine has seen better days :( It might be cheaper to get a good used engine and drop it in. If you fix the heads, you still have to worry about the bottom end. I tried replacing heads on a wore out engine once, about a month later It threw a rod out through the oil pan and before I could get off the road another rod went out the other side.

[mkawski]

Hey everyone thanks for the advice: here is an update.
I finally gave in and took my car to an AAA Auto Repair shop, they told me that they wanted to check the cylinder head and do a bunch of things for basically $2000 (which is almost what I paid for the car), so I took it up to a family friend for help.

We took it apart, including removing the exhaust manifold, intake manifold, and cylinder head.
We found that the cylinder head was significantly blown and there was also a leak in the exhaust manifold gasket (not sealed all the way). A machine shop inspected my parts and found that my exhaust manifold was okay (resurfaced) and the cylinder head was cracked as well. I replaced the cylinder head and am in the process of putting it all back together, including replacing spark plugs.
Thermostat housing/water outlet also was super corroded, due to previous issue of last owner using tap water in the cooling system, so I am also going to replace the radiator and cooling hoses and water outlet.
Hopefully when it is all back together, we will see if the car starts. The non-start issue might have just been because the exhaust was leaking so significantly and there wasn't enough compression.

Glad to finally have diagnosed it, now just to fix it up and see if it works!

[mkawski]

more photos

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[prerunner1982]

Glad you have some info and some direction. Hope it fixes all your issues. Let us know.

[Pinkyman]

more photos
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If these are the new mud tires that you got, i would recommend a tire rotation. They look like they are starting to cup...

Also, nice work on hopefully finding the issue! I bet you learned a lot during the repair process. Keep us updated! :thumbsup: