2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 acts like it jumped time

435

Asked by Garrett Jan 11, 2019 at 10:06 AM about the 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Columbia Edition 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hi, I have an 04 grand cherokee 4x4 With the 4.0 liter 6 cylinder and
automatic, 203,000 miles, I just bought it. The guy I bought it from said he
was driving it, it was losing power, and he eventually just shut it off and let it
sit. I put a battery in it and cranked it over, It acted like it wanted to fire but it
didn't start, and backfired. I checked trouble codes and nothing came up. I
sprayed starting fluid in the throttle body and no change

7 Answers

10

2006 chev SUV parking light will turn off and run Battier down

1 people found this helpful.
43,810

With that many miles, I too would suspect the timing chain jumped timing. With no codes it's hard to say. Starter fluid test indicates that fuel delivery is not the problem. A common ignition failure of this engine is the crankshaft position sensor, code P0320. It's located midway up on the bell housing, driver's side. They will sometimes cool off and start running again, but when they fail, there will be no spark for a while.

1 people found this helpful.
435

Thank You. I think it had no codes because the battery was out for so long and I didnt crank it long enough to give a code. I'll try that later today and see what I find out. If I still can't get it to throw a code, I'll change the crank sensor like you said, and I've also heard of a cam sensor causing this, so I'll change that too, they're only about 15 bucks a piece for cheap brand ones. I've changed them on other Jeeps before, but they just simply did not fire at all. I've heard that on these 4.0 straight 6's, they have a timing chain and they hardly ever break or wear out, and it looks like a bear to change

1 people found this helpful.
43,810

You are correct about the codes were lost while battery was out. I might add, when a crankshaft position sensor starts to fail, the driver will notice that the tachometer hand will drop to zero suddenly and then bounce back up. That's because that sensor provides signal for the tachometer reading. Camshaft sensor is a lot easier to replace and it too provides spark and maybe injector signal. Good Luck

435

I did notice the tach doing that, but I figured it was because the battery was extremely low.

2 people found this helpful.
43,810

Tachometer needle dropping suddenly and bouncing back up is a sure sign the crank shaft position sensor is cutting off spark and signal to the tachometer. I "counts" the rotation of the flywheel....RPMs.

1 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Grand Cherokee

Looking for a Used Grand Cherokee in your area?

CarGurus has 3,252 nationwide Grand Cherokee listings starting at $4,995.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Hornet_2497
    Reputation
    8,960
  • #2
    Gene Arnett
    Reputation
    7,010
  • #3
    thejeepdoctor
    Reputation
    6,560
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Dodge Durango
53 Great Deals out of 2,263 listings starting at $5,500
Used Jeep Wrangler
138 Great Deals out of 5,050 listings starting at $6,995
Used Ford F-150
305 Great Deals out of 15,355 listings starting at $1,954
Used Toyota 4Runner
14 Great Deals out of 332 listings starting at $9,900
Used Ford Explorer
84 Great Deals out of 1,996 listings starting at $2,999
Used Chevrolet Tahoe
15 Great Deals out of 714 listings starting at $5,995
Used Chevrolet Silverado 1500
212 Great Deals out of 5,926 listings starting at $3,995
Used Chrysler 300
42 Great Deals out of 507 listings starting at $4,754

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.