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Question:  1999 Jeep Cherokee mileage: 100,000. My son has a Jeep Cherokee that we have done a good amount of work to. We are down to the last problem and are stumped. The alternator is putting out about 14 volts and the battery is steady at 12 volts. The volt meter in the dash reads at best 12 volts and whenever any light or accessory is used it drops to below 9 volts. We have used a volt meter to check everything and we keep coming back to a short. If you connect a voltmeter to between the negative post on the battery and ground the other lead to the chassis it read 0 volts. Turn any lights or accessory like the rear defog and the volts go as high as 6 volts. This would indicate a short. Problem is we can not find it. It has to be in a main line because any item that uses power adds to the short volts. Any help would be great. 

Answer:   The first thing we would check, based on the circumstances that you have described, would be the ground wires to see that they are in place and making a good connection, especially the ones to the body. 

Question: 2003 Jeep Cherokee Mileage: 24,000 I realize you have probably answered this question over 1000 times and I apologize for being the 1001st, but I need to know if I will get better life out of Raybestos rotors on my Jeep 2003 Grand Cherokee. Will Raybestos give me better service than the OEM? I am currently at 24K and had the brake discs replace at dealer at 11,500. Now they want me to pay and won't cover under the warranty.

Answer: We have found some brake discs to wear quicker than others; steel seems softer with some brands. We know some car manufacturers alloy their cast iron differently than others which could account for the accelerated wear. Another factor is the brake pad. Some appear to be more abrasive than others causing the discs to wear out quicker. We have had success using OEM brands like PBR and Akebono. The Bosch pads seem to wear a little faster, but work just fine. As for your question, is one brake disc better than another?  When we replace rotors, we use OEM parts like Brembo or PBR, when you use quality parts you seem to have better luck.

Question: 2002 Jeep Cherokee Mileage: 46,000. My Jeep recently began dropping oil pressure to below 10 psi at idle, making the check gauges light come on. We took it to the dealer, they checked the sending unit which was fine and ended up replacing the oil pump. For a couple of weeks the pressure was between 13-15 psi at idle (we were told by the mechanic that that was ok) and now again the pressure has begun to drop to 10 psi or less at idle causing the check gauges light to come on again. The vehicle is running fine otherwise. Any ideas?

Answer: With 46,000 miles, it is possible but not probable that you have excessive wear in the engine bearings that would cause the low oil pressure at idle. 10 psi at idle while the engine is hot is acceptable though not preferred. Verify that the oil pressure gauge in the car is reading correctly. This can be done with a separate mechanical gauge. Also, make sure you are using the proper weight oil recommended by the manufacturer from a name brand oil company.

Question: 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee mileage: 123,000. I have full time all wheel drive, it like binds up and snaps from the rear and then from the front and just turning in a parking lot it acts like it would be in low range 4 wheel drive the way it jumps. Could it be the viscous coupling? How or is there a way to check or test it?

Answer: It really takes an expert to do the testing but you certainly have the symptoms of viscous coupling failure.

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Question: 1999 Jeep Cherokee,  mileage: 123,000. All six connecting rod bearings failed but the main bearings look like new. All crankshaft bearings are original. Oil pump looks like new. No sludge in engine. Was using 10W-40 oil when oil pressure started to drop to 19 psig at 2000 rpm and then dropped to 11 at idle. I also had added PTF to the oil. I switched to 15W-40 then to another grade of oil but no change in oil pressure. Then I opened the engine and found totally failed connecting rod bearings. Can you suggest why connecting rod bearings failed and everything else seems to be in great shape?

Answer: It is not unusual to find connecting rod bearings with more wear than main bearings. The reason is that the rod bearings are much smaller than the main bearings and they take the load from the pistons going up and down. As for your oil pressure, check the oil pressure release spring and valve for proper operation.

Question: 2000 Cherokee Sport  mileage: 57,000.  Starter would crank, but engine would not fire up for a few seconds, or not start at all on the first try. Dealership said that there was a bad fuel sensor. We had sensor replaced and problem persisted. Dealership had us pay for a fuel system cleaning, which did nothing. Dealership then replaced fuel pump, saying that the first one was definitely bad--still no change. One week later, nearly 7,000 miles since the problem began, they put a third fuel pump in, saying that the second one had gone bad. Again, there has been no change whatsoever. It seems as though they can't think of any other solution. Do you have any ideas? We want to make sure the problem is fixed before our warranty runs out. Thank you.

Answer: We would look at the fuel pressure regulator. It may have developed a pinhole leak in the diaphragm allowing raw gas to be drawn into the engine.

Question: 1999 Jeep Cherokee  mileage: 100,000. Will crank over, but will not start. Has no spark. Added new distributor cap and rotor, still no spark. Checked coil with an ohmmeter and seems ok (0.6 ohm between + and -. 6,500 ohms between + and anode. Infinity to core), suspected the ignition module, but it tested ok at a parts store. Ignition Module was replaced 2 years ago. Engine Crankshaft sensor was replaced 3 years ago. New plugs and plug wires 1 year ago. What do you think?

Answer: More than likely the crankshaft sensor has failed.

Question: 1986 Jeep Cherokee mileage: 167,000. I am having a problem with my brake system. Recently I replaced the front pads myself, and when I went to bleed the air from the system, I could not get one of the bleeder valves open as it was stripped. And so to fix this I had two new calipers installed, one to replace the busted valve and the other to match. Since then, I have bled the system twice, and both times a lot of air has come out. I have no idea how air is getting in. The pedal feels spongy, and makes a hissing sound when depressed. If held down firmly it will slowly work its way to the floor. The brakes work decent, it's just that they aren't firm. Also, when applied the brakes make a high-pitched squealing sound. My book tells me that this is the wear sensors rubbing against the rotors or something but that should have been fixed when I replaced the pads, right? Please help me!

Answer: The brake pedal slowly working it's way to the floor would be caused by a faulty master cylinder. The spongy brake pedal is probably due to air in the system. The brake system should be pressure bled to flush the air out.

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Question: 1991 Jeep Cherokee mileage: 81,000. The "humming" noise that I hear every time I step on the brakes continues to come on with a lot more frequency. It stays on for a few seconds, then it comes on again. I realize the noise is normal. What worries me is the frequency that it comes on. This problem just started about two weeks ago. Can you give me any clues? Thanks for the help.

Answer: The humming noise may be a vacuum leak in the power brake booster. If your Jeep is equipped with ABS brakes, the ABS unit may have failed.

Question: 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee mileage: 87,000. My jeep is in the shop for a failed fuel pump. The authorized Jeep dealership says that the plastic fuel tank has debris in it, due to a corroding plastic fuel tank, and this is what's causing the fuel pump to fail (2nd time in a week). The mechanic discourages a simple flush of the tank ($222) and recommends a new fuel tank ($500), while admitting that such corrosion of a plastic tank is rare. Should I take the Jeep elsewhere? He says if the new pump fails again due to trash in the tank, my failure to have a new tank installed would void the warranty on the new fuel pump ($475). Recommendations?

Answer: We have never heard of a corroding plastic fuel tank, but we suppose it may be possible. What is more than likely your problem is that the first fuel pump that was installed was defective. Also, check for voltage to the pump under load and proper ground connections.

Question: 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee  mileage: 51,000. I've changed the trans filter and fluid. Shortly after, I checked it and the oil looked like pancake syrup. Was not thick but discolored. How can I drain the converter? And, how do you adjust the clutches.

Answer: Clutch packs are not adjustable. The transmission fluid after service can look discolored because only half of the fluid is change during service - the other half is in the converter. Some torque converters have drain plugs, some do not. If your car has a drain plug, the job is easy, if it does not, it is very difficult. Changing half the fluid will prolong the life of your transmission.

Question: 1997 Jeep Cherokee mileage: 200,000 - will not start. Please Help!!!!  My 97 Cherokee has over 200,000 miles but was still running well. One day it didn't start but after playing with the shifter it started. Next day, nothing. There is no clicking noise when we try to start but the lights all come on and the headlights don't dim when we try to crank.
Any suggestions??? We called a garage and they want 275 dollars if it's the starter... I want to avoid paying this if possible.
Please help.


Answer: The first thing I would check is the neutral start switch. If you have to play with the gear selector, this is very likely the cause of the problem. If the switch checks out ok, then your starter is likely to blame.

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