Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

I like to look at the cheap stuff first. Inspect the distributor cap,
rotor, plugs, etc. Did you leave the emergency brake on? Spark plug wires
can fool you too. How many miles on them?

Earle

"Keith Orbell" <quite98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:sImdnXUMZO5ioyTeRVn-pw@wideopenwest.com...
> I have a 97 Wrangler, 4cyl with auto trans, no A/C, 130,000 miles on the
> clock.
>
> About a week ago the Jeep started to suffer from a lack of power: it will
> run and idle fine, but when moving up to freeway speeds (>50mph) it feels
> like it is struggling. There is no obvious misfire or hesitation in the
> engine - it just feels weaker than normal . Actually it's a little like
when
> the A/C is turned on a vehicle with a small capacity engine.
>
> Any ideas where to start looking? I noticed that the radiator fan is
always
> running (even at cold idle). I'm not sure if that should be the case or if
> this is somehow related to the lack of power.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help
> Keith
>
>
>
>

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

I like to look at the cheap stuff first. Inspect the distributor cap,
rotor, plugs, etc. Did you leave the emergency brake on? Spark plug wires
can fool you too. How many miles on them?

Earle

"Keith Orbell" <quite98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:sImdnXUMZO5ioyTeRVn-pw@wideopenwest.com...
> I have a 97 Wrangler, 4cyl with auto trans, no A/C, 130,000 miles on the
> clock.
>
> About a week ago the Jeep started to suffer from a lack of power: it will
> run and idle fine, but when moving up to freeway speeds (>50mph) it feels
> like it is struggling. There is no obvious misfire or hesitation in the
> engine - it just feels weaker than normal . Actually it's a little like
when
> the A/C is turned on a vehicle with a small capacity engine.
>
> Any ideas where to start looking? I noticed that the radiator fan is
always
> running (even at cold idle). I'm not sure if that should be the case or if
> this is somehow related to the lack of power.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help
> Keith
>
>
>
>

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

I like to look at the cheap stuff first. Inspect the distributor cap,
rotor, plugs, etc. Did you leave the emergency brake on? Spark plug wires
can fool you too. How many miles on them?

Earle

"Keith Orbell" <quite98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:sImdnXUMZO5ioyTeRVn-pw@wideopenwest.com...
> I have a 97 Wrangler, 4cyl with auto trans, no A/C, 130,000 miles on the
> clock.
>
> About a week ago the Jeep started to suffer from a lack of power: it will
> run and idle fine, but when moving up to freeway speeds (>50mph) it feels
> like it is struggling. There is no obvious misfire or hesitation in the
> engine - it just feels weaker than normal . Actually it's a little like
when
> the A/C is turned on a vehicle with a small capacity engine.
>
> Any ideas where to start looking? I noticed that the radiator fan is
always
> running (even at cold idle). I'm not sure if that should be the case or if
> this is somehow related to the lack of power.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help
> Keith
>
>
>
>

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

I like to look at the cheap stuff first. Inspect the distributor cap,
rotor, plugs, etc. Did you leave the emergency brake on? Spark plug wires
can fool you too. How many miles on them?

Earle

"Keith Orbell" <quite98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:sImdnXUMZO5ioyTeRVn-pw@wideopenwest.com...
> I have a 97 Wrangler, 4cyl with auto trans, no A/C, 130,000 miles on the
> clock.
>
> About a week ago the Jeep started to suffer from a lack of power: it will
> run and idle fine, but when moving up to freeway speeds (>50mph) it feels
> like it is struggling. There is no obvious misfire or hesitation in the
> engine - it just feels weaker than normal . Actually it's a little like
when
> the A/C is turned on a vehicle with a small capacity engine.
>
> Any ideas where to start looking? I noticed that the radiator fan is
always
> running (even at cold idle). I'm not sure if that should be the case or if
> this is somehow related to the lack of power.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help
> Keith
>
>
>
>

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

I like to look at the cheap stuff first. Inspect the distributor cap,
rotor, plugs, etc. Did you leave the emergency brake on? Spark plug wires
can fool you too. How many miles on them?

Earle

"Keith Orbell" <quite98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:sImdnXUMZO5ioyTeRVn-pw@wideopenwest.com...
> I have a 97 Wrangler, 4cyl with auto trans, no A/C, 130,000 miles on the
> clock.
>
> About a week ago the Jeep started to suffer from a lack of power: it will
> run and idle fine, but when moving up to freeway speeds (>50mph) it feels
> like it is struggling. There is no obvious misfire or hesitation in the
> engine - it just feels weaker than normal . Actually it's a little like
when
> the A/C is turned on a vehicle with a small capacity engine.
>
> Any ideas where to start looking? I noticed that the radiator fan is
always
> running (even at cold idle). I'm not sure if that should be the case or if
> this is somehow related to the lack of power.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help
> Keith
>
>
>
>

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

I like to look at the cheap stuff first. Inspect the distributor cap,
rotor, plugs, etc. Did you leave the emergency brake on? Spark plug wires
can fool you too. How many miles on them?

Earle

"Keith Orbell" <quite98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:sImdnXUMZO5ioyTeRVn-pw@wideopenwest.com...
> I have a 97 Wrangler, 4cyl with auto trans, no A/C, 130,000 miles on the
> clock.
>
> About a week ago the Jeep started to suffer from a lack of power: it will
> run and idle fine, but when moving up to freeway speeds (>50mph) it feels
> like it is struggling. There is no obvious misfire or hesitation in the
> engine - it just feels weaker than normal . Actually it's a little like
when
> the A/C is turned on a vehicle with a small capacity engine.
>
> Any ideas where to start looking? I noticed that the radiator fan is
always
> running (even at cold idle). I'm not sure if that should be the case or if
> this is somehow related to the lack of power.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help
> Keith
>
>
>
>

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

The other suggestions like a possibly bad/plugged catalytic converter
are good but also be aware your upstream (nearest to the exhaust
manifold) 02 sensor can cause a dramatic loss of power and fuel economy
when it goes bad... and they do go bad. See if you have any stored
diagnostic codes using the procedure at
http://www.allpar.com/fix/80s-codes.html which might tell you what the
problem is. When doing the three on-off-on ignition sequence, make sure
to give it time to start displaying the codes, it can take as long as
5-10 seconds before the codes begin appearing so have patience. If you
did the ignition key sequence properly, you will at least get the usual
'55' code which is always shown and follows any other possible codes.

Jerry
--
Jerry Bransford
PP-ASEL N6TAY
See the Geezer Jeep at
http://members.cox.net/jerrypb/

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

The other suggestions like a possibly bad/plugged catalytic converter
are good but also be aware your upstream (nearest to the exhaust
manifold) 02 sensor can cause a dramatic loss of power and fuel economy
when it goes bad... and they do go bad. See if you have any stored
diagnostic codes using the procedure at
http://www.allpar.com/fix/80s-codes.html which might tell you what the
problem is. When doing the three on-off-on ignition sequence, make sure
to give it time to start displaying the codes, it can take as long as
5-10 seconds before the codes begin appearing so have patience. If you
did the ignition key sequence properly, you will at least get the usual
'55' code which is always shown and follows any other possible codes.

Jerry
--
Jerry Bransford
PP-ASEL N6TAY
See the Geezer Jeep at
http://members.cox.net/jerrypb/

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

The other suggestions like a possibly bad/plugged catalytic converter
are good but also be aware your upstream (nearest to the exhaust
manifold) 02 sensor can cause a dramatic loss of power and fuel economy
when it goes bad... and they do go bad. See if you have any stored
diagnostic codes using the procedure at
http://www.allpar.com/fix/80s-codes.html which might tell you what the
problem is. When doing the three on-off-on ignition sequence, make sure
to give it time to start displaying the codes, it can take as long as
5-10 seconds before the codes begin appearing so have patience. If you
did the ignition key sequence properly, you will at least get the usual
'55' code which is always shown and follows any other possible codes.

Jerry
--
Jerry Bransford
PP-ASEL N6TAY
See the Geezer Jeep at
http://members.cox.net/jerrypb/

Re: 97 Wrangler loss of power
 

P.S. Though that website says to count the number of flashes on the
Check Engine light, there's no need to count them on your '97 TJ. The
actual numeric codes will appear in the odometer display.

Jerry

Jerry Bransford wrote:
> The other suggestions like a possibly bad/plugged catalytic converter
> are good but also be aware your upstream (nearest to the exhaust
> manifold) 02 sensor can cause a dramatic loss of power and fuel economy
> when it goes bad... and they do go bad. See if you have any stored
> diagnostic codes using the procedure at
> http://www.allpar.com/fix/80s-codes.html which might tell you what the
> problem is. When doing the three on-off-on ignition sequence, make sure
> to give it time to start displaying the codes, it can take as long as
> 5-10 seconds before the codes begin appearing so have patience. If you
> did the ignition key sequence properly, you will at least get the usual
> '55' code which is always shown and follows any other possible codes.
>
> Jerry

--
Jerry Bransford
PP-ASEL N6TAY
See the Geezer Jeep at
http://members.cox.net/jerrypb/