[Patrick]

i had a similar feeling; that’s on my to-do list as well

[Patrick]

Quick update: sorry this took so long, I got bogged down with work and finals. I was able to fiddle with the MAP and check its tiny hose. The hose looks good. I did not have a chance yet to check voltage drops, hopefully i can that this weekend. I’ve found that if I run the jeep in the driveway, it will run fine from idle through 3000 rpm. At or near 3200 rpm however, I get a regular and constant misfire or blurp. The mis happens, the rpm drops about 400 and then returns to 3200 where it repeats the cycle.

[Patrick]

Cap – Thanks for the insight, I’ll try running some of these possibilities down today. What would you suggest for testing that tiny little MAP vacuum line? I’ll double check the grounds as well. I know that there is a splice in the negative cable near the battery from the previous owner(s). It sounds like I should consider examining that as well?

Wokko – Thank you as well. Spark plugs all looked good.

Patrick

[Patrick]

TLDR: I have a similar problem, but no answers, sorry…

Wow! What you’ve described is almost identical to what I have experience with my 97 wrangler (2.5 I4 150 MT US). I’m going to include the description (and evolution) of my issue here, in hopes that someone can help both of us.

The Initial Problem:
Engine has short misfire at 1750rpm under medium acceleration (whether in drive or stationary); under hard acceleration misfire becomes near-stall. At 3000rpm, no noticeable misfiring, but engine would ‘tremble’ under load: the acceleration would decrease and become inconsistent. At high loads (uphill) some intermittent misfiring and power loss occurs. The only other noticeable symptom is a long crank time to start. Usually, if the engine is cranked for at least 3 seconds, then stopped, then cranked a second time it will start up ‘right away’ on the second go. Depressing gas peddle to any depth has no noticeable effect. Priming fuel lines has no noticeable effect.

Things I’ve Tried:

• checked for vacuum leaks
• verified spark with inline tester on each cylinder
• swapped out upstream, downstream, and then both 02 sensors: no effect
• swapped out throttle position sensor: increased idle speed on startup, but otherwise no effect
• swapped out crankshaft position sensor: misfire has transitioned to weak backfire at 1750 rpm, otherwise no effect

I was going to check the timing with a gun, but as you pointed out the Distributor appears nonadjustable. One other thing of note: I currently have a bad EVAP solenoid, and have until now considered that an unrelated issue. Does your vehicle have a bad EVAP as well? Mine almost never throws a DTC but I’ve confirmed with a multimeter that it is quite dead. I have not checked the timing chain on my engine yet.

Finally, the local mechanic I used took a look at the car before the CKP was replaced. His testing found that the computer was indicating Lost Crank Reference (which when stored should be p1374) but the CKP was consistently putting out signal. Additionally, the lost reference was not occuring often enough to result in a stored DTC.

Patrick

[Patrick]

Thought I should come back and share that my original problem was resolved! I know it has been several weeks, and I doubt I am any busier than the average reader, but life got lifey.

Now, my original question was essentially: How do I uninstall the rocker arm assembly. The short version is this: pull. In my car, I had several years of sludge and varnish built up on the assembly, and these residues made everything stick together pretty tenaciously. The rocker arm assembly in my 05 element (like many I assume) is designed to simply lift straight up. I had to wedge a long handle (breaker bar) in the driver side of the assembly exterior (there is a depression on the exterior between the cam sensors that happens to be about 2-3 inches deep, providing just enough purchase for a lever) and pull hard. I feel like I got lucky as nothing was damaged in the process.

Ultimately, the entire purpose of this exercise was to open up the cylinder head and replace a burnt valve. This job is now complete, and my element is happily (and quietly) purring away during the daily drive. I’ve got a picture of the offending exhaust valve attached.

Thanks,
Patrick

Attachments:

• IMG_0232.jpg

[Patrick]

Allhan,

Thank you for getting those two diagrams. I’ve found both of those in varying levels of quality, but looking at them again is always helpful.

The fastener about which I was curious is actually unlabeled, but in the first diagram is just above bolt 4. I am realizing now that oddly bolt 1 is actually missing from my setup, and after taking a look I found that the hole was simply clogged with muck.

Despite the help, I am still unclear about the actual removal sequence: what I am inferring is that I can drop four bolts (two in each of the extreme ends) in the center-most bolt holes. From there is it a matter of gently urging my stuck assembly off the head? Is there threading present at the very bottom of the assembly where those bolts can get some purchase, essentially turning them into handles? I’ve never had to remove this before, and for the life of me I cannot find a clear video detailing the process. Most people seem to take it for granted that the assembly comes off or goes on at a moment’s kind notice…

Thanks,
Patrick

[Author]

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