she was running at regular temp every day (center of dial same as the day I got her), she hasn't overheated since September

the idle would stumble some, hereand there mostly... like I said in the beginning

I think i'm loosing coolant in 2 places, the hardpipe off the water pump (headed to the firewall, to or from the heatercore) and maybe the front seal on the oilpan (which could be dribble from the aforementioned hardpipe) since the belt sings a woeful tune for the first few seconds everytime I start her up

pretty sure there shouldn't be coolant coming out of the oilpan... badnews

i'm losing oil at the bellhousing and the back of the valvecover... not a little, not a lot but enough to be a concern.

pulled the valve cover and looks like someother fools been in there and didn't snug the cover down in the back (where it's no fun to turn a ratchet) so that may or may not explain the oil back there...

she didn't try so hard to start this morning as she did yesterday (before I started turning bolts, I gave turning the key a go)
a low toned but smooth turnover followed by a hand full of clicks... sounded like she wanted to go, got a couple of fires, but never went up to idle... then the clicks

sooooo... now i'm looking at the underside and wondering if an oil pump would stop her from starting. I would really hate to tear into this engine from the wrong end

 

Ok. Have you checked for codes? The cps can prevent spark if faulty. Oil pump won't cause a no start. Engines need air, fuel and spark to run.

When you say you can smell coolant, is that from inside the cabin or out of the exhaust?

 

I smell the coolant up front,
standing at the bumper...
a little at the exhaust, but not so strong, and not all the time
never inside the cab

is there a way to get the dash to flash me codes?
I was looking at code readers and terminal bridges to get the codes out
but there was nothing specifically for ol' Bernice... at least not at the oreilies up the road from me

 

I doubt the key trick will work on a '99 but you should be able to pick up a Bluetooth reader pretty cheap if you have a smartphone. Download the torque app if you have.

Don't worry too much about oil leaks just yet. They can be fixed after you get it running again. The coolant pipe sounds like it will need replacing for sure but isn't the cause of the no start.

Do you have the check engine light on?

 

the check engine light didn't come on once since I've had her
until she stalled out
it's not on when the engine tries to start, but lights up when she fails

plus, my phone has wires and stuff... it's screwed to the wall

 

there's pressure in the fuel rail, I don't know exactly how much... but I am flammable now
the plugs and wires are all good, which I kind knew but it never hurts to check
my coolant leak is the hard pipe off the water pump (but there could other more serious leaks in the head)
fuel pump is working good-ish...
snapped a 15 years old wiring harness going to one of the injectors
drank more than a few beers...
the battery seems tired ... so i'll have to get it charged up if i'm gonna get any futher

with the rough idle issues I was having I really wanna suspect the fuel system
but I just don't know...

one step at a time I guess

 

update day 3

walked a couple of miles with my starter in a backpack and my battery tied to a hand truck

started tested out fine
battery was tired like I thought, got a new one
there went the beer money...

when I pulled the starter there were burnt brownish/rust colored deposits inside... also the mating surfaces where it meets the bellhousing appeard to have been compromised, there was clearly some junk in there

didn't find any missing teeth or anything on the flywheel,

if it wont go after I put this new battery in, I am going to have to drop the gas tank
and give the fuel pump a little love/replacement -which ever seems right

still hoping someone smarter than me will chime in on this... but it's looking less likely

 

I really would have at least checked for codes before swapping parts.

Do you have any method of getting the Jeep to somewhere that can scan the codes for you or a mobile mechanic? This is most likely going to be the thing to help you the most.

 

a mobile mechanic would be awesome
i'll have to look for one

maybe i'll take a bus to somewhere with a codereader I rent

I cant afford a tow, and aint strong enough to push

 

got her to go finally
she sounds like luke warm death, but she goes
had to save the under the hood work till after the sun moved (az sun will beat a man up)

idled really rough at first
the idle settled down after a few second (probably all those halfhearted starts)
still doesn't sound quite right... but the tempo evened out

now, since I have her running(albeit rough) I can give her a good flushing
who knows a good way to remove sludge from the inside of this i6?

 

Start with marvel mystery oil with an oil change. Whilst it's running make sure coolant is topped up and head out to get those codes read.

What did you do to get it started?

 

new batterey, new plugs, refurb'd the starter, some injector cleaner
simplestuff

kinda don't wanna drive her yet
gonna do that mystery oil thing and get a new valve cover gasket

what do you think of kerosene to clean out the sludge?

 

today i'm doing the code reader compression tester timing light stuff
gonna walk down and get fluids I need

getting some exercise this week

 

If you have low or no oil pressure the main bearings are probably shot from engine coolant going through them. Head gasket is probably shot, or the head is cracked, allowing engine coolant to get into the oil.

If you want to roll the dice on the bearigs, have the head inspected for cracks, and change the head gasket if the head is okay.

 

Has the loss of oil pressure been constant as in when you first got it did have good oil pressure and then it slowly declined and declined until to the point where it is now?