Just bought a 1998 red 4 door xj automatic. Not shure if the truck was taken care of or not. Started it up today and is making weird noises and the motor is running a bit rough. Any ideas? Should i do a full tuneup and oil change first? Any input would help. Thankyou

 

Oh ya. And the check engine light popped on :-/

 

Could be any number of things. i know here it was damn cold today, like -8, so everything tends to run a bit rough when it is like that. Here is what I would start off with.

Pull the CEL code, address what it tells you

Do an oil change, if it hasnt been done since you have owned the vehicle

Check all electrical connections, grounds, plug wires, etc...

Check all vacuum lines, look for leaks, broken lines

Put some seafoam in fueltank

Clean out Idle Air Control valve

Reset computer

No sense in throwing a bunch of money at it if you don't know what the problem is. That is all stuff that is relatively easy and cheap to try. None of that stuff will every hurt, good to do now and then.

 

Yes its been cold here aswell. Not cold like you though just mid to high 20's. i kno nothing about jeeps so i am very new to all of this. I hope its nothing bad. I will try what you mentioned tho. Seems easy.

 

One thing about that jeep you have, is that its fairly durable. The previous owner was not very nice to mine and overall it has fared pretty well. Nothing is permanant, just takes time and patience. Feel free to ask me any questions, I am by no means an expert, but I have been through mine nearly front to back.

 

I will deff be in touch since i am a jeep noob haha thanks for your help. Cant wait for the nice weater to come so i can take the time to look at everything without being frozen.

 

You don't need a scanner to read the codes for check engine light. Read the codes using the 3 runs, 2 offs ignition trick. Here's a how-to video and instructions/codes list:


Put the key in the ignition and turn the key to run (not start), then off, then run, then off, then run (that's 3 runs and 2 offs). Leave the key in the run position. See 2-digit codes in Odometer. Write them down. Then tell us the codes or see this codes list:

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/o...scriptions.jpg

Courtesy of thestalliontruck/FullbrightJ.

 

I just tried this about 20 times and no codes ever came up. This works for a 1998 cherokee?

 

Yes, this method works for 97-01 XJs. Pre-97s are a little different (you count the number of CEL flashes to get the codes).

 

Ya it doesnt even blink. Check engine light stays constant lit and the numbers dont change or nething. Ill try it again today.