New Jeep owner--- stuck @ 2000rpms...

[ebrowne]

Hey all,
great site. Hope i could get some help on this.

95 2.5l @ 83000miles ran great for the first 2 weeks i had it. Then I did some mild offroading around a downtown steel mill. Mild bumps and a few deep puddles. Nothing too intense. anyway i get my very first problem- Power loss.

Didn't notice it till the next day, but I couldn't get the rpms up beyond 3000 rpms, and when i neared that the car lurched forward. Bumbed me out. Its been two days (mind you this is my day-to-day car) and its seems that i now can't go beyond 2000 rpm without it loosing power. I love this car, and I want desperately to get that power back. Any of you guys run in to similar problems?


I am also new at car repairs, I have shop access and want to try to remedy this myself, cuase i wanna know as much about this car. As far as i know its all stock. I got it from a dealer and the fluids/plugs/filters all look like they are in good shape. The caty and muffler are shot, and i plan on getting new ones soon (i already took out the muffler).

 

[mud4feet]

RE: Steering box?

Welcome the the "Z"!! If your cat's shot, as you say, that could definetly cause power loss. Replace asap and see if that helps.

 

[laneiac]

Yeah, take care of the exhaust. Also, make sure all of the exhaust manifold bolts are present and tightened down. My fiances had one missing forever and made the jeep loud and slow. Threw a new bolt in and it made a huge difference.

 

[88Wrangles]

How deep were these "deep puddles?"

 

[redrooster]

RE: Cj7 motor questions

Kill the cat!

 

[Junkpile]

How deep were these "deep puddles?"

That's the first question that comes to my mind too.

 

[dingus]

yeah, check to make sure you didn't get any water in ur distributor cap or anything like that...

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

Sounds like the exhaust could have been crimped also.

I'd say it's time for new plugs, rotor, cap, wires, etc. and a good throttle body cleaning.

 

[ebrowne]

Well I cut off the Cat and boy... That seemed like it did the trick! I can excellerate beyond 2000 rpms!! The honey comb deal on the inside became dislodged and was just rattleing around. Probably plugged an end of the cat. The pipes were also crimped really bad. So pretty much all i have left on is the exaust manifold.

those "deep puddles" were like 9" or so deep... maybey a foot, and lots of mud. I was just tryin to splash around a bit and use the 4wd. Was lots of fun! Crawled over my firt rock there too!


since there isn't anything impeding the sound of the engine, Are there some tell tale noises i should listen for? Should the engine sound smooth? Im hearing a lot of sputtering when i let off the gas/ downshifting.
Any suggestions for a new cat and muffler? Should i investigate headers?

Btw- this board rocks! Thanks much in helping diagnose the problem.