[Eddie_NYC]

Hi all.

New member and hopefully a new WJ owner.

I came across a 99 Limited on CL that was a good price. Left a deposit and plan on picking it up this coming Saturday.

Have a few concerns/questions about the truck that you might be helpful in answering.

1999 Limited V8
Tow package
200k Miles
3rd owner for past 3 years.
Appears to be cosmetically and mechanically sound. I hope..

I went to look at the truck last weekend. Its been sitting for 2 months due to the owner picking up a used RX350 which he got for a great price from his boss after the WJ broke down.

Here's the story:

Car was used for typical light duty/commuting since bought new. The owners have all known each other and work together. Truck passed inspection with no problem back in October. Two months ago the PO was driving home and it began to misfire. MIL came on. He got it home and took it to the mechanic the next morning. The mechanic told him it would run him approx $1500 to fix it (this is a very high price. The owner lives in South Hampton Long Island. You won't find "cheap" mechanics out there.)

I wasn't able to drive the truck. It has 2 tires out of air, I drove 2 hours in crappy weather to get to this truck, got there close to 9pm. The owner is not car savy, and the nearest location to get air is 5 miles away. Let's go over the things i observed during my intensive visual inspection:

- Car fired right up after we put the battery back in. He takes it out because the car sits and he has no way of jumping it if it dies.

- No blue/black/white smoke upon starting. Just typical cold start condensation smoke.

- The misfire is mild. Does indeed feel like a fouled plug, bad injector, bad coil type of misfire.

- No odd noises coming from the motor.

- Oil color looked as smelled fine

-Tranny oil level and color looked healthy (yes. Checked when car was warm)

- No signs of leaks from the drive train. Diff cover has a slight sign of moisture towards the bottom of it. New seal is probably due.

- Suffers from the common dual comfort zone blend door issue. Only blows cold.

- No gear engagement issues. Goes into reverse without issues. No grinding or flaring when i tried to see if the truck responded to load.

- No gear engagement issues when putting into D or manually putting in lower gears. Can't confirm shifting behavior when driving.

- Needs valve cover gaskets

- Interior is mint. Leather looks great for its age and mileage

- Body is very good. A few stuffs but nothing No rust anywhere on the

- Think it needs an exhaust gasket by the cat flange

I thought the car would be a piece before I headed out to see it but after looking at it and the small issues (that I saw), and speaking to the owner, I feel the price is based on the following:

- Town frowns upon having cars on your property that aren't registered.

- Landlord is coming down on them to
get the car off the property.

- They already have another car and just want this one gone.

- Needs some work to be on the road again

- High mileage


So here's where I'm at, I'm very mechanically inclined and based on my observation, I've concluded that I can show up Saturday morning with my toolbox, water pump, coolant, and some type of pump to fill the tires up. Fill them up, get the car to a nearby lot and change the pump out.

Aside from the possibility of tranny issues (since I couldn't drive it), is there anything that I should look for when I go pick it up to steer me away?

I've read through a few WJ buyer's guides on a few forums, etc and reviewed the things too look for and feel that a lot of the things listed, the car does not suffer from.

I'm not expecting a flawless WJ. I'm getting it for a steal and given the fact I can turn a wrench, I don't mind putting in some hours.

Advice?

Thanks in advance!

-E :thumbup:

- Sent from a Galaxy Note 2

 

[JeepFreak12]

Looks like a nice choice. And of course it always helps to be able to wrench. The only thing is the 99's were known to have some electrical issues (trust me i know lol) but other than that its a great jeep. 200,000 miles is kind of a lot but if you take care of it, it will last much more. Did you try engaging Lo lock?

 

[dudefromflorida]

Seems like you have done a good job reviewing all the basics before buying.
Assuming the check engine light is on I would check to make sure there are not any other codes.. One way to do this without a OBD2 scanner is turn the key from the off position to on position (do not start, just give it power) 3 times in under 5 seconds. You will then see all stored codes pop up where the mileage usually shows up.
I also would be aware of electrical issues like 4.7beast said. Window motors and door locks love to fail.

 

[hoffmanestates]

Missfire could be a head gasket

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[Frango100]

You have to replace the waterpump for what reason? Take care with these engines that they don't like to be overheated and will warp the heads quite quick when overheated. Also after overheating they can drop valve seats and that can/will cause heavy damage to the cylinders/pistons. Did they say what the repair was for the misfire issue? Seeing the price for the repair, it could easily be a head gasket issue or worse. I would check out that engine very well before deciding to buy it, or you could end up with some expensive repairs.

 

[Eddie_NYC]

Decided to pick this thing up.Drot yesterday morning with my tool box, coolant and a new water pump as the one in the car would start to leak once the car would start to warm up (leak under pressure).

I added coolant, undid the radiator cap halfway to allow venting and drove off. First drive wasn't bad at all. I picked up an Autel AL539 scanner/amp, volt, ohm meter off Amazon last week and brought it with me.

I drove half a mile from the POs house to a gas station to fill up for the 83 mile trip back home. I scanned the car while I was there and found 3 codes:

Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire
Cylinder 2 Misfire detected
Cylinder 7 Misfire Detected

Cleared them and was on my way. Stopped halfway to check on/add coolant.

Made the trip home without any issues. Truck drives ok but needs some obvious maintenance from what I could tell based on the trucks feedback to driving conditions.

So here's where I'm at:

Changed out all the plugs (Champion 439) and cylinder 7 coil as the tip of the boot was cracked. Truck still has a misfire which is more felt at idle. I've been reading a few threads on the Web about other folks with similar issues and it ranges from wiring issue to head gasket to warped head.

I only had time after I got home to change the WP and plugs. I haven't really dived in to trouble shoot just yet. Coolant levels are fine. Coolant color is fine. Check engine light has been off now for about 12 hrs but the misfire is still present.

What are my other possible causes?

I'll be tearing more into the car as the week progresses but assuming the misfire issue isn't due to a Hg problem, I think I drove off with a he'll of a deal.

Thanks in advance
Eddie.

 

[dudefromflorida]

I would keep working in the direction that you seem to be going. Check all the little things first before getting worked up that it may be something serious.
Possible that it could be clogged/bad injectors?
I would also trace the wires leading to PCM jsut for Sh!ts-n-Giggles.
Final thing.. and its a long shot.. Check the fuel pressure sometimes you can get some weird things going on just by a little lack of fuel.

Keep us updated, and congrats on the Jeep!

 

[Frango100]

How was the color of the old plugs? Did you check for new fault codes, since not always the mil will be switched on?

 

[Eddie_NYC]

Plug 7 was a black and a bit oily. 3 out of 8 plugs didn't match. They were all mostly greyish/black. Decent. 7 is what concerned me but I don't want to assume just yet. The plugs that were in there seemed to appear they were long due to be changed out.


There were no other stored fault codes aside from the misfire. An O2 sensor code was present when I initially scanned it but has not returned since clearing it. I feel it was part of the issue when it first arose under the POs possession.

Side Note: where would I be able yo source the Service Manual for this truck. I've looked online and can't find much.

Thanks.

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[Frango100]

Did you try to google it? I bought the 2004 manual i have, but lateron downloaded the 99-04 manual for free. There are some minor differences between the years, but i would suggest to get the right manual year to avoid surprises

 

[hoffmanestates]

I had same symptoms on missfire and pulled #7 plug and the white isolation was.cracked. and i did a compression check and #7 failed was washing out my cylinder. $1000 later and she roars. Coming up to a year in a few months so far pleased.

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[Eddie_NYC]

I had same symptoms on missfire and pulled #7 plug and the white isolation was.cracked. and i did a compression check and #7 failed was washing out my cylinder. $1000 later and she roars. Coming up to a year in a few months so far pleased.

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Ugh. Don't tell me that. Lol

How did it run before that?

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[Frango100]

Would not expect a head gasket in this case. When coolant gets into the combustion chamber, it will literairy wash it and the plug will be clean, not black and oily. Oily plug looks more as a worn valve stem seal or a problem with the piston rings.

 

[hoffmanestates]

^^ so with either piston rings or valve seals leaking motor has to get dismantled? So possibly a leak down.test and compression test is needed. My ran rough on idle but driving was not noticeable. Had missfire code and my spark plug was cracked, the white insulation portion on bottom as cylinder is hot and coolant getting in was shocking the cylinder and spark plug cracked


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[Frango100]

Valve stem seals can be done with the engine in place, i did them on mine. Normally if the valve stem seals are bad, you will see blue smoke out of the exhaust when letting of the accelerator. With the throttle plate closed, there is a higher underpressure in the inlet and oil will be sucked easier through the bad intake valve stem seals.
When you see blue smoke on acceleration, its normally the oil scraper ring on the piston. This would need dismantling of the engine.