Looks like I’ll get it back on Monday with the steering and suspension repaired at least. I’m less confident about the engine – I believe there’s something wrong with the fuel system along the lines of an injector leaking down and he doesn’t – but at least the serpentine belt and its broken idler will be replaced.
He wanted to replace all four shocks and I demurred since I already replaced them myself less than a year ago; he says all their bushings are shot but I want to see for myself. Maybe I just bought some shit shocks, I don’t know.
Anyway, good news at last. The projected cost will be pretty much everything Generous Readers donated and everything I earned on the paying gig that broke the Jeep, but there’s enough to get the Jeep out of hock barring surprises.
If the bushings are actually shot, which I doubt, just replace them. They’re cheap. No need to replace nearly new shocks unless you’ve seriously abused them.
Make sure he checked/fixed the alignment as part of the service or you will be reducing the life of those tires substantially. As to a fuel problem, what are the symptoms?
A leaking injector can thin the oil in the sump and your oil level can appear to be increasing if real bad. Take the oil cap off the valve covers and take a sniff after turning off the engine (unless you want an oil bath), if you smell gasoline wafting off the cap or the opening you could have a problem.
If it is the vapor lock symptom but no check engine lights are showing check the jeep boards for others with that symptom. I have never owned a jeep and the only experience with flooding/vapor lock was back in the days of carburettors so I am not much good as a resource in this instance,.
Sent you a little Happy Thanksgiving. Or at least I sent it to the PayPal link…
Making my living turning wrenches, I’m not going to try and diagnose a Jeep that’s multiple state lines away, but vapor lock really stopped being an issue when manufacturers stopped selling passenger vehicles with carbureted engines almost 30 years ago. Don’t look for vapor lock to be the cause of, well, anything.
I know you occasionally talk about how the Jeep is much more advanced than what you used to work on, but man, oh man do I wish the vehicles I touch are as easy to work on as that little TJ you drive around.
My guess is in no way superior to your guess, especially since you have actually wrenched for a living, but my guess remains that you have an electrical problem . Either way, it’s probably something that you can fix yourself with parts from Amazon. Consult with Jeep forums for guidance in making your diagnosis..
Thinking of all the times the Jeep’s wiring has been seriously chewed to non-functional shreds by rats and mice it seems likely that there is an undiscovered wiring issue.