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Throttle Body Cleaning

Cleaning the throttle body on a Jeep Cherokee.

One of the most common questions I see on Yahoo Answers is about a Jeep that won’t idle. They complain that it dies at traffic lights or won’t start.

Often the cause is simply a sticking idle air control valve. This valve mounts to the side of the throttle body and allows a small amount of air to bypass the closed throttle plate to regulate the idle speed. The valve is actuated by a stepper motor controlled by the ECU.

I don;t know why but using fuels high in ethanol seems to make this gum up. It makes no sense to me since the fuel does not pass through the throttle body – only air. However, I have noticed that on many of the Jeeps I have serviced, high ethanol equals a sticking throttle body.

Cleaning it is simple. Remove the rubber air inlet tube. Locate the slots int he back of the throttle body. Spray throttle body cleaner in the slots. Do it with he engine running and you can make the valve cycle while spraying the cleaner in. This will help get it unstuck.

Here is a video of how it is done:

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Jeep Cherokee Fuel Pump Replacement

Jeep Cherokee Fuel Pump Replacement

This weekend while on an off road trip, Jenny’s Jeep began to experience the symptoms of a bad fuel pump. Her jeep would stumble and die at idle. It would only run if the rpms were kept over 1500 and it was low on power. It was also surging as the fuel pump lost pressure. It was making only 20 psi or so and that was simply not enough to keep the fuel from boiling in the hot fuel rail. It was a struggle, but we got her Jeep out of the woods under its own power and got it back to my shop.

Fist, we used the failing fuel pump to pump the remainder of the fuel from the tank. I used my fuel pressure tester attached to the fuel rail test port to pump the fuel into a can. I made a jumper wire and attached it to the fuel pump relay socket to force the pump to run.

Once the tank was empty, I disconnected the lines from the fuel pump assembly and disconnected the wires. I also disconnected the tank vent lines.

Next, I rigged up a lift to support the tank as I lowered it from the Jeep. I then loosened the tank support straps. After lowering the tank a couple of inches I was able to reach above the tank and loosen the filler and vent lines from the tank. I then removed the tank support straps and lowered the tank out of the Jeep.

With the tank out, I stood it up and cleaned the mounting flange for the pump assembly with a wire brush. I used a hammer and screwdriver to move the clamp ring off the pump. Then I carefully removed the pump from the tank taking care not to get dirt in the tank. The filter sock fell off and had to be retrieved with a gripper tool. Often the tapered grommet for the pump assembly will stay in the tank as well. If so, this has to be fished out. This one came out with the pump this time however.

To test the pump, Jenny made up a container for fuel and reconnected the pump to the lines and wires. The last time I worked on this Jeep there was a leak in the line between the pump and the tank outlet. This time however, there was no leak; the pump simply was not making pressure. Cold it would make only 30 psi not the required 48 psi. When the pump got hot it made less pressure. We measured 20 psi when the Jeep was trying to get home the day before.

We then tested the used replacement we had available. It easily made more than enough pressure. And still no leaks. The mounting bracket in this tank has been modified slightly in an off roading mishap so I had to adapt the new pump to fit. After some mixing and matching of parts and some creative routing of the expensive high pressure hose, I got it to fit. Jenny also had to put a wrap or two of Teflon tape on the pump inlet to get the filter sock to stay in place.

I carefully cleaned the pump mounting surface and the O ring. I then set the pump in place and tapped the retaining ring back into position.

We then lifted the tank up into the Jeep. With the tank almost in place I reattached the filler and vent lines. This was the most difficult part of the job by far. Once the lines were reattached, I lifted the tank the rest of the way back up and reinstalled the straps. I actually forgot to tighten the fuel line clamps before driving it. I should have tightened them right after I reinstalled the lines and attached the wires.

We put the fuel back in and ran the pump on the jumper a moment to prime the system and get air out of the lines. When I heard the regulator squeal, I knew the air was being purged. Jenny’s Jeep started right up. It stumbled a moment while the computer adapted to having the right pressure at the injectors again but it settled down quickly.

A quick test drive showed it all worked fine. With the exception of the loose clamps on the fuel lines I mentioned earlier. I had to tighten them in the street because I was afraid they might pop off if we drove it back to the shop.

Her fuel pressure is back in spec again. Hopefully this pump will last a while. The whole job took about four hours start to finish.

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Prentice Cooper State Park

Riding in Prentice Cooper State park

Having been inspired by youtube videos and some photos I saw on the web I decided to revisit Prentice Cooper State park for my Father’s Day adventure. I had been there about ten years ago but I only drove one trail. I am still not sure which trail that was but there was a big warning sign saying only 4×4 vehicles were allowed past that point.

Here is one video I saw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goC3MqeKK4Y

This is Haley Road which all the reviews said was the gnarlyist trail there.

Here is another video of a rock we found on Haley Rd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvEZ8doHrHg

On Saturday, we were at another event near the park so we took the Suburban and drove the main road called Tower road. It was closed at one point for Turkey Nesting. We tried a few side roads but they were narrow and the Suburban is hard to turn around so we did not venture off the main road. We did find the marker for Haley road so we knew where to go in the Jeeps.

We returned on Sunday with two Jeeps. Since my off road Jeep is still suffering from worn ball joints, I took my daily driver. This Cherokee has 30″ BFG ATs that are pretty worn. Open differentials and slight less than stock ride height. Jenny’s Jeep has 31″ Maxxis Buckshots and a three inch lift. Also open diffs.

Taking the street Jeep allowed Janice and my son will to ride along. Jenny had all three of her kids with her.

We stated on Persimmon road. Our map showed it connected to Haley Rd. We made a few turns that turned out to be dead ends and then came to a spot where a tree blocked the road. There was an ATV bypass but there was no way to get my Jeep through. So we turned around.

We then made our way to Lusk Point via Sulphur rd. I could have driven the Suburban on this one. The view from Lusk point was beautiful. We had a picnic lunch here.

We drove out on Lusk Point Rd and found a Honda stuffed into some trees along Tower road. Not sure how she got there. Both air bags were deployed but every one seemed OK. She had lots of family there to assist but was still stuck. I hooked up my tow rope and pulled her back on to the gravel road. I left her family to deal with getting the car home from there. She said she was on her way to visit her father’s grave for father’s Day. Glad she did not join him there.

He headed on down to Haley road. Just a short way in is one of those 4×4 only signs. I stayed in 2wd just to be stubborn until I got tired of using the brakes to hold back on the hills. If I had two low I would have used that. We dropped down a rocky hill and crossed a shallow creek. I kept waiting for the good part. After the creek, the road smoothed out. After rewatching the first video above, I realized that was the good part.

Near the end of the road we did find the rock ledge pictured in the second Video. I took the bypass and spotted Jenny on her way down. After looking at the hill form the bottom, I decided to go up it. I took a line slightly right of the Dodge in the video and made it up easily. Jenny then turned around and drove up as well.

We drove on to see if the road really did intersect HWY 27 like the map said. Sure enough it did. Funny that there is not one of those 4×4 only warning signs on that end. Just a sign with lots of park rules.
There is a funny sign that says Speed limit 1 MPH. I think there is a number missing.

We headed back in to try a side road we saw that looked interesting. No name ion this one but the map showed it went back in the direction we first tried on Persimmon Rd.

This road turned out to be the most fun all day. There were several climbs that looked like there would be no way a stock Jeep on 30s could make it. But my little Jeep just crawled up with ease. I hardly spun the tires. I was thinking that going back down some of those might be interesting.

About that time I met a Chevy Pickup across the road. I got out to chat and found there was a tree across the road. None of us had a saw and the bypass was too narrow for even our Jeeps, much less the Chevy. After a meet and greet, we turned around to head back down.

That is when Jenny’s Jeep balked. Princess did not want to leave. She bucked and snorted and refused to run. There was vapor in the fuel rail. We could hear the pump running but it was boiling before it got to the injectors. After a long discussion about carburettors and propane while the ice melted on her fuel rail Princess fired up.

It would run fine if the RPMs were over 2000 but if it got below she would die. More ice on the fuel rail was needed to get her to restart. Driving down the tricky trail was made even more exciting for Jenny by trying to keep her Jeep running. Loosing power brakes and power steering while going down the tricky rocks was a real challenge. It took a while but we finally made it back to Haley Road. We chose to drive the short way out and take HWY 27 home.

It was a fun day in the woods and I do want to go back and explore some of the other side roads. But I do have to laugh at the folks who said Haley rd was really gnarly. My stock Jeep Cherokee made it look easy.

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How to Prevent Workplace Violence

Violence in the workplace has long been an issue for managers to deal with. Unlike other workplace safety issues, the dramatic nature of the events makes them difficult to prepare for.

The causes of workplace violence are many and varied. However, the chances of having a workplace violence incident in your facility will be greater when there is a hostile atmosphere. High stress workplace environments also lead to work place violence issues.

Often domestic disputes and other outside influences such as drug deals and other outside interests play out in the workplace. While these outside factors may be out of our direct control, there are ways of reducing their impact on the operation.

One precursor of workplace violence that needs to be carefully controlled is horseplay. While workers need to have freedom to express themselves, horseplay can quickly get out of hand and have dangerous if not fatal consequences. I suspect injuries due to horseplay are severely underreported due to the nature of the interpersonal relationships.

In order to reduce the chances of a workplace violence incident, you need to create a safe and empowering work environment. Employees who feel good about themselves will not feel the need to increase their self worth by bringing down others. Workplace bullying and workplace violence go hand in hand.

Promoting good team work where each person’s value in inherent in the system will help everyone feel better about themselves. A quality employee performance system will also help aid employees self esteem. The better and more valuable employees feel about hem selves the less likely they will be to attack others in a effort to improve their status. Also, people who feel good about them selves will not attract violence into their lives.

A belief in some form of lack is usually the basis for workplace violence. When people feel that there is not enough money or not enough time or more often not enough recognition to go around, they begin to attract violence to themselves so that they can become a victim. Or they may lash out at others in defense of some supposed injustice.

Many workers feel that intimidation is the only way they can feel good about themselves. They like to harass other workers, especially new hires. If these people are rewarded for teaching and training new or slower workers, they will get the self esteem boost they need with out resorting to the hazing that leads to violence.

As managers, we can find ways to boost the self esteem of our workers. I once had an electrician who, while very intelligent, had difficulty getting along with his fellow workers. He would get belligerent when people questioned his intelligence and the other workers become fond of finding ways to make him look bad. I put him in charge of developing our lock out tag out plan. He felt self worth because he had been asked to perform sun an important task. Other people were forced to work with him because the procedures he developed they would have to follow for posterity. They also began to respect him because they saw the amount of time and research he had to put into each procedure. After only a few days into the project the hazing and arguing peacefully disappeared.

Another worker I had liked to harass new workers. He had been with the plant from the day it opened and loved to show off his expertise. He refused to follow new safety rules and generally made life miserable for a lot of people. My boss wanted to find a way to early retire him and the union even tried to get him fired.

I put him in charge of training new workers. He got the recognition he deserved. He began to feel good about himself and his contribution become valued to both the company and his fellow workers. He could be the hero trouble shooter without having to cause problems in the first place. Through this simple job restructuring, both the company and the employee benefited. So did all his co workers.

When dealing with specific problem employees, you need to get to know them and make an effort to understand their values. The need to feel valuable and important is universal. Finding ways to help people feel good about themselves will not only help reduce violence in the workplace, but will benefit productivity as well.

By creating a safe and validating work environment, employees will feel good about themselves. Make sure they know what is expected of them and be consistent in the response when employees fail to meet expectations. Expect only the best from your employees and do what you can to remove the blocks to their best performance.

Good, solid policies and procedures are critical to maintaining a safe work environment. When everyone knows what is expected of them and knows how to do their jobs, every one will feel better about themselves. They will inherently know when they are doing a good job without the need for constant supervision. People who feel good about themselves will not act violently toward others nor will they attract violence onto themselves.

While the causes of workplace violence are varied and complex; preventing workplace violence is as simple as addressing these key areas. Make sure employees are rewarded for working well together. Make sure employees feel they are making a valuable contribution and make that value known to others. Make sure people know what is expected from them in the workplace and be consistent in the implementation of the policies and procedures.

To learn more see Straw Solutions Safety Coaching program.

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XJ List Spring Fling 2009

May 2009 Trip to Harlan, Ky

The semi annual meeting of the Yahoo Groups XJlist was held once again in Harlan, Ky.

We began the trail runs Thursday afternoon by doing some exploring. Even though the group has been to the park many times before, there are still places we have not been. We began by looking for some places that we had seen on YouTube. First we went in search of Pinball and Railbed. Our maps were somewhat hard to interpret and these trails were not marked but we soon figured out which ones were which.

Still being a bit cautious after Adam’s tumble at the end of the last trip, the group decided to avoid the steeper climbs and try Railbed. Railbed begins with a vertical water fall and then proceeds up the hill in a boulder filled gully. No mud, just a lot of rocks. Neal tried the waterfall in his XJ with lockers and 35 inch swampers. There just was not enough room to get his XJ into the correct position to climb the steep slick face of the waterfall.

We all took the bypass and headed up the rocky trail. The loose large rocks made lockers a must for the climb. We each tried different lines and eventually we all made it up the trail. This was one of the most fun climbs of the trip. We noticed the big piece of rail road track buried in the dirt beside the trail. This is where the trail gets its name.

We moved up to the nearby lower rock garden where we have played many times before. While I was waiting and watching I was surprised when a fellow in a Chevy Avalanche showed up. After talking with him for a few minutes, I discovered he was in charge of parks and recreation for Harlan County and is basically the guy in charge of the park.

We discussed the future plans for the park and I learned his goal is to make Harlan County the premier off road destination on the east coast. The new permit money goes directly to the park maintenance and improvement fund. The permitting system was instrumental in getting the land owner to agree to the long term lease needed to get grant money to further improve the park. Turns out he is a avid off roader himself and has personally carved out many of the trails on the mountain. I feel good about having him in charge.

We did some more exploring and learned how some of the trails interconnect. Not a bad warm up for day one.

On the way back down the mountain to camp, I noticed my voltmeter suddenly drop. Back at camp, I tested to find that sure enough my new alternator had quit charging. Ironically, I bought it right there in Harlan last fall. I quickly pulled it off the Jeep while my burger was cooking on the grill.

After a quick snack, I borrowed Jenny’s Jeep and drove into town for a completely no hassle swap at Advance Auto. It was sprinkling rain when I got back so Jenny draped a tarp over my Jeep so I could keep working. Just as I was trying to align the bolts, I heard a loud noise and felt something stinging my legs. I realized it was not just raining but hailing. I quickly dove into my Suburban and waited out the storm.

When the rains finally slacked off, I hurried to finish the job before dark. Long summer days are nice. I got it all back together and tested before settling in by the fire to catch up with my friends who I only see twice a year.

Friday morning, we awoke to find very slick and wet conditions. Harlan gets very slick form these sudden thunderstorms. Even the road up the mountain, Trail 45, becomes a serious obstacle when it is wet like this. We took time to remind each other of the danger and agreed to have fun anyway but to watch out for each other on the trail and pay close attention to our radios.

Our fist challenge was trail 15. This is fondly know to our group as the Slip and Slide after we had to come down it late one evening after getting caught in a sudden thunder storm. We headed up the slip and slide hill.

The second climb of trial is punctuated by a small two rock step. It really does not look that intimidating. However, because of the steepness of the climb the near ninety degree turn just before it, it is difficult to arrive that the first rock with enough momentum to get over it. The rocks are also deceptively simple looking.

Neal, after having quite an interesting time there last trip, decided to winch up. Evan and Kevin made the climb using lots of throttle and even with out the benefit of lockers made the climb easily. There was plenty of drama associated with the speed but his Bilstein shocks served him well as he hopped over the last two rocks. I thought I had plenty of momentum to make it over the crest but to my complete surprise, I simply bounced off the first rock and stopped between them. Even flipping the switch to the front locker was not help and I found myself in a very scary slide backwards just as Neal had done last year.

I quickly regained control and backup for another run. Again I bounced on the first rock and slid backwards. Knowing a unlocked Jeep had just made it up just aggravated me more. I backed up again and using all the traction my Maxxis Buckshots could find and the torque of my Titan Stroker, I blasted up the hill with plenty of speed to carry me over both rocks. I was glad the stock lower control arms were up to the task of continuing to locate my front axle.

We did a bit more exploring of the park and made another trip up Railbed just for fun. We had planned to get in Mason Jar before dark but when we arrived there was a large group of Toyota Truggies there. We really expected them to make short work of the gate keeper at Mason Jar with their large bead locked tires and flexible suspensions.

However after nearly an hour of watching and waiting, they had only one truck past the gate keeper and it was stuck at the second rock. We decided to call it day and try Mason Jar the next morning.

The story of Mason Jar will continue in the next post.

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