1987 Cherokee Starting/Oil Leak Problems

[elvis_dawg]

I have had my Cherokee for about 3 years now - 216,000 happy miles but the engine starts very slowly and I have oil running into my air filter and then dripping out of the bottom of the air filter compartment, causing a mess in the parking lot. I can't imagine that this is very healthy for the Jeep either. I would imagine that this is something fairly simple but I don't know what to do...[addsig]

[MudderChuck]

You didn´t say wether it was hard to start or the starter was turning slowly. If the starter was turning slowly it´s usually something with the battery or cables, but could be a partially shorted starter. If it´s hard to start, meaning you have to turn the starter over an exceptionaly long time to get it going. The first thing to look at is the plugs. If they have a fairly thick coating (uneven) of black stuff, you could be burning a little oil. Take a look at the exhaust pipe when the engine is running (smoke?). Rub yout finger in the end of the exhaust pipe feel oily? Does the exhaust smell like oil?

Oil in the air filter, take off the filler cap put your hand over it (careful hot) alot of pressure (enough to push your hand away) means blow by and probably worn rings.

If the PVC valve isn´t working properly sometimes during deceleration the scavenger on the valve cover to the air cleaner will suck some oil. Clean the PCV valve in solvent and or penetrating oil. A temporary fix that helps some ( with moderate blow-by)is to put a longer rubber hose from the valve cover, to the air filter and run it up hill as long as possibe before running it down to the air filter (helps some).

If it´s worn rings the only thing that will really help is a rebuild or a newer motor from the junk yard. [addsig]

[elvis_dawg]

The starting problem is that the engine is simply hard to start. I've changed starters to no avail. It still starts slowly. I cleaned out the CCV/PCV valve and hoses that connect it and there was a very clogged hose. Hopefully this will fix the problem of oil in the air filter. Thank you![addsig]

[MudderChuck]

When the starter turns over slowly, it´s usually a dead cell in the battery, dirty or loose cables. The battery will often check out marginally with a dead cell about 12 volts instead of 14+ with the motor off. Remove the cables from the battery and clean the battery lugs and cables with with solvent (brake cleaner or carb cleaner). Then clean all the contact surfaces with an abrasive pad, fine sandpaper or steel wool. Check to make sure all the connections are tight (starter also). And the ground strap has good contact. I had one where the bolt for the ground strap was a little to long, which gave me fits until I figured it out.

Turning over but failing to start is usually a crudy distributor cap (inside) and or rotor. They are prone to corrosion. cleaning them with a screwdriver and solvent helps somewhat (gently). The plugs are crudy or worn until the gap is too wide. Clean and regap. If the battery has a low cell, during starting the ignition system can be starved for juice.

Try taking a good battery from a buddies car, unhooking your battery and try starting and see how it works. Jumping to your battery, with a weak cell, from another battery usually won´t help much. Good luck, Chuck.[addsig]