2000 XJ cold start issues, now I need a new engine?!

[RockMeGently]

Hey guys,

Ok so I'm a girl and I know some stuff about cars/trucks, but not a lot (big surprise lol). My husband and I picked up a 2000 XJ 4.0 Sport with 144,000 miles a year ago. After a couple of months, when I'd start it in the morning, it would crank but wouldn't turn over or sometimes it would turn over but shut off again. My husband said to just press the gas pedal a little while turning it over till he could take a look at it. Well he ended up getting deployed again. Despite being in the Army, we get ****ty pay and don't have a lot of extra cash, so I've been dealing with this issue for a while now. Hubby didn't seem too worried about it, so I didn't really worry about it.

So I moved back up to RI from KY, drove the Beast up in November last year. I had the usual issue starting up in the cold weather and it seemed like it was getting worse. Figured it was because RI is WAY colder than KY, but kept it on back burner as an issue to have looked into when I had the money. A month later, usual issue with cold start, I blew a transmission line. No big deal, got it fixed. Then a couple months later, I put $1000 into her getting new brakes, shoes, drums, hubs, etc to make her safer cuz I didn't have any brakes in the rear lol. Also got an oil change. (I figured I'd lay the time line of fixes for you guys just in case it helps). I mentioned the issue of hard starting to the mechanic both times, they said I shouldn't be having this problem since its fuel injected. But they never got back to me on what was the problem! 4 DAYS after spending all this money, its a super cold night and I work second shift. And she would not turn over. I'm sitting there a good 5-7 minutes, I'm tired and stressed out and just want to get home. So I keep on turning the key and pressing the gas.....she finally turns over and then there's HUGE knock noise coming from the engine - FRIGGIN GREAT!!

Luckily I work for an after hours answering service and one of clients is a tow company, so I got a tow home for free lol. The next day I have the Beast looked at, they say to me that the oil is fine, the fuel is fine (it didn't flood), but now I need a new engine!!! This particular mechanic refuses to actually go into the engine and find out whats wrong with it and I'm not paying $3000+ for them to put a higher mileage engine in there (cuz thats all they could find at the salvage yards at the time), without first seeing if its something that can be fixed within the engine.

Okay sorry about the long post......So guys, you got any ideas? Thanks so much

 

[greg92jeepxj]

Our deepest thanks to your husbands services to our country and our best wishes for his safe deployment. Happy Mother's Day to you . Well , I'm sorry your holiday was less than happy with this sudden bad news of your jeep. The cold start would have been easier to fix .
I won't ask you to do this , but if you can get someone to do it for you , you can check this engine to see if its got a chance or it's the hook for it. First , remove the spark plugs to make it easier to rotate the crankshaft with a breaker bar and socket. If it turns freely at least one revolution , then you can try to test engine compression. It must be noted if the engine spins freely without resistance or if it feels something is holding it back from making a full turn or it's just difficult to rotate. The HUGE knock from the engine is concerning . I won't speculate as to my thoughts of what could be , their not good but I'm hoping that the breaker bar test will lead to a compression test and wishing for good results. But mostly , I know you want to find out what is wrong and the condition of the engine since the mechanic won't touch it without a down payment toward commitment of repair. Don't want to see you get robbed just to find out you don't want to go ahead with any repair work with them. Hoping these steps toward diagnosing the engine help and wishing the best for you since $$ is an issue ( who dosen't have those problems ) .
On a happier note , welcome and thank you for your membership to Jeepz.com .
your always welcome to post your questions or thoughts . Best to you . Greg

 

[JPNinPA]

Did the knock go away or did you just shut it down and towed it?
Were you able to tell where the knock came from? Top end or bottom end of engine?

What brand oil filter?

Have you gotten a second opinion?

 

[RockMeGently]

Our deepest thanks to your husbands services to our country and our best wishes for his safe deployment. Happy Mother's Day to you . Well , I'm sorry your holiday was less than happy with this sudden bad news of your jeep. The cold start would have been easier to fix .
I won't ask you to do this , but if you can get someone to do it for you , you can check this engine to see if its got a chance or it's the hook for it. First , remove the spark plugs to make it easier to rotate the crankshaft with a breaker bar and socket. If it turns freely at least one revolution , then you can try to test engine compression. It must be noted if the engine spins freely without resistance or if it feels something is holding it back from making a full turn or it's just difficult to rotate. The HUGE knock from the engine is concerning . I won't speculate as to my thoughts of what could be , their not good but I'm hoping that the breaker bar test will lead to a compression test and wishing for good results. But mostly , I know you want to find out what is wrong and the condition of the engine since the mechanic won't touch it without a down payment toward commitment of repair. Don't want to see you get robbed just to find out you don't want to go ahead with any repair work with them. Hoping these steps toward diagnosing the engine help and wishing the best for you since $$ is an issue ( who dosen't have those problems ) .
On a happier note , welcome and thank you for your membership to Jeepz.com .
your always welcome to post your questions or thoughts . Best to you . Greg

Greg,
Thanks so much for the warm welcome and all the help and advice!!! I don't mind doing the test myself, unlike some females, I actually LOVE the idea of working on my own vehicle and getting dirty lol. But I won't go into something without knowing what I'm doing so if I can get someone to help me with this for free, I will. Otherwise I'll be asking for help on whats what and where lol.

Yeah I really wish I had gotten onto these forums before this knocking issue happened I've been reading ALOT everywhere about cold start issues and the number of things that could be causing all this. Typical hind sight crap lol.

The Beast has actually been out of commission for over a month now, have had a lot of other things going on (mom had surgery, etc) so I've had to put it on the back burner but I'm sick and tired of having no wheels (its my daily driver ever since my Saab took a crap). Plus the nicer weather is finally here and I want to go off roading!

Did the knock go away or did you just shut it down and towed it?
Were you able to tell where the knock came from? Top end or bottom end of engine?

What brand oil filter?

Have you gotten a second opinion?

JPNinPA,

As soon as the knock started, I just had it towed to the mechanic. I didn't know what was the problem so I didn't want to run her anymore than I had, just in case it would break something else. Then while it was there they said it wouldn't restart for them so I haven't tried it. Should I?

The mechanic said the sound was coming from the bottom, but who knows if they know their ass from their elbow. I was thinking of searching for video clips of different engine knocks and then comparing the sounds....

 

[JPNinPA]

Knock issues can range from easy to severe

 

[JPNinPA]

Knock issues can range from easy to severe. Thinking out loud here, you just had your oil changed along with filter. Some filters have poor valves in them that allow all the top end oil to drain to the pan. When this happens you get a loud knock for a few seconds of running. It is more common the longer the vehicle sits. Like overnight or over the weekend.
If you have this issue it will sound like a noisy valve train.

 

[carnuck]

Oil change places that put orange filters on should be ashamed of themselves. I've had and heard of WAAAY too many imploding and ruining motors. In this case though I have to wonder if the noise is your starter coming loose? The cold start issue is often a bad coolant temp sensor that gets "stuck" or fuel pump relay that is corroded.

 

[greg92jeepxj]

Your very welcome for the advice and assistance . The warm welcome as well. Let us hope that the rotation test will prevail and that there is no bad damage. I did not want to put bad things in your mind in the way of broken parts such as piston rings or a shattered piston , rod bearing or main. I'm hoping as you are that the shop you took it to was only inflating the problem , hoping you would go for the repair and that there isn't really much wrong. You know some shops will do that . Always trying that with a woman. Let's see if it was related to an oil change as suggested too . We know that happens , youtube is full of these stories. Well , hoping for the best and although you may have skills with tools we don't know of , please be careful. Even us guys get hurt. Looking forward to your posts . Greg
P.S.- you did the right thing by not trying to run it after the fact. Can we blame the damage on the shady mechanic ? Just a thought , not really serious.