2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport

Reader Question: My 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport has become harder and harder to start in the last few months. It is long cranking after it has been run for a while.

It is very cold here this morning and it fired up on the first crank. I have replaced the fuel pump, gas cap, spark plugs, crank position sensor but still have the problem. It has 114K miles on it.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

John

Hey John,

These Jeeps are notorious for weak fuel pumps and bad crankshaft position sensors when an extended cranking complaint is present like you have.

I would really need to test for a spark at the spark plugs and test fuel pressure at the engine with a manual fuel pressure gauge (you can rent them from your local auto parts store) to determine if this is a lack of fuel or lack of spark problem it could be either.

Fuel pumps commonly overheat and are slow to produce the proper fuel pressure until they cool back down again. Check spark at the spark plugs, check for power to the fuel pump, check for proper fuel pressure at the engine.

Blessings,
Austin Davis