Questions and Answers

Jeep Cherokee Stalling Q. I have an 1997 Jeep Cherokee Sport, 4.0 Litre, 4WD automatic transmission. I brought it in to my mechanic as it was stalling when it was low on gas (¼ and under) especially when I was turning a corner or something. I had put in some methyl hydrate as I figured there might be some condensation in the tank, but that didn't do anything.

Anyways, my mechanic said that there was no way to change the fuel filter as it was in the gas tank, and then suggested that it might be vapor lock. Now wasn't the idea of putting the fuel filter in the tank to solve vapor lock, among other things? He essentially told me to just keep it full at all times and that I wouldn't have a problem.

This is acceptable I guess, but I would rather know if it is accurate. Should I change the fuel pump? Should I look into changing the fuel filter? Injectors dirty? Any help would be appreciated!

Sincerely,
Chris

A. I don't know how many miles you have on it, but it never hurts to replace the fuel filter first when working on a driveability problem. You can replace the fuel filter, but you need to remove the fuel tank to do it. If you have more than 30,000 or 40,000 miles, I would recommend it.

I don't know what the hell Chrysler was thinking when they put the fuel filter on top of the fuel tank. Some coked up engineer must have thought this one up after one too many snorts.

Another thing you might try is this; when it starts stalling, remove the gas cap, wave it in the air and put it back on. No, I'm not high, there is method to my madness. Drive it and see if the stalling problem has gone away. If it has, then throw out the old gas cap and put a new one on.