Hey guys, I have a close friend that is in a pinch. She is stranded at work because her Jeep is stalling. She has a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4.0 auto. It stutters at idle in park, and stalls when she puts it into drive. Any advice?

I am likely going to find a trailer and cruise her way with my truck, but was looking for any former/current Jeep owners advice.

Nitro used to own a Jeep so I'm sure he can help. first thing I would do is look at the oil and the plugs. It could be a plug or an injector (or something in the fuel system). How well does she maintain it?

Its been wheeled (off roading) and the engine replaced. reg maintence is done, TPS was replaced on Friday.

I am a little fuzzy on the spark plug thing. Another friend suggested this, and I wonder if it is worth changing the plugs in the parking lot.

Can't hurt. I don't know how hard they are to get to, but plugs are an insanely easy job. You can look at the general condition of the wires - if you notice any spots, or really anything that makes them look less than perfect, they're worth replacing. I would just pull one or two out and look at them - if they look discolored or burnt, put new ones in and save the current ones - pictures of them will tell you if something is wrong with the engine (detonation, etc). If they look clean, and are gapped properly, put them back in (and be sure to use anti-seize on the threads)

ya i know the plugs on her engine are an easy job. I just would of thought they would of replaced them when they did the engine this past spring / fall.

If they replaced it that recently, it may be something in the fuel system. Did they replace the entire longblock (w/ all accessories) or just the shortblock? The fuel filter may be blocked or something causing fuel to be improperly delivered.

I suggested fuel pump or fuel filter. I don't know....

She dosen't have money to take it in to get fixed really.

That could be a number of things.

Check the plugs, wires, distributor cap, since those are easy. Also, you can pull the Idle Air Control Valve and check to see if that's sticking. That could cause stuttering and stalling, and it's relatively easy to pull off. It's located on the actual throttle body. Picture to come...

Edit: It looks like this:
http://www.jeep4x4center.com/images/air-idler.jpg

Edit again: Also check all the vacuum lines. I had a few on my GC develop small holes that only close inspection revealed. And, try cleaning up the throttle body with some carb cleaner.

So I had her disconnect the battery and wait a few minutes and reconnect. Thus resetting the computer. Everything is fine for now, which leds me to beleive it is electrical. She's on the road and I don't have to drive all over so woot woot.

Also no distruber in her model year TJ.

Ooh, yeah, forgot it was a 2000. My GC was a 1993...

Glad it's running, though!

Thanks for hte help everyone, Mod's feel free to delete this so it dosen't waste space.

No so fast! Get that cranshaft position sensor replaced soon. It starts as an intermittent stalling followed by a no start. It will act up more when hot.

The three things that died on my 2k xj were the TPS, IAC, and crank sensor.

I KNEW IT!!! muhaha ya I will replace her Crank position sensor this weekend.

Whats IAC?

Idle air control. Jeeps are notorious for the crank position sensor going out. The fuel filter from what I can recall on most chryslers, is UNSERVICEABLE. The only other thing I can think of causing stalling at idle is the transmission being in lockup.