SOLVED: Jeep died, throwing P0340 code, distributor assembly seems broken

[GregBelleville]

So here's an update after dropping the Jeep off with my mechanic.

He called just now and said he has put in 2 different distributors and the timing is still off, engine is running very rough. He says he thinks the timing chain could have skipped a tooth or 2, and could have been the cause for the broken distributor.

He said the only way to know for sure is to pull the front cover off to inspect the chain. If it needs a new chain, the quote was $950 to replace, but because he'd be pulling alternator, water pump etc, it might make sense to replace the water pump, serpentine belt, harmonic balancer as well depending on how these items look once they get everything pulled apart. Replacing everything doesn't add labor but another $500 in parts. Ouch!

Thoughts on all of the above? This is a bit of a gut punch as I was expecting a quick repair under warranty and now it's quickly ballooning into a major repair, and there's still the possibility of additional damage to the motor that could be found once they open everything up. I'm not confident enough to try and diy a job like this either.

 

[JKP]

You have to pull the belt, fan, crank pulley, and possibly the rad depending on the puller used.

Water pump and Alt shouldn't have to be removed, but it is the time to replace them if questionable.

 

[GregBelleville]

You have to pull the belt, fan, crank pulley, and possibly the rad depending on the puller used.

Water pump and Alt shouldn't have to be removed, but it is the time to replace them if questionable.

Thanks! the scary part is not knowing if there's motor damage that I don't even know about yet until all of that gets pulled off.

I have no idea how likely motor damage is if the timing chain skips a tooth as suspected?

 

[JKP]

Unlikely. My 92 skipped timing due to terrible misfiring. Put a new timing set on, runs fine, no issues.

 

[GregBelleville]

Unlikely. My 92 skipped timing due to terrible misfiring. Put a new timing set on, runs fine, no issues.

I like the positive vibes

 

[CAD1]

looks like you are missing the holddown clamp

 

[macleanflood]

I did my timing chain. I discovered my crank pulley was cracked...all the rubber dried up. I'd replace it. Also found my fan clutch was shot.

You'll be disturbing your oil pan seal...if I was doing my own work I'd replace the entire pan seal. If the pan is off you can replace the rear main and oil pump...or let it ride. This can go down the rabbit hole fast.

I'd leave your water pump and alternator alone. New parts aren't what they used to be.

I'd encourage you to do your own work! None of this is difficult.

-Mac

 

[hear]

Is your mechanic reading this thread? I called timing issue back in post #14 but I got talked out of it!

But I agree with Maclean, you can do all this yourself and save a ton of money.

 

[CAD1]

looks like you are missing the holddown clamp

View attachment 402881

Hear. What am I missing?

 

[GregBelleville]

Is your mechanic reading this thread? I called timing issue back in post #14 but I got talked out of it!

But I agree with Maclean, you can do all this yourself and save a ton of money.

Thanks for the encouragement, when I bought this Jeep my goal was to learn to wrench on it myself. Replacing the timing chain sounds intimidating, but I really don't know much about what is involved in order to complete a repair like this.

If anyone has some good resources on tackling this job, please share, I'm going to start searching my BFF YouTube for videos to help give me an idea of what I'd be getting myself into.

 

[GregBelleville]

looks like you are missing the holddown clamp

View attachment 402881

You're right I am, I'll have to see if I can find one of those, my mechanic was talking about putting a washer over it, which would probably serve the same purpose.

 

[hear]

Hear. What am I missing?

Not sure if you’re talking to me or what, but we established back in page 1 that the hold down clamp sheared off. So I guess what you’re missing is that he apparently still has a timing issue. Remember that you don’t set the timing at the diz like you did back in the day, the computer controls it now. So the only way to correct it is to re-index the cam & crank together via timing chain.

Now all that is assuming the issue isn’t just an out of spec cam sensor. Ever since I read a discussion on that topic it’s all I can think about when discussing timing problems.

 

[GregBelleville]

Not sure if you’re talking to me or what, but we established back in page 1 that the hold down clamp sheared off. So I guess what you’re missing is that he apparently still has a timing issue. Remember that you don’t set the timing at the diz like you did back in the day, the computer controls it now. So the only way to correct it is to re-index the cam & crank together via timing chain.

Now all that is assuming the issue isn’t just an out of spec cam sensor. Ever since I read a discussion on that topic it’s all I can think about when discussing timing problems.

My mechanics hypothesis after replacing the distributor and the timing still being off even after he reset it is that the timing chain may have skipped a tooth or 2, which caused the distributor to fail at the hold down clamp. Won't know for sure until I access the timing chain and see what's what.

After watching a few timing chain replacement videos, I'm wondering how I'd be able to tell if the timing chain skipped a tooth? Would it just be by looking at the timing marks on the two sprockets and if they're slightly misaligned then that's my problem?

 

[hear]

After watching a few timing chain replacement videos, I'm wondering how I'd be able to tell if the timing chain skipped a tooth? Would it just be by looking at the timing marks on the two sprockets and if they're slightly misaligned then that's my problem?

That's my understanding. But I would definitely watch some videos and review the FSM before I turned even one bolt.

 

[JKP]

Yes, the marks wouldn't line up correctly if it's skipped.

Your distrubutor foot is broken. However there should be a hold down clamp as well.

 

[GregBelleville]

Yes, the marks wouldn't line up correctly if it's skipped.

Your distrubutor foot is broken. However there should be a hold down clamp as well.

View attachment 403006

I'm missing a hold down clamp, I'll see if I can source one from somewhere hopefully.

 

[macleanflood]

I'd also have a quality timing chain and gear set ready to install. I used a Melling when I did mine. I came with stuff to repair the oil pan seal.

It's not a terrible job. You can do it!

-Mac

 

[CAD1]

Not sure if you’re talking to me or what, but we established back in page 1 that the hold down clamp sheared off. So I guess what you’re missing is that he apparently still has a timing issue. Remember that you don’t set the timing at the diz like you did back in the day, the computer controls it now. So the only way to correct it is to re-index the cam & crank together via timing chain.

Now all that is assuming the issue isn’t just an out of spec cam sensor. Ever since I read a discussion on that topic it’s all I can think about when discussing timing problems.

Not sure if you’re talking to me or what, but we established back in page 1 that the hold down clamp sheared off. So I guess what you’re missing is that he apparently still has a timing issue. Remember that you don’t set the timing at the diz like you did back in the day, the computer controls it now. So the only way to correct it is to re-index the cam & crank together via timing chain.

Now all that is assuming the issue isn’t just an out of spec cam sensor. Ever since I read a discussion on that topic it’s all I can think about when discussing timing problems.

yes I was. I did not see on page 1 that the hold down "clamp" sheared off. Please point that out to me. I was not talking about the fork on the distributor but the actual clamp that is in the pic that I uploaded.

 

[hear]

...Please point that out to me...

Passive aggressive much? Welcome to the forum.

Regardless, it's probably worth asking OP if his mechanic sourced a new clamp as part of his distributor testing. I don't think I got a new hold down clamp when I replaced my distributor, so unless the mechanic had one laying around.... With the clamp, there's only one way the distributor will fit. Without it, I guess it could fit lots of ways and end up working more like a manual timing setup. It's also worth mentioning that it's not all that hard to be off by one tooth when you set the distributor.

There was a discussion here not too long ago where a guy had his distributor off by one tooth and it idled rough but smoothed out under load. I think we guessed that the ignition was too far retarded at idle but under load the advance put it into a smoother range. He re-set the rotor and it fixed everything. I would like to verify the diz is properly set before OP starts tearing into the timing cover. Not that I don't trust the mechanic........well, no, I don't trust the mechanic, as a rule.

 

[CAD1]

yes I was. I did not see on page 1 that the hold down "clamp" sheared off. Please point that out to me. I was not talking about the fork on the distributor but the actual clamp that is in the pic that I uploaded.

Passive aggressive much? Welcome to the forum.

Regardless, it's probably worth asking OP if his mechanic sourced a new clamp as part of his distributor testing. I don't think I got a new hold down clamp when I replaced my distributor, so unless the mechanic had one laying around.... With the clamp, there's only one way the distributor will fit. Without it, I guess it could fit lots of ways and end up working more like a manual timing setup. It's also worth mentioning that it's not all that hard to be off by one tooth when you set the distributor.

There was a discussion here not too long ago where a guy had his distributor off by one tooth and it idled rough but smoothed out under load. I think we guessed that the ignition was too far retarded at idle but under load the advance put it into a smoother range. He re-set the rotor and it fixed everything. I would like to verify the diz is properly set before OP starts tearing into the timing cover. Not that I don't trust the mechanic........well, no, I don't trust the mechanic, as a rule.

Wrong use of passive-aggressive behavior as to this thread (now the other thread between us, maybe so). Nevertheless, all I was doing by my original post was to help someone out (just like the last time I did and you told me how wrong I was - but instead you were wrong) and you give a laughing emoji (i.e.: saying my statement was laughable ). And I wanted to know why, which you responded by telling me that what I had pointed out had already been discussed - so apparently it was funny to you that I did not know that. So I asked you to to point out where it had been previously discussed and you can't. So I guess you thought the discussion about the bolt ("screw") being sheared off was the same as me discussing holddown clamp, which it is two different things.