Re: 04 Wrangler Spark Knocking - Dealer says use 93 octane. True?
I suspect that it is set this way to get better gas mileage for the sticker,
both with the low shift point and with the defaulting.. Thanks for this follow-up. Tomes "Wrangler x" <noemailplease@noemailever.com> wrote in message news:ql5fuvsjmebc4iu0qdnqcuj2d08pq956b7@4ax.com... > On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 09:45:26 -0500, Wrangler X <dont@email.me> wrote: > > >I am new to jeeps. I just bought a Wrangler X with an automatic as my primary > >commute vehicle. I have a terrible commute to work across two lane mountain > >roads that takes about an hour and a half every morning. I finally realize that > >I would not hate the commute so much in a jeep that had the doors off and the > >top down. > > > >So far, everything has gone great with the jeep, but then I noticed that it is > >having trouble when it gets warmed up good going up gentle hills. It starts to > >upshift too soon and ends up pinging. Mostly it happens when climbing a gentle > >hill. The engine will be at low RPM (around 1500) and in the highest gear. It > >hits the hill and does not downshift like it should. I have to mash the > >accelerator pretty good to get it to stop, that or let off of the accelerator to > >make it downshift. Before it is up the hill, though, it shifts up into the > >highest gear and starts pinging again, so I have trouble holding constant speed. > >I either am accelerating or decelerating all of the time. > > > >The noise it makes is very gentle - it sounds like it is a mini-deisel engine. I > >don't think it is "hard knock" which I believe sounds like someone trying to > >bang a wrench against the hood. > > > >I took it to the dealer. They checked it with some computer thing (it only has > >3000 miles on it), and said that the gasoline here in Atlanta during Winter is > >the problem, that they (I cant remember which) add/subtract sulphur from it, > >making the jeep run incorrectly, and suggested I put 93 octane gas in it to stop > >the pinging. > > > >I did this and the pinging reduced, but did not stop. > > > >I've tried disabling overdrive. That works for a while (about five miles), but > >the Jeep's computer seems to adapt and start shifting up sooner after a while to > >counter-act the effect of having overdrive disabled. > > > >The dealership said 2004 Wranglers with three speed auto are all pinging like > >crazy, and nothing can be done. > > > >Can anyone confirm or deny this advice and the problem? What is the difference > >between hard knock and light knock? > > > >Any advice is appreciated. > > > >-Rob > > Here is a follow up to the story above for those of you wondering what happened > here. I appreciate the few responses I got. > > I went to a different Jeep dealership, and they said it sounded like perhaps my > transmission was the problem. The resident transmission expert hopped into my > Jeep with me and rode around town with me for 30 minutes listening to the > engine. Nice guy - very smart - he seemed to know his ----. > > I approached a hill with overdrive engaged (it engages by default), and we began > to ascend. The transmission shifted from 3rd to 4th, and then RPM's dropped to > around 1200. The engine starting the pinging/spark knocking noise, and I said, > "THERE IT IS!" > > This is a summary of what he said. > > 1. That's not spark knock. That's "lugging." Your engine is working to pull the > hill. Spark knock on a jeep sounds like a the engine suddenly became a huge > diesel engine. You wouldn't have to listen for it. It will be loud. > > 2. 2004 Wranglers with automatics have a new feature this year: 4 speed > transmissions. 2003 and earlier were all three speeds. The 2004 is a four speed. > > 3. The ratio between gears 3 and 4 is not so great. > > 4. Overdrive is the use of that 4th gear. > > 5. When you are flying down the highway at 70mph, your engine doesn't lug > because you are at high RPM's in overdrive. > > 6. When you are driving around town, you should disable overdrive as soon as you > start your car. Unfortunately, overdrive enables automatically on every power > recycle (turning it off and back on), so you have to push the button on the dash > every time you start your car. Only enable overdrive on the freeway with no > traffic for long distance trips. > > 7. Replacing the transmission will not help, as all 2004 transmissions are four > speeds, and all have the same problem. He says they have seen this a lot in > Jeeps owned by perceptive drivers. Most are sorta dumb and never notice the > problem. They just drive through it. > > 8. He said that flashing the controller software would help if Jeep changes the > settings at which the Jeep decides to upshift. Currently, it is set to upshift > from 3 to 4 way too soon, making overdrive use around town a pain. There is no > flash upgrade available at this time. He told me to keep checking because one > was expected eventually - so many people had complained about lugging in 4th > gear. Recall expected... > > Otherwise, my Jeep is fine. We drove it around with OD set to off, and it works > great without the lugging. I wasn't aware that it reset to on with each power > recycle, so I thought it was compensating, when in reality the overdrive was > re-engaging. > > So, two things Jeep needs to get straight on automatic Wranglers: > > * Overdrive should default to OFF, you should push a button to turn it on, and > the setting should be persistent from one power cycle to another. > > * The controller software needs to be updated so that the Jeep doesn't leave 3rd > until reasonably high RPM's, to prevent lugging on hills around town. > > -Rob |
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