DougW

Ralph DL wrote:
> My 97 TJ, with 4 cyl auto, 60,000 miles, often conks out when I back
> it out of the garage in the morning... after restart and going forward
> it falters and lightly backfires a few times. When I let up on the gas
> and press the pedal again it runs okay. The rest of the day no
> problems on startup and go.
>
> I live in North Central Florida.
>
> Any ideas on the cause?

You live in Florida.

(no, I'm actually serious)

Your describing water in your fuel tank. Water settles to the bottom overnight
then your jeep tries to burn it in the morning (doesn't work well does it).
After moving for a while the water gets mixed back up.

You could also have mold growing in the tank, but that's more common with diesel.

Go get some gas dryer that's safe for O2 sensors and dump it in.

Might take a couple of tries. The alternate method is pump the water
out in the morning. Take the fuel line off the rail, put it into a bottle
then turn the ignition on (not start) that cycles the fuel pump for a
few seconds. Turn the ignition off, then turn it back on again till you
get a good glass full. Now set the glass down for a while and see if there
is water settling out in the bottom. Any brownish floaty bits indicate mold
and that requires the fuel tank be steam cleaned.

--
DougW @_ ___________
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