First of all I want to thank the many WJ owners who have taken the time to share their experiences repairing their rides. Like many of you I have a 2003 Laredo that was randomly turning off on me, twice at a stop sign, once slowing to make a right turn and another while pulling into my driveway. My Grand Cherokee also stuttered a couple of times while accelerating, almost wanting to turn off but never did as I kept on accelerating. I checked for codes but none were thrown and I didn�t get the check engine light either. Upon reading your posts and possible causes I narrowed it down to 4 probable causes and sensors. The throttle body maybe needed cleaning or it was either the throttle body sensor, idle air controller (listed as idle speed control on parts websites), the crankshaft sensor or the camshaft sensor. As I don�t enjoy getting ripped off by the dealer I decided to try to repair this on my own. I could have replaced one at a time but when you factor in the time needed to test drive each repair with at least a few days driving I decided to replace all of them. From what I�ve read, these seem to go bad at around the mileage that I have which is 70,000, so I figured what the heck. I bought the parts at wholesalemopar dot com (I�m not advertising for them but they seem to have the best prices and their customer service was first rate) for $265 not including shipping. I could have gone the cheaper route and bought them at my local autozone but I kept reading that these sensors are better oem than aftermarket. The camshaft sensor was a piece of cake, just two bolts and replace. The throttle body sensor and air speed control were also easy but required taking the throttle body off. This was very easy to do and really anyone can do this, you just need the right tools, throttle body cleaner and about an hour tops. The crankshaft was the PITA to do. When I took of the throttle body it looked pretty clean as was the idle air controller so I felt that these were probably not the causes. I knew that more than likely it was going to be the crankshaft and of course the most difficult to do. Many thanks to jamesbond and others for his post about gaining access through the floor under the drivers side vents. Some have found accessing the bolt from under the car easier, some have had to drop the transmission a couple of inches but for me it was easier to go from the inside. I�m not going to go through each step since it is well documented here, however I will add links and pics that I took that might make things clearer. Over all it wasn�t easy, it took me the better part of 4 hours just for the crankshaft but I was going slow and making darn sure I didn�t lose that bolt in the bell housing as I had read some had done. I did but a small magnet and attached it to the socket when I pulled the bolt off. I used masking tape to keep the bolt on the socket when putting the bolt back on. I also used the string to guide the sensor to and from the bell housing. The one thing I wasn�t able to do was pull the plug from the drivers side, it is attached to a plastic thing and I couldn�t get the screwdriver to pry it off. The old one is disconnected but still hanging there, I may just cut it off. Good luck to all who try this, very doable but you need patience and time. I wish I could tell you which one of these actually did the trick but I can�t but 150 miles later I haven�t had a problem so I think that I�m still ahead even though I spent a bit more on oem parts.
Last edited by jediknight; 12-28-2012 at 05:31 PM.
We're offline for a tune-up, we'll be up and running smoothly very soon.
In the meantime, here are some other options available:
Visit an
Advance Auto Parts store
Sign up for
SpeedPerks Rewards
View us on Social Media
Facebook/Twitter/Blog
We appreciate your patience – for your next visit:
15% off
your next purchase.
Some exclusions apply.
Enter coupon code: in shopping cart.
We look forward to serving you,
The Advance Team