Loss of Power from Engine

[rockclimber]

For context: Today I went out with a group of Jeepers for the first time (I’ve been off-roading alone for 2 years). The area we were in had 3+ feet of snow and I have a 2.5” spacer lift on my sport so I was dragging my underbelly in it. There were some points that it would hop forward in the snow trying to get through and I definitely put the “pedal to the metal” to try to get through by myself. Everyone was really nice and got me out with a strap about 3 times when this would happen. I never scraped or dented anything and nothing looks damaged suspension wise. I did have to “walk it out” a few times forward and reverse a bunch and another time it slipped out of 4 low into neutral and the check engine light came on but went away.

After turning out onto the highway I got up to 45 and felt a general bumping and the steering wheel felt out of control (I believe this may be referred to as the “death wobble”). I typically drive 60-80mph but I felt limited and like 50-55 was my highest speed. I have no check engine light or any other warnings the engine sounds good driving in the city and nothing is making a noise (besides all my tools). It was also windy so I’ll chalk the near constant and almost uncontrollable drifting to that for now…Please let me know what may be wrongI guess it could be the transmission and/or it’s in limp mode?
Got a few good photos for my trouble though!

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[Catiajockey]

your description of the problem was kind of vague. Death wobble/bump steer feels like the entire front end it shaking apart and you must slow way down (under 20mph) or stop completely for it to stop. Most likely you had snow packed into your wheels that was causing them to be extremely unbalanced. This happens in thick, deep mud as well.

 

[MesaAZGuy]

Looks like a beautiful day you had! I concur with the snow packing in the wheels causing out of balance. See how it performs once all that is cleared/melted from the wheels.

 

[rockclimber]

your description of the problem was kind of vague. Death wobble/bump steer feels like the entire front end it shaking apart and you must slow way down (under 20mph) or stop completely for it to stop. Most likely you had snow packed into your wheels that was causing them to be extremely unbalanced. This happens in thick, deep mud as well.

Ok thanks for clarifying! I’m glad it’s not that bad! I can see it could be because of the snow so the bumpiness doesn’t seem to be an issue since it went away. The problem is when I was in the highway I could only go 50-60. I’m used to the turbo and I didn’t feel it kick in above that range and the highest rpm I noticed was about 3500 with the pedal pushed almost to the floor. What I think is likely a cause is shifting between forward and reverse so many times so maybe something happened in the transmission and it’s in limp mode? And about the snow it was an hour long drive home going from 25 degrees to 40 so I know the snow was gone by that time and I still had issues.

 

[Beachcomber72]

You’d have a light on for limp mode, so definitely not that. Snow packed in the rims would definitely cause a bumping and odd steering feel. But stating it was all melted and gone after an hour drive would lead me to think possibly a valve body in the transmission in a stuck cold type position. Possibly… real hard to tell. I’d once again lean toward just cold trans fluid just causing heavily delayed shift points.

 

[rockclimber]

Ok thanks for clarifying! I’m glad it’s not that bad! I can see it could be because of the snow so the bumpiness doesn’t seem to be an issue since it went away. The problem is when I was in the highway I could only go 50-60. I’m used to the turbo and I didn’t feel it kick in above that range and the highest rpm I noticed was about 3500 with the pedal pushed almost to the floor. What I think is likely a cause is shifting between forward and reverse so many times so maybe something happened in the transmission and it’s in limp mode?

I

You’d have a light on for limp mode, so definitely not that. Snow packed in the rims would definitely cause a bumping and odd steering feel. But stating it was all melted and gone after an hour drive would lead me to think possibly a valve body in the transmission in a stuck cold type position. Possibly… real hard to tell. I’d once again lean toward just cold trans fluid just causing heavily delayed shift points.

Hopefully is it’s that then it means it’ll get better once the weather is warmer? It’ll get colder here (Oregon) so that’s good and bad…I’m glad to hear it’s likely not limp mode! Everyone’s wheels were packed full of snow but mine being stock they didn’t gather much In the first place. I remember the transmission temp reading 208 on the dash around midday. I‘be been up since 4:30am left at 6:30 met up at 8 and got out at 6:30 so I’m pretty tired. Maybe this is all just in my head

I’m so glad that everyone here is so responsive! Thank you for your advice! I’m especially appreciative because I’ve been doing this alone for a couple years! I’m now a “prospective member” in a well known club so hopefully it works out! Either way I do and likely will always rely on this forum to get advice on all my questions!

 

[J0E]

What I think is likely a cause is shifting between forward and reverse so many times so maybe something happened in the transmission and it’s in limp mode?

Congratulations for knowing the rocking technique for getting unstuck. In the hundreds of recoveries I've performed, I was able to get the rig out by rocking at least 20% of the time- not attachment points.

I no expert, but AFAIK, shifting between forward and reverse so many times does no damage iff you let your wheels stop before shifting.

 

[rockclimber]

Congratulations for knowing the rocking technique for getting unstuck. In the hundreds of recoveries I've performed, I was able to get the rig out by rocking at least 20% of the time- not attachment points.

Thanks! I still have lots to learn though! I feel like I really wore the engine out crawling through the snow

 

[azjl#3]

maybe the jeep was seeing a fault in traction control and was limiting power? with 208 on tranny i would not expect any sort of stuck valving but maybe it was self protecting because some other part in tranny was too warm? If you don't have a fault everything is doing what its supposed to do even if you dont want it too. Let it all melt see how it works.

oh, only do 50-60, you sure you in hi not low? sure you are out of 4x4? dont ask how I know.

 

[rockclimber]

maybe the jeep was seeing a fault in traction control and was limiting power? with 208 on tranny i would not expect any sort of stuck valving but maybe it was self protecting because some other part in tranny was too warm? If you don't have a fault everything is doing what its supposed to do even if you dont want it too. Let it all melt see how it works.

Hopefully it melts or warms up by tomorrow! Most the snow is gone after the drive back…I didn’t see any when I crawled under look at everything and it’s supposed to snow here (Lake Oswego, OR area) too tomorrow! I don’t like snow anymore to say the least…especially after spending 8 hours dragging myself through it.

 

[rockclimber]

maybe the jeep was seeing a fault in traction control and was limiting power? with 208 on tranny i would not expect any sort of stuck valving but maybe it was self protecting because some other part in tranny was too warm? If you don't have a fault everything is doing what its supposed to do even if you dont want it too. Let it all melt see how it works.

oh, only do 50-60, you sure you in hi not low? sure you are out of 4x4? dont ask how I know.

Sorry I didn’t even see your note to make sure I was out of 4high! Honestly it felt like I was in 4 because of the limited speed and it felt like I was really pushing it but it said I was in drive and nothing on the dash said 4 and the lever was in the right spot for 2high. I really hope it wasn’t in 4 on the drive home but I don’t see how it could’ve been without the dash saying so.

 

[rockclimber]

I’m so worried about this I woke up at 7am I just got in and and double checked that it’s definitely in 2 high shifted into 4high really nicely (as usual) shifts to reverse as usual with a click which may be odd but I don’t think it is. Shifted into drive and it made a whooshing air sound that went away- it is 36 degrees out right now. The engine sounds good and I’m going to take it for a drive on the freeway now!

 

[Zandcwhite]

Could be engine temp related. It’s counter intuitive, but overheating is common when playing in the snow. A radiator blocked by snow won’t cool and if engine temps go above 240° the Jeep will cut power much like you described.

 

[rockclimber]

Could be engine temp related. It’s counter intuitive, but overheating is common when playing in the snow. A radiator blocked by snow won’t cool and if engine temps go above 240° the Jeep will cut power much like you described.

Well it drove normally on the freeway! Accelerated normally braked well and I got it up to 85 to make sure it could. The rpm’s seemed normal- between 2000 and 4500 from what I could tell. About the engine possibly being overheated it could be that but me and one other Jeep spent almost 3 hours just waiting at the bottom of a trail we bypassed while everyone else helped a pickup out. The guy was in a Silverado with no chains street tires and maybe a lift. He was on the edge of the trail ready to slide into the hillside but they used 3 winches to pull him off and out. Anyways…everything seems fine now but it’s still a mystery as to why it wouldn’t accelerate.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Well it drove normally on the freeway! Accelerated normally braked well and I got it up to 85 to make sure it could. The rpm’s seemed normal- between 2000 and 4500 from what I could tell. About the engine possibly being overheated it could be that but me and one other Jeep spent almost 3 hours just waiting at the bottom of a trail we bypassed while everyone else helped a pickup out. The guy was in a Silverado with no chains street tires and maybe a lift. He was on the edge of the trail ready to slide into the hillside but they used 3 winches to pull him off and out. Anyways…everything seems fine now but it’s still a mystery as to why it wouldn’t accelerate.

Sometimes after it goes into limp mode for heat it takes a few restarts to clear itself. Glad to hear all is well. Next time you're playing in the snow, I'd pull up the temperature on the gauge cluster. The bar graph seems slow to react in my experience.

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