Little Red (T.J.'s XJ)

It's definitely a bit of a cluster, but the 2.5 is the same way with the adjustment for the tensioner on the power steering pump. There's just a hell of a lot more room to get your hands and tools in there to get things done on the 2.5. I never realized how gigantic the fan shroud on the YJ is (or how much room there is up front for the matter) until I took the one for the XJ off and still barely had enough room to work in there.

Excellent news, the alternator is not the problem and it was indeed a loose serpentine belt. Gave the tensioner bolt a couple more turns, and boom no more squeal under load. Just as encouraging is that the battery was not dead after two days of sitting. So for the first time since buying it, I was able to drive her around earlier tonight. Photos or it didn't happen of course.



I can confirm that for the most part everything works just as it should. No overheating, no fluid leaks, no voltage drop, the four wheel drive works perfectly in all ranges, hell the electric fan even turned on when the a/c was running. Aside from the manifold and the motor mount, it will probably need: brakes all around (judging just from their feel); possibly some attention to either the steering box or the pump (again from feel); some attention given to the windshield defroster (it sounds like the door isn't opening properly in the front dash); a new hood release cable (currently have to use pliers/Leatherman to pull shredded wire under dash); and a radio (the PO did a serious hack job on the one that's currently in there, which I've actually only gotten to turn on once despite all my best efforts).

So far we've got ~$600 invested in it (including buying price) and she's well on her way to once again being a respectable vehicle. Once the manifold is replaced (which will be done by a shop and not by us) we'll be able to get a better idea of what the engine really sounds like and go from there. I'd say another $1000 combined in new parts and shop costs and she'll be back on the road and ready to rock. She probably won't be ready for the club run at the end of the month (never say never I suppose), but barring any major setbacks I'd say by early August it'll be good to go.

Very nice. I love me an XJ. Can't wait until it's road worthy.

So, a good chunk of progress was made today. For starters, I found a shop in North Reading with extensive experience replacing exhaust manifolds on 4.0s. I was quoted $600 for the whole job, including the replacement of the obliterated motor mount. I know that's still a decent chunk of change, but compared with other quotes I got it's an excellent deal. I'm not sure when I'll be getting it down there, but it should be sometime in the next couple of weeks. Once the manifold is replaced it should be on the road shortly thereafter.

I was also able to get a good day of work in, including: the replacement of the broken hood release cable and the rear wiper arm; and the removal of the amp and blown sub and their associated wiring, the radio (which after testing is the reason the battery has been constantly dying), and wiring for lights that are no longer installed (the scary thing is the PO is an electrician, and this is some of the most hack-job wiring I've ever seen in my life).

I also had a chance to really take a look at the 32/11.5 BFG MTs that were part of the deal. Unfortunately the one with the patch holds no air at all. It loses it as fast as it takes it in. It's a real shame since the other three are definitely usable (on the YJ), but you have to play the hand you're dealt. I'll be scouring Craig's List for a set, or even a loner, so if anyone knows of anyone looking to move some definitely let me know.

I am still tracking down a slight issue with the defroster. It doesn't seem to blow out as hard as it should, and after taking off pretty much all of the dash panels the job is not going to be an easy one. It's probably a vacuum leak somewhere, but it's an issue for another day. The panels aren't all that hard to get off so that's a plus.

Of course, photos or it didn't happen.









And some glamour shots:

Why not do the manifold yourself?

I would second that, as you'll save $400. That said, I still need to tackle my manifold for the third time to hopefully get it to seal properly. Plenty of similar stories floating around with those running the APN header, may be in part due to the crappy gasket they include.

It is a pain in the ass but it only took me 3 hours the second time around. Tools you definitely want are ratcheting wrenches and a fuel line disconnect tool. The one I got looks like this: http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-39400-Angled-Disconnect-Tool/dp/B000W0UZHG/ref=sr_1_12?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1405948089&sr=1-12 not really worth trying to jerry rig something to get it off IMO.

If you want a hand with it I could probably help you out sometime, or if you wanted to see what was involved you could swing by when I'm doing mine.

Then again, way less of a pain in the ass to let someone else deal with it.

Also if you want a comparison of the defroster vent you can take a look at mine next weekend if you'll be on the run.

Honestly, I'd much rather let someone else deal with it than have to do it myself. From the get-go the cost of the replacement manifold and the work was going to be built into the budget of it, and that's reflected in that $1000 number I threw out last week regarding the amount of work it will need to be roadworthy. My chief concern is the bolts not coming out/breaking off in the motor, and the old man has already said he's not going into the engine bay with a torch to try to get them free (a sentiment which I second), so I'm willing to let it be someone else's headache. Plus, it kills two birds with one stone having the mount done at the same time, another project I don't have to deal with.

As far as the defroster goes, I will take a look at yours Jake just for comparison, but I'm not sure how much good that will do me. The issue I'm having is that the defroster works and seems to be blowing like mad, but only a small amount of air is actually coming out of the vent at the foot of the windshield. It sounds like a vacuum somewhere up in there is disconnected, but you can't see much even with the panels of the dash out so that's gonna be an adventure when I get around to doing it.

Once the manifold is taken care of, next order of business will be plugs/wires/cap/rotor (it needs plugs and wires especially bad), addressing the brakes, and then lowering the back end (it's tough to tell from the pictures but the rake it has going on is huge). I'd say by this time next month it should definitely be on the road.

I was actually really afraid of the same thing but they all came out fairly easily, it will be nice to not deal with that or the motor mounts though. Which mounts are you planning on going with?

I think I know what you're talking about with the vent, mine does that sometimes while its switching over (doesn't help that the PO removed the vacuum reservoir). Could be a vacuum leak or a sticky actuator?

Little late to this party, apparently, but:

x3 on doing the manifold yourself.

That was actually one of the first major projects I did on the YJ, even back before I actually knew what I was doing.

I followed this tutorial:
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/how-replace-your-cracked-exhaust-manifold-1063245/

It was actually much easier than I thought it would be.  Just basically take off, then put back on in reverse order.  Just be careful and label things as you take them off and it's pretty simple.

Oh, and the reason I replaced mine is because there was *no* gasket, which resulted in a loud ticking noise that I originally thought was a lifter, ha ha.

Also, those manifolds are *notorious* for cracking at the joints, even after replacement.  Many guys swap is an expansion joint "flex" style to fix that and have had great success


And in terms of changing the timing chain, normally I'd say it's not necessary and they typically outlive the engine, but in your case it actually probably is in need of it.

Yay!  This means I get to share my timing chain replacement write-up I did that no one *ever* looks at, ha ha.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f19/timing-chain-write-up-1326191/

Again, definitely something you can do yourself.


That is a screamin' deal you got.  As sad as it makes me to see a highly-visible club YJ start taking a back seat, this is definitely the better platform to build from and should make an *awesome* vehicle.

Indeed. As a bonus you can clean your intake manifold while its off, probably could use a good cleaning if its never been done before.

Actually you've got it reversed Geoff. The YJ is going to be the dedicated woods rig and the XJ will be my everyday/occasional camping beater. Little Red is just a much more traditional everyday vehicle than the YJ, and it has too many creature comforts for me to turn it into a woods rig, despite it's 4.0 grunt and beefier rear end. So don't worry, the YJ isn't going anywhere.

As far as the manifold goes, my mind is pretty set on having the work done for me. Between it and the YJ, I'm quickly losing my weekends (which I fully understood when I took it on so there's no one to blame but me on that), and frankly I want it on the road by the beginning of August (to at least get a little bit of use out of the A/C while it's still hot out for example) and that won't happen unless a shop does it because of time constraints. And in full disclosure, I'm getting a little bit annoyed listening to my girlfriend constantly quip about my weekends being dedicated to Jeeps, and the longer it sits the more fed up she gets. She remains unimpressed with the long way it's come already in a short period of time (because even I admit it's pretty much been a lawn ornament), so some physical proof needs to be seen. Mostly it comes down to it being a good amount of work that I'm willing to let a professional do. I've read a lot of the write-ups online and I'm confident I could do it, I just don't want to.

All of the other stuff that needs to be done is where I'll save costs. Hell I was anticipating having the water pump done at a shop and we did in the driveway so we've saved where we could already. Even with the manifold replacement I'm well within the budget I set aside for the thing (keep in mind I was willing to drop $2000 on other projects that needed just as much work) which is why I'm not losing any sleep over having a shop do it. I do appreciate that you guys think I could handle it myself, but it's not to be.

THOOPY3 wrote:And in full disclosure, I'm getting a little bit annoyed listening to my girlfriend constantly quip about my weekends being dedicated to Jeeps, and the longer it sits the more fed up she gets.

Ha ha, no further explanation needed. We've all been there and sometimes it's worth it just to have a weekend back. If it becomes every weekend and your only output, it really ceases to become any fun.

Just as long as you know you *could*. I hate to see people outsource projects just because they don't realize they're capable, because then they'll never get to larger projects.

But sometimes to get to the projects you *want* to do, you have to delegate some of the projects that you *have* to do!    

(On a personal bragging note, I rewired a wing of my house this weekend, which I had *never* done any household wiring before. But because of incrementally larger electronic projects on the YJ I had the tools and the confidence to do it and even got confirmation from an electrician that it was done correctly! It's times like that that I realize that every stupid project and expense on these Jeeps has a ripple effect that saves time, money, and dignity so many times down the line)

Wise words. I hear ya on the time issue, I've made a point of not working on mine on the weekend as I can usually get a project done during the course of a week even if I can't get it done in a single night after work. It helps that I bike to work as often as I can though, would suck if I needed it for commuting.

Yeah it's tougher for me because the XJ is at my parent's place, and I would kill everyone around me if I had to do that ride from Lexington to Reading everyday at 5 like I used to. It takes me conservatively 50 minutes to travel what amounts to like 11 miles. My issue too is that every vehicle in the family armada needs work done, so often my time turns into other vehicle time. Case in point, the water pump on my brother's car let go sometime between Friday during the day and Saturday morning, so when I showed up on Saturday and noticed the various puddles in the road my day began with an investigation into that.

Further, the old man's Explorer has a cracked right strut and busted sway bar link, and a failing EGR valve that occasionally throws a code; my mother's F-150 also has a cracked right strut, some sort of brake issue that is not related to pads/rotors/calipers that we can't pinpoint (possibly failed/failing master), and for the second time in its 10 years of existence needs the cam phasers redone (which is a $2000 job that we can't do). All things on the to-do list, and I don't even have time for my own projects as it is.

With my father's arthritis and my brother's complete lack of ability/willingness to aid in car projects, the onus falls on me to be the shop hand. To boot, most weeks the old man works everyday (all seven of them) until 3, so projects requiring two people don't start until 4, and nothing ever goes according to plan so it's a recipe for working on cars from 8 in the morning until like 10 at night...then getting home and hearing about it from your girlfriend. Put it all together, and you have my reasoning behind just wanting someone else to deal with my manifold woes. I've always loved and still do love tinkering with cars, but you can see where I'm coming from.

...Damn.

Hugs?

Haha, not quite that bad. I make it sound worse than it really is. The good thing is my mother doesn't really drive the F-150, but it's also due for an inspection which is why the crunch is on. Truly a situation where I wish there were more hours in a day (and driving over idiots on the highway was kosher) because If I had it my way I'd work on the Jeeps everyday. And that being said I'd much rather do this stuff while I'm young and mostly commitment-free, so I gotta tip my cap to you Geoff with a new baby boy and property to take care of. I've told my girlfriend I've got at least two more Jeep projects in me before I'm ready for any of that.

A couple of bits of progress were made over the last couple days. First, the title finally arrived from the Registry on Monday, so I can finally get the process of registering it moving, which means I'm close to getting the manifold and motor mount replaced. Very nice of the Registry to take care of things in such a timely manner.

Second, my mechanic was able to get a patch on the tire to sure up the leak. However, he premised that by saying not to take it on the highway, which is going to be an issue. The old man has suggested throwing a tube in the tire now that it's patched, and I think that's going to be the next step. Since those tires will be on the YJ, which will not be driven daily, I'm less worried about any ill effects from that.

I think I'm making another junkyard run this weekend as well. I plan on grabbing some replacement interior panels for the Cherokee (the ones in the back cargo area are shot) and some front seats from a Pontiac Sunfire for the YJ.

Slowly but surely things are coming along.

Good to see some progress. Can't wait to see it on the road.

You'll have to let me know how the Sunfire seats work.

I've considered swapping out my seats a couple times for some more legroom, but I love my crazy patterned OEM Rio Grande seats too much to put *Pontiac* seats in, ha ha.

CrawlingForward wrote:You'll have to let me know how the Sunfire seats work.

I've considered swapping out my seats a couple times for some more legroom, but I love my crazy patterned OEM Rio Grande seats too much to put *Pontiac* seats in, ha ha.

I know what you mean, but I've heard good things about the Sunfire seats, and they should be a direct bolt-in. The seats I grabbed a few years ago at the junkyard were from a '93 YJ and they have "Jeep" embroidered in the cloth. They're nice looking and in good shape cosmetically, but just like the ones they replaced they're now doing the fat boy lean (and by that I mean the drivers seats), and I've actually had my old vinyl passenger seat as my driver seat since earlier this year (I think, things are beginning to blur). When I was at the junkyard a few weeks ago I scouted out a Sunfire that I'm planning on grabbing the seats out of, and hopefully it's still right where I left it. The thing's a Franken-Jeep anyway so I'm not particularly concerned with sticking to YJ-only replacement parts.

I did end up going to the junkyard this weekend, and picked up the replacement rear interior panels. They were a piece of cake to get out, but getting them in is probably going to be a little more difficult, as unlike at the junkyard I can't just cut my rear seat belts with a knife. I'll be putting those in in the coming weeks.

I also swapped on the 31s from the YJ, as it is now sitting on the 32s that came with the XJ when I bought it. I think the Moabs give it a real nice look. Once they're shined up a bit, and the rake is gone from the rear end, they'll look right at home.

I also had my first run-in with XJ electrical problems. I had the thing running to move it into the driveway, and looked down at the dash to see that the "AIRBAG" light was on. Random but OK shit happens. Then I noticed that the tach had bottomed out to zero. D'oh. Further inspection showed the cluster (minus the battery gauge oddly enough) wasn't doing anything. Good news is I shut the thing down and restarted and everything was back to normal. I've been told that they're notorious for electrical issues like this, and go figure I witnessed it first hand a few years ago in my buddy's Cherokee. The same thing happened where all the gauges bottomed out and noting on the cluster worked at all. It randomly started working a little while later. For now, no big deal unless it happens constantly or for extended periods of time.

Here's some glamour shots of the fleet "in action."

The new manifold and factory rear shackles have been ordered and should be arriving later today from Crown. It's just about time to get this puppy on the road. I was hoping to drop it off at the shop this week before I head out on a backcountry camping trip from Sunday through Wednesday, but go figure the mechanic I'm taking it to is on vacation through Friday so the earliest it will get to him is probably this time next week.

Once the manifold is taken care of (fingers crossed that's the majority of the knock when it's running), next up will be plugs, wires, cap and rotor, brakes all around, and addressing the issue with the steering. I was hoping that taking the crappy tires off the thing might be the answer to the steering problem, but it wasn't so now we're leaning towards a bad axle u-joint, which the old man said he could hear when I was moving the thing around over the weekend. And if I'm going to have one replaced might as well do the other, but that shouldn't be too costly. It sucks I keep pushing it back, but I'm for real saying that come the end of August it will be on the road as an everyday vehicle. In the meantime the YJ has been surprisingly nimble and fun to drive around town with the bigger meats on.

From what I understand the main dash wiring connector is the culprit. Clean it out really good and use dielectric grease liberally.

Good to know, when I get some time in the coming weeks I'll mess around with that. I'll have to take the dash panels off anyway to install a new radio so I can do that all at the same time.

I'm more concerned about the rear shackles giving me grief. I've read some horror stories about the welded nut breaking free inside the unibody, so starting probably tomorrow I'm going be hitting the bolts with PB blaster as often as I can. That rake has got to go.

PB blaster is your friend.