Eagle

Getting an eyelash burned off would be a small problem. You should not run the engine like that. It is NOT a joke -- it's a timing and/or lean burn problem, and it can cause the engine to catch fire. When you are testing it, be sure you have a large, fully-charged fire extinguisher right next to you. And do NOT treat it as a joke. You could lose the vehicle, and you and/or your friends could be seriously injured.

Ah, so. No, the 2.5L flywheel is smaller, and balanced differently. Yes, you need a Renix 4.0L flywheel.

The terminology hasn't changed, it's just that people don't use the correct terminology. "Turn over" still means turn over -- the starter makes the engine go 'round. "Fire" still means make spark and try to ignite fuel/air mix. I agree, it would help tremendously if people would keep those terms straight when asking for help with a no-start problem. "It doesn't start" could be caused by innumerably things. Just knowing if the problem is that the starter won't crank ("turn over") the engine narrows it down a LOT.

The vents have upside-down 'U'-shaped slots that fit over nylon retainers in the body. Just put a block of wood under the bottom edge of the vent and tap upwatd gently -- they'll pop right off.

This is going into your '87? If so, why would you buy a flywheel? There is only one flywheel that'll work with your Renix system, and that's the one that's already in the truck. What are you thinking you have to buy? You can't put in an HO flywheel and then use an HO CPS, because the Renix system won't recognize the signal from the CPS. You *MUST* use a renix flywheel and a Renix CPS -- unless, of course, you want to completely replace the entire ignition/injection system with the HO system. Just bolt the new tranny to your block. Toss the HO CPS and use your Renix CPS -- the slot in the bellhousing is in the same location.

ohhhhhh... I hadn't thought of that... Thats a fantastic idea. What would I do about hinges though? Hinges are not the problem. The doors bolt to the hinges. The problem is that the 97+ doors have the striker mounted at a different height. You have to do some customizing to make the latches ... latch.

BLHTAZ could probably confirm, but as far as I know there are only two flywheels for the 4.0L -- one is Renix, the other is Chrysler. You need the flywheel that matches your ignition/injection/ECU system. The tranny doesn't care. What may change is what clutch you have to use. I'm not sure about that. I've never had a Renix clutch laid out next to an HO clutch to see if there are any differences.

The big ground wire could not cause the problem. Weak grounds are a problem with the XJ and MJ. One of the guys on NAXJA is a strong and vocal proponant of adding a welding cable to the system as a ground. Sounds like that's what was done to your vehicle. Extremely rapic corrosion at the terminals, IIRC, may be caused by excessive off-gassing of the battery. First, check the level of the electrolyte in the battery. Be sure it's properly filled. (If it needs water, use distilled water. It costs 69 cents a gallon at Wal-Mart.) Then check your alternator output. If the alternator is over-charging, you'll get more off-gassing and faster corrosion. You could also get some of those impregnated felt pads that fit under the cables, around the posts. They help -- some. I also use anti-sieze on the cable connections, as well as on the cable bolts. It seems to help. And be sure you tighten the cable bolts. If the cables aren't tight to the posts, there's more room for corrosion to take place.

Yep. Actually, the spark occurs when the leading tip of the rotor get close enough to the tower for a spark to jump the gap. In an old-style system, the rotor could be many degrees ahead of the tower and still be set to fire at TDC. However, the engines don't fire at TDC, they fire before TDC. The amount of advance is controlled by the ECU, based on input from both the CPS and the camshaft position sensor (in the distributor). The ECU is what tells the system when to fire, not the position of the rotor. As long as the rotor is within the range that the spark can jump to the tower, nothing needs to be changed. I assume this is related to your other post about flames shooting out of the throttle body. Yeah, that problem could be timing related -- but timing in the sense that the timing chain may well have jumped a tooth (or several teeth). That would result in the distributor and the camshaft (meaning the valves) all being out of synch with the engine. You can't solve that problem by just turning the distributor. You need to open up the timing cover and verify whether or not the cam sprocket is still in the correct relationship to the crankshaft sprocket.

The flywheel is specific to the CPS. The Renix CPS won't work with a Chrysler electical system, and the Chrysler CPS won't work in a Renix system. The trigger notches on the flywheels are different between the two types of CPS. The transmission has no way of knowing what flywheel is on the engine. My '88 is set up with a YJ AX-15 (done by the previous owner -- poorly). Jeep didn't start using that setup in the YJ until '91.

The rotor doesn't line up with the tower when the timing mark on the vibration damper is at TDC (top-dead-center). It would line up only if the timing was to be set for exactly TDC ... but it isn't.

LWB had either a 16 or 23.5 gallon. All SWB models, including the Eliminator, had an 18-gallon tank.

That's correct. The distributor has "ears" that lock it in one position. The timing is not adjustable.

Don't you just hate it when you get upstaged by a rookie?

You want to leave enough "tooth" for the new paint to grab onto. If I were doing it, I'd probably go to 400 grit. If I were advising someone else, I'd probably suggest a final sanding at 800 grit.

I've got a 2.5/5 speed with 3.55 Then again it came with a 4 speed... I'm thinking about dropping in a 5-speed when I replace the clutch in my 2.5L 4-speed. How does the 5th gear work with the 3.55 gears? Can you use 5th gear at all?

Going from 35 to 34 teeth is only a 2.8% change. That's only going to bring your speedo up from 65 to about 67 MPH. I think you need at least ("at most"?) a 33-tooth gear.

The chain itself is good for at least 200,000 miles, probably more. The issue with the 2.5 liter is that Jeep used the same timing chain they used on the 4.0L, but the deck height on the 4-cylinder engine is lower. That left slack in the chain, so they put a tensioner on the timing chain cover, and the tensioner wears out. Once you get the front cover off, you may find that you don't need a timing chain at all, just the tensioner. However, once you're in there, timing chains aren't expensive, so it would make sense to replace it.

There are two latch mechanisms, one on each pedestal. The one for the passenger side has no handle/lever -- it's connected to the driver's side by a wire. If (when?) the wire breaks, you can't move the seat because the right side won't release.

Guys, I need some assistance. I shoot at a small, commercial shooting range. They hold an informal weekly competition. There's a raffle for a small share of the weekly fee, but what's really at stake is bragging rights. (Although I'm not sure why I might wish to contemplate bragging that I have an ironclad grip on last place, but ...) Anyhoo -- bragging rights don't mean much if nobody can remember who shot what score, when. The range owner asked me if I can come up with a way to use the computer to track the standings. I know I could do something quick and dirty in Excel, but I think a database solution would be better. Does anyone have enough database experience to help me set something up? I have (pardon the pun) access to Access, Paradox, Lotus Approach, and Alpha Five. I don't know for sure that the range has Access on their computer. I have the runtime module for Alpha Five, so my preference would be to create the database in Alpha Five and then convert it to a free-standing application. But -- even if I have to set up a trial version in Access first, that'll show me the structure and I can work from that to migrate it to Alpha Five. Any database gurus out there?

All Comanches have the bottom overload leaf. That's just like the one in Pete's photo. That's a half-length (or less) leaf that it VERY thick at the center, where it goes through the U-bolts. The overload leaf doesn't have friction pads and normally never touches the other leaves at the tips -- there should be air space, just like in Pete's photo. It also doesn't run through the rebound clips. The Metric Tonne springs have, I believe, one more leaf than the standard MJ springs. The extra leaf should be set up with the friction pad and tapered ends, just like the other leaves. Pete, your photo is the standard spring, right? 3 leaves plus the overload? And the Metric Tonne spring pack is 4 leaves plus overload? The springs described in this thread sound like standard springs that have had a couple of add-a-leaves added.

Heck, Joop -- that's all just surface rust. Looks like the body is still mostly sound and solid under the rust. Stop it before it gets any worse and you have a viable truck.

XJ/MJ drive trains are identical. You can swap an XJ Dana 44 rear axle to an MJ by welding on new spring perches. If you're good, you can grind the welds off the old ones and relocate them, but you can buy new heavy-duty perches from the Mopar Performance catalog for about $10 a pair, so why bother? The MJ doesn't use the shock mounts on the axle, so you have the option to leave them or grind them off. MJ driveshaft is longer than XJ. 4WD rear driveshaft is shorter than 2WD driveshaft. Either way you go, you're looking at some driveshaft work. Given the cost of gasoline, if you plan to keep both trucks you might want to seriously consider keeping the 2WD 4-banger in stock trim. I've heard reports that the 4-cylinder XJs give up to 28 MPG. I'm hoping my '88 will do that when I get a new clutch in it. In Louisiana you don't have much snow, so you also don't have an urgent need for 4WD if you have another truck for wheeling. Put a Trac-Lok in the rear and leave it 2WD.

Did you want that seat belt in THIS century?

That be a graphite wrench, used primarily for transferring smudges onto paper.