Eagle

Clogged catalytic converter. Been there, done that.

There's no difference by engine. Between the 86-90 and the 91+ there is a tiny difference in length. We tried to measure it or see it one day up at the dealership and we couldn't see it, but when I put a '93 track bar on my '88 XJ the steering wheel was about a quarter turn off and had to be re-centered. Works fine, though.

Fuel pumps don't click -- they whirr. First thing to check is if you're getting voltage to the fuel pump with the ignition on. (It won't be 12 volts because of the ballast resistor, it'll be about 9 volts.) Just unplug the connector in the wiring harness about 15" out from the pump. If there's no current at the pump, check the fuel pump relay and the ballast resistor. Don't dive into replacing the pump until you know that it's the problem.

That's all you need. A '94 valve is going to be almost 14 hears old by the time you get it, though. When you get it, remove the plug in the "nose" (CAREFULLY! - there's a strong spring in there) and clean out the passge thoroughly. Be sure the rubber O-ring is clean and flexible. Many people in the XJ universe actually remove the O-ring and spring, and shove the plunger all the way forward. What that does is deactivate the proportioning function. You don't need to replace the MJ combo valve if you don't want proportioning, so use the XJ valve but be sure the plunger will move or you won't have any rear brakes at all. (I know this first-hand, from my '88 XJ.)

Thanks for trying. Please let me know if you find anything.

What's a hampster? I always thought that was somebody from one of the Hampton-named towns on Long Island (NY). Oh! You meant hamster, one of those little furry critters like my sister used to have when she was a kid.

Is anyone a full-time student who can buy software at "academic" prices? I occasionally use AutoCAD LT, but not enough to justify dropping lots of money to stay current. My newest version is 2000, and it's getting to where clients on the current versions of AutoCAD can't even save back to a format I can open, so I guess I need to buy a new copy (AutoCAD LT 2000 is too old to qualify for upgrade pricing). The current price for LT 2008 is $899 ... which ain't gonna happen. If anyone is a full-time student who can qualify for the student price, would you be kind enough to check into the academic price? If it's lower by enough that I could actually afford to buy it, would you be willing to buy a copy for me and ship it on if I send you the money? Thanks

Kenwood generally seems to offer one or two models that don't have blue or multi-color displays. I have a Pioneer in the 88 with the blue backlit display. It's okay during the day, but driving at night with the radio on makes me nuts. The display reflects off the rear window and right into the mirror. Those displays should not be legal. They don't even have the common decency to put a dimmer on them.

A 235/75R15 has a cross-section width of 9.25" -- it'll be just fine on an 8" rim and that's well within the rim range listed on the manufacturers' charts. The backspacing is going to be a problem, though. They WILL smash into your fenders when you try to turn. The factory rims are 7" with 5-1/4" backspacing. 235s work well with no lift on the factory rims but they do NOT work well if you have less backspacing.

I don't know what you've got, but there is no blue relay that controls the dimmer switch. The dimmer is built into the headlight switch, and it's a good, old-fashioned rheostat (no, not "potentiometer," rheostat).

When you have the head off, be sure to degrease it thoroughly and get rid of any baked on oil sludge. You didn't mention it, but taking it to a shop and having it hot tanked and then checked for flatness is a good idea. Don't let them cut it too much, though, or you'll raise the compression ratio and then you'll need to do a rough combustion chamber cc'ing to get the compression back down to regular gas territory. Also be sure to clean the emissions tube (CCV system) ports in the valve cover. Much of the cause for the 4.0L's notorious blow-by is that the ports in the valve cover get clogged with oil residue. You can buy the tubes from NAPA for about half the price a dealer will charge you.

It may be either the rubber fill tube connector, or the smaller rubber vent tube connector.

Cherokee tank are completely different and will not fit. The problem may not be the tank, and may not be the O-ring. Inspect carefully where the two hard lines enter the fuel pump mounting flange. They are brazed or silver soldered or something where they pass through the flange. A fairly common cause of leaks is that this joint cracks with age. Yes, I have been there. I bought a NEW tank for my '87, installed it, went to fill up with gas ... and washed down the apron around the gas pumps. The moral: eliminate other possible causes BEFORE dropping $150 on a tank, not after.

5-speed makes it easier, there's no need to swap the flexplate. The 88 tranny is a Peugeot BA 10/5. The '95 will be an AX-15, which is a stronger tranny. The 95 will also have an external clutch slave cylinder, which is a HUGE improvement over the combination slave cylinder/release bearing in the '88. Just be sure to use the '88 crank position sensor. It bolts to the bellhousing, so you will have to swap it over when you put the "new" tranny in the vehicle.

And a guy named Frank (from the Strokers e-group) made his using a single 6-position rotary switch and a couple of connectors. Clik-clik-clik-clik up through the gears, and one more click to lock the torque converter. If I were doing it, I'd use a separate toggle for the torque converter. That way you can flip it off before you come down through the gears at traffic lights and such, as well as lock the converter in lower gears for engine braking on hill descents.

www.huskyspring.com

I would like to find a source for those rear fenders. There used to be an old Ford Ranger in the next town with fenders that looked suspiciously like those, but I never found it with a driver inside so I could ask where they came from.

I ran my '88 XJ on 10W40 from the day it was new. I switched over to 15W50 synthetic at 175,000 miles. That was Mobil-1. I later changed to Castrol and they don't have a 15W50, so now I run 5W50, or 10W40 if I can't get the 5W50.

No relay, but there is a bank of resistors under the dash that controls fan speed. The resistors, I think, only drop the voltage for the slow and intermediate speeds. High speed doesn't use a resistor and should work even if the other two won't.

It certainly sounds like a lifter. If it was either a rob bearing or a wrist pin, it would be worse/louder when warm because the oil is thinner. It wouldn't go away. Be sure you use an oil filter with a good anti-drainback valve. Whatever you do, don't run Fram oil filters.

Don't let it get away. For an Arizona truck, that presumeably has virtually no rust, that's a bargain.

Check out the 5th picture from the top. They TOTALLY screwed the rear load-sensing valve!

I'm going to call a technical foul on that. When talking about motor vehicles, there is only one "sense" for the term "factory." It means produced by the original manufacturer in their own facilities. It also generally means on the regular assembly line, and any "factory" vehicle that was built as a one-off styling prototype should be identified as a styling prototype. These concept vehicles that Jeep has had made up from time to time by REV or whatever that company is called were styling prototypes and the company even sells some of them on a limited basis, but they would never (properly) be termed "factory" vehicles.

You are providing data unrelated to the reported problem. Compression has little to do with oil pressure, and nothing to do with rod knock. First point: are you sure the noise you heard was a rod knock, or could it have been a valve lifter tapping until it pumped up with oil pressure? You have two non-adjacent cylinders with compression that's below what it should be. Was the compression measured with the engine hot or cold? Did you try squirting some motor oil into the low cylinders are checking the compression again? If they stay low, you need rings. Rod bearings can be replaced in the vehicle just by dropping the pan. If the noise is a wrist pin, however, the pistol and rod have to come out. All of which is unrelated to compression.

The big reservoir on the master cylinder is for the front brakes, and on the combo valve block it's the fittings at the rear that feed the front brakes.