gogmorgo

I'm not positive what the reasoning is, but I've almost always understood it to be that the old Jeep engine was built to run with those old cooper spark plugs, so there's not much point in spending the extra money and putting in the fancy ones. As far as running better on the old style plugs goes, I suspect the modern plugs will be designed to work very well in a specific set of conditions, but the older ones are more likely to do alright in a broader range of conditions. But because of other limiting factors from the less advanced engine technology, the extra performance in the specific set of conditions for the plugs isn't going to be very noticeable, if at all.

I've always interpreted oil pressure gauges pretty loosely. So long as it shows some and goes up and down with rpm... Yeah it should be sitting around halfway up the gauge when it's at a normal cruising rpm, but beyond that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Not to mention my metric cluster has the oil pressure without units, it just has 0 at the bottom, 3 in the middle, and 5.4 at the top. It's like with oil on the dipstick. Sometimes it just seems like you need a longer one to reach your oil... When I changed it in the '93 ZJ recently I dumped in the capacity in the manual, then added another quart to bring it up to the full line.

It seems like once you leave the more densely populated areas in Canada, you get a pretty good volume of yards that don't crush things until they'be been picked to the bone. There's a yard back home where I've been picking parts off the same six MJ's there and a dozen or so XJ's for over five years. They've got a whole square-mile section, and have the back 40 loaded with old iron. First time I went I spent about five hours just wandering around and looking at everything. And that's down south. Further north like Flin Flon or Thompson they've got huge yards, and up into the winter road network there are places where cars that made it in but didn't make it back out just accumulate in "free" yards cause it's barely worth hauling them back south to get recycled, or even to get repaired. Kinda sucks being where I am now though, cause the nearest wrecking yard is a couple hours' drive away

Looks like a Beretta?

I'm about 1% sure it's an NSS problem based on your description. During normal, proper operation, when you turn the key to start, everything that isn't critical to engine operation powers down to allow maximum current to the starter. The starter cranks over, and when you let go of the key, whether the engine started or not, all the accessories power back up. With a failed NSS, everything still powers down the same way when you turn the key to start, the difference is the starter doesn't even attempt to turn. Then you let go of the key, it turns back to run, and all the accessories power back on. The nss is between the ignition switch and the starter. It only has an effect on the starter. It won't kill power to accessories when the key is turned to run because it can't. For sure, go ahead and clean up the NSS if you want to. It likely needs it if your reverse lights don't work, but it's not going to be your everything dying problem. I'm with Dirty on this. You've got a bad connection somewhere upstream of the ignition switch. There's wiring diagrams buried in the zip in this thread: I'd start by checking battery cables for tightness and corrosion (both ends!) then try to figure out what all is in the rat's nest to find out if it's part of your issue.

Can't hurt to clean up the NSS. But I'll point out that when mine went, everything was normal in terms of lights and gauges, until I turned the key from run to start, which is when everything seemed to go dead. I could always start it by turning the key to run and shorting the starter solenoid.

There was a decent learning curve to get over with gasoline emissions equipment too, but we've made it to a point where they're not taking much away from the performance of the engine. Hopefully it's not too much longer before we start seeing that in diesels. It would really be nice if they could also figure out a way to do it without urea injection, or find a way to make those systems happy below 0°F, which most of them currently aren't... kinda rough when that's a warm winter's day in your neck of the woods. But they'll get it sorted out eventually. That or electrics will come to be so commonplace that it won't much matter.

Yeah, they're the wheels and tires I had on my MJ, which is currently just parked waiting for rust repairs before an out-of-province inspection. At first I wasn't excited about the aluminum wheels on the ZJ, was debating putting just the 235/75 AT's onto the ZJ's steelies or maybe the 30's that are on my Jimmy. Now I'm not positive I want to go back to the steel wheels, simply from an aesthetics standpoint. But for the sake of originality I might still. They definitely don't look as good on the MJ though. But the tires on them are way too small for the ZJ right now with the 2" lift. Plus they're winters. I'm kinda digging the way it looks with the lift and how it is to get in and out at this height, so I'm thinking I'll leave that, maybe add a stiffer sway bar. But it needs less harsh shocks than the skyjackers for sure. Could also probably do with new rear springs, they seem a bit saggy.

Pulled the console today after work, looks like the whole handbrake lever shouldn't be too much to replace if I have to. But I figured I'd attempt a fix as the nearest wrecking yard is two hours' drive from here. Between buying the jeep, paying tuition to go to school in the fall, and ~$700 in parts just to make the Jimmy comfortable to sell to someone else (not worth it I know) May has me not wanting to spend any money in June. So I grabbed some Poxipol I had kicking around (from Ukraine, supposedly the best stuff for gluing a Lada's vent window latches back onto the glass, seems to work okay for that... but also looks, smells, and behaves exactly like JB Weld), put some threads into the button's hole with a screw just slightly bigger (from the Lada's door mirrors) so it would adhere better, put a healthy glob of ЖБ Велд into the hole, put the spring back in place, and shoved the thing back on. Having the console off gave me access to the ratchet, so I could engage it with the lever up, which pushed the button's rod up far enough I could do stuff with it. How do you maintain clamping force on a button with a spring under it that you can't push in or it releases all tension? Like so: The ratchet strap is a perfect tool for this because it's infinitely adjustable and not elastic, so the perfect balance is achieved of putting pressure against the spring without risking pushing the button too far down and releasing the handbrake. I'm letting it cure overnight before releasing even though I'm pretty sure this stuff is good after an hour.

It's kinda cool, and having smacked my head on two droopy hatches today I can appreciate it. But I'm still trying to wrap my brain around how awkward it looks.

For the sake of pedantry there are aftermarket axle end seals you can get for the d30. Ostensibly they're to keep water and mud out of the tubes to keep the inner seals in better shape, but I've seen people try using them to contain an inner seal leak, with varying degrees of success. I recommend changing the inner seals.

Kinda hit the nail on the head right there. Junkyard DRL modules are hit or miss, and new ones can be pricey. I've read you can jumper a couple pins in the connector if you want the high beam indicator to work... but frankly I prefer it out cause it's about ten times brighter than it needs to be and I don't really need it stabbing me in the face when I'm driving at night.

In a bit of a wtf moment today I got into the ZJ just to move it closer to where I was going to be putting the stack of GM parts in it onto the Saint, and noticed that the handbrake button seems to have exploded on me. And now the handle is sorta stuck in the middle. It doesn't go down quite all the way, so the brake light's still on, but it's not staying engaged if I pull it up either. I'm assuming I need to pull the threaded rod bit out, somehow, stick the spring over it, and glue(?) the button back onto it? I haven't been able to find much info on the Googles, although I didn't look super hard. It just kinda seems no one with a ZJ uses their handbrake often enough to have any failures other than the drum hardware being seized from lack of use when they move between states and need an inspection. Also sorta answered my question about the Tcase I think. Using the vin lookup I posted in the pub a while back I found out the 231J dated February of '92 is probably the original, at least it was originally a command-trac Jeep. I guess it's pretty common for weird shifter bezels to be present as they're easily damaged if they got pulled to replace the light bulbs under them.

Well the MJ TPS did the trick, no cel, no codes. So that's great. I've really been enjoying this as a daily. I get a bit of a kick out of driving a unicorn that most people won't realize is unusual. I got the oil changed in the trans, tcase, and diffs. Oil looked like it had last come out of the trans a looooong time ago (fill plug still has paint lines on it from factory) and the diffs puked watery milkshake, so pretty glad I did that. I'm also pretty sure that I drained gl5 out of the trans, and I'm not super excited about what I found on the drain plug magnet, but it's all just fine particles so if it's been it there a while it's hopefully okay. But shifting has been a bit unwilling. Having 10w30 in there has improved things a bit but it still resists going into gear. I'm almost thinking the clutch isn't fully disengaging, since the 1/2" at the bottom of travel seems to make a bit of difference. I glanced around for adjustment or a bleeder while I was under there and didn't see anything, reservoir level seems okay, so I'm not 100% on what's going on. Might have to stop in at the "local" FCA dealer and get their reaction when I order a master/slave combo for a Grand Cherokee. The diffs still looked good inside, although there were scars from shrapnel on the inside of the d35 which have me slightly concerned, but I'm guessing 3:55 rears aren't hard to find on a ZJ if things do go south? Both axles still had the tags on them which is cool. I also noticed while I was under there that my Tcase says it's a 231, despite having the full-time shift bezel inside. I stuck it in 4x for loading and unloading, also while swapping wheels, and thought it seemed to shift kinda funky... Now I know why I guess. I got a folder full of service records with it. I suppose I should look through it at some point, might lean some stuff about tcase or interior swaps.

I think the owner's manual quotes something like 75lb-ft for aluminum wheels and 80 for steel. Or something, I'd have to check. Definitely go with manufacturer recommendations though. They're usually based on the size of the lugs... 140 is way high for the 1/2" lugs on an MJ.

The above is why I always had a pair of old work boots in the passenger footwell of my Lada. Cup holders are a must with a manual trans... don't know what the soviets expected me to do with my vodka bottles. But even with an automatic I get frustrated with my Jimmy's cup holders, cause I end up having to hang onto them or I end up with drinks on my or the passenger's feet if I take a corner at more than a crawl. Cup holders really do make a difference. I got pretty exited upon discovering that my ZJ not only has cup holders, but they're actually decent ones. It wouldn't have affected my buying the ZJ cause you don't turn down that five-speed, but they're turning out to be pretty critical to my mornings.

I stuck my MJ's aluminum wheels on my new ZJ in place of the steelies cause they had winters on then... Now hoping I didn't wreck something. As it was I was already pretty iffy on the length of the studs, seems like they're shorter for steel wheels maybe? But yeah, I also had lug nuts go AWOL on one wheel after my MJ sat for a year. All the others were tight but I nearly lost a wheel too. I had two nuts left, right next to each other, about half-way off, and no others on that wheel. It trashed the wheel, hogged out all the lug holes.

To be honest we've had problems with almost all of the newer diesels here, even the Cummins and Powerstrokes, plus the baby Duramax in the Colorado, almost all of it emissions-related. They're fine if you work them, moving loads, getting your foot into it on hills, etc. But there are people using them just for short trips and driving them gently, letting them sit idling all day... Just not moving enough air through them, or getting them hot enough, or something. Honestly even the big Cumminses in our Western Star highway plows behave the same, although they're generally working... just try telling a truck driver he can't leave his truck idling, watch his reaction.

Don't have experience with the Grand Cherokee but I had a Ram 1500 EcoDiesel as a work truck for a while, and I've had contact with a few others. There was a bit of a learning curve to keep the emission system happy; pretty well throw out the book on how to run a diesel. Don't sit idling, let the engine work, and it would be pretty good. They also didn't really seem to like just putzing around town at low speed unless you got into the boost on accel every other time, which was a bit of fun. As far as MPG is concerned, we could get north of 25mpg on the highway, which is pretty damn good for a half-ton IMO.

About five years ago I picked up a set of Michelin-branded stands and jack. 3-1/12 ton rating IIRC, for a reasonably good price at Canadian Tire. I've never seen them since, there or anywhere else. I suspect they're just similar off-shore branded ones but they're pretty good quality and I've never had an issue with them. Basically I went online and figured out how high I needed to go to be able to pull a transmission and realized the "normal" floor jacks and jack stands weren't really going to give me all that much more height than tires sitting on the ground. I like them because they have a pin that goes from the stand into the ratcheting portion which makes it almost impossible to collapse the stand by bumping the handle. http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/michelin-3-5t-axle-stand-0090013p.html I've used the regular non-pinned ratcheting ones at work and they always seem just a bit sketchy. It really doesn't take much grit or whatnot in the handle/ratchet to stop them from engaging properly, despite feeling nice and solid until you give it that hard shake after dropping the vehicle on them. I've had one collapse doing that, fortunately I always give vehicles a firm shake before getting under them if they're supported by something other than their own wheels. After seeing that one go I'll never buy a non-locking stand for personal use, and I'm extra careful with the non-lockers at work. So basically my tips for safe jack stand use are: 1: Look for ones that will solidly lock in position and won't collapse if you accidentally kick them the wrong way. If you can't find that, make damn certain the ratchet is fully engaged and they're not going back down before trusting them. 2: Jack stands will only ever be as solid as the ground they're sitting on. I once had a car on stands on grass... seemed solid but then it rained overnight and I barely poked it in the morning and all four tipped over. 3: Make sure they're solid before getting underneath. Give the vehicle a solid shove in every direction, bounce the bumpers up and down, make sure nothing's moving on you before getting underneath. 4: always have a backup plan if things go south in a hurry. Spare wheel, large chunks of sturdy wood (oriented so the grain won't split), your roommate's anvil, anything to catch the vehicle and stop it from crushing you if something does go wrong.

Friend of mine's '96 XJ just got written off by MPI, spun it on ice back in April and kissed a guardrail with both ends. Likely will be on the rural tender in Erickson. 4x4/aw4, pretty sure he bought it new. It ran and drove pretty good before the incident but it's got a bad case of the steel termites, hence the write-off.

So as some of you already know, on Friday night I took a 500-mile round trip to pick up a one-family factory Grand Cherokee base model 4x4. Manual locks, manual windows, no a/c, and of course, 4.0 with the the 5-speed. Its overall in good shape, just a little rough around the edges. The biggest thing is there's a bit of rust in the rockers and it's starting in the fenders. For the most part it's been mitigated somewhat, cut out and/or painted over with what I hope is a rust converter paint, but that will need addressed eventually. The other bigger concern I had was that the seller said it had "some wobble", initially at 80km/h, then he stuck some procomp 33's on it and it happened at 60km/h. (50 and 40 mph). He told me he thought he left a bushing sleeve out of one end of the Kevin's Off-road adjustable track bar he had on it. (Two inch lift, terra flex coil spacers and skyjacker shocks, shocks will probably go away because they ride fairly harsh, don't know if I'll be keeping the lift on it yet). After a test drive around the block after getting it registered last night, I decided there was way too much of a clunk coming from the front end, so I pulled off the frame end of the track bar, and everything looked okay, but there was quite a bit of play at the other end. I don't know if this is a feature of the Kevin's OR track bar or what, but the axle end had a distorted-thread nut that may have hit torque spec, but wasn't close to tight. There was almost a 1/4" of thread showing below the nut. It was not at all easy to get a wrench on the nut, but I managed it, then busted out the grinder and booger-stacker and made myself a crude flag nut with a regular 1/2" nut and a chunk of scrap 1/4" plate The clunk from the front-end is gone now. There's still a bit of shimmy in the wheel, but it's pretty good overall. It cruises at 100 km/h pretty well. Although even with 3.55's it doesn't take much of a hill for it to start scrubbing speed in 5th. I took it for a cruise down to Athabaska falls last night after swapping the MJ's wheels and tires onto it. Mostly just cause the ones on it were winters. I kinda like the look of the steel wheels better, but the 235/75/15's fill the wheel wells a touch more than the 215/75's do, which looks better with the lift. It did backfire the one time I stomped on the gas, and the check engine light went on and off a couple times. Idle is even but random, sometimes 500rpm, sometimes 1500, or somewhere between. Code 24 if the same as MJ/XJ codes is the TPS, so I might swap one off the MJ/XJ horde tonight to see what happens, pretty sure I have a newer one somewhere. And RockAuto says they'll interchange at least. But I like the Jeep. Definitely happy about it

It'll happen as soon as I get to it. I haven't even really done much except park it in the driveway so far. Been taking advantage of all my college-aged roommates being gone for the long weekend to put the house back into a semi-reasonable condition... Well if you find yourself around Jasper you're welcome to the '93 column. Pretty sure it's in decent shape, although I only did a couple laps around the yard with that particular XJ before it gave its drivetrain to the MJ. IIRC it's got the older style ignition key so I'm guessing that means the cylinder's been changed at some point. might match the j10 a little better maybe?

No, it was black I think, although may have been rattle canned, somewhere around Moosomin or Estevan, SK. My memory's getting fuzzy on details there, but definitely south east Sask.

I kinda want the full manual experience with the release lever.