gogmorgo

You can also try rapidly shifting back and forth from park to neutral a bunch to try to scrub stuff out of the way of the contacts inside the NSS, which occasionally worked for me.

Have you ever tried starting in neutral when it's happened? Probably your NSS needs cleaning. Common issue especially if you e ton a lot of driving in the wet and filth. Clean it out, stuff it full of electric-safe grease, and run a bead of silicon around the edge to seal it up when you reassemble. http://bc4x4.com/tech/2010/jeep-neutral-safety-switch-nss/ Even if it's not the issue its a good idea anyway as preventative maintenance.

I likely would've done that too, lol. In fact now I'll try to remember this. I've got an engine bay harness I was keeping around as backup... out of a '93 XJ.

Vanderhoof? Work shipped me out to Fort Saint James a couple months ago. Beautiful area, whished I would've had some free time during daylight to explore a bit.

What voltages are you getting at the relay socket? should be 30: 12V constant 85: continuity to ground 86: triggered 12v (when you hit the switch) 87: should have continuity to ground I think but this is the signal for the starter so if you jump power to it it should crank the engine. At least that's the standard relay layout. 85 and 86 are the switch circuit that triggers the other one, 30 and 87 can be reversed and still function.

I would take a look at the connections where you jumped the NSS. Although that said, when I had NSS issues, I got no click at all, turn the key and nothing. You might try swapping out the relay if you haven't already, make sure it's getting 12v to its socket, etc. If the relay's triggering (which happens downstream of the NSS) as we can tell from the click, that would indicate an issue with the switched side of it. You may or may not find this helpful: http://jeep-manual.ru/index.php?page=376 but you'll want to check all your fuses in the underhood relay box as well.

I don't know if this applies to the 2.5L, maybe someone could chime in, but the 4.0 starter bolts aren't the same size. One's metric and the other isn't. They're very close, so it might not be obvious they're cross threading. I've had starters make tons of racket. Once because the starter bolts were loose, once because the engine to bellhousing bolts were loose/missing so the starter and dust shield were effectively the only things holding the engine and trans together...

You might get away with proper fuel injection hose over a flare in a line or something, making sure you use the proper fuel line hose clamps. It's how the fuel lines attach to the filter, at any rate, and if anything you'd have more pressure down there. It still isn't all that much pressure, maybe 75psi at the most... Not sure what the output of the pump is before its regulated down at the fuel rail. The reason I didn't go with the hoses and fittings, etc, for my tranny cooler lines was that by the time all was said and done it was going to be a fair bit of work replumbing the whole line (removing fittings from the radiator, etc) and also that instead of barbs and hose clamps I was looking at using proper AN fittings on everything and braided line just to make it look good, and suddenly I realized I was going to be into it for over $100 instead of just $30 for new quick disconnect connectors. (Bear in mind I'm Canadian so exchange rates and shipping are factors, although there are more and more Canadian suppliers of this sort of thing now than when I was looking at it four years ago)

Check your oil level? If you've got an oil pressure guage, what does it read during cranking/startup. Also is the noise only while you're on the starter or does it keep making it after you let go of it? Other things to check would be motor mounts, trans mount, and also the bolts between engine and trans. Could be exhaust banging around, frankly could be anything really... Anything loose could be making a knocking sound. See if you can get someone to have a listen in the engine bay, or start it while you're listening, to see if you can isolate it to any part of the vehicle. Just keep away from belts, fans, and other moving parts.

Wish I saw this earlier. As the op in the thread hornbrod linked, I'll just say make sure you get under the steering lock plate and pull EVERYTHING above the multi-function switch. There are definite compatibility issues between a couple different versions so you want to make sure you have all the parts from one set, instead of trying to mix and match. I'm pretty sure that's what whoever "fixed" mine did, had a couple columns apart, stuck the wrong spring back into it, didn't realize, and then when it wouldn't compress properly gave up and left out the horn cam, since the horn didn't work anyway... the horn relay was toast when I got it, and wouldn't've just died without having power put to it without the button working.

The 25+year old plastic gets brittle and snaps. Dorman makes new ones, I can get a part number when I get home, but it's the GM/Chrysler 3/8" fuel line ones IIRC. After I lost O-rings out of my connectors I couldn't get them to seal again, just couldn't get any o-rings that worked for longer than a few days. Ended up just getting a whole new connectors to put into the trans. Some people have just given up on the quick disconnects and gone with a barbed fitting and then rubber hose to avoid then being problematic, the lines aren't really under all that much pressure but you really don't want them leaking.

That's right about what I get with towing with my MJ as well, whether it was 3000lbs or 4500lbs. The difference is that the Cummins will get that with 10,000lbs behind it too and it's unwise to try that with an MJ... Once you're up on the highway it's more about aerodynamics, at least until you come to a hill. Trailers mostly end up too far behind a small vehicle to have much drafting benefit, so it's pretty much twice the drag.

That could work. I think a few members here have used headlight restoration type stuff with reasonable success, and then hit them with some clear coat for a finished shine.

Could be I suppose. When mine broke it wasn't at all a clean break, which in a way was a good thing because it meant I could still drive the truck because of the way it was wedged in there. But that also told me it wasn't just the metal fatigued in one spot, it was a jagged crack, zig-zagging around sometimes inside, sometimes outside the perimeter of the reinforcing ring, so the whole area around it is likely affected.

The one I got was just as solid as the original was. The purpose is to make up for slight misalignments between engine and trans, and the more misaligned they are the more it'll be flexing, and the more fatigued it will get with time. Its hard to see fatigue or micro-fractures with the naked eye. If you get one out of a low-mile Jeep it'll probably be okay but you never know. I will say that it was kinda tough to find a write-up to replace them so it's maybe not as common as all that, but there are enough references to it happening that I wouldn't say it's rare. One even popped up on r/justrolledintotheshop not too long ago. They all seem to fail in the same way as well, ring crack around the edge of the washer deal around the crank bolts. It's also not unknown among other manufacturers as well. But it does generally only seem to happen to higher-mileage vehicles, the plate just wears out. As far as welding one back together, I'm sure you could do it, but when you're dealing with fatigued metal, I imagine it'll likely just break again outside the weld pretty quickly.

Found this cool tool today that could prove useful to some of us. https://www.jeep.com/webselfservice/jeep/index.html?screenName=customer&country=us&emailUrl=goToEmailForm%28%27R%27%29 If you hit "equipment listing" on the left column, it lets you plug in a VIN and get the build sheet, without having to email Chrysler or go to a dealer, or whatever. It does come with the disclaimer that it only works on vehicles that were built after 1998, which is when ChryCo started requiring digital input of the build records, although many existing paper records were input so you can still get lucky on earlier builds. My MJ's build sheet came up, but as anyone who has contacted Chrysler for their build sheet will know, some of the AMC option codes have been reused by newer model Chrysler products, which may suggest some rather interesting options. Apparently my MJ has the "southwest edition" package which I guess is what includes the "door armrest storage light" and the "power rack and pinion steering".

No guarantees Joe Blow at the yard got the ratio correct either when putting it into their inventory, either, although it is a good indication. What would be better to look for is a v6/auto combo if you want the 3.73's or v6/manual if you want the 3.55's. Or a 4-banger if you want the 4.10's. But it's far easier to find a 3.55 ratio d30, pretty much every automatic XJ had them (with a few exceptions but not many). You should be able to tell if a KJ has a Trac-loc by the axle tag, or alternatively if you can get online from the yard, go here: https://www.jeep.com/webselfservice/jeep/index.html?screenName=customer&country=us&emailUrl=goToEmailForm%28%27R%27%29 hit "equipment listing" in the left column, and plug vins in until you find one with Trac-loc. I discovered that tool while looking to see if there was a code on a glovebox sticker or something that would indicate the trac-loc the way GM's G80 code works, but no such luck. But I like that tool. Says you shouldn't use it for vehicles prior to '98, when Chrysler required digital input of their files, but the source I got it from says you may get lucky so I plugged in my MJ's VIN... Apparently I have the "southwest edition" that must feature the "door armrest storage lamp"... I guess the AMC option codes don't translate well at Chrysler, lol.

With you here. I don't know where the wheel would end up with it tilt, but seems like one of the first things I do when I get in a vehicle for the first time is to pull the wheel down. I'm 6'2 and pretty sure my MJ's column is the second off the bottom notch, any lower and it starts interfering with my view of the gauge cluster and also my legs. But I like the wheel as close to vertical as I can get it. When you tilt it up you just start gaining too many degrees of bus driver, and end up having to overreach to get to the top of the wheel. My Lada's non-tilt column (I don't think tilt was an option...) is a reasonable compromise between high and low so I can live with it, but it's still higher than I'd like it. The purpose of tilt isn't so much to be able to move it up and down all the time, but rather to move it once to where it's most comfortable, instead of having to live with whatever compromise the factory chose. Doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't be using it to accolade multiple drivers or anything like that, but it's one of those small things that can go a long way towards decreasing driver fatigue over long drives.

Right. I forgot the later manual v6's came with 3.55's. The chances of finding a manual KJ in a yard up here are pretty slim.

I'd rather run the risk of getting one I can verify won't work before installing and then have to return instead of taking on the risk of using one that may be fatigued to the point of being about to crack and having to do the whole job all over again. But I suppose a used one would be a good comparison to a new one you're uncertain about if you can't properly compare to your old one.

Because I like my factory wheels and haven't found anything else that looks as good?

I drove all the way to California and back with my Jimmy's CEL spazzing at me pretty well constantly. 5000 miles. When I got back I pulled a later real injector spider on 50% off day at Edmonton Pnp ($30!) and put in in place of my poppet spider and suddenly all the misfires went away without needing to do 90mph to use up all the extra fuel. Runs great now. Good times.

So it's been a few years... Anyone still around? Been seeing some names that look familiar I think on the Alberta XJ/MJ Faceballs group. Recently (well, slowly over the last ten months) I've moved myself to Alberta. Between moving and other stuff that's gone down my MJ's sitting parked until I can get the rust fixed for an out-of-province. Ditto on my XJ and Lada. The Lada is probably closest to passing, ironically. Just need new mirrors and I think it should be good, I've just been dragging my @$$ on it. Then I'll probably sell my Jimmy to put rockers back into the MJ. Still on the fence about whether to try to fix the XJ's rust and drive it or tear into it as a donor to manual swap the MJ like originally planned. Beyond the rust it's unmolested and nearly completely original, pretty clean and runs awesome, so I feel a bit bad about the idea of just parting it out. But time will tell with that I guess.

Ever driven mud tires on ice? Hitting the highway's like throwing a curling rock... except you can steer those if you're good with a broom.

It's electric this time around so hopefully more reliable. But I guess time will tell on that. Nearly all manufacturers include a front axle disconnect of some kind, it's generally how the "automatic" 4x4 settings work, stick the tcase in 4x and then just lock and unlock the front disconnect as needed for extra traction, giving you the supposed ability to run 4x4 without a centre diff on snowing roads without an issue. My parents split their transfer case using it, fortunately it was noticed during a trip to the dealer for some other issues before the completely dry tcase locked up on them in the middle of nowhere. Can't stand using "4A" in my Jimmy, don't really notice it much on good traction but spin the tires a bit more than you'd care to leaving a stop sign and it slams the front wheels into motion so hard I'm convinced something will break... But I guess you make money when you sell new transfer cases.