87Warrior

Oyaji - I do agree the manifold should be replaced. A new one should be arriving on my door step within a few days. I doubt, however, it will be easy. I suspect a rusty bolt or stud will break off in the head and I will have to remove the head to remove broken bolt. With the head removed I will probably want to take it to the machine shop to get it decked with a few new valves (as needed) and new seals and guides installed. Don - Thanks for the chart. I will remove, test and clean the IAT/MAT this evening. I notice the Renix era IAT/MAT sensors are no longer available but a folks seem to have good luck using early HO sensors.

Unable to determine at this time. A cold front is forecasted to come through on Wednesday so I hope to give her a try then. Is there any way to test the CTS with an ohm meter? Is there any way to test the MAP with an ohm meter and vacuum pump? When unplugging sensors on the intake, I determined the CTS is at the rear side of the intake manifold. There was another sensor threaded into the manifold, on top, inline with the #3 cylinder intake runner. Any idea what that one could be? My thought was Incoming Air Temperature, but was unable to find one listed for the Renix 2.5.

I tested my grounds prior to doing the ground refresh. I unplugged all sensors I could around the intake to check the grounds. Before (ohms) Firewall - Battery: 1.5 Head bolt (strap) - Battery: 1.7 All sensors - Battery: 1.6 All sensors - Dipstick: 1.5 After (ohms) Firewall - Battery: 0.9 Head bolt (strap) - Battery: 1.2 All sensors - Battery: 1.3 All sensors - Dipstick: 1.2 Hard to say if it helped as the temperature this afternoon was almost 70. My coolant temperature gauge still read 140 on a hot motor after a test drive.

I have been following your build since it started. I am amazed how fast you got it put together and running! Great work.

Truck runs great when it is warm. I have replaced the solid rubber vacuum line block at the TB with individual pieces of vacuum line. This cured a crazy high idle the truck initially had. I do have the ground refreshing instructions. CPS wires were clear when I ohm'ed the old CPS and are tied away from the manifold with the new CPS. The contacts in the dizzy cap and rotor were blackened and corroded. I replaced the cap/rotor/plug wires when I replaced the CPS. Distributor shaft was still tight. Plugs are Champion and were new 2 years ago. I believe the CTS on the Renix 2.5 is on the intake manifold.

I have only had this truck on the road for 2 years, now entering my second winter with it. It had sat since 2004 somewhere in Iowa prior to my saving it. The manifold has been cracked since I got it running. I did have a similar issue last winter that I never did resolve, granted I didn't try that hard.

Tonight I tried something new. After the truck sat for about 9 hours, I started it and immediately put the pedal to the floor several times. Each time it went past 1/2 throttle it would sputter. After a few minutes it would rev up as you would expect. I suspect the coolant sending unit must be bad. The tstat housing read 198 on a hot, running, motor with an IR heat gun, so I know it is running at the proper operating temperature. As I understand it, the Renix 2.5 has a gauge sending unit and a ECU sending unit. I plan to replace them for good measure, but am doubtful they will cure the issue. I have not removed and cleaned the braided strap from the firewall-head bolt or cleaned up the two dispstick grounds. I plan to do that the first chance I have. I do realize that a cracked manifold can lead to inaccurate O2 readings resulting in poor fuel mileage, etc. I doubt that a 20 degree drop in air temperature would cause so much of an issue with something that regularly has 400+ degree exhaust flowing through it.

I am having an issue with my 86 2.5 TBI. It seems as if the temperature drops below 40 degrees the truck will start and idle fine, but once I get about a mile down the road it looses power and starts to buck and miss. This usually goes away after a few minutes, but it lasted for 15 miles a few weeks ago when the temperature was in the teens. When this happens on a cold truck, there is no exhaust steam coming out of the tail pipe. Short of a cracked exhaust manifold, the truck runs great with plenty of power (for a 2.5 with 175k miles on it). Last year I replaced the O2 sensor to fix the same type of issue with no success. I have also replaced thr CPS as it failed an ohm check and replaced the dizzy cap/rotor and plug wires. The coolant temperature reads about 140 consistently. I replaced the radiator and tstat (195) this past summer and checked the temp with an IR gun at the tstat housing and got a reading of 198. The heater blows scalding hot air on my feet. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Oh. Wow. I do not have the words to articulate my thoughts on that one.

Depends..... On a lot.... I would venture to say $1500 if it is driving and rust free. Hard to give any real estimate without more description, pictures or location.

Seems to be $1-2k too high IMHO. But, that does seem to be the going rate for a not rusty YJ at the used car lots around here.

Pretty darn clean. But my goodness, that headliner and rear bumper are hideous!

Nice load of loot! I suspect this build will find its way into your MJ. Very cool!

And here all along I thought the scoop was functional. Looks sharp without it. Try some rubbing compound on the stubborn marks. Then follow with the clay bar and wax. I'll be following this closely to see if you have any Hemi issues and see what else you do to the car :) What are you doing with the scoop? Willing to sell it? I think it might work as a cowl intake, cut down and flipped around on a MJ/XJ.

If the remanufactured motor came with a new Mopar harmonic balancer the slinger is supposed to be omitted. I don't quite get it, but when I ordered a balancer for my rebuild I was informed the part # was old and has been replaced with a new part # which was about double the price. The documentation with the new part # indicated the slinger needed to be omitted.

I've never been a fan of the Double Cab Brute. The Brute is why I got an MJ. After figuring the cost of buying a salvage TJ + Brute Kit + fab work + paint, I decided to go with the MJ for simplicity and cost effectiveness. In hindsight, building a TJ Brute would have been cheaper than building my 92.....

Price seems on target. The local used car lots usually have them listed at $6-9k for the early 2000's. Check for rust/paint bubbling near the spot welds on top of the front fender/under the edge of the hood. I bet that interior will clean up real nice with some scrubbing.

Make sure you have the E12 inverted torx socket to remove the top two bell housing bolts.

Thanks! This truck is getting 100% of my time and $$$ right now. Moe is in the back yard with a floor that is 90% done.

Time to break out the angle finder to see what is really going on. Report back with the t-case output angle and pinion angle.... They should be the same with a two joint shaft.

More progress you say? Champion Plugs, Dizzy, Alt and engine mount brackets installed. I still need to acquire a PaceSetter header and spend some quality time cleaning the intake manifold. Also need to find some injectors, leaning towards the Bosch XF2E-CB. Then, do a deep cleaning and a few seals to replace on the AW4 and 242. Then it all can go together and find its permanent home in the truck.

You are about to turn a great build into an extraordinary build. Looking forward to see how you tackle it all :thumbsup:

I decided to clean up the dash from the donor XJ. The Jeep was a smokers rig and reeked of smoke. Plus everything was coated in cigarette tar. Bleck :ack: I fully disassembled the dash and cleaned each piece in soap and water. I also did away with the cigar lighter :yes: Started to reassemble the motor. Cam, lifters, and head installed: Timing gear and chain, push rods, and rockers installed: Called it a night with the installation of the timing cover, new Mopar harmonic balancer (these things cost too much $), Melling oil pump and Mopar pick up tube, oil pan, and valve cover. (ignore the wall art :rotf: ) Followed up by a semi-gloss paint job. Installed the oil filter adapter, dipstick, water pump and thermostat housing.

Regardless how well equipped or 'capable' the KL is, I still cannot stand looking at it.

Hard to go wrong with an I4 Camry. My wife has an 02 with 200k on the odometer. The only non maintenance part to be replaced has been the starter. Gets a steady 28mpg with mixed driving. It is a good car....and I despise Toyota!