condopresident

Ha yeah, I wasn't even humoring the idea of getting it all done before class. I think gathering the parts and finding a nice rare two day weekend to start early and dig into it is my best bet. Interestingly there are three Cherokees on CL right now locally, all for $500-800 in varying degrees of sadness. College town transportation. Not sure of the details on those but I'm gonna look into it. I'm gonna take your advice and look into just doing the swap in the next few weeks I think.

Ah! Sorry, I revised my post a few times and took out the part about the trans. Mine does have an AX15 currently and she's 2wd. I'm decently mechanically inclined as long as I have some reference materials so I appreciate your advice. YouTube's gotten me out of plenty of scrapes in the past. As of right now, I'm considering buying another truck for a DD and doing this on my own over the course of the next month or so, when I have the money/parts/time (time being hardest to come by). I've had a good run at daily driving the ole girl having bought her in a pinch with zero knowledge of its history and zero prior knowledge of Jeep in general, and only had the truck in the shop once but I really don't wanna use a shop again. Rather save the money and put the difference toward having my own knowledge for the future. I'm pretty confident I can handle this job on my own without a garage but I'd rather not rush into it (being that I need it back on the road in six hours to get to class, haha). One more thing though: I called another shop to get an estimate and the guy was pretty confident that I'd need to replace the entire clutch kit due to the internal slave failing. Being that I replaced the clutch kit when I bought the truck and replaced the first internal slave a year and a half ago, what are the odds off having to replace it again? Either way, if I need to replace it I'll just work a little more overtime and do it myself. High time I change a clutch myself, I'm almost 30 after all. Thanks so much for your help.

My 1989 Sportruck 4.0 is oozing deja vu and clutch fluid from the same hole. Bought it a year and a half ago and that first week, I had to bring it to a shop to have the internal slave cylinder replaced. While they had it, they did the whole clutch, flywheel, rear main seal, and oil pan gasket too. When I got it back, it drove great, shifted real smooth, etc. Then after about four months or so, it was shifting a little notchy and the clutch got spongy. I replaced the master cylinder myself, bled it, and it was good for a while longer. Didn't seem to want to stay bled, but then one day I looked up under the footwell and saw it was bubbling fluid out of the master cylinder around where the rod goes into the dust cap. So I replaced it again, bled the clutch two more times, and finally had it shifting perfectly. For one week. Went out to go to work this morning and the damn pedal was completely soft, and the master cylinder was bone dry. When I got back from work I had a look and I was really hoping it was another bad master cylinder or possibly the line connecting the two, but nope. Back to square one, a year and a half later, the fluid's dripping out of the bell housing. Awesome. I been trying to do all my own work on this truck. It's only been in the shop once when I first got it for the clutch issues, as I lived in an apartment at the time and didn't have much room to get stuck into any big jobs. The rest of the things it's needed have been piddly little learning experiences like valve cover gasket, electrical quirks, etc. Now I live in a 500 sq ft house with no garage so I'm still somewhat limited on what I'm willing to tackle on my own. Truck's got 125k on her and I've only done 5k of that since I bought it, driving to work six days a week and welding classes four nights a week. And because I've had clutch issues since day one (and I'm not real lead-footed to begin with) I have never, ever dumped the clutch or shifted it rough. Just babied it through every gear change. :crossfingers: I totally understand why y'all push for the external slave swap but I'm not sure how long it would take me to find (and afford) the stuff I need to do that. We got a pick-n-pull nearby but they never have any good Jeep stuff minus the odd late model Grand Cherokee. I'm wondering if I should get a transmission jack and take a shot at changing the internal one myself, or if I should just suck it up and tow it to the shop. I'm also wondering if the internal slave going out will have any negative effects on the clutch I'd had replaced last year. Mind you, when I parked it yesterday, I had no problems with it shifting/leaking and it appears to have emptied itself overnight (or the neighbors snuck over and stole my fluid while I was sleeping). Thanks so much for your help fellas, this forum has been a goldmine for someone trying to keep an old truck happy with minimal know-how and zero help.

Hey folks, had kind of a weird thing happen and thought I'd run it by you. 1989 2wd 4.0 5 speed base, been learning a whole lot since I bought the ole Comanche last year (has a few electrical quirks but nothing too major). A few weeks ago my turn signals quit working and the hazards would come on but not blink. Did some research and poked around a little bit, pulled the little pot flasher for about the fifth time and when I plugged it back in, everything was good. Then about two days ago my blinkers went out again. Swung by the parts store in town to get a new flasher, figured it wouldn't hurt since I needed to check on the damn side marker cover I ordered last week (turned out that was delivered on time just to a random address 2,000 miles north of me). No big deal, sorted that out. Went outside and put my new flasher in, voila, got me some indicators. Drove about 1/8 of a mile to the house and shut off the truck and damned if the thing didn't stay running. Pulled the key out and it just hummed along. Finally stalled it to get it to shut off but all the dash lights stayed lit. Restarted it and it did the same thing, even revved up real high for a minute for some reason. I looked at the fuse block to see if I'd done something and when I wiggled the little ignition wire it shut off and now it seems fine. Starts and shuts off like it oughta, no exorcism required. I guess my question is what the hell? I don't think I bumped anything putting that new flasher in but I suppose it's possible. Or is it something more complicated I should be on the lookout for? Did a fair bit of research before posting but it seemed so weird that I'd have a brand new issue seconds after changing that flasher, and I'm pretty confident I didn't do anything unusual when I changed it. Thanks everybody.

Just thought I'd update. Ten days later and I haven't had a chance to try to extract the fill plug till tonight. Tried to order a replacement but didn't want to spend $20 shipping for a $5 plug from the factory overstock site so I bought a drain plug to see if it would fit, and it arrived the other day. Been sidetracked by a broken CCV grommet in the front vacuum harness and putting on a nice new Fel-Pro gasket. Went out to try again and other than a thoroughly tenderized elbow I got nothin'. Working flat on the ground without a jack/stands and the ol' vice grips slid off and I wacked my arm countless times, and the ten days of bathing in PB Blaster didn't help. Tried to Dremel a notch and tap it loose with a chisel but the plug seems to have been milled out of butter. It just melts in place. Going to drain it and fill through the shifter tomorrow just so I can quit staring at four perfectly new bottles of fluid and try and get the plug it with a torch another time (the one obvious tactic I haven't tried yet). Really appreciate the help everybody. Like I said, I'm new to 90% of this but I've been reading up like a madman and I really want to do all my own work and learn as much as I can. This forum is fantastic help.

My fill definitely doesn't have a gasket either. As far as the drain plug, is it a crush washer that needs changing when it's removed? Sorry for my ignorance but I want to learn as much as I can (ideally without getting into a bind first!).

Ha, thanks man. Glad I wasn't mistaken. I did find a replacement fill plug this afternoon. $5 for the plug and $20 for the shipping. I, uh, I'm going to go ahead and swing by the salvage yard tomorrow and see what I come up with. I just can't fathom $20 shipping unless it's coming from a parts bin on another planet.

Does anyone else agree that the fill and drain plugs are threaded the same? At this point I've found two places online that have replacement drain plugs for less than $5 but I can't for the life of me find the fill plug! Even called the dealer in town and was told they didn't know these were "still in circulation" and that it was listed "non-serviceable" which has me a little confused. Was also suggested that I pull the fill plug and take it to Lowe's to see if I can match it up, which is fine but I'd rather not pull the plug until I can replace it with a new one if possible! Again, I've still got fluid in my transmission so I'm fine to wait for a replacement fill plug if anyone has any ideas! Thanks!

That's some good info to have, thank you. I'm going to call the dealer tomorrow and see if they can find me a plug too. Read somewhere a fella was trying to find a replacement and didn't want to pay the $8 the dealer was asking, but honestly I'm fine with that just to get on with my life. Seems like finding a fill plug would be easier considering the hoops a lot of folks seem to have to jump through to pry one of these buggers out! Really I was just beginning to wonder if the fill plug wasn't reverse threaded, but I'm guessing not since I can't find mention of it anywhere. I'm just shocked that after all the work it still hasn't scooted at all!

Ha, same here. Got a pair of vice grips locked right down at it and still couldn't get it to budge without slipping off. Even tried running a ratchet strap from a section of the frame to the vice grips but it still slipped off. Been spraying it with PB Blaster and haven't given it a try since, but had the realization that I don't need to carry on till I have a replacement plug to put in so I'm going to postpone the headache till I get one. In other news, if anyone's got a bucket full of fill plugs they can part with, let me know.

Thanks Mike, I'll keep that in mind. I also had the realization that I was probably wasting my time with the WD-40 I had lying around, so I just ran and grabbed some PB Blaster since that stuff appears to be full of witchcraft. Gave it a spray and I'll have another go tomorrow.

Hey everybody, I've been trying to change the fluid in my '89 4.0 5-speed for about a week now. Started off getting interrupted by surprise storms, then realized I didn't have a 15/16" wrench so I ordered one, then realized I've got a seriously stuck fill plug and it looks like the previous owner lent it to a teething baby 'cause it's all kinds of chewed up. Couldn't get it off with the 15/16" and started doing some research. Been soaking it in a little WD-40 but I'm about to go pick up some PB Blaster. Saw a few mentions of trying a pipe wrench, but that didn't work. Also saw mention of hitting it with a torch but haven't tried that yet. So my question, and I'm hoping it's a very stupid and unnecessary one but it probably can't hurt to ask... Righty tighty, lefty loosey, correct? Been trying to remove the plug in the direction I'd expect it to loosen, but I'm going to feel like a real idiot if this thing is threaded the other way for some reason. Also should mention that I haven't drained the fluid so I'm not in a position where I've had to pull the shifter and fill it that way, and the truck shifts fine, but I bought it last month and I have no idea when it was last changed so I'd sure like to get it done. Thanks in advance!

Thanks a lot. I'm going to pop the panel off in a little bit when it cools down outside and have a better look. It was pretty dark when I went in and lifted the window up last night so I'll try and get a better idea of what's happening in there!

A-ha! That makes sense. I always assumed window regulators were a power window thing. Just looked one up to see a picture. I'll get on it. The fella who sold me the truck just said something about a "catch missing" that would cause it to drop anywhere below three inches above the door. Thanks!

Hey folks, after years and years of driving old Subarus and old Miatas, I picked up two things I've always wanted two weeks ago: an old Jeep and an old pickup. This is Eugenia the Jeep, my new-to-me 1989 4.0 5-speed with 121k. I've been hunting for a small, fairly simple but still interesting truck for months and two weeks ago I saw her sitting for sale and bought her the next day. Had a few electrical quirks (turn signals not working, but they're fine now), fuel gauge pegged way past full, radio and a/c not working (I'll worry about that later) and a very soft clutch. I bought the old gal with intentions of doing as close to 100% of the work myself. I'm pretty comfortable working on small stuff, changing alternators, fluids, plugs and brakes and things like that, but I want to learn as much as I can and I figured this was a good truck to learn from. There seem to be plenty of resources and I went ahead and picked up an old Haynes manual for $2 until I can spend a little more on a real shop manual. Unfortunately the slave cylinder gave up the ghost a week into my ownership and I wasn't in a position to tackle it, so I brought her to a shop and they fixed her up nice for me. New clutch kit, flywheel, oil pan gasket (rubber), rear main seal and some little odds and ends. But, after spending money on labor that could have been spent on beer and bandaids after doing it myself, I'm vowing to try to keep her out of the shops from here on out. Anyway, sorry to be long winded but I'm glad this forum is here and I'm looking forward to reading up on as much as I can. I do have one minor tech question for now, and it's probably pretty simple. When I bought the truck, I was told not to roll the driver's side manual window down all the way, so I've been leaving it up about three to four inches. Last night I forgot about this and the window dropped into the door. I pulled the door panel to investigate, and it was easy to get it back up (just had to lightly lift the glass while cranking the window up) but for the life of me I couldn't see what was causing the problem. Any suggestions? Tried searching for an answer but mostly found the problem with electric windows. Sorry to be long winded but bear with me, and thanks in advance!