mythreesons

Clinton, MO It's his truck. As he lives about 40 minutes away, works late hours (till 2 or 3am like me) and has no room at his house nor tools he has decided to move on. Here is the CL ad: http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/5619956640.html

Shelby, I'm not going anywhere..... I am the most active lurker you'll ever not see. :laughin: Normally, by the time I get to the forum, you all have beat the horse to death and buried it so I just watch and laugh along with/at you. Besides, we still have a comanche at the house and I am looking for another XJ for my wife to have when her Honda is in the shop. Brett, I happened upon ROF just the other day when I was researching the gas puking problem. I will spend a little more time looking around under the chairs and in the dark corners, but probably will join up. What I have seen so far seems like a bunch of normal people who like their Jeeps ( a lot ). Thanks for the reccomendation. When I decided to get another Jeep for my DD, I had three TJ's sold out from underneath me before I could get to see them so i knew that I would have to move fast when I found something I liked. When I found this LJ, it had the last year model 4.0 (I liked), it had a 6 speed manual (I liked), it had Dana 44s in front and rear (I really liked) but it had that disgusting bright solar yellow color (It's growing on me........ like mold). I couldn't resist, I rushed over and made the dealer sell it to me. Now the Jeep fever is starting up again..... I'm ordering parts from places like FatBobsGarage.com and waiting at the end of the driveway for the postal lady to being me stuff. Second Childhood? Yeah that sounds about right. :rotfl2:

Long story short......... My Daughter-in-Law is running my old 95 Cherokee (so that she and my granddaughters get to where they are going), sold my wifes 02 Grand to my son (so that he can get to where he is going) and bought a 09 Subaru for me to drive. My Mom was in final stages of cancer and I needed gas mileage and zippyness to go back and forth. Well, Mom is gone now and I went looking for another Jeep to have for my DD. Found a 06 Unlimited Rubi. So now I have jumped into the deep end of a different pool of water and I am looking for a Comanche Club in the wrangler side of life. Is there such a place? I cannot see myself putting up with stupid, immature, etc. like what I see is some other forums. That's what I like about here. It's more friendly and not so egocentric. Suggestions? Thanks!

So the old XJ is getting a little long in the tooth (260K) and I decided to find a little gas money saver to drive until the deep snow comes back. Finally decided on a Subaru Impreza, 4 cyl. auto. When I get it home, of course, I start realllllllllllly looking at it. Man, oh, man!!! I need to really work on the grounds on this thing in the engine bay. I hope they have better grounds at the tail lights than the MJ's. A couple of days later I am searching for a forum like here and find that the Subie community has a SERIOUS feeling about the grounds or the lack thereof. Snicker!!!!! Then just on the off chance I decide to do a little lurker search about oil filters. Oh My Gosh!!!! They take oil filters to a whole new level that we never get to. Of course, they are looking at different reasons than we do in the Jeep world, but .............. Well, it was giving me a chuckle to see fanatics running loose like that. I am not sure that some folks don't need white coats with long arms and round rubber rooms. :dunno: Scott

Well ain't that a kick in the pants?!?!?!?!?! :cheers:

Well, it seems like there is an issue with your CPS. Take a look in the DIY section for Cruiser's tips on the CPS. Perhaps just getting it a little closer to the flywheel will help, but from your measurements, yours is at the bottom (or below) of acceptable. How good are your multi-angle-arm bending skills? :D Initially, after first thoughts I would lean towards electical problem of some sort being the cause. I almost would have said heat-soak issue with the coil, but after re-reading your efforts, I probably would put that 2nd on the list.

97-99 is the range that I have been looking at lately. Showed the ad (orig. post) to my wife......"That's older than mine. Why would we want that?" She is driving the 2002 WJ which is beginning to nitpik me with little things. 2-5 miles of rough gravel road ain't doing it no good either. Oh, well. I will have to wait until the latest "world-ending" snowstorm gets done then pick up the search again.

Thanks! At least I had the right number. :laughin:

and I can't seem to get the right search terms to pull info from past threads. I am looking at getting another "nice" XJ to have around and came across this ad: http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/3589531388.html What I can't seem to remember is the years of production for the infamous "cracking head" problem. Was that a 0331 casting number? I want to think it was 97-01, but ................... well, you know how it is. If you can't remember, you can't remember. Is that the right years? I have not talked with the sellers yet, but a cracked head being replaced would explain most of the replacements listed in the ad, right? Or at least that could be one explanation. Anybody see anything funny in that listing that I'm not seeing. It has been up on craigslist several times over the past few months. Makes me more than curious. Thanks!

First of all, I appreciate the fact that you are keeping your posts going as you move along the path to craziness. Secondly, I would begin to look into two different directions. one--- I know it's a pain to accomplish..... when this incident happens what voltages are at the starter solenoid? Is it being engaged then turned off before the engine has a chance to make even one revolution? Just asking the question here as I don't know..... If the NSS were to start in one state then change as soon as the flywheel rotates will it turn off the starter? When this non-turning over happens, will it work if you try to start in gear? two--- When you mention the idler pully having a little slack...... Perhaps you could disconnect the spark and take the belt off then try to turn the engine over with the starter? Could there be something binding up that keeps the engine from turning over until it gets loosened up? Loose bolt behind the ???? Loose bolt (or something) inside the starter??? That's all my feeble brain can pull up on a nice sunny Sunday afternoon. Perhaps it's enough to jog someone else's memory to give you better direction.

You started here.......... Then you went here....... Did you try this? When you are turning the key to the "start" position, you are energizing the starter circuit. The fact that your dash lights go out at this time tells you that your system has a electrical short, "possibly" from your previous changes to the truck. It "could be" that the starter has suddenly developed a bad spot and is shorted out, but I have doubts about that as you don't mention any smoke or fire. The only way to know for sure is start at the battery and follow the wires. Make sure you check all the connections on the starter relay and that the wires didn't get pinched somewhere during the changes (inside the cab as well). If all else fails, pull the wire off the starter and check it with a set of jumper cables or pull the starter and take it to the parts house and have them check it.

I thought that there were three temp sensors??????? Driver side- top for idiot light/temp guage, driver side below exhaust for ECU (open/closed loop operation) and the driver side radiator for aux. fan control. Maybe your missing a sensor in the radiator?

I see that you say that all those parts have been replaced, however does all that stuff work properly? Does it act the same way if the engine is warm? Might be a clue there. Cold engine needs good fuel delivery, air and good spark. Check those three under cold conditions and see what you find. Don't bother with the scanner it will tell you less than what you'll get from a clear thought process and a digital multi-meter. Personally, I would start with grounds and check the spark. If your spark is suspect, check the CPS (If you have good spark, the CPS is working). See Cruiser54's recent posts on CPS testing.

Thanks for posting these tips! I have already copied these to a file to add to my binder of various MJ/XJ hint & tricks.

Any progress or did you set fire to it? :waving:

Jerry, At times like these (after I have a temper tantrum) I try to go back to the beginning and check/recheck/verify those things that I did when I was getting my Irish temper wound up. So let me ask some really simple questions (maybe they will jiggle an answer in your/others minds): 1) When this all started, you were at a stop light in a running truck and then it started sputtering and died, right? 2) At that point, your homeless assistant said that he could hear the fuel pump priming, the engine would turn over (at normal rate) but no fire, right? 3) You have started at the coil and replaced just about everything that has to do with spark in the cylinder, right? (Have you replaced any wires?) 4) Did you check ALL the grounds? Did you measure with an ohm meter to make sure that from the neg. battery terminal to the end of a ground the resistance has not gone significantly higher? Corrosion inside the negative cable (under the jacket) will affect the resistance greatly. Are you still running the big flat braided ground cable at the back to the firewall? Is it in good, "solidly connected at both ends" condition? I may be barking up the wrong tree with what I am thinking, but you have barked up all the other trees in the forest so who knows, maybe you'll get the coon this time. :dunno:

I'm working on them. (Graveyard hours at work doesn't leave a lot of time before much needed beauty rest.) The vacuum lines going downstairs are not even connected. (Actually, now that I think harder about it, I think that the front axle has been replaced sometime previous and there is no CAD on it.) I am still trying to figure how to hook up the new "football". The truck doesn't have one..... Just the big vacuum line that used to go to the football is connected to a small line that goes to the firewall for the heater control valve and the blend door. I haven't pulled the dash open yet to check for leaks. I have been all over the engine compartment with the propane bottle and now have no change in the idle from that test. But the idle is still high. I have to get into the dash to straighten out some wiring so I'll check the vacuum lines then. Additionally, I did poke my head under the panel to see what part the ECU is..... it has a Re-manufactured sticker on it without part numbers written on it. Yea! :wall: So I guess while I have things open under there, I look a little closer at the ECU to identify. Oh..... the fun of older vehicles. They are really like mystery novels where we get to write the endings.

I have spent some time reading through search results but can't seem to find all of the answer to this question. If you have a 88 4.0 that was originally an auto (auto ECU) then changed to a manual (first time to a Pukey then to a AX-15) BUT the ECU was never changed...... the end result will be that the engine runs fine but with a higher idle, but by how much? I have to get under the dash tomorrow anyway and will check part numbers on the ECU that is installed, but I cannot find the reason for the higher than normal idle on this truck. I have been working on the vacuum lines, checked and replaced the TPS, will be checking the MAP sensor in the morning, even checking the intake bolts. It's getting better every time, but still too high for my liking. Currently at cold start-up it runs about 800 RPMs then creeps up to 1250-1500 as it reaches operating temp. It varies in that 1250-1500 range a little like it's hunting for something but I don't know what. Anybody got any other idea's to check?

The object that I am trying to identify is not the Fuel vapor canister and sorry for the electronic terms to describe it. It's about 1 1/4" long and 3/4" in diameter. Maybe there is more to it under the bracket that I can't see right now? I was just curious, that's all.

Yes, it does. The front axle has already been locked over so we won't need vacuum down there. (Don't have a shift linkage from the lever to the 231, but that will be next.) I did not actually look at the 231 but I know that the vacuum lines are not connected to the steel lines going down in that direction and the previous PO did tell us that he locked the CAD over. Of course, that will get checked when we get to working on the linkage issue. I was on other projects today (besides getting some sleep) but did manage to poke around this truck a little. I found a part that I can't idenitfy from the vacuum diagrams....... On the passenger fender wall under the hood hinge area is a little tin can looking thing mounted to a bracket with a vacuum line running to the bottom of it. It seems about the size of a 10-25 microfarad electrolytic cap. Can someone tell me what that is and it's purpose? Thanks!

Son #3 has this 88 SWB. It has had so many people inside it and under the hood that nothing looks like it is supposed to anymore. Some PO added a really nifty front winch/bumper and deleted the vacuum tank. I am trying to get things straightened out on this thing (picked up a new single nipple football) but can't seem to get my head wrapped around how the vacuum routing is supposed to go. It is all new to me (never worked with vacuum before) so the diagrams in the 88FSM don't really help, plus they don't really show everything, I think. Is there a different source for vacuum routing layout that I can get that might help make sense of this mess? We are trying to fix the issues before winter so at least we are not rushed, this time. :D

Maybe these can help a little.......... http://scranton.craigslist.org/pts/2348150158.html http://scranton.craigslist.org/pts/2372011707.html http://scranton.craigslist.org/cto/2369816202.html You haven't said what gearing your front axle is, so you need to know so that you can match it or replace both axles with better gear ratios if you want. You still need a different mechanic, though. There are a lot of things that I am capable of learning to do, but just may not have time/money/whatever reason so I do use a mechanic. One that I have gotten to know by talking with him and see how he reacts to certain subjects. He likes jeeps and just loves (snicker) it when I call him and say, "I got another Jeep, are you busy?" If fact, I just called mine Monday and told him I had a little job for him to do and that I would drop the Jeep off later that afternoon after work......His response is not printable because he knew it was a job that I couldn't do and would probably mean pain and torture on his part. I had him replace the TPS on my wifes 02 GC because they are so locktite'd in that you have to remove the throttle body and put it in a vice to get the two little screws out. He griped and moaned and only charged me one hour of labor and had it done Tuesday when I got off work. He's a good guy and I try to give him work every so often to help him stay in business. Surely, you can find somebody local to you that will treat you right for those time when you want somebody else to do the work.

Just thinking out loud here (really typing out loud, but you get the idea)......Have you checked the fluids in the transfer case and the rear dif? Also, take a look at the linkage and make sure that it's not bent up and that the t/c is fully in the position you think it's in. In your video, when you say "This seems to be where it's coming from.." isn't the camera is looking at the t/c? Hence my questions.

Well it's good to know that I was headed in the right direction. After spending the day with my mother yesterday and work today, I was not real sure that my brain had any electrons left to use for thinking. Thanks guys!!

One of my sons mentioned this little behavior after driving one of the XJ's for a couple of days. Ever since he mentioned it, I began to notice it in other vehicles. Do they all do this or is it an indication of something else? Left over torque that "rev's" the engine once the load is gone? The behavior: Using a 4.0 w/AW-4, drive the vehicle a little and come to a stop. Change gears (ie. Drive to Reverse or the other way if your so inclined). I have noticed that when coming out of gear and going to neutral the throttle will rev up a little. Just a "blip", but it is noticeable. Tested for this behavior on all the Jeeps at the house. Here are the results: 2002 WJ (4.0/AW or NV auto tranny) - Yep, it does it. 1995 XJ (4.0/AW-4) - Yep, it does it. 1992 XJ (4.0/AW-4) - Yep it does it. 1988 MJ (4.0/AX-15) - Nope, but then it is a manual so it doesn't count. 1988 MJ (4.0/AW-4) - Ummmmmm, since it has a blown D35, it doesn't count either. 1988 XJ (4.0/AW-4) - Didn't try, it is a donor for the above MJ. I guess my data sampling is really not too good. Perhaps I should take a road trip and check other member Jeep fleets for this? (That would be kinda neat to just drive a big circle visiting as many CC members as I could for a week. Wish I could.) What do you guys think?