cruiser54

tight. The factory spec was too low. Use the pattern and remove the airbox to make it much easier.

do it the old fashioned way. On Renix, the TPS is 2 parts. One side for engine management and one for auto trans. They work opposite and independent of each other.

Is your starter coated in oil?

The letters are generally embossed on the connectors.

Intake bolts?

Check that your intake manifold bolts haven't loosened up and that your throttle body and IAC are clean.

take it off. See if you can blow from the pintle side and air goes through the valve. Your lips will be black............

Yes. Tip 14. But, are you sure the EGR is sealing internally? Did you test it for that? Best way to test the O2 sensor is with the REM or doing an ohms test across the red and black wire with the sensor unplugged. I think 8 ohms is good?

3.55s are way easier to find, but you will like either one.

we're actually gonna save that til later.

It is still likely to be an issue. The dizzies were made incorrectly. rebuilts are the same way. If they have the complete tab intact, they are suspect.

Timing advance/retard is controlled by the ECU. Secondary ignition must have a good path to follow. Perhaps that is why the factory has the rotor go past the terminal a teeny bit for timing advance?

HERE’S WHY DISTRIBUTOR INDEXING IS SO IMPORTANT: Distributor indexing explained: For clarification though, that’s not a cam sensor inside the Renix dizzy. It’s there to fire the injectors sequentially with the firing order. You’ll never notice if it went bad because the ECU will try to “guess” where it is and does a heck of a job at it. As for the “timing”, it is controlled by the ECU. Ever notice how wide the tip of the rotor is? Try and wrap your head around this: When the ECU yells “Fire” to the ignition control module, where is the rotor in relationship to the dizzy terminal? Not to the terminal yet? Past the terminal too far? What happens to the spark/secondary ignition strength when it has to jump the Grand Canyon in comparison to shooting from a rotor tip? Poor ignition performance, bucking, jerking, longer crank times. The factory was aware of this and issued a Technical Service Bulletin on it. This Tip, #13, is a condensed version of that factory TSB. You wouldn’t believe how many we found out of whack when I worked at the dealership. Yours is probably messed up also. RARELY did we find one set accurately.

But his radiator is old.

https://bleepinjeep.com/video/jeep-cherokee-closed-to-open-cooling-system-how-to-part-1-of-3/

Your EGR valve could not be seating fully and cause an internal vacuum leak even with the hose plugged. You might want to make sure your throttle body is set correctly and that the o-ring on your IAC is good.

A replacement that has a radiator cap. Bolts right in. 35 years on the original radiator is hardly a money trap. I'm concerned that if you just replace the cap at this point, the bottle may fail. And I'm concerned about the radiator condition. Talk about spending money. Wait til your old radiator fails, or the coolant bottle, or the heater valve and almost all the coolant is gone instantly.

Not likely. Cross flow radiators are the worst for holding crud inside. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NRCNR1193A

Might be a good time to replace your radiator with one from an open system. Those pressure bottles and caps are very prone to failure and your radiator is likely partially clogged anyway.

What brand is your current coil?

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/carquest-premium-engine-coolant-reservoir-cap-10244/17110007-P Gotta ask though. How old is your radiator?

Sounds like it might just need a new Mopar 195* thermostat. Perhaps now it has a failed one or it's been removed.

And it still needs a Renix TPS.

The wires that the HO TPS are tied into are Renix engine TPS wires. That ain't gonna work. Now I'm wondering something. What if a guy tapped the correct Renix Trans TPS plug into the correct wires for the HO engine TPS?

I'll try and figure it out by wire colors.