Green Mesa XJ

IMHO Replace that factory carb with the Weber dgs 38(I think this is number) there are kits all over the internet for upgrading s10 and 2.8 jeeps. That’s keeping the rest factory while changing the carb. I rebuilt the factory carb, it gutless and over complicated as is most of the 2.8 vacuum routing and vacuum switches. The intake manifolds are good, it’s in two pieces, bottom intake, and upper which has two different options one with the egr plate present but not drilled will work with the Weber, there’s a second choice for a four barrel option, yes a there’s a huge Holley carb right at the limit of what fuel the 2.8 can effectively use. It looks Ridiculously big on that engine but many have reported good results with it. Of course they probably also dropped a 3.4 out of a 95 camaro in too. If you’re looking at the intake upgrade keep a eye on eBay because the sets pop up several times a year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I’ve had trouble with those clusters( 1984-85-86 & early 87) and bad printed circuits but so far not many others on the forums have shared my experiences. The buggy clusters I’ve had all had bad printed circuits, they were peeling away with the metal part of the circuit exposed. Dunno if it was the heat of the south or a exposure to water from a leaking windshield or something. Eventually I dropped a 89-90 cluster in. Far as the temp sender goes you’ve got to look for a 2.8 s10 or camaro sender, the parts catalogues for the Jeep 2.8 are never correct. Seems like the 84-85-86 2.8 6cyl catalog gets the 87 4.0 senders and sensors. There’s a recent thread where I posted the GM part number for the temp sender I used. I can try to look it up again if you need it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Weird, because front or rear there ought to be little to no resemblance to 2018 calipers. Same basic function but the design is closer to what was high performance in the 1990s . Got to be a catalogue error. The newer Toyota looks like newer Jeep , I don’t see any car company going backwards, compromising safety for the sake of a few pennies. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

PS the 2.8 temp sensor is a PITA to find since almost all the parts catalogues will have it wrong for all 84-85-86 2.8 Jeeps, look for s10 or camaro 2.8 parts (for just about anything that bolts on the engine) I believe the Gm temp sender you should look for is ACDelco 213-80 GM, or anything aftermarket that interchanges with that. For oil pressure sender I’ve used gm s10 and the Jeep part # which I believe was the same 1987 until 1992-92. Tach is good to go, Fuel is good to go, Alt should good to go, Speedo would be best to get the correct cable, but it might work rigged with the old one.maybe. I think that’s it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Eaglescout is correct. Although you might get away with plunging the original speedometer cable in the cluster. It’s not going to clip in and lock correctly but I seem to remember just putting my original cable in place until I had time to source a 87-90 cable. If your 86 cluster is full package with all the gauges it’s plug and play, if you had idiot lights it’s a matter of swapping those out for the gauge sender. Tach is going to work with no extra effort on your part, amc had the wiring already done. Only trouble I’ve had is the 2.8 gm temp sender doesn’t seem to be calibrated for the renix 4.0 gauge reading, although I’ve never checked the temp with a laser scanner to see if it’s correct. Might just be the 2.8 or my 2.8 runs so much cooler (probably at 180)than a 4.0 crammed in to that engine bay. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yes. Definitely get the source of the leak fixed. If it’s only just started you can clean it up. Mine was too far gone and I had to replace it, the dash has to be pulled and all the plugs undone then put back with the new fuse box /dash harness. Not terrible compared to any newer vehicle but a PITA Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The gauge may not be accurate to a scientific level, but it is accurate enough. What it is showing you is that the temp is fluctuating at a stop. The laser temp guns are neat but you’ve got to find the right spot to get readings consistently because they usually read all over from one extreme to another. My guess would be your not getting enough air flow at a stop, and the temperature rises, factory gauges can be off a few degrees but normally they are accurate over all. If the radiator is clogged or the water passageways are gunked up there might be other issues causing the fluctuations. If you coolant is good and clean, water pump is good and belt is tight, I’d assume it’s air flow related, unless I could see some problem with the radiator. Of course if you have trapped air in the system you’ll see temp spikes at idle, which can just be a pocket of air to the extreme of head gasket allowing gas in. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

A shame it was scrapped. Honestly it’s s cleaner Jeep than my 85 wagoners when I bought it 20+ years ago. And I know there were cowboys jacking up the repairs and trying their hand at wire splicing. The 84-85 wagoners are the two headlight models, after that it’s four. Also got those xj have s weird headlight harness plug that runs under the battery , 84-85 only and a PITA to find. as is the dash harness and engine, those it looks like a old amc bulk head connector, where the 86-90 have a renex style plug and 91-95 have the HO style bulk head. I’m sure there are some one off 84-85 wagoners, being they dying days of amc they used whatever they could supply. my 85 has always been such a pain to find electrical harness, so much so now it’s sporting a 88 dash harness and 86 engine harness, with a 94(? I think) headlight harness. The early amc clusters with tach are another one off, the printed circuit and cluster is different early 87 on, my problem down in the south was finding one with the printed circuit not peeling apart. A great old time Jeep parts guy gave his time freely to look up the old 84-85-86 xj parts catalogue this was 1998-2000s. Back then the printed circuit for the 85 clusters was NA. I bought the last printed circuit available for the next design which turned out to be the 1987 cluster. We didn’t know how close they would be based on what was available in the catalogues. That place was a great family owned Jeep dealer with a good crew, parts, sales, tech, all seemed to give a damn. Too bad they were one of the dealerships forced to close when the government stepped it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I might just be me but I don’t think your descriptions of problems and test results are very clear. trouble shooting tip posted earlier would give you a clearer idea of what’s not working. Seems like your upset with everyone here because a 32 year old Jeep has some issues. But I may take they way you emphasize certain words differently than others. Aftermarket CPS are pretty much junk. Some fail new out of the box. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It’s what the op said about all the test he ran. No fuel pressure from the relay. He also didn’t do the simple testing suggested earlier Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I’m not sure someone isn’t having a laugh. Fuel pressure from the relay? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Probably the catalytic converter getting to temperature. That’s my guess anyway. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Glad to help if I can. I don’t know much about the AIR emissions system because when I bought my Jeep, in CO, it already had the AIR pump removed, I’ve been pulling pieces of the POS system out bit by bit for years. Never tried to make it work and never registered the Jeep in a place where I’d have to get emissions done. BTW the 4.0 swap is not that easy with the 1984-86 Jeeps, they were not designed to fit it so you’ll have to find a complete 4.0 donor to swap all the front end parts to make it work. Plenty have done it, so it’s not an impossible task. However upgrading to a Chevy v8 or even v6 is much easier to fit. The 1993-5 camaro 3.4 is basically a stroked 2.8 v6 and will bolt in with a few modifications like swapping over all the hardware and getting the flywheel balanced if remember. Anyway Lots of possibilities. I remember well how gutless the 2.8 was on the highway especially going up steep inclines or high passes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Ok on the front of the engine left hand side should be a pump below the alternator, it’s a AIR pump, all it does is pump air into the exhaust. See if you still have one because a lot of people bypass it. If it’s there the follow the tubing back to the I want to say solenoid on the left hand side of the motor, there’s vacuum line going to it and from there it splits off to tubes on each exhaust manifold. Those tubes have a check valve if I remember right. AIR system is a mess, that’s why you’ll hardly find a old 2.8 /any 80s carbureted engine with one anymore. Now if you federal emissions the good news is no computer and no O2 sensor, you do have a catalytic converter. I live in s no emissions testing state so I don’t know much more about what you might need to pass in ABQ I’d guess either tune the carb out, or fix the AIR system and/or catalytic converter. But I’ve really got no idea what help pass or fail a system. Surprised they care to test a 32 year old Jeep. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

What kind of 2.8 is it California emissions or federal ? ( sorry if the answer is in you signature I can’t see them in this app) My fist thought is the AIR pump and pipes/valves still operational Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

ZJ 95 up are very similar to xj 95-96. Wj is good too Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The brake booster upgrade, 95-96 XJ and 95 up ZJ are very similar. Great list! I’d forgotten about many of these upgrades. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

1986 2.5 4cyl was the first renix era Jeep. Does it have a CPS (crank position sensor) on the bell housing? If it does this can cause no start conditions. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I once helped moderate a forum, we had bot attacks like this. Moderators were added and asked to help police them. While most bots picked popular on going topics if admin didn’t purge old threads necromancerbots would resurrect dead threads. Weird thing is some bots were sophisticated enough to pick upload their own avatars generally acting like a new member. Even this bot today from a moderators prospective its hard know without seeing ip and email address used to register that’s a bot. Of course our bot linked a map for the server farm in Croatia where it lives. But usually if they can go unnoticed they wait to change all their signatures,posts, and publicly displayed information quietly spamming, or sleeper account activate all at once for spam attacks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I’ve beat the hell out of my 2.8, and never had a problem but it’s not a power house and sucks where there’s hills. Thing about a “camaro” or s10 engine is if it’s out of a 1985 or 1986 they have an improved head design GM put in service late 1984 early 1985 using them through 1995 and the 3.4 engine. Although GM sourced the engines for AMC and others they sold their old engines. The heads I’ve seen come of 1986 jeeps were supposed to be the new gm design but gm gave amc the old heads. One thing some 1986 jeeps did get was the new block design with bigger mains, in theory those blocks with the new one piece rubber rear main seal should last better and if somebody were inclined to do it could be rebuilt with 3.1 parts making it a stroker engine. The 2.8/3.1/3.4 is more popular with mg and fiero car fans because it’s a light small 6 cylinder that fits in their engine bays. Jeeps can fit a small v8 pretty easily so the 2.8 doesn’t make a lot of sense to keep. Although once the crap intake, carb and exhaust are replaced it can be a better performer it’s just by the time anyone sources all of those parts I doubt it’s cost effective. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yeah there’s a computer for the transmission all the AW4 year, well not sure about 97 up. It’s a basic computer to control the sifting. You can run without it if you want and disconnecting it is a way to test the transmission, so it’s not something that bricks the transmission. The computer itself is a small box usually located under the dash kick panel, whatever the correct term, the panel the ashtray is in, on the passenger side. If you’ve seen a 80-90s Toyota transmission computer it basically looks the same Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Not sure if it comes into play at all. Maybe torque converter locking and unlocking? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The head and block should be the same as 92, the head is a different casting however the 96 production should still have the hole tapped for the temperature sensor on the head, later years have the spot for it untapped. I think you’d have to swap most of your sensors . Other than that there Should only be minor issues like oil filter fitting being different and one or two minor things. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Ax5 some people don’t like it but it’s a decent medium duty truck transmission. Essentially a Toyota transmission. But it will not take power of a v8 or 4.0 Jeep. 3.4 is basically a stroked out 2.8, the final version of the 2.8 rear wheel drive engine in our jeeps. 3.4 is supposed to be noticeable improvement over the 2.8. Combined with a better carb and good intake it’s a decent upgrade. Others who have done the swap can speak to the positives and negatives better. Biggest positive is it’d drop in the same place with little modification depending how you chose do if. There’s a good thread her on some gm swap options, I don’t remember who’s thread it was but it’s got lots of cool information and options Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Ah. The 2.8 is weak sauce, paired with poor exhaust and bad carburetor and intake . It can be an ok motor but never really great like the 4.0, most drop a 3.4 Camaro motor in its place just about bolt per bolt a drop in for the 2.8. You should have a ax5 paired with a np207 if it’s a command trac, select trac I forget which transfer case but it’d have a vacuum switch somewhere in the cab if it’s select trac, Cherokees had it in the console behind the shifter Ax15 was I think 1990 up jeeps, xj mj yj Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro