NC Tom

Nope. I know I should have when I had the engine half taken apart. I even thought about it. Dang it!

Oh. My mistake

I would liked to have tried this, but I serious doubt it would have worked! This thing was uglier than Nancy Pelosi!!!

Did that some. My cutoff wheels were a bit too small. Mostly I cut with a RotoZip. That took some serious finagling!

I ended up adding new bolts. I had to drill, cut, grind, twist and chisel the old ones off. I swear they were welded. I had to drill new holes in the header! And it's all back together but still runs a bit rough. Not as crappy as before. Idles really well, but adjust the throttle and it begins to cough a bit and the engine has a surging sound. I tightened the intake bolts as best I could. I may have a vacuum leak I cannot find. Another odd thing was I sprayed some carb cleaner in the TB and the truck shut off? I can spray and rev, but it will shut off without revving. Any Ideas.

almost. As usual, I dove feet first into something I know little about. What I have read here really is the extent of my experience/knowledge about MJs. Having said that and while I am not finished, installing a manifold gasket IS difficult, but completely doable for a non-mechanic. IMO. I had to stop because I need a few extra pieces, I didn't expect to need, to finish. My biggest concern is actually getting it all back together correctly. I think that will be a more difficult task than the removals. You have to remove and disconnect A LOT of things. I tried to keep a photo record of items removed, but I'm sure I missed some. I have been fortunate so far as none of the manifold nuts/studs/bolts were seized or broke. All came off nice and easy. Which brings me to another point. For anyone who has been refusing to check their intake/manifold bolts, like i was, DO IT!!!!! I had a few that were actually just hanging on. Not even finger tight! While I still needed a new manifold gasket, my MJ running problems are likely due to the very loose bolts. The only issue I am having is removing the exhaust pipe from the manifold. I can't tell if the bolts are welded to the manifold? The nuts underneath are completely rusted and won't budge. I'll be cutting the bolts off unless someone here has another option.

I'm starting this project today. I decided to go with a Fel-pro gasket. Hopefully it will last for a long as I have the truck.

That, my friend, is great info and I thank you. Now, what time will you be coming, and what do you want on your pizza?

That's interesting because the members here are always talking about "tighten your manifold bolts". If loose bolts can cause a running problem, why wouldn't an actual leak cause a problem? My next step is to clean the heck out of the TB. Apparently, I haven't been deep cleaning it. Just wiping it out.

Well, found out I have a manifold leak that was staring me in the face. I imagine if I have one, I have more. @ratrapp what would the cost range for this repair? Can it be done by a noob?

I have a spark tester and the cap still looks new. A vacuum gauge is on my list of tests. A friend with more experience than I is stopping by tomorrow. Maybe we'll finally figure this thing out.

No offense to you. You're kidding, right? All they do is nod and then do their own thing anyway. Charge for parts you already replaced plus labor you already did yourself. Personally, my interactions with so-called professionals has been less than good. I've worked with three different garages in the Boone area. 1. Did good work, but refused to install new parts that I provided. God forbid I save a little money vs them charging more for the same part. 2nd garage did a rear brake job and left a line down that was rubbing against a tire. Rubbed through and I lost ALL braking going down hill! Had to put it in first and when I slowed enough, threw it in park. 3rd garage has been uneven and I just found out they fired half their mechanics for doing poor work. I think my only other option is to get crucified by the local Jeep dealer. Supposedly, they have an older guy there who knows MJ's. I've been in this area for almost 10 years and have never had anyone recommend a garage. They only tell me which ones NOT to go to.

For anyone who may be following this thread. I've gone back checked the throttle body, and it's clean. The firing order is correct. I have spark, I have fuel pressure and delivery, enough for a decent idle. Open the throttle and it sounds like an out of tune Harley. I have not tried to drive it. Is it possible that during the changing of the tank and fuel pump, something got into the system? If so, would it only affect fuel delivery under load and not idle? I have been trying to follow the advice given here, but it seems like everything checks out positive. I'm grasping for straws here before I get it towed to a garage. LAST RESORT.

You're probably right. Figured I ask. Not starting would make sense.

I meant that I have spark. I do not have a vacuum gauge. Honestly, I have thought all along that I botched the vacuum system somewhere, but my vac system has been a mess/modified by PO's since I got the truck. I've checked everything I know to check, but certainly could have mis-routed a hose. Without a quality diagram, I'll never know. By "quality", I mean not the common black and white one from the FSM. I have that, but I need more detail.

The logical side of my brain thinks this should never be the case. But, I know it is. Question. There are two hoses that come from the fuel pump. If I accidentally switched those during reinstall, what would happen? I haven't check, just thought about it while typing.

Thanks, Jeff. I have a plug tester so that's all good. The plugs are new, however, I decided to recheck the gap and it's ok. The first 4 plugs were pretty carbon fouled, but not wet, if that means anything. I was surprised because they are new with less than an hours runtime. Distro OK.

I was thinking about putting the original cps back. Can the cps cause rough running? I thought it was only for starting.

Oh, good. I'll check distro, however, I didn't mess with it before all this started.

MAP is good. My EGR was disabled by the PO. I have not enabled it, so I really haven't had one for the 4 years I've owned it.

Agree with @Big_Mark Two tone is nice.

I replaced all the injectors with refurbed set I bought a while back. When I run the unplug test, all of them have an affect on the idle. Not drastic like the original set, but you can hear it. Overall, it seems to idle really well. I got the squealing almost gone as well. However, you just can't give it gas. It runs like complete crap when doing so. Fuel pressure is at 30 at idle, bumps up to 35 when throttle is applied. Even if the pressure is below spec, it's the best it's ever been, to my knowledge. So, what components/adjustments cause sputtering and popping when, and only when, acceleration is applied? Audio file included. You can tell when I adjust the throttle and hold it for a sec. I took this audio before I messed with the belt. Pulled Throttle at 3 sec. Held it until 11 sec. and then revved a little more. MJ pop pop.m4a

Yeah. One if the lnjectors was leaking. Swapping is a good idea. I'll try it.

It's holding pressure, but it's lower than spec at around 30. The CPS is NAPA. Supposed to be a good one. I guess not as my OEM one read better voltage. I may put it back on. I cleaned the injectors with a long soak in carb cleaner. Added voltage to open them and forced cleaner through. I have new ones too.

It ran okay until I screwed with it. Is it possible that the CPS that I replaced just isn't up to the task? Or the new fuel pump and sending unit? I hate to think that all new parts for these trucks are worse than the original equipment. I actually didn't change the injectors, just cleaned the stock ones. I have a new set that I could try.