ParadiseMJ

I have people ask me all the time if my truck is a rare collectors item...I say, to me it is. It's worth what someone will pay for it. there are alot of people out there with too much money and not enough brains.

I have the regular ground at the dipstick stud. There were two other grounds there, the connecting ring terminals had corrosion all over them. I thought that ground point was the way it came from the factory as my XJ was the same thing. I also put another direct from the battery (8 ga.) to the fender nearby. The original cable was half green and half shiny...aka FUBAR, and I had multiple problems with lights, accessories etc. beforehand. I also replaced the ground strap from the block to firewall with a 4 ga cable on recommendations here. I noticed immediate improvement in electrical performance. Almost all my electrical gremlins went "pffft" and disappeared forever. I can't say enough about the change it made in my MJ. All for about $8

Got my MJ off CL too. Bought it for $400 from the son of an old farmer who had died. Sold it for $400 and delivered it 90 miles on a flatbed to my front door. He was not a low life...neither am I.

I was pretty much planning on removing everything on the drivers side. Air filter assembly, throttle body, Intake/Exhaust, fuel rail, hoses etc. and all the pipe back to the cat. Replace motor mounts too. It'll be grounded for a week, so I might as well do what I can while it's apart.

Going to R&R the manifolds this week since I got my commuter car back from the shop. From what I can see I have a small crack at #5 and a slightly longer crack at #6 (actually I don't know how long...I can't see where it stops). I can't see the actual joints at the collecters so don't know exactly what I'm getting into until I take it out. I have reasonable welding skills, I've built a trailer for my canoes and sliders for the XJ. Both of which have held up for several years without issue. My plan is to weld up the crack(s), and put a flex joint after the O2/EGR bungs (88). Then wrap the ex. manifold and put it all back together. Don't really have the cash to replace manifold right now but I need to get the exhaust leak(s) done and fixed. Any tips, trick or other wisdom out there??

Did you post it with pictures, full description? Priced too high? Try editing your post. People browsing craiglist are usually looking for bargains.

The proper ettiquette as far as craiglist goes is indeed first person with money that WANTS your merchandise and gives you the best offer is the winner. If you're holding out for more money it's perfectly OK to say so. If someone calls you and offers you a price AND you accept it then they are supposed to come get it and pay you and you should honor that. If someone else calls you and asks you to hold it until they get there without an offer or without cash they are out of luck. I'll hold a piece of merchandise...but only for full price and only for a very short time. It's OK to hold it until all the offers are in, but I'm going to sell it to the first guy that meets my price and has the cash. It's all about what you agree to on the phone. My very first transactions on craigslist were when I listed my wife's minivan and my mom's Volvo on the same day and SOLD them the next day...and BOUGHT my son's Jeep 2 hours later. Last week I listed my 2 canoes and the trailer for them as a package deal and sold it all the next day for full asking price (the guy didn't haggle at all). Crazy!! I love craiglist but my wife thinks it dangerous to have strangers come to the house...yet we have a yard sale at least once a year.

Are you talking "shotgun across the lap" anti social or just "don't want any strangers around" anti social? Why don't YOU clean the yard..then you're golden. :D . You'll have fun removing the flares if the bumper is a problem. The flares are held on by small nuts, and then by push on washers. If you are lucky enough to get the nuts off out without without breaking the bolt/studs, you'll have an easier time. Get up in there and start spraying them with PB Blaster or Kroil about a week ahead of time, a couple times a day. That'll increase your chances of not busting anything.

This is a writeup by Biotex with the Euromatec replacement lights for the wiring set-up if you have to replace the lights themselves. If your floor/courtesy lights work with a.) the door open or b.) the headlight switch being turned then the door switches are ok but there may be wiring issues between the switch and the upper light itself. http://comancheclub.com/topic/36457-wiring-the-interior-lights/ There's also the possibility that the little contacts inside the light fixture are either bent, dirty or corroded...mine were. A little tight work with some emery paper and tweezers cleaned up the contacts nice and shiny. I also used the tweezers to bend the little copper/brass contact up to be tight against the "roller" The roller inside the fixture is what moves when the light switch is moved...and it makes contact with the contacts for the 3 different positions.

As it should be. If you run in to me, you pay, not me. Nothing worse than somebody with no insurance damaging me or mine, then we'd have to go to court. Messy! I agree with you man. Another thing great about auto insurance in NY is when a cop passes a vehicle, it has cameras that scans the plates. Tells the cop if registration, insurance, inspection is current or not. Also related to that is insurance companies have to report when insurance has been dropped on a car. So it's a great system. I know someone in my old unit got in trouble for insurance lapsing on his car. He's the kind of guy that deserved what happened. I generally don't agree with "the man" being able to find your life story with one scan...but in this case that system can keeep you from getting pulled over, even if your tags have expired, but you're all paid up/insured and legit and the DMV hasn't sent you the paperwork. In larger, more populated states/provinces/areas there's alot of red tape, and Joe Normal can get screwed. Just like inspection/no inspection, if you have your s**t togetheer and keep everything legal, you don't have anything to worry about. Pull over the bad guys, leave the good guys alone.

It's time for an INTERVENTION...you obviously have a severe Jeep problem. Is this your Christmas card photo for the year??

As it should be. If you run in to me, you pay, not me. Nothing worse than somebody with no insurance damaging me or mine, then we'd have to go to court. Messy!

Ordered

OK, so I'm all giddy now because I fixed my welder yesterday. It wasn't reeling out wire at a predictable rate, I found that it was getting kinked up where it goes into the feed just enough to make it spotty, now it's fixed and I'm getting a nice smooth bead. This weekend I'll be R&R ing the exhaust manifold to weld up the crack at # 5 and put in a flex at the crossover portion of the exhaust pipe. THEN I'll do Cruiser's vac test. I'll be frikken DELIGHTED to put this thread to bed by Saturday night. If the cat is clogged or restricted I'll bite yet another bullet and replace that too.

I just paid $101 registration for my 88 MJ yesterday for one year - No smog this year. Smog inspection required every two years $38 to the tech and $18 to the state. All shops (in this county anyway) charge the $38. Some counties, or "zones" are less stringent than others, depends on the population of the county/zone. L.A., S.F., Sacramento areas are more restrictive, rural counties less restrctive, "out in the boonies" areas even less restrictive. Some shops will re-test free if you fail, some won't. If you fail big time you have to go to a "gross polluter" station, and pay again, and pay, and pay if you keep failing. There are exceptions and limits to how much you have to spend to fix the problem...but they're high. Older vehicles that didn't come with cats or emissions equipment are "smog exempt". You can all buy 49 state catalytic converters...I have to buy a California Cat. But if you move into CA from another state/province you can still use the 49 state cat...until you have to replace the cat...then you have to buy a CA Cat. However, if you keep your vehicle in good shape, maintained and running clean you have nothing to worry about. There is no "safety inspection" per se. If you are driving a total beater, missing/broken light, spewing smoke etc. you get a "fix it ticket". No charge if you actually fix it. If you don't, they fine you and/or take the thing off the road and non-op it. You still own it, you just can't drive it legally (on the street) til you fix it. Trail Rig only...no problem.

Right behind the...wait...where's the engine??

*hangs head* No, not yet. My weekend will be full of fun, looks like I'm replacing, or at least R & R ing the exhaust manifold, welding it, replacing motor mounts, flex joint etc. big leak. After I'm done with that, I'll go get a vac gauge. Then I'm going looking for a convenient CLIFF. Not for the truck...for me!! Comes at a not good time...my mechanic just called me to tell me the transaxle on my little Nissan commuter is shot...$1400 Damn vehicles are breaking me.

My middle name these days

It works but shouldn't be necessary. Positive your gauge is accurate? No...not positive, but under all other conditions it's spot on...by that I mean, it warms up when I first start off. Goes to 195+ then drops off as the t-stat opens for about 30 seconds. Then it evens out at just under 200 for the level ground freeway trip...driving along at 65-70mph for 20-30 miles, until I get to the hill. When I get about half way up, the gauge starts climbing past 210, 220, 230...til I get to the top. I am working some air out of the system. Just enough to put in the WW. I'll probably install the other t-stat housing this weekend. This is starting to be annoying.

Posted over on NAXJA asking about Water Wetter. Just snake oil or??

Well, all the "stuff" I have done to it, it's running cooler...still getting a little warm by the time I get to the top of the hill. I'm a bit hesitant to drain the new coolant but I have not looked at what the hose does when it's hot, and I rev it to 3K+ RPM. If it sucks it closed, even a little bit I'll bite the bullet on the spring. At least I'll know that there is some restriction, and that it could be causing my issue. Thanks Anybody got a good idea about where to relocate the trans cooler to get it out of the engine cooling equation? I do have a spare e-fan that I could mount it to.

You can check the intermittent module by unplugging it at the module and plugging the two ends together. If it fixes the speed problem replace the module. While you have the module out, you won't have intermittent wipers, so put the wipers on the second or third click.

Sorry, should have replied to this along time ago. I live in Paradise, by Chico. Had my MJ for 3 years, spent 2 fixing, building it. Also have an XJ for the last 10 yrs. There are very few MJ's up around here, and half of them are total beaters. I spend alot of time in Plumas county (Feather River Canyon, Bucks Lake, High Lakes, Grizzly Summit) camping, fishing, exploring, wheeling etc. P.S. My daughter lives in Napa. Works at Queen of the Valley Hospital

Going from lights to gauges will require new senders for coolant and oil pressure. When you go to a parts store and ask for the particular senders they'll ask you "lights or gauges". If they don't, go somewhere else. As far as the cluster is concerned...do they have junkyards in Georgia? That's where I'd be looking. Easy to remove and install. Plug n' play (except for the senders) XJ / MJ interchange.

I've always been a non believer in the need for the spring since I was told that Jeep discontinued the replacement hose with the spring (or more clearly...Chrysler stopped making the replacement for a Renix ) but I'm open to doubt that at this point. It would seem to make sense, since it only does it when I'm putting my foot into it to get up the hill. Does the spring have to be made of anything special (stainless etc.)? Don't know if I could just pick up a 1.5" spring at the hardware store or I need some specialized deal.