coolwind57

I've been looking around for a performance header now that I'm having a short block assembled. I ran across a Clifford header that looked interesting. I was a bit surprised to find it had a single collector and what looks like an O2 AND EGR port. Most all Cliffords I've seen has the dual collector. Anyone have any knowledge of this header? I'll have a 1994 cylinder head, but I'm planning on running the stock Renix intake manifold. Owner said he ordered it for a Grand Cherokee 4.0 and never had a chance to use it. I have heard through this site that Clifford headers have fitment issues especially with the Renix intake, but this particular one looks like it's almost made for Renix.

Yea, he mentioned using a high zinc oil, non-synthetic which seem hard to find these days. I was planning on Shell Rotella anyway, which should be fine from what I understand. I'll double check on the 926 springs. He was looking stuff up for me while on the phone as we spoke so its not all on paper yet. What is your cam brand of choice? Thanks for the input, Sir..

So, I bought a freshly-milled non-Renix HO 53008405 block. It's bored .040" over. I'm having the shop that I bought it from assembly the short block for me. After discussing the build, I had asked my guy about the "RV Cams" I often hear about. He said that they are usually referring to a Comp camshaft 68-232 and will give a bit more umph on the low end without an aggressive idle on these 4.0s. This cam will run me 283 bucks. In addition, I'll need to match the valve springs to this new cam. He says I'll need "926" springs, at about 86 bucks for the set. I had also asked about whether I needed to upgrade the lifters and rockers as well. He said I'd likely be fine with the standard Melling lifters but if it were him he's probably go with Mylift Johnson lifters. Come to find out, they're only a few bucks more than Mellings. I think he quoted like $115 or so. He said he'd probably stick with the stock rockers and there's no real benefit for upgrading them for the money. He also says that the timing chain being used works fine with this cam setup. So I think I'm going for this cam upgrade. I don't do anything crazy with my truck as it's really just a truck that I drive to work and occasionally haul stuff around with. Nothing crazy. But I'm thinking I'll splurge a bit since we're all up inside the heart of this thing anyhow. Why not have some extra power. Total, this upgrade will run me about $500. He's also installing Silvolite coated pistons, which he says are a decent upgrade from stock pistons. Rings are a slight upgrade as well, with top compression ring being chromed. I'll be running a match ported Renix intake on a 7120 cylinder head from 1994. Per Cruiser and 89MJ, I'll be using my stock Renix elecrical/timing components. Anything jump out to you guys on this planned build? I'm getting ready to pull the trigger. Appreciate your input.

I've looked over Cruiser's page but I can't find your write up in Tech. Know where I can find it?

Ah sweet, man. Thanks. He's going to assemble a complete short block for about $2500.

I forgot about the distributor, which is different and I just so happen to have one for the 91-01 engines my my garage. I assume it'll plug and play with my existing renix ignition parts.

So my 89' Renix engine essentially took a dump. Cracked cylinder head and now I discovered a bad piston/cylinder. I had bought a 1994 cylinder head (7120) and had a valve job and resurface done on it before I discovered the bad cylinder wall/piston (yea, I know...dumb mistake of not catching the bad block). I had port matched the 7120 head to mate with my 89 Renix intake manifold. My 89 block is a 53005535 by the way. There's a dude nearby that has a freshly machined, ready-to-go 53008405 block. Its my understanding that these blocks are from 91-01 XJs. It's bored .40" over. I've got pics and video of it. Will this block fit in my 1989 Comanche? I'm trying to think of what would not make it a plug and play...Motor mounts, Knock sensor, oil filter housing, water pump, maybe? If it'll go in with no problem, then the plan would be to put on my 7120 cylinder head and run my Renix intake setup. Anything come to mind with this idea, fellas?

As with everything, the Left destroys everything it touches.

Wow man, I might just give this a shot. The thought actually entered my head but I quickly dismissed it as I figured that it wouldn't go so well. Thanks

About a Month ago, I towed my 89 back to my home 110 miles away. My Daughter had borrowed and had an overheat event, which I believe probably cooked the head and/or blew the head gasket. Sure enough, the head was cracked straight across from intake to exhaust valve on the first two cylinders, at which time the shop just stopped checking the rest. Confirmed cooked head. At first glance, the block looked ok. Dropped the oil pan and nothing looked out of the ordinary. Cylinder walls had no scoring or defects as I casually looked things over. I proceeded to buy a 2170 cylinder head locally and just finished port-matching with my Renix intake last night. Had the local shop to check things over on the 2170 and I put a couple hundred bucks in resurfacing (.010") and they went ahead and did a valve job for me. The plan was to go ahead and double check the block, and give some attention to the head mating surface. Today, I was horrified at what I saw when I looked down into cylinder # 4. Can't believe I missed it. I even shot some WD-40 in each of them and wiped the cylinder walls down when I first opened her up. My goal of getting the head back on this weekend shall be postponed. I can't believe I missed this. I rechecked the cylinder walls of this piston and it is smooth as silk, with no visible damage that my eye can pick up. But then again, perhaps I should no longer really trust my eyes. Looks like I'm pulling the block now. s%@&!

That's too cool.....

In the process of replacing my cooked Renix head with a 7120 head and thought I'd share some pics with you guys who hadn't seen the port differences. Renix on the Left and a 1995-era 7120 on the Right. First pic shows a Renix gasket mated to the 7120 head. Pretty significant differences. I also noted that the 7120 is ever so slightly wider than the Renix port.

Sounds like a solid plan if you want to go full HO. The more I think about it, the more I don't care for all the mods and parts swaps. Redoing fuel lines, adding HO fuel rail are more items that I understand would need to be done. I initially thought it would be cool if adding a horseshoe HO manifold didn't involve so much, but at this stage I just need to get me truck back on the road. I always felt I had enough power and that the truck was never slow or weak anyway. Hence, I'm leaning more towards the easier route.

I really appreciate you taking the time. I'm currently reading more about bolting the renix intake on to the 7120 head and running with it. I'll likely try some port matching...man that renix intake port drops significantly lower than the 7120 port. Here's a pic. The renix head is on the left. The 1995 7120 is on the right with a renix gasket on it to show the difference. The 7120, as you can see is much shorter, but is however a tiny bit wider, so i'll need to shave a bit off of the renix intake manifold as well as the 7120. Cruiser has done this same swap multiple times in the past and I'm now thinking I'll save some time and money by staying renix on all but the cylinder head.

Man, I wonder if my Renix Throttle body and Fuel rail will bolt directly on your 98 Intake manifold? Any guesses? I would kinda hate to not use my Throttle body because I had it bored a few years ago.

You fellas got one of those "horseshoe" intake manfolds from a 99-2001 XJ laying around that you'd be willing to sell me? I also will need the power steering bracket for that manifold too. I'd rather buy from one of you guys than from anyone else. I'm planning on putting in a 7120 (or 0630) cylinder head and I understand that the horseshoe manifold is the way to go. I've got a bored Renix-era throttle body and I suppose I'll need a different one to replace it that'll fit the horseshoe manifold. So if anyone has a throttle body trade in mind, then I'm all ears. Thanks

So, if you guys blew your cylinder head and you had a Renix 1989, which cylinder head would you put on if you were enamored by a possible upgraded head? How's that Edelbrock aluminum head mounting up to a Renix block/intake/exhaust? How about the 0331 TUPY, same question? What route would you guys go? I'll be removing the head this week to see what kind of damage I have (tons of white smoke out the tailpipe--possibly due to a failed radiator cap which my Daughter IGNORED while borrowing my truck). No water in oil/oil in water that I can detect. Still runs but it's pretty obvious with the massive cloud formations this thing is putting out that I've got a blown head gasket or cracked cylinder head. Pulled most forward spark plug and I'm seeing what looks like neon green in there. Neon green as in coolant, I figured. Didn't even hook up compression test equipment. Looks like I'm pulling the head. If its a cracked head, then I'll be looking at what kind of replacement options I have, hence the question.

Five years and still no regrets. There is one 3" spot that needs a repair where the liner had bubbled up on the hood. A few small chips here and there around the tailgate and bed edges--expected. My truck has sat outside for these five years in Indiana Summers and Winters and I've never once washed it. I would have expected paint to degrade in these conditions too. I've never been afraid to drive it into the woods and thickets to pickup up firewood. Branches scratch paint. Not Monstaliner. This is a work/utility truck for me. I'd be interested to see photos of it's destruction and details on said application prep. All I know is that it works for me and I have zero regrets.

Yea man, you're right. I replaced all of my freeze plugs a couple years ago and those two on the backside of the engine aren't so fun to replace. I pulled the transmission completely and jacked the truck up so that I would fit back there in the firewall in a sitting position to do my thing. If this is indeed DesertComanche86's problem, then I'd recommend replacing all freezeplugs. If that's the case, run a garden hose to flush out the block after you get them out. I could not BELIEVE the sediments that came out of there! HUGE amount that formed a pile in my driveway, no kidding.

You're correct. Inaccurate choice of words. Notice that on my Jan 25th comment here I referred to it as a "distro" block. Next time I may end up calling it "that block thing." haha

I have no regrets. None. I'll admit that even though I've traveled with heavy loads of rock or firewood and that I've never felt the need to adjust my speedway prop valve. As you can see in the picture, I did not "hard mount" it. It is simply installed in-line with no support. I've not had a problem with it rattling or anything. I now have a Dana 44 in the rear, I still have drum brakes and I'm still completely satisfied with my truck's braking.

Have a look at the schematic...next time you're really bored. Reading schematics is certainly not a stength for me, but I looked over it for several minutes before giving up in figuring how a blown 7.5amp mini fuse that's listed for "instruments" would knock out the entire charging system of the vehicle. Renix had some goofy things going on, especially with lack of good grounding throughout. My 89 didn't even have a relay for the headlamps either--full voltage going all the way up to the headlight switch. I would had figured all vehicles would had thought to use relays for headlamps by 1989. Love me truck, but it keeps me on my toes.

Got it figured out. It works, but I still don't understand why it's working. Found a 7.5v instrument fuse was blown. Replaced it and now I'm getting 13.7v to the battery at engine run. I had pulled the manual and looked at the wiring diagram. Why a blown 7.5v brown fuse that goes into your fuse block that works your instruments would prevent the alternator from charging is beyond me. I've studied that wiring diagram and can't seem to solve why just replacing the bad fuse works. Looks to me like it should only effect the gauges (idiot lights) only. I give up and will just drive my damn truck now. Earlier, I had noticed that my battery indicator idiot light was not coming on at engine starting. That caught my attention. Anyhow, I popped a new fuse in there and started the engine. During engine start sequence, the idiot light came on and went off as it was designed. I immediately notice the engine had an very slight, extra, barely-noticeable noise as it was idling. It was the alternator working its magic, firing juice back to the battery. Multi-metered to conform the hungry battery was being fed once again. Thank you Jesus. Hope this ordeal helps someone one day.

Got a new battery and just installed a new alternator. Still no charging at the battery upon start. Here's what I did: 1. Checked voltage at battery without starting: 12.3v 2. Checked voltage at alternator post: 11.7v 3. Unplugged dual-wire connector at bottom of alternator and probed yellow wire with key on ACC: 12v 4. Plugged connector back in, started engine and probed battery terminals: 12.1v 5. Checked ground at engine (2-year old cable in excellent condition): Tight and dry 6. I have an additional ground I installed from the NEG terminal to the frame and it is fine too. 7. With engine running, probed at solenoid (I'm assuming that's a solenoid where the fat red alternator wire terminates on the inner fender): 12.1v. Besides running the truck up to Autozone for an alternator load test, am I missing something? New, not remanufactured AC Delco 100amp alternator, so It would be unlikely to be bad from the factory. Why wouldn't I be getting my 13-14v at engine idle?

A couple years ago, I replaced all the seals for that oil filter adapter because I had the same oil leak. I even tightened up my head bolts to try to address it, thinking the leak was originating from that head/block mating point. It's still not bone dry along the side of the block today, but between those two attempts I believe I did make a bit of a difference. By the way, I also replaced the valve cover gasket with a premium, reusable (and expensive) one. Like you, it really just didn't look like the leak originated up that high, but what the hell I bought that gasket anyhow figuring it was a nice upgrade for what may be more frequent valve cover pulls. Looking forward to hearing what you eventually come up with.