sevenn07

I don't believe they are cracked because the others are not completely rust free. I think these just happened to be highest up and since only the bottom side rusted then they got the worst of it. I could be totally wrong. But I really hope that I can get this thing to turn and possibly running. What would make only the bottom side rust though? Condensation? Question -- from where the other (lower) pistons are, can you tell if the rust extends as high as the portion of the bore where the rings operate? If you have heavy rust where the rings slide, you're going to have to tear it down, have it bored oversize, and buy new pistons as well as new rings. At that point, a junkyard engine is cheaper. However, if the rust is only at the bottoms of the bores, below the lowest point where the rings go in operation, the cylinders still might clean up and the engine might be usable. Have you had the head off yet? How are the bores above the pistons? The heads were off yes and no rust in there. all good. Now for the bottom side. Yes I do believe some of the rust did extend up into where the rings sit. I don't know how much though. If I just tried to clean it up and sand down what I could and such would it hurt to run the engine. I mean honestly all I have to lose is a trash engine anyways right? I don't really wanna put all the money into a new engine but I guess if it had to be done I could. The truck being wrecked just isn't worth all that much. (when I say wrecked I don't mean in bad condition wrecked, still very safe to drive and what not) One of the biggest things that scare me as well is why the engine got rust. Why didn't they run it every once in a while to keep that out. Or was there more to it that caused them to sit the truck up. I know yall don't know but I am starting to wonder a lot of things.

I don't believe they are cracked because the others are not completely rust free. I think these just happened to be highest up and since only the bottom side rusted then they got the worst of it. I could be totally wrong. But I really hope that I can get this thing to turn and possibly running. What would make only the bottom side rust though?

Ok I got the pan pulled today. I have some news. Now I need you help deciding if it is good or bad. The problem is that the culprit was rust. The top of the cylinders are good and rust free. The bottoms of the cylinders are rusted. Now most of the rust is in piston 3 and 4 which are the two stuck in the highest position. The others are relatively rust free to what I could see. The rust in these two pistons is not just really light surface rust. I really need a pic to show you but it's not completely rusted around but it has quite a bit of rust on them. Could it be sanded down with say steel wool then left for the rings to do the rest or is this gonna ruin the engine?

And I appreciate it. I am sure you are right that that will help quite a bit. I need to shoot some pics then post a few for yall too see. I really hope by some odd chance this sucker will break free! What if I pulled the oil pan and shot those bearings up with some PB Blaster?

Thats a good idea too. Rob L. I believe I will try that as my next step. When I pull the distributor don't I have to adjust it back? If so how hard is this? If you are new to this, put get the engine to No. 1, TDC. Mark the location of the rotor, and make sure you put it back just the way you took it out. The gears are helical, or slanted, so it will rotate a bit while taking it out, and while putting it in. The oil pump drive looks like a flat head screw at the bottom of where the dist was. You can take a long screwdriver and cut it off, and chuck it up in a drill to prime the oil pump. Once that is done, you may have some difficulty putting the dist back in, as it rotates with the helical cut of the gears a tad, and has to drop into the pump drive at the same time. I just did this and took pics for a write up on Tuesday. I don't have time to upload, otherwise I would. It took me about 10 minutes of turning the pump drive a hair and dropping the distributor in a few times to get it to line up right. BE SURE NOT TO ROTATE THE ENGINE WITH THE DIST OUT UNLESS YOU WANT MORE HEADACHES! Rob L. :thumbsup: OK thank you so much. It sounds like I need to get the motor to rotate first. That is my problem. It is siezed so no TDC until it moves :(

Thats a good idea too. Rob L. I believe I will try that as my next step. When I pull the distributor don't I have to adjust it back? If so how hard is this?

Ok I got the head off yesterday and took a gander inside. I can't do to awfully much because nose got broke and I can't climb around the engine. I am out for today pretty much because it was put back. Why they couldn't do it at the ER is a mystery to me. I guess they just want more money. But back to topic. I have taken a block of wood and small sledge hammer and hit on every cylinder with no luck moving. There is not a lost of rust or anything which surprises me. A little grit around some of them but that can be cleaned. My questions for now are What would be a good place to go from here? Can the head and valve train be washed with a pressure washer to remove oil and sludge? Oh and I have kept PB blaster in the cylinders the past two days on top of what was put in there when I started the project. The help will be greatly appreciated.

Only you can answer this question. It all depends on what YOUR goals and priorities are. If you want to learn how to rebuild an engine, then go ahead take it out and rebuild it. It's heavy and awkward. You'll be disassembling a significant portion of the front of the truck, and you'll need an engine hoist and an engine stand. You'll also be looking at several hundred dollars (minimum) between parts and machine shop work to do even a half-assed rebuild. You'll be disconnecting a lot of lines and wires -- you'll have to be very careful to take a lot of "before" photos and tag every single line and wire you disconnect or you'll never get it together again. If your intention is to have a driveable MJ, it is possible that you can get it running by just removing the head and freeing up the pistons, as we have been discussing. It's a LOT less work to R&R (Remove & Replace) a head than it is to pull the entire engine and driveline. If you can get it running by just pulling the head, that makes good sense. If you pull the head and find something seriously broken inside -- you're just a little closer to pulling the engine because you will already have disconnected some of the things that would need to be disconnected anyway. It all comes down to what YOU hope to accomplish. I like this point. I believe getting it running will be my priority. A couple more questions. 1) Can you clean most of the engine with it still in the bay? (most of the pumps and such removed) 2) Do I have to retime the engine after pulling the head and such if I leave it in the bay? 3) Other than seals, if there is no major damage, is it ok just to clean and put it back together without rings and such? I pulled the valve cover off today and the sludge in there was up to a half inch thick in places. Is this a bad sign?

And yes it is half unibody half frame. I may be using the wrong term. That was just the first word that came to mind.

Rebuilding an engine is a good way to learn and I'm all in favor of that. However, that is NOT what you indicated when you started this discussion, and frankly if you had stated from the beginijng that you planned to pull the engine and do a complete overhaul you would have saved several of us a lot of time we wasted trying to guilde you in accomplishing what you originally asked about -- getting it running: I apologize for this very much. Do you think it would be better to just get the truck running without pulling the engine and such? I mean it is not an I have to. But if it would be in my best interest to just leave it in the bay and work from there I am game. I will honestly say I am not used to doing this type work. And all the time you have wasted helping me has been greatly appreciated. I have tried to head every bit of advise short of throwing the engine away. I couldn't have done what I have without the help of yall! I can't begin to tell yall how much I appreciate it and how glad I am that I was brought here. The level of kindness has been great and I don't want anyone to be mad or look down on me for what I have done. I really have been thankful for all the help!

I completely agree but the point in even buying the MJ for me was to tear the engine down. I may regret having it off the chasis before beating and banging on it but I plan on completely tearing it down and cleaning it and such. It is just for me to learn and hopefully in the end have a toy. But if not then so be it. I appreciate your concern and please keep giving me advice. Even if I could be to hard headed to listen :hmm: But I plan on doing what you just said but without it on the chasis. Oh and thanks for the tips on the bolts. I will see what I can't do. Thank yall all so much. I appreciate all the help so far!

OK the long awaited update! I got out saturday and did ever last thing I knew to break the engine loose and didn't succeed. Well now I have the engine removal and tear down in progress. I hope to get the engine pulled and find the problem. The engine had a new starter on it so someone has tried working on it before. Now my question is do I need to post the pics? Do I need to start a build thread? Even though it may not be a build, maybe a bust. Oh and does an 89 have the possibility of being fuel injected. It seems to have a fuel rail system on it. Or can a carbed engine have that? Oh and can a Dana 60 be put in one of these bad boys? It is $200 but I figure he will want more than that now that he knows how much its worth. It is an old military Dana 60. It is the front axle and I believe it has 4.55s. Could this work or no not at all?

Ok I got some PB Blaster and it will have sat a couple days tomorrow. Being mothers day I didn't get much time to spend on the Jeep. I hope to get to peak at it a bit tomorrow. I finally got the belt loosened. I liked to never find all the bolts holding the power steering pulley. Much less get a wrench on them. I hope that this will do the trick. I checked all the bearings on everything but the engine and they were all good. So whatever is not moving has to do with the engine. I am seriously wondering if it is a bearing but if it is it can be replaced no biggie (I hope!) Again thank yo for the help and lets hope tomorrow for a post with good news :cheers:

Ok I appreciate again the answers. I agree with the statement about not doing it completely right. I do need to. I believe the right pulley to crank on is the bottom one. (I know it is a stupid question but just to make sure. I tried to turn it and only got the bolt to tighten. Do I need to remove the belt? And would it turn if a bearing is seized? I will try this asap but work has not let me have a chance to try again. If I get it to turn I hope to start a build thread and start posting pics.

Ok I got the Jeep to my house. I haven't had a lot of time. So I took out the plugs and there seemed to be no rust. Maybe some on the plug threads but some idiot before me had already taken them out and just left the plug wires off so I have no clue on the sequence. So now where do I go from here? I tried to start it but never had a battery with enough charge to really throw the starter. I did hook up jumper cables but again it just clicked like it didn't have enough juice. But I expect it to be seized. So what are my next steps?