Wildman

Now I'm wondering what I got myself into :doh: So........I see this posting on e-bay last week.........tagged it to watch it.........no one bids on it........but me.........Spent Sunday going out 160 miles to pick it up........and a long 4 hours "dragging" it back............Man.......this thing has some weight to it, not like an MJ :eek: So, This I added to the fleet........... '86, J20, 360, auto, 8ft bed........ And a replacement engine and drive train from a '81 included in the package...... :brows: Now..........what to do with it :hmm: I'll wait for my Jeep Spiritual Adviser to check it out to make a decision about it. Cherokee..........When you stopping by to :drool: over it??? Got a clear SC title with it, seam that it was driven up here, and no one checked the oil......blew the engine, and just needs the replacement bolted in......... :roll: Any one know off hand what the weight of this beast is????

It depends on how rotted out the Uni-body frame is, if any part of it is completely gone, then yea, you got your work cut out for you, and you need to consider if the repair is worth it. If you just have some "soft" spots in the frame, then that's an easier fix with a weld plate over the bad spot, with some additional reinforcement.

Roger........you take some great vacation pictures........ :thumbsup: I got a good laugh on the County bus.......... :teehee: Next time I go on vacation (which is never :( ) I'll let you come along to take the pictures :D

Short and simple solution............ Change all the wiring harnesses. The '90 is still the Renix era, BUT.......the 2.5 to 4.0 is entirely different. You need to change out the engine harness, the dash harness, including the fuse box, and the ECU, plus add the AW4 controller under the dash, so the simple problem solution, is to swap over ALL the wiring, controllers, and do-tads to make it simple and operational when your done. That 6 pin connector your asking about, should be the AW4 controller. Plus, changing from a 2.5 to a 4.0, you need to change out the radiator and the radiator support. The only harnesses that you can keep and reuse, are the rear harness for the fuel pump/tail lights, and the front header panel, lites harness. You know, there are countless topics on this subject, most can be found in the DIY section ;)

You got to keep telling your self (or we will remind you) Almost Every MJ is Repairable :yes: We all have done the "repairs" of previous owners :shake: Like Eagle wrote, Check out the frame!!! Thats the most important thing, the frame seams to rot out mostly on the passenger side, under the floor area, from the exhaust heat and cool cycle, or just in front of the rear spring front perches, both sides. Once your uni-body frame checks out, the rest is just cosmetic :D Easy quick floor patch, get some 22 ga sheet metal, cut roughly to size, shape in place with a ball-pien hammer, and pop rivet in place, use some polyurethane sealant, and your feet will stay dry for the winter :D Others have used news papers to cover the floor holes, and then applied POR 15 over the paper to seal up the holes. Unless you paid over $4500 for that MJ, I don't think you got screwed.......... :roll: Your hinge repair can be found here........viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15316 In fact, you can find all kinds of repairs over in the DIY section of this fine form :yes: So, welcome to the madness of the MJ world :waving:

First off.........The '88 Renix system can not really be "scanned" and a timing light will only get you "close" to the correct timing. The actual timing is controlled by the ECU. But.......with your "check" of the timing, and "Jumping around" sure make it sound like the timing chain is shot, jumped a tooth or stretched out of specs. If the timing is off, that would cause your lost of power, no advance on the timing, and cause the unburnt fuel to end up in your cat, causing 'that' problem. A bad timing chain will let the engine fire up, after alot of cranking, idle, but total lack of power under a load. With all the parts you tossed in there so far, you might as well change out the timing chain and gears. Just wondering..........How many miles you have on this '88???? One other thing, your asking about the '88 vs. the '89 wiring harness, the '89 engine harness will not have the C101 connector on it, thats the large black connector mounted right next to the MAP on the firewall. Other wise, its a direct swap. The auto tranny has its own wiring harness that is plugged into the tranny controller, which in turns connects to the ECU. If you need to "borrow" a '88, 4.0, manual, ECU, just ask, I've got a couple to loan out :D You can check the intake manifold for leaks with a "un-lit" propane torch, just fire up the engine, turn on the gas, and run it around the intake manifold, it the engine revs up, you found the leak :brows: Like you wrote, an exhaust manifold leak/crack is very easy to "hear" or even feel the exhaust blowing out.

About time you checked in there :fs1: We were really starting to worry about you................ :roll: NOT :teehee: So, this mean your back up and running on here????? Call me some day, I'll give you an update on travel plans.

Yea, but I didn't hear from you yet :dunno: Looks like I'm heading that way Sunday morning, like around 9am. I'll PM you my # and call be by tonight, so I can call the seller and set up a looky. Cherokee has his own PM :brows:

No, you have the color "Garnet" for an '86. The color 'Cordovan' (Burgundy) was available '87+.

:eek: That one of the highest prices I've seen for a pair of MJ tail lights. So.......now that everyone else are selling theirs, I'll just hold on to mine 'extra' sets a few more years........ :teehee: Wouldn't mind seeing that price for each one........... :roll:

Yea, PM me your number, and I'll give you mine. Like I said, I don't know if it will be Sunday or Tuesday before I can get that way, and I'll call the guy from his add number to set it up to look at the van. If you need, I'll snap some pictures of the van, unless the guy sent you some more :dunno:

I came across the guy's C-list add for this van - http://buffalo.craigslist.org/cto/1429686401.html Did he also tell you it has a bad exhaust system on it???? Well........I'm heading that way either Sunday or next Tuesday, right in Olean, so let me know if you want me to check it out and give my "opinion" on it........... :roll: As far as I know, the frames hold up on the Dodge, they still use a C-channel frame, like the Fords. I guest from what you said, it's not bad for the price, with some room in there to make some needed repairs. That should fit on a U-haul car dolly, I know I've hauled a full size van on one before, you just need a big enough truck to pull it with. Plus with it being empty, you should have no problem "towing" it that way.

Yea, I'm about an hour and a half north of Olean :brows: I might be heading to Great Valley this weekend for a half way pass on a lwb gas tank for some one else on here ;) I just go over one big hill and I'm in Olean :D Unless Cherokee jumps in here.......he's even closer that I am. That not too bad of a price on that van, for the condition. But.......it's a Dodge, and it has rust :( I turned down a guy couple months ago in town that offered me his '94 Dodge van, with out all the side glass for $500 with rusty rockers and side doors rotted out. Dodge don't have the suspension that the other 2 have, there great engines, but soft suspension, and thin sheet metal.

The pull knife works for removal...........with the right blade in it, but it's mostly used to remove a existing broken window that's set in urethane. Now this works even easier :brows: http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/showl ... elID=20287

How long is a "little" while???? More that a month or two??? Could just be old gas. If you drain out the old gas, and add some fresh gas, that might be your problem right there.

Dude, the a-team van had turbines. Of course they're better. :rotf:

I made a note in the 'other' topic you posted in...........Until I seen this add....... Drop me a PM, I'll get you a used tank, I can get one as far as Ellicottville by this weekend if you can get up that way. Can't ship a used gas tank, too many restrictions :fs1:

I would say to take the oil filter adapter off, and clean it away from the engine, plus change the O-rings at the same time. Then you'll be able to clean out the gauge port ;) http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Eng ... -Rings.htm I wouldn't use WD-40 on it, that has Kerosene in it. Just use some pipe cleaners or something similar to clean out the gauge port.

No.........I didn't say that to make it sound bad....... I like to hear what Andy Rooney has to say every Sunday night.........It's just the way Dirty wrote it, that it sounded like the way Mr. Rooney put his lines together. No way was I putting down Dirty :cheers:

Lord Hornbrod has them Special privileges. :laughin:

Generally..........if your oil pressure is that low......you park the vehicle until you find the problem.........unless you have a spare engine just waiting to go in........ :roll: Causes of low oil pressure can be........ Bad oil pump Using a Fram oil filter......... :roll: Bad main bearings. Or.........the oil passage to the gauge is plugged :dunno: I know the type of oil gauge your using, it's a true mechanical gauge with the ploy line, leading to the rear of the gauge, inside the cap. The true method of "testing" the oil pressure is with a "Good" quality oil gauge directly to the oil gauge port.

Man........you got about 200 spot welds to cut out :eek: There was someone in PA that told me they took the bed sides off to have new sides made, but I can't remember whom it was.........maybe they will jump in here and show us the results......... :dunno: But they cut out every spot weld. The problem I see with making the side removable........how will you fasten them down so they don't blow off doing 60 down the interstate :hmm:

Also check that the ECU is grounded, well the mounting plate. Had this issue with a XJ a couple months back, got it running after a series of problems, then it just quit, no fuel and jumping the fuel relay, found the problem with the ECU not grounded, and it fired right up :hmm:

No, I didn't :oops: Just always thought it was smith......... :roll: But.......that was way before my time......... :teehee:

Dirty........your starting to sound like Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes........ :doh: It's hard for me to toss out any tools, but, I have in the past, somethings just don't get used, or I never like the "feel" of the tool, and got to make room for the new tools ya know :roll: