txjeeptx

OOOOOOooooooooooooo (common soundbite from Show, usually involving one hand in the air, one kinda coverin yer mouth) Dude. That. Was . . . . Awesome! Beats the bleep outta Pixar's "lemons". Can't get no 'spect fer my AMCees.

Jeeps are all I've ever had, up until getting married. I still have my high school YJ as a rock-crawler, but I was using it as a daily driver back in 'o4 when I bought a house with a bare-dirt yard. I needed something to haul soil and landscaping stuff in, since my YJ couldn't do the job very well(hauled a lot of mulch and plants with it before getting the MJ), and I couldn't keep a utility trailer due to HOA rules(moved out of that 'hood, now no HOA where I live). I searched for half a year to find a decent 4.o/AX-15 MJ, and settled on the one I have now because it has a D44 rear axle, even though its a 2wd(always planned on converting to 4wd, but never got to it). Its been a rough time for me and my MJ, suffering through two not-my-fault accidents and lame insurance adjusters and an expensive crappy paint job, and I'm currently contemplating selling it(have ad posted, but no bites) since I have a newer/bigger/"safer" truck to drive now . . but driving it all day yesterday makes me 2nd guess the thought of parting with it. It may well become my son's first truck, although maybe that isn't fair to it, for all its already been through. I keep tellin myself I can always build another someday, but . . .

You can decide this yourself by airing the tires up too much, then pulling into a level, flat, smooth concrete garage, and airing the tires down until you get an even full tread contact pattern with the concrete floor. Write your numbers front and rear in the door jamb with a Sharpie. My guess is it won't be anything near the recommended pressure listed on the sidewall of the tires. I'd bet it'll be something like 20 to 25 psi front, 17 to 22 rear. Air up the rears when you throw a load in the bed.

You git it to run? Hope its working fer ya.

In my above post, the link to HESCO's adapter part has the price in it. Its expensive for what it is, but that's usual for them. It is a fully-machined part, so that's the reason for the expense. Also forgot to mention, if you were to do this full-HO intake swap, you'll have to plug the EGR port in the exhaust manifold, since the (later)HO intake doesn't have a provision for an EGR . . The intake from an pre-93 HO might have a place you could locate a EGR into, but I'm pretty sure there's no EGR on the HO intakes. Anyone had the fuel line mount on an HO intake off to see if you could use the flat there for an EGR? I know the late equal-length runner intake has no place for one at all. So, there's a possible EGR issue if you try to swap in an HO intake manifold. Guess you just plug the exhaust manifold EGR port or use an HO exhaust manifold, and do away with the EGR, and hope it doesn't effect emissions inspection. Question is, can you run the Renix fuel system with an HO intake, without the EGR, and not do any harm to the engine? I dunno.

Yup, he shouldn't touch yer truck again. Fired.

Forgot to mention - HESCO makes a little adapter part to allow Renix-injected Jeeps to use the later HO intake as a whole unit. Their part adapts the Renix TPS to the HO throttle body, so you could swap an entire salvage-yard HO intake onto your engine and use their TPS adapter, and you can even use a bored HO throttle body. You'd have to also use a HO throttle cable from the salvage yard, and should probably also swap the HO valvecover, since it has a mount to hold the throttle cable. Its pretty expensive for the little adapter piece, but the parts from the salvage yard should be cheap, and the upgrade could be worth some pretty decent power. Here's the link to the part - http://www.hesco.us/shop.asp?action=details&inventoryID=45563&catId= If I weren't selling my MJ, I'd probably do this swap. I already bought their TPS adapter years ago, then never got around to getting the HO intake(& throttle cable & valvecover), so now the little adapter part is hopelessly lost in a box of spare parts somewhere in my shop. If I find it, and can't get my MJ sold(I'm probably askin too much for it - no interest in it AT ALL), I'll guess I'll have to do some salvage yard hopping to find the necessary parts.

True, great description of what you do to shift without using the clutch, but if the synchros are trashed, shifting might still be difficult/forced. Good luck getting it to the shop so you can get that boat anchor swapped out.

. . or he installed a manual transmission tps, so now the computer for the transmission has no idea what the throttle position is. Doubt he adjusted the tps correctly, either, especially if he installed the wrong kind of tps and just left the pigtail to tps fromt he trans computer unplugged. You can verify if this is the problem yourself by checking to see if the TPS has teo wiring connections to it, or just one, with another three wire plug hanging around near it.

You're right - I probably didn't do the violent idea I'd proposed - I probably started the engine with the trans in gear while the t-case was already in 4Lo. My YJ is a 4banger, and it was on 33s with stock gears back then, so there was no way it was gonna start up in gear. Sorry fer the bad idea - just start it in gear, perhaps in 4Lo if you can't get it going in 2wd high.

Worst comes to worst, if 4wd, you could start it with the trans in 1st gear, and the t-case in neutral, then yank back the lever to hit 4wd low range(ouch, it hurts goin into gear like that) You can drive it speed-match-shifting up to 25mph. I limped my YJ home once that way when the slave completely died. Home was about a five mile trip.

:agree:

Could be a cracked transmission mount allowin the trans or exhaust crossover to slap the body when you hit it in reverse. Could be a broken engine mount too. I kept breakin engine mounts until I bought the MORE bombproof ones. Stock rubber junk bites.

Exactly how a spacer works.

:D :rotfl2: :thumbsup: Do that.

Custom. I'll be watchin this.

Huh? Bought er sold . . er for sale??

:drool: Coooold beeer!

Don't bypass it for long, of you do. Its only bypassed when cranking the engine, similar to what would be done for an ignition system ballast resistor. I forget what the purpose is for the ballast resistor to the fuel pump . . prevent it from running full-tilt all the time and prematurely wearing out, perhaps? Also, you didn't forget to plug in the coolant temperature sensor, did you? Its the one that goes in the block below the exhaust manifold and in front of the engine mount, behind the power steering pump. Without it plugged in, the EFI thinks its really cold outside, and opens up the IAC and dumps in the fuel. Helpful reading about renix sensors: http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Engine/Basic_Sensors_Diagnostics.htm

I'm pretty sure the "ballast resistor" on the renix injection is for the fuel pump. Its the one located at the front of the inner fender in front of the air filter box. It isn't part of the ignition system, as I recall. If unplugged while the engine is running, the engine dies because the fuel pump gets cut off. If it isn't connected, or has an internal break, it won't allow the engine to start(no fuel, since the pump wouldn't run). I read your buildup thread to get more info on what you've done recently - you replaced the head gasket most recently. It could have taken a while to get the fuel system primed up. Now you're probably up against some sort of sensor problem. You said there was no change when you unplug the TPS and IAC. I'd clean the IAC, if it hasn't been cleaned already. It could be sticking open, causing high idle. You said you didn't hear any vacuum leaks, but are you sure there's vacuum getting to the MAP sensor? Could be a plugged line. As for the TPS, if its not adjusted properly, the renix system throws a fit. Tryin to help. Hope the bearings in the engine didn't suffer from the coolant in the oil.

Holy bleep, the dash exploded. Yup, they like to develope leaks at the base of the windshield where it meets the cowl. I see the driver side fender has been chewed on. There's a vacuum reservoir hidden up in there that feeds the 4wd shifting stuff that has some steel hard lines that tend to get rusted out. You can manually shift the transfer case with a stubby 9/16 wrench(easier to shift with the little t-case skidplate removed), and the front axle shift motor can be manually shifted if removed, hose clamped into the locked position, and replaced after moving the collar to the locked position. Its a different shift motor than the Jeep D30 CAD, but it works the same. Looks like its got some nice rear markers - those are also unobtainium. You'll(eventually) notice the rear track width is narrower than the front - I cured mine with a set of billet spacers with studs in em(even needed the spacers after the rear axle swap). Makes the car look better with the rear wheels spaced out(pure opinion). You'll probably really appreciate getting a hard copy of the factory full service manual. Search evil-bay, my copy is for an '82. Great manual, very detailed when compared to the FSM for my '89 MJ. Good luck haulin it to yer place, hope the trip goes smooth. If you're trailering it, be careful where you strap the front end down - my car ate one of the straps when the suspension moved over bumps on the trip home(cut it like a giant scissors). Might just go with chain on the front and strap the rear axle tight rearward. If you're planning on using a car dolly REMOVE THE REAR DRIVESHAFT. Even with the car in 2wd, dolly towing will toast the viscous coupler in the transfer case, and the coupler is not available anymore.

NOT lookin forward to next summer's heat here in TX. I may have to migrate north for the summer.

Have you been to the AMCEagleNest forums? http://forums.amceaglenest.com/ I go by the same handle there. You have a relatively rare car, there. '83 is the last year for the Spirit body, and just around 5000 SX/4s were made that year. Yours is a Sport, and its the coveted red and black two-tone with the coveted factory alloy wheels(if you don't plan on staying with those wheels, you'll have no problem selling them on the Nest, and the bolt pattern is the same 5-on-4.5-inches as the XJ/MJ/YJ/TJ/Ford Ranger, so there are a ton of other wheel options out there). Manual trans should be a non-world-class T-5 5-speed, which isn't up to handling V8 hp, but is fine behind the stock or mildly warmed up engine. Is that a black interior I see in it, or are those some aftermarket race buckets? The 1/2 shafts in the IFS can only handle the angles from up to 2" of lift, but there are those out there who have swapped in an XJ solid D30 front axle with its 4link suspension(custom control arms and subframe mounts). An XJ rear axle housing swap would be a real bonus, since the stock Eagle rear axle is an AMC Model 15(the predecessor to the Dana 35), and is has two-piece axle shafts like the CJs did(hub flange keyed & bolted to the separate shaft), and they're a fail-point when used hard. An XJ rear axle should have the spring perches already in the right places, but one of the shock mounts will have to be cut off and welded back on to the axle in the proper place for an Eagle. If you do an XJ rear axle swap, and want the front axle gears to match, you'll find its a real bear to get gears that will work in the Eagle D30 IFS front axle(its a long-pinion D30 like the CJ used, but the carrier is different, and aftermarket gears won't mesh). I had to buy an axle out a 4-cylinder Eagle and get it shipped from Mass to TX to get 3.54 gears into mine to match the 3.55 geared ZJ D35 I swapped into the rear of my car. The stock transfer case doesn't have a low range in it, but you can swap in a NP229 from a full size Jeep Wagoneer or convert to an XJ/MJ t-case like a 231 or 242(to keep AWD on the street option) with driveshaft mods. You can also swap in a 4.o, EFI and all, or just swap a 4.0 head on the 258 block. There's a great carburetor upgrade available to get rid of the Carter BBD - look for Motorcraft MC2100 2-barrel carb upgrades for the AMC/Jeep 258. If it still has the plastic valvecover, and you don't want to do the 4.o head swap, there are aftermarket aluminum valvecovers available. There is also an ignition upgrade available called the TFI upgrade, where you use the distributor cap from a Ford 300ci inline six, and do a minor wiring modification for the ignition control box, and use a different coil than stock and upgrade to 8mm plug wires. All this talk of swaps and upgrades breaks down to this: be on the lookout for a cheap XJ to buy whole and cannibalize. There are some things that will be difficult to find for that car. I hope the fuel gauge sending unit works, because they are not available. The factory tachometers tend to get killed easily, and if its stuck somewhere above zero while not running, then its toast. The seats are unique to the car, and the driver side seat tracks run in two different planes(I don't know why they work like that, but it does), making it very difficult to swap in seats from anything else, but I've been able to install some aftermarket seats in mine. Also, the rear bumper plastic end caps are not the same as wagons or sedans, and are not available new(no problem if you plan to build some off-road bumpers). The door felts and window glass are aslo difficult to come by, but the exterior door handles can be replaced with new ones from Jeep YJ/TJ 1/2 doors(but they're black instead of chrome), if they're broken(common fail). If the doors sag, replace the bushings in the hinges before the hinges get worn out, which can make them difficult to open, which leads to broken door handles. The hood release handle tends to break easily, so be gentle when you first open the hood and lube the heck out of the latch and cable. The steering column is a GM column, so you can easily swap in a Jeep XJ/YJ Sport steering wheel, but yours should have the coveted black Sport steering wheel with a center cap with faux allen heads on it. The clutch master cylinder is also a difficult one to get a replacement for(new ones are on evil-bay right now, also available from KennedyAmerican), but rebuild kits are available. Its a remote reservoir master cylinder, so hopefully your car's reservoir is still there and in good shape. In fact, I want to find out if yours has the tube-type reservoir, or a hard line to a plastic reservoir on the left inner fender that says "Girling" on the cap. Pics of the engine bay, please? Look for rust in the subframe rails just below the driver and pass side foot wells - that's where it usually bites these cars the worst. Trans crossmembers also get bitten, as does the rear subframe where the leaf springs/shackles mount, and look under the rocker panel plastics. Hope its solid, or you have a lot of fab work to make it solid again. Its a unibody car, like the MJ/XJ, so if its got rust problems, it could become a parts car, unless you are a good fabricator. I had one that looked just like yours(red on black), good exterior, but completely cancerous subframe - it gave its life so that others could live on. Congrats on getting the Eagle, they're as addicting as MJs. Great price, btw, but it'll cost a lot to get it to be as off-road capable as an XJ unless you get a donor XJ for it. Rarity be damned, make what you want out of it. More pics, please! Here is a old pic of mine, on Ford ranger wheels and Kumho Ecstas, with a Spirit AMX grill. Mine next to the blue one I recently sold. And my engine with '99 HO intake, HESCO injection, HO head on 4.2 block, HO serpentine accesories, still a work in progress, but it should be a Mustang killer. Building for autocross.

Well, I don't like leaking filter gaskets, so its finger tight +1/4 turn. Not much tightening. I can do it by hand entirely, if I feel like hurting my weak old fingertips by gripping the filter hard enough to snug it up tight, or I just spin it on, then slip the wrench over it for ~1/4 turn. For the Renix Jeeps, I take a plastic bag and cover the starter to keep oil from getting inside it an gumming up the brushes. . . and to end the hijack . . I have pretty much lived the OP story - Once I forgot to take the oil drain pan out from under a car before letting it down off the jacks, then forgot about the pan, and backed the car down the driveway, grinding the bottom of the catch pan open, and making a huge environmental disaster. Took a lot of beer and kitty litter to make it better.

That's why I like my nylon-strap-type filter wrench so much - it gets 'em unstuck every time, the first time. Dents the filter, though, so its not for tightening.