Minuit

You'll have to do this another time or two to fully cycle out the old fluid. I'd definitely suggest a filter change if the transmission seems like it'll live.

With 55 replies at the time of writing, this thread is already on Page 8 of 1145 if you sort by Most Replied. 64 would get it to Page 5. 114 would kick the bottom of Page 1 down to Page 2. Come on, we can do this.

Can we get this thread to the top of all time?

So... did you get the screw out?

Enough that in the weekend I didn't get to see them all, but I wasn't really trying. I mostly hung out with the "other" Jeeps in the part of the fairground the MJs were given. But the newer Wranglers were a majority, no surprise there. If I'm not mistaken they were all off to one side of the fairground. I didn't really count but there was a lot of Jeeps at the show. The place was full.

I've always wondered if something like this existed, turns out they do: https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-Profile-Screwdriver-5-Piece-Construction/dp/B07GNPRRVZ I have a set of the two-sided ones linked above, but I bet these would be a lot thinner.

The built in amplifier is not designed for that. You'd be driving twice the load the system is designed for. I would suggest going easy on the volume knob. For what it's worth, the amplifiers have a built in thermal protection circuit, so they should cut out before they blow up.

I spent about the same amount of time looking at this one as I typically do, and the only thing that really sticks out to me is the wetness, and that maybe that's being used to mask clearcoat that's starting to go. But I really don't think it's malicious. Obviously this is all pending a very thorough in person inspection. I'll admit that considering this is a "high class" MJ for sale, there isn't much to go by. There aren't that many pictures by modern standards and none of the underside, and the pictures were taken in poor lighting. But judging on what I see, this looks like an honest truck - a time capsule back to the early 90s when most '86 MJs still had 5-digit miles on them and were probably still with their original owners being taken care of, instead of where 99% of them are now. Of course, it is also a time capsule back to when a 15.2 second 0-60 (with the AX-5 - this automatic one is probably slower) was "very fast for a 4WD truck" which is just painful these days. If this truck was a 4.0, it would be an absolute win, but that 2.8L turd between the fenders is just a shame.

Don't bother. Use a single pair of 4 ohm speakers instead, or add an amplifier and remove the load from the radio entirely.

Such a shame that so many of these super clean low-mileage trucks are 86s with the 2.8L engine.

Dang. $200 ain't bad at all for that.

The radio has two illumination wires. - LCD illumination, which is at full brightness when the ignition is on and headlights are off, but dimmed when the headlights are on. - Panel/button lights, which are on the same circuit as the rest of the dash and gauge illumination. If the radio is original to your '89 and has brown text on the buttons, its happiest home will be in the recycling center. The bulbs fail VERY regularly in the 89 and 90 factory radios. The panel bulbs probably melted off the circuit board in about 1995 and the LCD bulbs probably aren't doing too hot either. OEM radios from 88 and '91 (especially '88) are far superior in every way and look almost identical.

Nice Are the decals reflective?

What you have there is a very good first effort, and I strongly encourage you to keep going and hone your skills. That being said, upholstery work is super expensive for a reason - customers generally will expect perfection since the seat is such a prominent part of the interior. As you've already seen, the materials are expensive too, and it's pretty time intensive to put together. Take it from me as someone who started a business and quickly realized he wasn't charging enough - $20 per hour is WAY too cheap for this kind of work. You better be doing it for the fun of it at that price. Especially if you're doing custom or semi-custom work, and not just something you can make in batches and keep in inventory. So once you've built up your MJ upholstery empire, how about a set of reproduction factory leather bucket seat covers?

In addition to the above, the factory service manual also specifies a specific place on the #7 main bearing cap where anaerobic sealant (and it has to be anaerobic sealant) is supposed to be placed. I'd know, because I got fleeced at the dealership when I did the RMS in my '91. I doubt most mechanics know this. A piece of my engine block even came out with the seal, but I've put something like 30k miles on it since with very little oil leakage from that area. That graphic isn't present in the '91 FSM I have, but it is in the '94 FSM.

I'd agree that based on your description I think your transmission is slipping, rather than any issue with the engine. I would agree with the others and say that that transmission fluid looks terrible, but I've seen worse in AW4s that still work just fine. As a general rule, these transmissions are very durable, so don't count it out just yet. You might get lucky and have it work fine once you fill it back up with fluid. I would start with a fluid+filter change, as well as topping up every other fluid in the truck. If the transmission is shot, it's not the end of the world. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a good used replacement. Don't spend the money having it rebuilt.

I guess that post really, for once, was only half as long as it needed to be - I needed to write a couple more paragraphs of disclaimers. I thought when I posted two opposing points as to its purpose I was clear enough when I said that those two points were "guesses I heard most often" , not "my own conclusions on the subject, based on my education and my experience" - and frankly, I didn't think this stupid piece of crushed metal pipe was worth much discussion, but here we are. #1 - Don't attribute that "backpressure" nonsense to me! I know that you know that we both know that exhaust restrictions don't magically create torque out of nowhere. Ditto for any type of cylinder scavenging, and that any effect of the two is much smaller and works under more specific circumstances than the internet at large thinks. And in the other direction, yeah I've seen the video where the guy smashes headers with a hammer and it does pretty much nothing, even on a 500 hp engine. #2 - 'tis a fair point, and I'm certain you know more on this subject than me. But besides all of that - I can't see any situation, short of a very strange production line quirk that I can't think of off the top of my head, that the pipe would need to be crushed to make clearance for something. Installed in the vehicle, that pipe has plenty of clearance in every direction, and certainly doesn't need any of the free space created by the crush. So I'm comfortable with leaving it exactly as I mentioned it in OP's build thread - No clue why, but I'm sure they had their reasons.

If I had to guess as to why they did it, I'll put forward the two guesses I've heard most often: 1) the crush combines with the shape of the manifold for a scavenging effect, sucking the exhaust gases down into the rest of the exhaust system more quickly. If true, replacing the "restricted" downpipe would actually lower power. This is something that would almost certainly require a CFD analysis to confirm. 2) the crush actually restricts the flow of the exhaust gases on purpose to heat the catalytic converter up quickly after engine start, and the engineers considered any performance loss to be worth it for emissions compliance. If true, replacing the restricted downpipe would increase power at the cost of emissions until the converter warms up. I've seen no before/after dyno numbers showing a difference in performance. If someone has them, I personally would love to see them.

Here's mine. And for what it's worth, this downpipe is going away fairly soon (it's nearly rusted through after the oxygen sensor) so I'll be able to say if replacing it makes a difference.

Welcome back to the fold. Seeing this is getting me motivated to work on my own stuff again. And that's something I never would've though of to do to an over-the-rail bedliner. That might make the Duraliner one I have useful again. Would you believe me if I told you that crush in the downpipe was factory? I'm almost certain it was. Mine has a near-identical crush in it. No clue why, but I'm sure they had their reasons.

...or due to luck and a lifetime mainly spent parked indoors (or in a place where it rarely rains). I'm still not convinced that "good seals" and "MJ" can coexist without considerable effort on the part of the owner. Mainly thinking of the stupid fuse box connection here.

I wouldn't want to use a rented set. Other than that, pretty much anything you can buy will do you fine.

I'm nervous about them too. Here's my line of thinking. The condenser is on the high side of the system, and depending on the temperature the pressure inside of it can push 300psi. Worst case, one in a million scenario: You hit someone, or get hit yourself, and the condenser gets punctured, and a spark is generated in just the right spot to ignite the refrigerant streaming out of the hole in the condenser. WHOOOOSH as a fireball streams out of the front of your truck. If your insurance gets a hold of that and realizes that that is by no means a normal occurrence, what are they gonna think of that? And if somehow someone finds out that you put a mix of flammable chemicals in your A/C system because we told you to, I don't want to cop the liability for that. Of course, the refrigerant that is most common in new cars these days, R-1234yf, is mildly flammable too under some fairly specific circumstances, but 1234yf's flammability was a big deal in the industry until it wasn't. I wouldn't bother to use propane, or any R-12 replacement hydrocarbon blend in my vehicle, but I'm also not the target market for the companies selling it either. Also @Comunchy - do you have manifold gauges?

A couple of other things that might help you out if you're new to this, that you may or may not have heard before: - No stop leak. Ever. It will ruin the system. The only things that should be in an A/C system are refrigerant, oil, and a tiny bit of dye. 1/4 oz of dye is plenty for the whole system. - Always be clean when working with A/C stuff. Cleaning fittings before taking them apart to prevent dirt from getting inside is a good idea, as is washing your hands every few minutes. A/C is a closed system with either no or next to no filtration (I haven't cut open an MJ receiver/drier to check), so junk that gets in stays in. - Just go ahead and buy an HNBR o-ring assortment box right now. If you drop an o-ring on the ground, it's garbage. You're going to drop an o-ring on the ground. Related, give every o-ring a little dab of PAG oil before putting the parts together. As to other R-12 replacement refrigerants, that's a matter of opinion, and they WILL work, but they aren't a substitute for the type of work that the OP needs to do to get his system back on the road after being discharged, disconnected, and left empty for an extended amount of time. Most of them are flammable, and that's not really my thing.

@eaglescout526 Done and done. I was about 3/4 of the way through writing this when I saw you mentioned me in your post. I've got a nose for these A/C threads, you see. The list of things you need to do is correct. If I were you, I'd make the following changes: - Add the oil when assembling the system, not after leak checking - it won't go anywhere when pulling a vacuum. I'd probably put all of it in the compressor but rotate the compressor 20 or so times by hand immediately before the first startup and charge. - Dismount the compressor and drain it of the old oil. Rotate the inner clutch hub and ensure that it spins freely with no binding through the entire rotation. It should also make "bloop bloop" noises through the hose connections while you're doing this. Also, make sure the outer pulley spins freely with no noise. Otherwise, replace the compressor with a new unit. 1. You don't have to, no. Your truck will have an SD508 compressor which is still readily available new if you decide to replace it. It probably leaks oil through the front seal, and has probably coated the area above it on the hood in a layer of black gunk (that's A/C refrigerant oil). Considering the SD508 compressor may be the single most common A/C compressor of this era, I'd replace it. If you do decide to replace the compressor, replace it with a new, not a reman, unit. 2. You'll need to check the amount of oil that comes in the new compressor. I suggest draining the old compressor anyway, so not really a big deal. Final charge should be roughly 30 oz of refrigerant (I've already done the conversion for you) and 6 oz of PAG 100 oil. 3. Lines intended for R-12 use will gradually weep R-134a through the hose, but this is such a slow process that it's really not worth worrying about. Replace the lines if they show cracks or signs of damage - you'll probably have to get them made by a hose shop. Any good hose shop should be able to make you an A/C line that's an exact copy of what you bring them. 4. The condenser is your best chance to pick up an improvement in cooling performance - replacing it with a "parallel flow" style condenser will go a long way to offset the difference in cooling performance between the refrigerants. APDI makes one - part number 7014173. Was a direct fit in my '91, should be a direct fit in your '90. The old condenser is probably falling apart anyway. They do that. The time to replace the evaporator was when you replaced your heater core, but common practice is to only replace them when there's a problem. When/if your evaporator springs a leak, @ghetdjc320 has pioneered swapping in a later model evaporator for better performance, if you're willing to experiment. Source: EPA 609 Certified Motor Vehicle A/C Technician, my '91 MJ has A/C that works, etc, etc, blah blah blah...