UNL1MTD

:rotf: That may have been easier.

I just had this problem. I had to hit it a lot, but really what did the trick was getting a screwdriver between the pan and block to get some downward force while hitting it hard with a 3lb sledge. I started with putty knives, but they bent so much that they had little affect on the pan. I wasn't able to reuse the pan, but probably could have if I wanted to beat the lip flat again and take out any dents I put in the sides. I tried the gasket remover and it honestly made a difference in my case for the front of the pan, it helped to the point I could get the screw driver in there. Caution, wear goggles and gloves when spraying that stuff.

Although the 97 seals are thicker, I've had poor luck with them making a good seal with my doors. They have dramatically reduced wind noise on the leading slant, but when ever it rains I get a lot of water through a visible opening between the seal and door along the top. I might go pull another set from the yard and perhaps try to be very picky, getting some in better condition.

The MJ passed inspection, so its now getting driven a bit. Put about 25 miles on her today and no leaks. Seems like the engine is making more noise on heavy throttle, but it could just be I'm not remembering as its been over 3 months since she has been drivern. I think I might put a real muffler on her and get rid of the glass pack. I put the headrests through the permanent press cycle and they dried after 3 days. So I swapped in my buckets. This is probably the longest bucket swap in the history of CC. I got the MJ brackets in Jan of 2009 from mrjeff. Then after a year plus of looking for buckets I got some from a guy parting out a 2dr XJ just in the town over. All and All I got 140 bones into the swap, plus paint and time. A couple things aren't perfect. 1) the tilt bezels were busted so I deleted them. 2) the tilt cable on the pass side is working but I noticed 2 wires have started to fray, so its only a matter of time before it quits. 3) the center console is closer to the pass side than the driver at the rear. I didn't have the dimples in the tub like I've seen in some threads and just eyeballed it. 4) because of the eyeballing the vinyl flooring was cut just a little too much Overall I'm super happy and can't wait to drive around in it tomorrow. I now just need some cup holders for my morning coffee. Also I am surprised how much I like the gray/black coloring. I know I was gunning for seat covers, but I think I'm just going to roll with it for the time being. No reason to waste money. One casual question for those following along and have swapped a full console, how well will the heat work with the air deflector removed? I unscrewed the piece under the dash to get the console in, so I assume its just dumping air straight down now.

Some pics to bring me up to date. New Starter / oil pan Actual appearance of my plugs. Putting this on here for reference since it appears the dizzy cap screws aren't in the stock location according to some. Cleaned up seats and painted console. I didn't clean the headrests because at the time they looked to be mint in comparison. Now they look filthy. So I got that to do. I went with the gray/black console look for now. I figure it might help blend the seats in until I get black seat covers. I just used Krylon Fusion Black Satin on the console, it came out pretty good.

Finally got the MJ moving and stopping on her own. Ended up having a problem with the timing after the reassembly of the dizzy (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23566), but after some good advice it was fixed up and she is once again on the road. So far so good on all the RMS work. I ran her for about 40 minutes at idle and just a short trip around the block with no drips. Pretty happy so far, but its going to need a good road test. Inspection is dead, so thats top priority. I got the buckets reassembled and the center console painted. I might swap those in on Sunday.

:agree: :banana: Started up like a champ after correctly setting the number 1 to TDC. It took about 10 minutes and now runs pretty well. Best part being is NO LEAKs, atleast for the time being. I did end up leaving the old dizzy in, I plan to replace it down the road after I see how it runs. Next step is inspection. FWIW my plug wires were installed correctly, for whatever reason the cap screws are between 4 & 2 / 5 & 3, however 1 is still at the 5 o'clock. Thanks again for the good advice. :cheers:

You caught me, I'm a complete engine noob. I'm going out and going to give this another go. Hopefully I have some success to report back. I appreciate all the help up to this point.

No, I wasn't aware of the timing marks. I doubt there is a chance I got it right just by stopping when I did. This is definitely something to check/fix. Where are the marks located? I'm not really able to do much adjustment to the dizzy when it goes back in. Where it is bolted down the slot is only so big and the housing rotors a max of 1/8th of an inch. Once the dizzy seats in the oil pump I can't really move the rotor either especially since it's mesh up with the gear on the crank. I could be missing something obvious here too.

ok, this is good to know, looks like I have it with the cap screws between 4 and 2 / 3 and 5. edit - looking back on old pictures, its been this way forever, I'll still double check, but I'm thinking it might not be the wires.

I had my wife helping me with her hand over the plug hole when I was spinning the crank. She said it gushed air. I dropped in the dizzy and it was at the 1 position. I thought if it was on the exhaust stroke the rotor would be at the 6 position? It is just a remanufacturered dizzy and the stock one is currently reinstalled during this trouble shooting.

How do I check/fix this?

Whats the correct way to readjust the dizzy to get it checked out? I have always been careful in the past about removing it only at the #1 position, but during this lenghty down time, I got careless. I followed what I thought was the way to do it, but I might be missing something. For the plug wires, I'll triple check. When I reinstalled I based it off of the screw positions of the dizzy cap and the haynes manual. so .....6 ..3......2 0.........0 ..5.....4 .....1

I know there is a 'No Start' thread every day or so, I figured it wouldn't be a big deal if I add mine. I have an '87 4.0L 2wd MJ with a BA10. I just got done buttoning up all of my work and tried to turn the MJ over, but it wouldn't start. The starter cranks, just doesn't catch. It'll crank for 5-7 seconds then abruptly stop cranking, with the lights dimming briefly. If I hold the key, it will just repeat. I pumped the gas once and that resulted in a backfire. On the first try it wouldn't abruptly stop, it would just crank, I let it go for about 15 seconds. Normally the MJ has about a 5-7 second crank cycle before starting, definitely not out of the ordinary for it sit there and crank a bit before firing up. The MJ hasn't been turned over since Mid March. I've had it parked and slowly been doing some work centered around the RMS replacement. The following is a list of work done since its last been started. Engine Related Work -Starter Removed and Replaced with a Reman Unit -Oil Pan removed and replaced -Oil Pump/Screen removed and replaced with a Reman Unit -RMS removed and replaced -Adjusted the serp belt -Distributor removed and replaced with a Reman Unit -Crank was turned with dizzy out during RMS install -Main bearing caps were loosened during RMS install (retorque with torque wrench, double checked) -Primed Reman Oil pump with a screwdriver in a drill Non-Engine Related Work -Front Soft/Hard brakelines replaced -MC/Booster removed/replaced for access to prop valve -Brakes bled -Interior work on window trim -Front steering and suspension removed & replaced to gain access for RMS install I really thought I might have goobered up the Dizzy install because I wanted to prime the new oil pump so I spun it with a drill and screw driver. So I double checked it to be in the Number 1 position by doing the whole remove the spark plug and feel for a rush of air thing, then reinstalled. After that did nothing, I went so far as to replace the Reman Dizzy with the old Dizzy, which worked but was leaking oil inside of the dizzy. That also had no effect. I can use the started to bump the dizzy, so I know everything is spinning. Then I put a battery tendered on the battery and called it a night. I plan on using my spark tester tomorrow to see if I'm getting a spark from the coil, thats about the only trick up my sleeve at this point. I have two inclinations at this point. 1) I still have the timing messed up and I need to redo the Top Dead Center thing. Further instruction there would be helpful. 2) Somehow the CPS went bad during its time off and sitting in a climate controled garage. I'm open to ideas, would really like to get the MJ back on the road. :hmm: Thanks, Sean

I guess I'm looking for brand names as well, so that I know when I buy some they are the right ones. Also not looking to introduce anything that is going to cause me to sweat more. The truck has no AC and has a black interior. It gets mighty hot in there already.

Where do you guys get your seat covers from? I got a decent set of 2 dr XJ buckets with the large side and hip bolsters from a 91. Only problem is that they are grey. I'm looking to put on black covers that don't break the bank. I saw on JC whitney and summit some generic covers and the reviews of them varied largely depending on the vehicle they were being installed. I was curious if some of you guys with covers could share your experiences and maybe throw up a pic of the final product. Thanks, Sean

for your dash lights, have you turned the headlight knob counter clockwise enough? I know when I bought my MJ I thought I had dash light problems, but really I just didn't know how to operate the switch. Crazy I know, but it wasn't intuitive to me, so it might be worth the reminder. Although if you still have wierdness I would second that bad ground in the turn signal sockets, I had that problem as well.

I haven't gotten around to finishing up this RMS/brake project yet, but I did find a decent deal on a set of 91 2 dr seats in Gray with a center console. Best part was that they were local. The seats were in good shape. The major defect being the tilt trim was broke on both seats. But all the cables and levers worked. I swapped them to my MJ bucket pedestals and used the DIY thread on reconditioning the fabric to spruce them up a bit. They are hang drying now. I think the previous owner or the one before him was a smoker and they reaked a bit. Here are the naked seats swapped over to the MJ pedestals. You can tell which one is the driver's seat just by the extra grime in the cushions. And here is the deep sink after a quick rinse and scrub with Simple Green (sorry no Purple Power in the House). All 4 covers turned the water from clear to poopy brown with just 5 minutes in the deep sink. Now I'm just waiting on them to dry and then I'm going to paint all the trim black along with the center console. I'll be searching for some black cloth covers to finish off the interior.

Just want to say thanks for the write up. I finally found a set of 2 dr seats after a long search and they needed some TLC. I'll probably end up covering the set as they are grey and I want black, but I had to do something about the smell. Thanks for the detailed write up.

http://www.madxj.com/ He has got a lot of great low buck tech on there. The write up for signal mod is under Technical>Electrical. The whole process is pretty straight forward. On the driver's side it might be easier to patch in a little bit more of wire so you have some wiggle room. It was a tight fit for me. But it did end up working out just fine.

I've been slowly having productive days on the MJ. As it stands now, I'm a cotter pin in the drag link, bleeding brakes, and oil priming away for firing it up. I've got the new rear main in, new oil pan with gasket on, bolted up the new oil pump and pickup, put in the new starter, installed the new dizzy, ran new brake hard lines from both sides of the front of the jeep, reused some brake soft lines from the LJ, reinstalled the steering and suspension, adjusted the serp belt, and get the interior back together. With all that done and so little to go, it should be done by the end of this week. I'm a bit nervous though, lots has been done and potentially something could be f-d up, hopefuly not. We'll see. Anyways just grabbed this one shot of the oil pump, pickup, prior to putting the pan on. Installing the remain dizzy was a bit of a pita. They coated it in a fresh paint/covering and in doing so covered over a machined surface which made it too large to fit into the block. I had to slowy work it down with some grease, which resulted in shaving the coating off until it fit. Thankfully the pan was off and it was easy to clean up any shavings, just thought I would mention it as it was a pain. I did unfortunately find some rust of the firewall under the pading. I dropped a nut from the brake booster on reinstall and had to pull back that padding. Its not bad at all, so I'll have to add that to the list of crap to fix. Loose plan there is to wait until I get my buckets and pull the interior again to get that rust taken care of. Hopefully thats all that I find and can make that an easy project.

The RMS is out. I'm reinstalling the oil pan now. I am using the one piece rubber seal, its not felpro, but it is mopar. So just enough rtv to hold the gasket in place so it doesn't slide around. I'll give that a shot.

I was able to get the old RMS out with just a bit more fuss. I used all of the above tips, and eventually it just busted loose and came right out. On reinstallation I nicked the top piece, so I had to get a new one, which went in smooth. I went back and tightened all the bearing caps up and installed the rear main bearing came with the lower part of the seal. When reinstalling the oil pan with the new rubber one piece gasket is RTV required and if so how much and where to apply? It looks as if it might need a slathering just to stay in place. Thanks

Its been awhile since I updated the thread. Over the summer I ended up getting a new set of tires as mine had started to dry rot pretty bad from sitting. I ended up finding a decent deal on 4 BFG ATs 31x10.50s for 300 bucks. I also wired up the electric fan I had got off the board to a switch on the dash. I ran the wiring through a relay. The fan definitely makes a difference when just sitting in traffic, I'm not sure why my temp starts to climb. I'm thinking either the bottle is loosing pressure or the radiator is in need of replacement. In the mean time using the fan when I'm stopped has done the trick to keep the temp at 210. Although, the fan is crazy loud. I think I'm going to junkyard for a newer 10 blade fan soon to replace this one. I replaced my window wipes with some stuff from JC whitney that someone recommened in a tread in tech talk http://comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20758. Mine had become brittle and started flaking away. The new ones aren't a perfect fit, but pretty close. I'm happy with them at 20 bucks. I removed the door panels to replace the entire piece. I ended up with about 3 ft left over. Picture is a bit out of focus , sorry. I also replaced the door molding from a 97 and up xj. $3 at the yard, pretty good deal. Also replaced the wood screws holding in the Driver's speaker with sheet metal screws. Just in the last week or two I've started a big RMS project. I parked the mj in my father in laws garage and its been nice not having to rush the project. Getting the pan off was a big chore. I had to hammer in putty knifes, chisels, and screw drivers to break the seal and eventually it popped free. The inside was sludgey and the lip was a bit bent. With the outside rust. I ended up buying a new pan, along with a new oil pump/pickup tube, starter, and dizzy. So the engine is getting a lot of new parts. Currently I'm trying to get the top part of the RMS out, hopefully I can get back to it next weekend. During the RMS job I've distracted myself with replacing brake lines. The softlines up front were in bad shape. So when I went to remove them from the hard line (even with a flared wrench) the fitting stripped. Which resulted in having to replace the hardlines up front. Which meant I had to remove the master cylinder and booster. So I'm thinking I might look for the '96 booster/mc to swap in while its convienent. To top all that off, right before the jeep went under the knife it picked itself up a 4.10 geared non disconnect HP D30 with a diff cover. For 150 it was hard to pass on, it needs ujoints, unit bearings, and all braking components. I'm not going to rush the swap, but now I got atleast a piece to make the rest of the hunting much easier.

Ah, this explains a lot. I just wanted to clean behind it since there is 200k worth of grime hiding there coated in oil. Thanks for all the other tips. I will definitely try loosing the other caps when I get back to it.