Regger

Finally got around to replacing the fuel pump... and low and behold... it RUNS!!!!! Thanks for the awesome help guys!!!! With the old pump in there, initial turn key fuel pressure was only like 10psi, but with the new pump, it immediately spikes to 30psi.. The new pump is about half the size of the old one, so it required a spacer and different rubber isolators to fit the bracket. And what was in the tank appeared to be the original pump as I had to clean off years of road grime and undercoating just to get to the hose clamps. I also had to stick my hand into the tank and fish out the return line rubber locator. Just barely got my hand back out!! That is one small and sharp hole!! Its nice that I didnt have to drop the tank, the problem I had was that my air tanks were in the way, so it made it a little more difficult trying to tetris the pump out of the hole and get it back in!! But at least shes running, so I can get back out wheeling!! Thanks Again Ryan

So I have a similar question but for my '88 4.0L. How do I know if I have a Bosch or Walbro OE pump? Thanks Ryan

Alrighty then... A new fuel pump it is!!! That will have to happen after the long weekend.. Got a ball tourney to try and make it through first!! Thanks for all the help Ryan

The tester is pretty much new. Only been used once before(its my brother-in-laws), so I can't see it being faulty. And I don't have another vehicle to test it on at the moment, I've stolen a bunch of parts off of it to test on this one so its not running. But I might try later on if I'm not making any head-way The MAP sensor is good as I swapped it with another from my parts truck and both were reading the same volts and pressure, so says my scanner. And both vacuum line connections are good. I tried bypassing the ballast, no change. 2) first. Unplug the TPS and see how it runs. The flat 3 wire connector. Tried the TPS, no change. The scanner does say its reading reading perfectly at closed throttle and at WOT. Do you really think its my timing chain? To be running perfectly and then not.. if it was stretching, wouldn't it start running bad long before it quits running, and not just instantly, unless of course the chain broke in which case it wouldn't run. And in case you're wondering, my scanner is a Snap-On MT2500 which gives me live readings off all my sensors. So if you want specific readings from certain sensors I can give you that, or if you give me readings that I should be looking for. Thanks Ryan

Ok, borrowed a fuel pressure tester... Hooked it up and turned on the key.. The fuel pump turned on and it read about 10psi. I then attempted to start it. After pumping the pedal like a mad man, I got it started and by pumping the pedal managed to get it to run at about 3000rpm. The pressure gauge only read about 12-15psi, maybe a small spike up to 20psi but not consistently. So is this a sign that my pump is bad??? I'm just thinking now that this reading was a regulated fuel supply, maybe I should disconnect the pressure regulator and try it again or was this test good enough? I also heard of pinching off the return line to check to see if its leaking past the regulator and not maintaining pressure... Thoughts??? THanks Ryan

Just tried swapping in a known good MAP sensor... Still not running well.... Haven't had a chance to try the fuel pressure test. BUt I'm thinking that the pressure might be good enough because I can get it to run up over 3000rpm. So it should be adequate to provide enough fuel at that rpm. Any other ideas? THanks Ryan

Thanks for the replies... Because the truck won't idle, I'm unable to check the fuel pressure like you described. Best I could do is check the pressure the pump puts out when primed. And when pushing the shrader valve, it looks very similar to what it was like before this issue. I'm not saying that it might not be it, but it is still putting out some descent pressure. I will try and get a pressure tester though and see what it is when primed. The hose to the MAP sensor looks good and the connections look good as well. I'll try swapping the sesnor from my parts truck and see if that could be it. But if I recall, I was seeing a pressure reading when I hooked up my Snap-on MT2500 Scan tool. Too bad this system doesn't give codes!! Its not a plugged cat, because I don't have one.. Thanks Ryan

Hey folks, I was out wheeling the other weekend and my 88 died on me. It was running just fine until I stopped for lunch. It started up and was running pretty good until I felt a bit of a stumble. I had to make a quick stop to unlock my hubs, and when I hopped back in and tried to start... it wouldn't!! I can kind of get it started but I have to be pumping the peddle like made. and when it does start, I have to keep pumping the peddle and keep the RPM's up around 3000!! And if I try to drive it, it has zero power. Any RPM below that and it will just die. While it is running, its popping, bucking, backfiring and smelling very very very rich. I kind of figured it might be the ICM and/or coil, so I replaced it from my parts truck that I know runs... no luck, same issues. I can hear the fuel pump priming, and I have a good squirt of fuel from the schrader valve on the fuel rail, so that should be good. I can't think of any other sensor that would cause something like this. My O2 sensor is new, but if it did fail, it would just go into a limp mode. The TPS is sending voltage and is adjusted correctly. The CPS seems to be working, but usually when it dies it just dies, and doesn;t slowly die. Every other sensor I can't see it causing this problem. The plugs are new, wires in good condition, and the cap and rotor are ok ( I sanded the contacts which made no difference). ANy other thoughts or ides? Thanks Ryan

45 secs to lock seems real short... Maybe there was something wrong with the unit before hand? I've never run a unit for a/c, mine have always been for OBA. But my quickest to seize was airing up three 35" tires before it locked up, which was quite a few minutes. A Quick and easy check is to pull the unit out, and remove the cylinder head (the back of the compressor), just be careful not to dmaage the gasket. Then you will be ale to see the pistons and cylinders and be able to see if there was oil in the system and which piston locked up. These units run oil in the crankcase and in the freon, which is shared during the operation. Maybe the crankcase oil had drained out while sitting, and it wasn't added fast enough during the freon fillup (assuming the freon had oil in it) that it heated up and seized. HTH Ryan

Thanks. Thats amazing that the obstacle has been around that long! I wanted to hit the dunes when we were down there, but the truck doesn't like going much faster than about 30mph on the highway due to serious death wobble. So they were a bit far of a drive at that time. But we will be going back in the future specifically for the dunes, and then hit Tillamook on the way back again. Yeah, rock rails are in the future. BUt for the time being, it just makes it more challenging to prevent damage!!! I've been wheeling that truck in various lift stages since '95, and this current setup since '11 with only one slight dent on the rocker... It just means that I'm that good!!! Yeah, when your as long as I am, and on such a steep climb, hitting the rear bumper is just part of the challenge. (my channel has a video of me in Moab where I climbed a steep obstacle and couldn't back out of it because the bumper dragged and jammed into the ground. It meant I had to get over it or winch... Of course I made it!!! So its something I'm used to ) That bumper has been bent and twisted and straightened and welded so many times that its more weld than actual steel! A new rear bumper is in the future as well. Thanks Ryan

Hey Guys, Been a long time since I've been on here, but I thought I'd share with you a video of my 88 MJ doing the waterfall at the Tillamook State Forest OHV in Oregon. Thanks Ryan

When I put the D44 under my MJ, I used I think 3/8 plate and fitted it over the pumpkin, similar to the above pic. I then welded it to both the tubes, and the top of the pumpkin. Some pics and my build thread:http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2068&start=15 If you have the fab skills, and the ability, I would recommend making your own brackets. I did myself using 1/4"wall square tube. The reason i did this, was that I was able to raise all my control arm brackets, and my spring pads up 2" to not only give me a lift, but also have it so that nothing is hanging down under the axle to get hung up on. And with the size of your pumpkin, you will need to at least raise the lower so that your separation distance between your upper and lower control arm brackets are as close to stock as possible. Just makes it easier when designing the brackets and their positions. HTH Ryan

For some, a 4-leaf is pretty lucky... except for my wife.. She finds them almost on a daily basis!! We used to stick them in books and press them, until it seemed like we were running out of books. Or I'll open a book and a dozen will fall out..., she went even so far as to stick them in my owners manual for my dodge and MJ!!! So now shes on the quest for a 5-leaf!!!

I would recommend a Jeep Wagoneer D44. The only problem is the D44 is a 6bolt hub. So either you convert the D44 to 5bolt using Ford parts, and then re-drill your 8.8 to 5x5.5, or you keep the D44 6bolt, and then using bolt circle converting spacers (converts 5x4.5 to 6x5) on the 8.8. But personally, I would just get both D44's from the wagoneer and not have to worry about the bolt pattern. Thats what I did. As for the vacuum crap. Just pull it all out, and then I think all that is left under the hood (under the coolant pressure bottle) is one vacuum line that you plug. HTH Ryan

Its not that difficult. Depending on the cutting device you use (Plasma, Oxy/Act, or Grinder) will determine how fast it can be done. I used my plasma to get the bulk of the brackets off, and then followed that with an angle grinder with a cutting disc, and then a grinding disc. A few pics I took: Rest of the pics are here: http://hot4x4.ca/gallery2/v/RyanEgger/albun80/ The MJ has a lot of steel for reinforcement compared to the XJ. So not only is it welded on the ends, but there are also spot welds. The plasma got the bulk of the brackets, and then the grinding disc cut along the weld lines and around the spot welds. I then cold chiseled the brackets off and followed that with the grinder to smooth it out. There was also a few tight spots, so we turned the plasma down and just cut through the bracket, and not into the frame. worked pretty good. Just take your time and you'll have no problems. Just don't get too carried away and cut into your frame. I did that on the bottom section and had to weld it back up. HTH Ryan

Hey guys, Just thought you might get a kick out of the picture of my twins. I call them Danny and Arnold. (Danny on the left and Arny on the right) You probably have to be in your 30's to understand the name reference.. Danny is my 88 2wd pioneer, and Arnold is my 88 4wd pioneer. Ryan

Crusher?!?!?!?!? Oh god no!!! I saw this ad earlier, and would die for a diesel MJ. But the $3G price is too steep for a guy that has negative money in his bank account. I'm a 6hr drive away and in another country, but I would try anything I could to keep it from the jaws of death. Best offer I can give you is the same price the crusher would give you, maybe some more depending. (if they are giving you the price of scrap steel). I know the wife would kill me if I brought another MJ home as well, but I would do it to save that truck.. Its an offer, let me know Thanks, Ryan

Just did a quick net search and could only find posts for 97+ XJ's. Couldn't find anything for the older renix systems, which seems weird because the pic of the cluster is the same as my 88, and my 89 has the new cluster. Anyone have better links that I couldn't find? Thanks, Ryan

In stock form, my 88 4x4 had the 4.0L, 5spd, D30/35 and had 3.08 gears. The gears were horrible!! I could barely use 5th gear on hills.. It was made even worse when I stepped up to 33's. By the calculations, to remain with the stock gearing, I should have stepped up to 3.73's. Instead I went with 4.10's. A 25% increase in gearing.. It was awesome!! I could use 5th gear going up hills, could tow a lot easier, and it was just a lot easier to drive and not having to ride the clutch in some instances to get going. And I even got better mileage because the engine didnt have to work as hard to maintain speed even with the 33's. Now, not having driving a 4cyl in stock form, I can't say how the gearing feels. But from talking with other friends with similar setups, they all seem to agree that even a step up in gearing would be better... ( ie, 3.08 to 3.55, 3.55 to 3.73, 3.73 to 4.10...) Now that my 88 is a dedicated rock-crawler... I stepped up as high as one could go with D44 gearing, all the way to 5.89's with 36's. Yes that gearing is super low, almost too low if you want to ever drive it on the highway. Driving around town city driving, I'm in 4th gear all the time. 5th gear barely gets me to highway speed, and at that I'm not far off from redline. The reason rock-crawlers want super low gearing is for the throttle control and torque. Because we're not racing around a course, we need that horsepower to crawl over rocks and obstacles. Having super low gearing allows to let off the clutch instantly and crawl your way up a rock, and not having to ride the clutch to go slow. I would recommend that you step up to at least 3.73, if not 4.10(i think 4.10 is stock in a 4cyl, 4x4). Cause now you will be pushing a heavier front axle around as well. And just look at what you want to do with your truck, if its to remain stock, then at the minimum go with what the stock gearing was for that setup or at least step up one ratio for better performance. If it will be used for towing and off-roading, I recommend at least a 25% increase over stock gearing. HTH Ryan

Hey Guys, MJ Roll Bar in South West BC. Plus a t-case, bumper. http://abbotsford.en.craigslist.ca/pts/3015784425.html HTH Ryan

Hey Everyone, I havent posted on here in a while, and thought I would at least post some vids of my 88 wheeling last weekend. Enjoy. Ryan

When I did my Ax-15 swap with external slave from the "Puke-joke" with internal slave in my '88, I too only had the slave cylinder with a short section of the plastic line coming out of the slave. My original clutch line had the steel end with flare nut fittings. All I did was cut the flared end off of the steel line, and using compression fittings attached the steel line to the plastic line. I did that swap back in '98 and have not had an issue with leaking or breaking. So I would say to just connect your existing line to the new slave line and go. Or as lsmurphy said, worst case you buy a new master and line. HTH Ryan

When I did the SYE on mine, I went with a CV joint. Not because of the angle, but because it raises my pinion a couple inches to try and keep it out of the rocks. But because I already had an extra CV joint from one of my spare front shafts, the cost to build my driveshaft wasn't anymore than a regular build. Ryan

I do believe that you don't need to have a CV joint on your driveshaft. You just need a flanged yoke on the driveshaft with a splined slip joint in the shaft. That way you can keep the pinion in its stock location and still maintain the benefits of the SYE in the t-case. I believe the early YJ front shafts were like this. They didnt need a CV joint because the shafts were so long there just wasn't that severe of an angle to need a CV. HTH Ryan

Older years had the internal slave cylinder, where as the later years had the external slave cylinder.. If your doing a swap from the "puke-goat" try and get a later one with the external slave. Its well worth it. But if not, just swapping the trans is better than nothing. You can always swap to external slave later on, as you just replace the bell housing, and front bearing housing. You're also want to get a new trans mount as it is different. HTH Ryan