MJCrusader Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I just bought a 89 MJ about a week ago. Its my first Comanche, and in fact its my first Jeep. Suffice to say, I am already madly in love. However, I have several small projects I want to get done to get this Jeep back to decent running condition. These are the most pressing issues I am having right now: 1. The engine idles pretty hard. I scrubbed out the intake manifold yesterday, which helped a lot but didn't solve the problem completely. I have plans to clean out the IAC and EGR valves, but I'm not sure which one is the IAC, and I can't find a way to get to the EGR. Anybody have any suggestions? And, once those two things are clean, is there anything else I should scrub out? I am by no means "tech savy", I can only do fairly simple work such as the intake manifold and things of that nature. 2. My swaybar (where the bolt holds the two pieces together) is rubbing on the suspension spring on the driver side. Every time I hit even a slight bump, there is a loud bang from the spring compressing on my sway bar. The previous owner put 31x10.5 tires on this truck, and gave the front a 3" lift, could that be whats causing the problem? He also smashed into something which pushed the front bumper in about 2 inches, do you think he damaged the sway bar? In a potentially related problem, I have almost no right turn radius. I can only turn the wheel about 3/4 of a turn to the right before it starts grinding on something. Thanks for you help, Tim Image Not Found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 welcome to the club! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garvin Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 When you say idles pretty hard, do you mean idles high or revs when it idles? Check to make sure there are no vacuum leaks anywhere as the vacuum lines like to rot away over time. There's a lot of empty space behind the bumper and the sway bar is offset farther back than that so I doubt the sway bar was damaged (atleast from the pic it looks like whatever he hit hit the front and didn't go under). The sway bar links are hitting the springs because they're too short. You can either get a set of extended sway bar links for the 3" lift or get a set from the rear of an F250 (hopefully someone else can chime in on the years). When you slap on the longer links, it'll move the sway bar up and away from the springs. For the turning issue, have a buddy turn the wheel and look underneath to see if the wheels are hitting anything. It kinda sounds like the tire is hitting the lower control arms. If that's the issue, modifying a set of WJ arms or getting a new set of rims with a different backspacing will solve that issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbert001 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I would look at your drivers side swaybar bushing/clamp. if that's not shoved back, you have bigger problems than you think! With that 3 inch lift, is it running factory control arms? (Stamped sheet metal, not tube steel) If it is, the lift should be pulling the spring away from the swaybar, so something is definitely bent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbyluvv Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I can't see pics at work but my guess on the rubbing issue is that the PO did not put a new track bar on it. At 3" of lift the stock track bar will pull the axle towards the drivers side. Ramming the sway bar into the spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCrusader Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 Thanks for the welcome. I will try and take pictures of the sway bar to show what I am talking about, maybe more detailed photos will let you guys get a better idea of what I can do, as I literally have no idea where to start. As far as the idling issue, the truck will idle normally for between 2-5 seconds, then it feels like the RPM drops for between 1-2 seconds and the truck shakes a bit. Then it idles normally for another 2-5 seconds, then shakes slightly for 1-2 seconds. Cleaning the intake manifold (which was pitch black and had about 1/4 inch of gunk built up around the butterfly valve) made the shaking MUCH softer and cut the time it shook by about half. But, it still doesn't feel quite right. I'll get some more pictures of my wheel well put up within the hour. Thanks, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCrusader Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 I appologize that the pictures are not high quality, the camera in my phone is the only one I have. Here's showing where the swaybar contacts the spring: Image Not Found Here is from behind the spring towards the swaybar: Image Not Found Here is from the front left bumper towards the spring: Image Not Found Here is from the front of the truck: Image Not Found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCrusader Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 And just for reference, here is the swaybar on the passanger side. The swaybar comes close to the spring, but there is still about a 1 inch gap: Image Not Found Again, sorry about the poor quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 2wd? is that a different axle than stock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garvin Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 That would be a stock 2wd front axle. Looks like new lower control arms were put on with the lift, which is good. The axle looks pretty well centered based on where the sway bar links sit compared to the springs. Your best bet would be to get longer sway bar links for the 3" lift. No matter what Cherokee I see, they always seem to hit the drivers side sway bar against the coil when longer links aren't put on. Check and clean the IAC motor for the revving issue. The IAC is located on the throttle body, on the front of the throttle body to the left of the TPS. A great site for diagnosing just about any sensor on the RENIX motors that I've used a few times. http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Engine/Basic_Sensors_Diagnostics.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Look to see if the frame rail where your bumper and steering box mounts is pushed back. The drivers side looks like it is pushed back compared to the passenger side. Can you get a picture showing the steering box mount and the bumper mount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Look to see if the frame rail where your bumper and steering box mounts is pushed back. The drivers side looks like it is pushed back compared to the passenger side. x2. you need new sway bar links. i can send you a pic off extra ones i have. yours look bent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCrusader Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 Can anybody direct me to a website that sells the swaybar links that I need? About how much do they run, and are they simple to replace myself? Or am I going to need a lift or something? Thanks, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Can anybody direct me to a website that sells the swaybar links that I need? About how much do they run, and are they simple to replace myself? Or am I going to need a lift or something? Thanks, Tim As far as replacing then it should be very easy. I replaced mine when I installed my new springs. Just remove the top nut from the link, then remove the bottom one (I had to use a pipe wrench on the head of the bottom bolt to get the rust broken off.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCrusader Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Anybody have an idea where I can get them cheap? This truck has taken more money than I planned to spend already haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Mike Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 You can use rear swaybar links off an F350 truck, about 78-79 year model as they are longer than MJ-XJ front swaybar links this is the cheep option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCrusader Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Oh cool, that should be pretty easy to find in my area. Is 78-79 the only years that will work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche12 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Anybody have an idea where I can get them cheap? This truck has taken more money than I planned to spend already haha welcome to jeep world. Just Empty Every Pocket ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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