Fixin' up an '89 I just bought, have a few questions.

[Spinnakerblue89]

This site was recommended to me when I bought my truck, and although I'm on other forums, I figure this is the best place to get a little guidance with repairs when need be. I spent last year bringing a '93 ZJ back to life and I'm nearly done (body work is all that's left). So I'm somewhat familiar with the 4.0 and all that jazz.

 

My MJ has the ubiquitous 4.0 and the AW-4 transmission with an on-the-column shifter. That brings me to my questions...

 

Key is stuck in the cylinder, will turn over the engine but will not reset all the way back where the key can be removed. I have searched for solutions and have a new cylinder with keys, and have removed everything to get to it. But even the new cylinder does the same. So having that in mind what is my next logical step? Where do I look now for a solution?

 

Have a bit of a ticking noise coming from the engine bay. Could it be in the manifold?

 

I will read up on Cruiser's Renix tips.

[eaglescout526]

Is the shifter in park? 
 

Are you depressing the lock lever in front of the ignition cylinder to rotate the key towards you to remove the key?

 

Its a Saginaw(GM) column so it’s gots some quirks if you aren’t familiar with them. 

[Spinnakerblue89]

The truck is in park, however, the indicator needle appears to be missing so I am unable to tell how much into park it truly is.

 

If the lock lever is the silver wing-like part on the outside of the cylinder, yes I am depressing it. I should also mention that this is a non-tilt column.

 

By the way, thanks for the quick response.

[eaglescout526]

It’s not the wings on the cylinder itself, there’s a lever directly in front, well I guess behind it, that you depress as your turning the truck off. 

[Andy in Pa]

There is probably no way to tell if the column is original, but if a "manual" column was swapped in, there will be an extra little lever by the key tumbler that will need to be pushed down to turn the tumbler the rest of the way counter clockwise and take the key out.  This should not be present on an Auto trans MJ, but stranger things have happened.  If normal, the tumbler WILL need to be pushed in slightly to turn fully counterclockwise and remove the key.  The other possibility is your ignition switch was loose, and it moved slightly in its mount on the steering column (top of the column, and easiest to access if you loosen and drop the column slightly).  The key switch connects to the ignition switch with a simple metal rod, and if its loose or not set correctly will impede the key switch travel. 

 

[Spinnakerblue89]

Yeah there is no aforementioned lever, I have the AW-4 automatic tranny. Are you suggesting that I drop the steering column and tinker with the ignition switch? How does one do this?

[eaglescout526]

Really? Autos don’t have that lever? Interesting. 
 

 

Wait I should know this. My firebird is the same way with no lever. My apologies. 

[Spinnakerblue89]

Well I can ascertain that mine does not, perhaps that may be of use to someone else someday that has the same issue. I went ahead and removed the lower dash panel to look at the underside of the steering column- removed that infernal emissions timer! Just need to know how the ignition switch is adjusted and will hope that's all I need to worry about.

[Andy in Pa]

23 minutes ago, Spinnakerblue89 said:

Yeah there is no aforementioned lever, I have the AW-4 automatic tranny. Are you suggesting that I drop the steering column and tinker with the ignition switch? How does one do this?

It is still possible that your truck is still not in "Park" fully, so rule that out first.

 

Yes, you'll at least have to disassemble the dash a good bit to get a good look in there.  And once its disassembled that far (and you have confirmed its actually in "Park"), there is only two more bolts to loosen to allow the steering column to drop to gain better access.  I suggest hitting up youtube to watch some videos on how to do this.  It is well documented out there, and anything up to 90 (XJ or MJ) will be the same.

[Andy in Pa]

5 minutes ago, Spinnakerblue89 said:

Well I can ascertain that mine does not, perhaps that may be of use to someone else someday that has the same issue. I went ahead and removed the lower dash panel to look at the underside of the steering column- removed that infernal emissions timer! Just need to know how the ignition switch is adjusted and will hope that's all I need to worry about.

 

The ignition switch is basically a slide switch.  It can be installed a "switch-click" off either forward or backward, which will either keep the key switch from actually being able to turn far enough to "Start" the truck, or keep it from turning all the way off to remove the key.

 

The last one I did, I installed it a click forward, which meant the key would not turn far enough to Start the truck.  Just remember, at static (with the key fully off) you should be able to turn the key ONE click further counter-clockwise for "Accessory" mode.

[jdog]

Your shifter is either not adjusted correctly or the key park release is not adjusted correctly, the column still thinks its in reverse. It's been a while since I've dived into the shifter column and for the life of me I can't remember how to adjust it. If you look in the factory service manuals (cue @Pete M  signature you can get the manuals downloaded and locate the section

[Spinnakerblue89]

On the shifter, I noticed that the indicator needle is MIA and that when I shift, it feels all "soft" unlike any other column shifter I've ever used. It's slightly reminiscent of a 2000 F-150 that I had that had a linkage bushing go out.

[jdog]

1 hour ago, Spinnakerblue89 said:

On the shifter, I noticed that the indicator needle is MIA and that when I shift, it feels all "soft" unlike any other column shifter I've ever used. It's slightly reminiscent of a 2000 F-150 that I had that had a linkage bushing go out.

Thats a possibility, try lifting the shifter up and turn the key

[Spinnakerblue89]

I tried messing with the lifter any way possible and still nothing could get the key to return to the off position.

[Pete M]

4 hours ago, jdog said:

 (cue @Pete M  signature)

I should probably add that to my signature.  definitely gotta rotate the info alerts now and again.  

[Spinnakerblue89]

I was able to find a manual for 1990 and also got a Chilton while I was in town today.

 

Should I suspect the linkage?

[cruiser54]

[Spinnakerblue89]

I'll give the ignition switch a look. I got rained out yesterday so had to quit early with the garage already occupied.

[Andy in Pa]

19 hours ago, Spinnakerblue89 said:

On the shifter, I noticed that the indicator needle is MIA and that when I shift, it feels all "soft" unlike any other column shifter I've ever used. It's slightly reminiscent of a 2000 F-150 that I had that had a linkage bushing go out.

Does it go into the correct gears though?  Is it definitely in Park, Rev, Neu, Drive when you shift it?

[Spinnakerblue89]

See I'm missing the indicator, but I feel for each gear. Having said that; I can tell you that it is in the correct gear. When I feel that I am in reverse, I go in reverse; D for drive, etc. There's no ambiguity there.

[Eagle]

You mentioned, I believe, that the PRNDL in your instrument cluster doesn't work. That may be the clue to your problem.

 

The shift linkage may be shifting the transmission okay, but the PRNDL needle, if I remember correctly (mine are mostly 5-speeds, so I'm drawing from what I recall reading here), is operated by a cable of some sort. It may be that the same cable is also involved in locking the steering wheel, which is what has to be done in order to remove the key.

 

[Spinnakerblue89]

Woah! I did mention that the PRNDL cluster is entirely devoid of the indicator, so there's no ACTUAL indicator as to what gear I am in except for the conveyance of motion.

 

The guy who I work for used to be a Jeep/Eagle tech back in the early 1990's and did suggest to try adjusting the shifter cable, but he reminded me that he hasn't been near an MJ since the mid-90's. There is that.

[Andy in Pa]

14 hours ago, Eagle said:

You mentioned, I believe, that the PRNDL in your instrument cluster doesn't work. That may be the clue to your problem.

 

The shift linkage may be shifting the transmission okay, but the PRNDL needle, if I remember correctly (mine are mostly 5-speeds, so I'm drawing from what I recall reading here), is operated by a cable of some sort. It may be that the same cable is also involved in locking the steering wheel, which is what has to be done in order to remove the key.

 

Eagle- I think that cable is attached to the actual shifter, but it has no other additional function besides being a spring-loaded indicator to show which gear your in.  When I converted my first MJ to the gauge package setup, that indicator could be unbolted and bolted into the gauge package.  I didn't have to disconnect the cord attached to the needle or anything, just had to make a hole in the gauge face for it to be visible.

 

Spinnaker- Its likely the spring return is broken in your indicator, and it just needs a new spring put in.  The small cord that attaches to the needle is probably still there, and the needle is just not visible because it is pulled all the way to the right.  Also FYI, that indicator needle only has a small cord linking it to the shifter arm.  I would consider it non-load-bearing, as all it does is pull against a very light spring to move the needle.

[Spinnakerblue89]

Interesting, so is there a good replacement spring I should look for?

 

While I have the column lowered, I'm just going to throw in a new ignition starter switch (came in less than 24 hours through RA), as one of the pins on the old one is looking just little perturbed by heat, but not exactly burned either. Might as well do the swap while it's open.

[cruiser54]

This will help with your overloaded ignition switch circuit. Very common.

 

CRUISER'S MOSTLY RENIX TIPS

IMPROVING BLOWER MOTOR PERFORMANCE

NOVEMBER 28, 2015 CRUISER54 28 COMMENTS EDIT

On 1984 to 1990 MJs and XJs, the blower motor’s factory grounding point is on the driver side inner fender under the sheet metal screw. This ground is shared with windshield wipers, front windshield washers, rear windshield washers, AC clutch relay, fan control relay, fog lamps, fan motor, headlamps, front turn signals, front side markers, and park lamps.

So your blower motor has its ground point 10 feet away from where it is located!!

What we’re going to do is leave that ground intact and also ground the blower motor on the passenger side inner fender much closer to the blower motor itself. This will also benefit the other components on the factory ground circuit. Take this opportunity to refresh the factory ground as a matter of course. Remove the screw, scrape the surface to bare metal and reinstall the screw securely.

Here’s what I do to get the ground much closer to the blower motor and add another ground point to this overloaded ground circuit.

Find the blower motor connector on the passenger side. Red and Black two wire connector.

Find a location where the black wire can be made to reach the passenger side inner fender, and cut the wire. You may have to do some rerouting of the harness to achieve this.

Take both cut pieces of wire and put them together into a yellow eyelet and crimp. Fasten the eyelet to a place on the passenger side inner fender with a sheet metal screw after applying OxGard to the contact surfaces. Be sure to scrape the attaching point on the fender to bare metal first.

Your blower motor will now turn faster and last longer, and the other electrical components on the circuit will benefit from a better ground path.