First MJ(s)

[Awesome]

I took a video of the MJ running with the exhaust disconnected, but my blasted phone didn't save the video. Friggin hate touch screen technology.

 

Anyway, removing the exhaust didn't help. Still sounded like it was missing and when it smoothed out was still lugging. Revved it and it had the same bad throttle lag. HOWEVER... spraying carb cleaner around did find a pretty good vacuum leak at the four-hose junction behind the throttle body. It nearly stalled when I sprayed that area. Nothing else affected it.

 

The oil looks thin and smells of gasoline. Haven't changed it yet so I'm not sure if it's adding more gas to the oil or if this is old. I need to change the oil pronto.

 

 

So.... pretty serious vacuum leak where the four short hoses are. From what I'm gathering, the easiest way to replace those hoses is to remove the entire throttle body. Correct? Also they look to be different sizes. Anyone know off the top of their heads what sizes of hose I'll need?

[eaglescout526]

12 minutes ago, Awesome said:

spraying carb cleaner around did find a pretty good vacuum leak at the four-hose junction behind the throttle body

There is a service bulletin for this where the block is replaced and 4 individual hoses are used in place because of the block not providing a good seal. 
 

You don’t need to remove the whole throttle body. You can simply unplug that junction block and find some

vac hoses in place of the block. Those hoses are metal. 

[Awesome]

49 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said:

There is a service bulletin for this where the block is replaced and 4 individual hoses are used in place because of the block not providing a good seal. 
 

You don’t need to remove the whole throttle body. You can simply unplug that junction block and find some

vac hoses in place of the block. Those hoses are metal. 

 

There is no block there, the TSB has already been done. I need to redo it. There is enough play in the metal lines that I can pull them back without damaging them?

[eaglescout526]

Yeah there should be plenty of play with the metal lines. If not, I think there is two brackets holding them steady. 

[Awesome]

Today we made more progress. Good progress. Daughter got the 4 vacuum lines removed this morning, then we went and bought oil, a filter, and new vacuum lines. I replaced the vacuum lines while she bolted the exhaust back up and changed the oil. Those short little lines are a pain in the rear.

 

 

After replacing the vacuum lines and changing the oil, we started the Jeep again. It sounded better and smoother, but still wasn't running amazingly well and the throttle was still lagging. I grabbed the carb cleaner and sprayed it around again... hmm... RPM climbs when I spray around the intake manifold / block connection.

Grabbed a 9/16 ratchet wrench. Sure enough, all three intake manifold bolts were super loose. Tightened them down. Started up. BAM! Instantly smooth-running, proper-sounding engine with appropriate throttle response.

 

 

Had it up to 60-65mph (estimated) on the road. Don't want to go much faster on these unbalanced old used tires. Cycled through all gears just fine.

Tried out the transfer case in the field. It makes noise in 4wd so I'll probably have to pull it apart and check it.

 

Now for the interior. And getting it registered.

[GrandBoost98]

Woot woot!

 

I've never had those bolts back out on my YJ but every xj/mj I've had there was always a few loose ones. There's even that cute little shock on the engine to keep vibrations down lol 

[Awesome]

8 minutes ago, GrandBoost98 said:

Woot woot!

 

I've never had those bolts back out on my YJ but every xj/mj I've had there was always a few loose ones. There's even that cute little shock on the engine to keep vibrations down lol 

 

Yeah I kinda wondered what that cute little shock was for until the first time we started it. Now I know. Hahaha. It's not a well-balanced engine, that's for sure.

[Awesome]

More progress. I got the truck titled last month. No hiccups other than they didn't believe me that it was a scrap truck that I got running and they charged me taxes based on "market value" - which they figured at $1200.

 

Daughter got some more coaching/practice for the new shooting team she's been invited to join.

 

Tonight she finally used the right tool to get the seat belt bolts undone and we pulled the seat out. She was trying to use an allen tool instead of a torx tool. The hardware is actually in really good condition. Maybe I oughta get the seat recovered.

 

The floor on this side doesn't look as bad as I expected. See all the moisture? It hasn't rained here in over a month, and hasn't seen moisture since I picked it up in early June.

[Pete M]

that moisture could be from the last decade.    I just wrapped up the leaks in the truck I'm helping fix up and there were a bunch. 

 

[Awesome]

Is that behind the heater blower area under the glove box?

[Awesome]

Update; the floors are out.

 

Passenger side.

Driver's side.

I've never had to fix floor rot like this before. Time to order some floor pans. The passenger side doesn't look that bad, but it is rotted through when looking from underneath. I'm guessing the hole is under that floor support.

[Pete M]

23 hours ago, Awesome said:

Is that behind the heater blower area under the glove box?

 

yes, that's the pass side firewall.     had to pull the dash and hvac to get at it all. 

[Awesome]

Here's some more progress.

 

picture hosting

 

Daughter got the header panel replaced all by herself. I thought this one was uncracked but it's not. It has a break under the passenger side headlight. Why are they all broken?! At least this grille is uncracked.

 

The other problem is the header interferes with the hood. Is the spacing adjustable? I'm not sure why it's interfering like this. The old one interfered too, but was broken and only held on with baling wire and duct tape.

 

I'm going to need some trim pieces as well, as it seems that the trim on the '86 header is different from the trim on the later model that we got this header off of. Is there a source for new trim (headlight buckets and such) or am I better off finding junkyard parts?

 

I still haven't ordered the floor pans, but I will soon.

[JZLAJeep]

Jeep did slightly modify the grille and headlight brackets after 91? The pieces are easy to find and cheap though. You'll need to replace the headlight surround on the driver side because the top piece that you are missing is integrated into the the grille and headlight surrounds on the header you have.

 

Here's a link to the headlight surrounds on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Plus-1991-1996-1991-1992-Passenger/dp/B076C7PWRK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=126YDBRLGVBGV&keywords=Titanium+Plus+Autoparts+Head+Light+Door+Bezel+Front+Right+Passenger+Side+Headlight+Surround+Headlight+Bezel+Compatible+For+1991-1996+Cherokee+Comamche+5BL62KW7+CH2513124&qid=1697122447&sprefix=titanium+plus+autoparts+head+light+door+bezel+front+right+passenger+side+headlight+surround+headlight+bezel+compatible+for+1991-1996+cherokee+comamche+5bl62kw7+ch2513124%2Caps%2C398&sr=8-1

[Awesome]

Short update:

 

Bought new tires last week. Got them mounted and on the truck. They look pretty good.

Bought a new driver's side window yesterday, picked it up this morning.

Daughter is getting the floor prepped, and fixed the passenger side door handle. The stud was indeed in the bottom of the door, as someone suggested.

[Pete M]

brand new window? 

[Awesome]

Yes, the local junkyard didn't have any used ones. I think they crushed all their XJ's again and don't have any left. They really don't have much left from the 80's and barely anything before that. Late 90's and newer is mostly what they have now.

 

The new window (ordered through the junkyard) was $80 out the door. I thought it was a decent price for a new window.

[Awesome]

Replaced the window today and got the floors cleaned up.

 

What is the part of the window track that is on the triangle window called? The plastic window track is falling apart on both sides and I don't know what it's called so I can look for replacements.

 

EDIT: I found it. It's called a division bar weatherstrip channel. Team Cherokee has them, as well as all the other seals I'll need.

[Pete M]

buy the whole kit  

[Awesome]

I'm not seeing a complete kit for only two doors.

[Pete M]

On 11/26/2023 at 12:53 AM, Awesome said:

I'm not seeing a complete kit for only two doors.

 

 

this it?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pqp-dk-6110-84/make/jeep/model/cherokee

[Awesome]

Thanks, that's way cheaper than the stuff from Team Cherokee was going to be.

[Awesome]

Ordered the floor pans today. Went with Classic2Current. Raybuck was way more expensive.

 

[Salvagedcircuit]

1 hour ago, Awesome said:

Ordered the floor pans today. Went with Classic2Current. Raybuck was way more expensive.

 

Key parts now has the comanche entire floor halves:

https://www.keypartsonline.com/86-92-jeep-comanche-cab-floor-pan-drivers-side/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175967748115

 

And the floor caps and side brackets

https://www.keypartsonline.com/search.php?search_query=comanche

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175862529072

[Awesome]

My daughter worked on her floor this week:

 

I bought her a body saw and she loves it. After cutting out little chunks with the grinder for a few hours over a couple of days, she went full ham on it on Friday and got most of the front driver's side torn out in an afternoon. She says she's having a lot of fun with the power tools and getting to see progress made. I think I'm going to jump in on the passenger side while she continues to cut more floor out on the driver's side this next week.

 

As for how it's running; my buddy who went with me to pick the truck up did some troubleshooting for me. He pulled the spark plug wires off while the engine was idling and got zapped really badly through welding gloves, without being grounded, and while having his hands only somewhat adjacent to the distributor cap. The spark is SUPER hot. Regardless, pulling the plug wires didn't change how the engine was idling. So the timing is way off and that's part of the reason why there's fuel getting into the oil. The other reason may be that the injector is getting stuck open, but we believe the timing to be the biggest part of the problem. Should be an easy fix.