89 Cherokee

Hi folks. Just got a 1989 Jeep cherokee given to me. I'm looking for some help with a couple issues. First, the vent doors don't work. I can set it to whatever, but it still blows out the defrost. I don't hear a hiss like I usually do with most vaccum controlled vent actuators, so I assume a leak. Any particular places they leak on these?

Also, wipers only work on low. Well, they work on high too, but they don't move any faster. Defective wiper motor? They don't seem to park correctly, they sit up higher than they look like they should.

Thanks guys.

Also- It's the inline 4.0 liter six, AW4 tranny with 4-wd. 4-door, if it matters. 153k miles.

Isn't it amazing how much torque these have? I just goosed it a little bit and it feels like the wheels just want to spin spin spin.

As far as the vent doors arent working I would check for a "ball" under the hood with a vaccuum hose on it. If it is not connected the vent doors wont change from defrost to floor or middle. I also hear the front axle disconnect will not work either as well as the cruise. You may also check behind the front bumper for the "ball".. sorry this sounds vague.. I have never had to deal with it on my Jeep, only on my 82 chevy, 87 Gmc and 97 Blazer.

Ill check it out, thanks.

*bump* On everything else.

For the slow wiper, you'd do well to take the motor out and check for dry bushings or other problems. The output shaft bushing can get pretty stiff after all those years, and it will slow things right down. If it's not too badly worn you can just grease it and put it back together. It's not terribly hard to access. Remove the wipers, take the cowl vent cover off, and you'll see how it's all put together. You can pull out the whole mechanism and then open up the motor. However, try as hard as you can to notice how it comes out of the space. It will go back in only one way, and it can be a real challenge to find the precise angle if you've forgotten.

The 89 I picked up has a weird wiper deal like that. Sometimes they work S L O W, and others they work normal. I better take mine apart and grease it too.

atriot: as far as your wipers not resting at the botto mof the winsheild, my 87 Cherokee does the same thing, i think its just those old Jeeps, the way theyre built. hope that helps a little.

I believe that the vent control issue is a vacuum problem, caused somewhere on the back of the controls, IIRC. (Haven't had that part of my 89 apart yet).

Towards the wipers....I noticed the other day that mine do the same thing. However, I found that if you focus, the fast is just a hair faster than the slow setting I personally wouldn't worry about it, as they do their job so far.

And about where the wipers sit?? Watch them sometime...see if they go down to the bottom of the windshield, then come back up to the park position. That's a sign of a mis-aligned wiper arm. Other than that, my wipers sit a couple inches off the bottom of the windshield, too.....

Your local parts store sell a bushing kit for the wiper fix I cant remember the part number but it is sold in the HELP isle. My 87 did the same thing slow wipers , not going all the way down. For 5.00 bucks and an hour of time mine were fixed. Search Wipers and you can find the write up.

Vent issue is fixed! Both vaccum lines in engine compartment were dry rotted. However, I still hear a slight hiss behind the dash and when turning it off I can hear the vacuum bleed off and the vents go back to defrost until I restart it.

I did notice that the wipers do move a hair faster on High, but bearly noticable. I can push the wipers down to make them park with almost no effort. It feels like theres about half an inch to three quarters of play in the wiper linkages.

Third issue-Left turn signal directly below headlight is dim. It blinks, dimly. Does not light up when headlights are on and the turn signal indicator on dash stays lit. Right side was doing this too up until today, then it cleared up. Replaced both bulbs. Where do these ground to?

Fourth- Is there a vacuum diagram around? The haynes lists about half of the lines, and this seems like its running lean. I.E Random stalling, I usually compensate by gasing it and it catches itself. Rough idle, misses at idle slightly. Plugs wires and cap are new.

Thanks alot guys.

Oh, Fifth issue.

When the car's in 4-wd high or low, something's binding up front. I get click click click, enough to make the car stop if its just idling. I can make it go forward with a little gas, and the 4-wd does work, but wtf is that sound.

Sound might be front axle universal joints? Probably is. I had a similar situation when mine went.

Check the rest of your vacuum hoses. My 90 has that ball (football) below right headlight behind the bumper and my vacuum lines were collapsed when I got my Jeep a few years back.
Can't help with the wipers but it does sound as if you have worn bushings. I would follow Mathew Curries recomendations and clean the wiper mechanism. A good lube helps almost everything and new bushings couldn't hurt either.
Turn signal sounds lkike a ground issue. Check the bulb socket for a good ground.
The click,click,click is probably your front vacuum disconnect trying to connect. Those vacuum lines are probably dry-rotted as well. That is located on the front axle on the passenger side.
Good luck with your new XJ.

Good luck with the left turn signal. Mine actually works with the headlights, but will only flash sometimes, very slowly. Other times it doesn't flash at all. Also...when the headlights are turned on, my left turn signal indicator on the dash lights up......so let me know if you figure out where they ground....

I would second checking the vacuum lines...all of them you an find. That "football" below the right headlight is your vac. canister.

The front clicking?? I'm not sure if you have a disco front axle....what transfer case do you have?? (if you have 4WD full time *and* part time, it's the 242 = non disco axle. Otherwise, it's probably a 231, and I'm not sure.....) I would second the front u-joints, tho....Eventually they will start making noise in 2WD, then they will grenade.

89CherokeePioneer said:

Third issue-Left turn signal directly below headlight is dim. It blinks, dimly. Does not light up when headlights are on and the turn signal indicator on dash stays lit. Right side was doing this too up until today, then it cleared up. Replaced both bulbs. Where do these ground to?

Click to expand...

Im not sure what these ground too, but i had a problem that was similiar if not the same.

When using the turn signal with the lights off, the indicator light would blink dim, and would also impact the clocks light. When the blinker would blink, the clocks light would dim. At this time, i did not have the time to work on my Jeep, so i took it a good Jeep mechanic in-town. He said that it was a "common" problem with the socket that the turn signal light was in went bad. They replaced the socket for me, and it worked fine. A few months later, i hit a deer with my Jeep, and i replaced everything that was broken.. (Header panel, header trim, bumper, ac condenser, radiator, PS pump pulley, electric fan, centrifugal fan etc etc. When i picked up the header panel at the Junk yard i made sure i got all the wiring also because the impact with the deer broke some of the old harness sockets etc.. When i got it all back together, i had the same problem with the opposite turn signal indicator light. (I believe it was the "left" indicator this time.) Since i had an idea of what was causing this, i just went to the junkyard again, and cut myself off the best socket i could find leaving as much wiring behind it as possible. I removed the old socket, and spliced in the new one just making sure i matched the colored wires up. Im sure its recommended to solder this up, but i just used in-line crimps, and made sure i wrapped it well with electrical tape. After i did this my problem was fixed. It was like a $1-2 dollar part at the wrecking yard, so very cheap just to test to see if it will fix your problem. If it does then i would recommend you get a brand new one, and use it instead. Since i just needed to get my Jeep running again (daily driver) i just left it the way it is, and its been about 9 months now and no problems. I hope that helps you out.
Also, just in-case its unclear when i say "socket" i mean where the bulb for the turn signal plugs in at the front of the Jeep, not in the instrument panel.


Sorry for the long post, but i wanted to be informative.

I'll change the socket tomorrow, its the 231 btw. The clicking went away today when I tightened the trackbar, but I get a low steady grind now when I accelerate or decelerate in 4wd.

My other turnsignal started to do the same thing today. Then stopped. Gay.

Thanks guys.

One more quick Q, I reconnected the factory stereo today. Im positive I got all the wires right, but the front left doesn't work. It didn't work before with the aftermarket the person before me had either. If a speaker was blown, wouldn't it make SOME noise? The wires in the door jamb look intact.

Cant say about the wipers, but on my 88 jeep the front light ground is on the driver side fender well just in front of the windshield washer tank. as to your
speaker problem, When I did a new stereo in my jeep the wires were ok, but the paper cones on my in door speakers were totally rotted away.

mcnamaag said:

Your local parts store sell a bushing kit for the wiper fix I cant remember the part number but it is sold in the HELP isle. My 87 did the same thing slow wipers , not going all the way down. For 5.00 bucks and an hour of time mine were fixed. Search Wipers and you can find the write up.

Click to expand...

THIS will fix your wipers. Trust me.

99/100 wiper linkage gets dry and needs lube. Pull it apart and grease or squirt something into all of the joints when it's running.

20 year old rubber needs to be replaced. PERIOD. Use Goodyear rubber if you can, it holds up better than anything else I've used.

OEM speaker wires are wrong coarse type strands and will break at the point they enter the door. Needs to be fine strand wire for that use - too late now but if no speaker signal - cut open and check that area.