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1986 diesel XJ

diesel_guy86

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Bloomville, Ohio
Bought a 1986 diesel xj for a decent price awhile ago. Started doing research and there's just not much about them. My question is, how rare is this thing? I've sent Chrysler the Vin and they say it comes up invalid? Diesels are my thing so I'm not afraid of that and I've found sources for all the parts I needed. Don't know if its worth mentioning, but it has a 5 speedmanual, 2 door with vented rear windows, has a/c, cruise control, and keyless entry. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks- Joe
 
Not rare at all...in fact I'll be up with a trailer tomorrow just to take it off your hands :). They are farely rare atleast in my part of the country. Seems like Canada got quite a few. Kinda neat but not a lot of power from what I hear. And again...I will buy it haha
 
They were really common here (Germany). but had a lot of head gasket failures. After the first two or three head gaskets people dumped them.

I was talking to a guy in the Czech Republic who has a few, he says the key to longevity is to put in a timer and have an electric fan run for awhile after shutdown. He says most of the head gasket damage happens after shutdown and hot spots form in the motor.
 
On my way home with it, I had a guy offer me 3 times what I paid for it. Obviously if I had bought it to make money on it I would have sold it then and there, but I have a soft spot for "different" vehicles.
I'm believing what your saying on the hot spots, cylinders 1 and 3 have cracked liners. Already have 2 new ones waiting for me to get to them. Called ARP and had them make me a stud kit for it to get rid of the torque to yield bolts. The studs should keep everything a whole lot more secure. I'll take your advice and install an electric fan. For anyone who doesn't know these engines, there all aluminum, only steel in the engine is the crank, rods, and liners.
 
Note from DJ
I found this information with a Google search

1986 2.1L Turbo Diesel XJ in Idaho!
http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f8/1986-2-1l-turbo-diesel-xj-idaho-155662/

When was the last time you saw a Factory Diesel XJ/MJ
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f177/when-last-time-you-saw-factory-diesel-xj-mj-1392821/

1986 diesel XJ on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaJRlYtzupc

1986 Jeep Comanche 2.1 Turbo diesel, 4X4 You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUMqQODxNSE

Items found similar to "1986 jeep Cherokee diesel 5 speed" ebay link
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=1986+jeep+cherokee+diesel+5+speed+&_itemId=300602820433
 
I wasn't aware of the fact that keyless entry was even an option in '86!

A word of advice, keep an eye on the clutch master/fuse panel area. The former enjoys leaking onto the latter and causing all kinds of electrical gremlins. (I still need to source out fuse block terminals:rolleyes:)


I've also heard the pugeot trans is also a weak link.
 
Me either, but in the owners manual the page that the dealer is suppose to write all the info on (date purchased, Vin number, purchaser etc) it has a blank for the keyless entry I'd number, and its filled out.
 
did you get the keyfobs. Thats the important part...lol!:thumbup:
 
did you get the keyfobs. Thats the important part...lol!:thumbup:

At this point, even if you have the fobs they're probably useless - the circuit board itself in my '92's OEM fob was disintegrating when I bought the truck in 1997.

If this has the IR-based system (like a TV remote), you can get new remotes from Piland Electronics (www.thejeep.com/piland.html). All you need to do is pull the recieiver board off the headliner and find the 5-digit number tag on the circuit board, then call Piland to get hooked up.

Until I swapped in the keyless module from a 1995 Concorde into mine, I ran a Piland remote for years, and it never let me down.
 
If its a little black ball looking thing hanging down like a security camera at a casino, then yes.
 
I have 2 XJs with the 2.1L diesel, an 85 and an 86. The 86 is a parts vehicle. Both however, have the AX5 transmission. I rebuilt the one in my 85. If your transmission is working I would suggest not rebuilding it it no matter how many miles are on it. From what I could tell it is a well designed transmission and should go a long long time behind the diesel..

I have also rebuilt the engine in my 85 and got to know the beast quite well. The head gasket has been an issue as 8Mud has said. Mine as well. With a flow-through design expansion tank, it communicated to me that even the manufacturer knew there were head gasket problems. The flow through design helped to scavenge combustion gasses that got past the head gasket. I made a mistake however, and used the old head bolts as new ones were so expensive. Meanwhile, I have since bought several sets when they were available on RockAuto.com. They are no longer offered there as I just looked. With your set from ARP you should be even better off. The indication that I had a head gasket problem is that my Jeep started overheating. The odd thing is that my engine would be hot but my radiator would be cold. I realized that the combustion gases were accumulating in the radiator and displacing the coolant. After struggling with this for a while, I finally figured out that if I took the rubber gasket off from the plunger portion of the radiator cap it resolved my problem. The removal would allow a very small continuous flow from the top of the radiator to the expansion tank effectively causing the accumulation in expansion tank which in turn purged the gases instead of the coolant as it had been doing. I believe that this trick would allow a significant amount of head gasket blowby before becoming an issue. I would remove the gasket even if you don't suspect an issue because the problem has been so prevalent with these engines and I would prefer the vehicle would never overheat.

Another challenge I had with my diesel is the vacuum pump. And again, my situation was not by any means isolated. The diaphragm would eventually get a small hole in it and the pump would start drawing the oil out of the engine and putting it on the ground. They later improved the design. I heard someone discuss a mod that was popular in Europe to resolve this on the earlier vehicles like ours. I don't remember any details. I ran out of oil twice due to this. If your oil pressure gage says you are running half pressure you probably have little oil in the sump. Heed the warning! However, I removed a bearing cap to inspect a bearing and it was beautiful, so no harm.

I have enjoyed my Jeep very much. I got about 30 mpg with it. The performance reminds me more of a small gasoline engine than a diesel. It is not what I would call a torque monster and is willing to rev up a little bit.

I and others have put worthwhile lessons learned on this site including technical problems and where to buy parts. It would be worthwhile to do some reading if you have one of these vehicles.
 
I completely forgot about this post till now, so sorry for the delayed reply. I have done a lot of reading on this engine and am very familiar with diesel engines in general. I was originally gonna just get this motor fixed and running, but after seeing all the leaks, and soot in the cooling system, I decided to pull it out and rebuild it. I've collected all the parts and gaskets and just waiting on getting the time to do it. My head gasket solution is gonna be to get the top of the sleeves machined down flat with the deck. Then get the head the o-ring treatment. The o ringing is where a groove is machined in the head that is right where the compression ring is on the head gasket. Then a .020" diameter stainless steel wire is pressed into the groove. when the head is torqued down the wire clamps down on the compression ring super tight, holding tight enough to hold back 70psi of boost on hot rodded diesel trucks.

I think getting all the sleeves machined perfectly flat will be a big help, Im sure there would be a few thou difference between them stock. I think starting with a flat, solid foundation and clamping the head gasket good in the right spot, with best in the world fasteners, I can say bye bye to head gasket problems. I'm gonna follow the other fellows advice and install an electric fan to keep air moving when its shut off, sounds like a good idea. Also did you follow the 4 step head bolt tightening sequence? ARP are not torque to yield like the factory bolts, so I was just gonna torque em down to 90 ft/lbs and see if there is any head distortion.

Thank you for the very informative reply, there aren't many of these out there, but the people who have them seem to be more than willing to help others.
 
Is there a copper gasket available? That may be an other option.
 
I am not intending to revive an old thread here. I just wanted to put some info into the history that may be helpful to someone some day.

In my old post above I stated my problem with the vacuum pump dumping oil out of the crankcase. I had rebuilt the vacuum pump a couple of times and the rubber diaphragms did not last as long as I thought they should have. The primary reason for the vacuum pump is to provide a vacuum source for the vacuum brake booster. I think there is one other small vacuum line going to the vacuum pump but I cannot remember what that is off hand. Maybe that one can be routed to the suction side of the turbo or ? or maybe just abandoned. I don't know. I believe the answer is to replace the vacuum brake booster with a hydroboost and do away with the vacuum pump altogether.

Another thought is that the Winnebago LeSharo had the same engine but with some minor differences. The block is configured differently for a different kind of vacuum pump. Maybe that vacuum pump is much more reliable. I don't know. But to get that reliability, you would have to change both the block and vacuum pump. More research would have to be done on the compatibility of the LeSharo engine. I think I'll opt for the hydroboost myself. Also, someone may have a better idea.

Nelson
 
Maybe helpful, my 85 Cadillac Deville originally had a vacuum pump for accessories even though it was gas motor and the vacuum sensors ran off the motor no problem. It was just added to improve consistency (don't want the vents turning off going uphill do we). They discontinued it in 87 I believe. Anyway, there are some alternative options out there.
 
My '95 Cummins also has a vacuum pump.
 
My '95 Cummins also has a vacuum pump.

There are 12 volt vacuum pumps out there. They are often needed on vehicles with large camshafts in their engine. And as Anak pointed out, they can also be found in vehicles equipped with diesel engines.

Summit Racing carries them. They are a bit pricey but will put an end to all your brake vacuum woes.
 
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