A Few Questions

vabeachtennis · Feb 21, 2011

I was showing my friend my water pump and Napa ZJ fan clutch on my 1996 XJ 4.0 4/96 "build date", and I started looking around towards the back of the engine on the driver's side, near the CPS connection and I think cylinder 6. There's a braided ground strap that seems to be connected to the valve cover. It's pretty oily and it also has made a very noticeable and deep wear mark on a hose it's resting against.

Question one; does anyone know where I can buy the braided ground strap?

Question two; does anyone know what hose that's being worn goes to? The braided ground literally rests on it.

Question three; what is that hose responsible for and where can I get a new one?

vabeachtennis · Feb 21, 2011

Here are some photos of what I am talking about:

That braided ground wire is definitely wearing a flat spot the shape of the wire on that hose. It's where they "X" together. I checked Napa's website for the ground strap and that hose but i couldn't find it. Does anyone have any suggestions?

vabeachtennis · Feb 21, 2011

Here's another photo of it.

bdahlg · Feb 21, 2011

Don't buy a new POS braided ground strap, replace it with a 2 gauge wire, found at any parts store. then replace the vacuum hose as well. That is more likely the source of the oil.

vabeachtennis · Feb 21, 2011

bdahlg said:
Don't buy a new POS braided ground strap, replace it with a 2 gauge wire, found at any parts store. then replace the vacuum hose as well. That is more likely the source of the oil.

Thank you. I'll check out that 2 gauge wire. Are you saying that the vac hose may be the source of the oil on that strap?

BrokenSockets · Feb 21, 2011

Would you be getting oil out of a vacuum line?

Valve cover leaking around back and finding it's way up the ground strap?

vabeachtennis · Feb 21, 2011

BrokenSockets said:
Would you be getting oil out of a vacuum line?

Valve cover leaking around back and finding it's way up the ground strap?

Yeah, it does look like there's a leak somewhere. The funny thing is that my oil level is always full between oil changes. There's literally no oil level loss on the dipstick. I don't have a photo of it, but it does seem to come from the ground strap bolt (on the valve cover) and then migrates a little on the intake manifold.

I think that the vacuum hose leads to the Fuel Tank Vent. This picture seems to demonstrate that:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=245247302&postcount=3 Does anyone know what that oily ground strap "grounds"?

PaulJ · Feb 21, 2011

The braided strap is the ground connection to the chassis. The battery ground is connected to the engine block and that strap ties the rest of the vehicle to ground. There is likely nothing wrong with the strap itself.

vabeachtennis · Feb 21, 2011

PaulJ said:
The braided strap is the ground connection to the chassis. The battery ground is connected to the engine block and that strap ties the rest of the vehicle to ground. There is likely nothing wrong with the strap itself.

Thank you. Do you think that cleaning the oil off of it will give it a better ground? Is this a common thing (the braided strap wearing down the hose)for the Jeeps? Maybe the hose isn't routed correctly? What symptoms would a hole in that Fuel Tank Vent hose produce as far as idle and engine performance?

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far.

joe_peters · Feb 22, 2011

PaulJ said:
The braided strap is the ground connection to the chassis. The battery ground is connected to the engine block and that strap ties the rest of the vehicle to ground. There is likely nothing wrong with the strap itself.

Other than it is a braided POS that will degrade, self-destruct, and make your life MISERABLE in the process with strange electrical problems, well, then no, there is nothing wrong with that POS braided strap.

OP--as already suggested replace that strap with a 4 or 2 gauge cable, you can purchase it at any parts store. Clean the metal surfaces down to bare metal--wire brush in a Dremel tool works well--treat with an anti-corrosion agent from any hardware/paint store and make the connections TIGHT.

And yes, that hose leads from the charcoal canister to the intake--you can cut out a bad part and just slip some larger ID hose over both ends or use some tubing that will fit inside of the current hose.

Shorty · Feb 22, 2011

^^ agreed

-- replace it with a good 2-4ga battery cable and forget about it. It is known to deteriorate over time and oil intrusion between the strands will accelerate the degradation.

-- make sure to clean both contact points and treat them with Oxguard when changing it.

-- it should connect to the head bolt as opposed to a valve cover bolt.

vabeachtennis · Feb 22, 2011

joe_peters said:
Other than it is a braided POS that will degrade, self-destruct, and make your life MISERABLE in the process with strange electrical problems, well, then no, there is nothing wrong with that POS braided strap.

OP--as already suggested replace that strap with a 4 or 2 gauge cable, you can purchase it at any parts store. Clean the metal surfaces down to bare metal--wire brush in a Dremel tool works well--treat with an anti-corrosion agent from any hardware/paint store and make the connections TIGHT.

And yes, that hose leads from the charcoal canister to the intake--you can cut out a bad part and just slip some larger ID hose over both ends or use some tubing that will fit inside of the current hose.

LOL, I got the message on that one!

I saw a few 4 gauges on the NAPA site, but they all seemed to be battery cables. The one 2 gauge I saw was a braided one with a battery terminal connection at one end. Here:

Link

I just bought a Dremel tool (shhh don't tell my wife!), so I will use it to clean off the connection areas. The anti-corrosion agent makes a lot of sense too. I was thinking that this ground we are talking about is an important one but I don't know.

Yeah, I was thinking of doing that common sense shortcut with the vacuum hose. Do you think that something like this as a coupler of sorts:

LINK

Do you think that this will work? Thanks again about your advice about the NAPA ZJ fan clutch. It works great.

vabeachtennis · Feb 22, 2011

Shorty said:
^^ agreed

-- replace it with a good 2-4ga battery cable and forget about it. It is known to deteriorate over time and oil intrusion between the strands will accelerate the degradation.

-- make sure to clean both contact points and treat them with Oxguard when changing it.

-- it should connect to the head bolt as opposed to a valve cover bolt.

Thank you for your reply. Here's a real "noob" question; If I loosen that "head bolt" to change that ground cable, will it mess up my head gasket because it was loosened and then tightened again? When I loosen that bolt and replace the ground cable, I should tighten it to the "torque specs" for the head bolts, right?

Shorty · Feb 22, 2011

vabeachtennis said:
Thank you for your reply. Here's a real "noob" question; If I loosen that "head bolt" to change that ground cable, will it mess up my head gasket because it was loosened and then tightened again? When I loosen that bolt and replace the ground cable, I should tighten it to the "torque specs" for the head bolts, right?

That head bolt should have a stud on the top that accepts a separate nut. You shouldn't have to remove or loosen the actual bolt to remove the strap.

itbrokeagain · Feb 22, 2011

Dont loosen a head bolt for that ground strap. You will probably have issues from that. The cable you have pictured is no better than what you have. Ask for a battery cable with eye connectors on both ends. They should have it.

Shorty · Feb 22, 2011

the following picture shows the head bolt types you are looking at-- regular bolt in front, and studs behind it. You should find a nut on the rear-most stud for the ground strap-- if not, find a nut to fit and use it for your "new" ground.

vabeachtennis · Feb 22, 2011

Shorty said:
That head bolt should have a stud on the top that accepts a separate nut. You shouldn't have to remove or loosen the actual bolt to remove the strap.

Thank you. That makes a lot of sense, I just don't want to mess anything up.

vabeachtennis · Feb 22, 2011

itbrokeagain said:
Dont loosen a head bolt for that ground strap. You will probably have issues from that. The cable you have pictured is no better than what you have. Ask for a battery cable with eye connectors on both ends. They should have it.

Thank you.

vabeachtennis · Feb 22, 2011

Shorty said:
the following picture shows the head bolt types you are looking at-- regular bolt in front, and studs behind it. You should find a nut on the rear-most stud for the ground strap-- if not, find a nut to fit and use it for your "new" ground.

Thanks, right on the money man!!! Do you know what that sensor or plug is, that is closest to that rear head bolt, it seems to plug into the engine.

Shorty · Feb 22, 2011

coolant temp. sending unit (used '96 and earlier) -- sends temp info. to the dash gauge.

A Few Questions

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

Similar threads