Joel's multipurpose XJ build (rocks/boulevard)

Does it have a crank sensor will it even run if its unhooked.
I think you should just send that intake and header to me ill thinking about putting them on my renix.

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I measured the protrusion of the dowel pins on a '95 Head that Russ ported. It protruded .460 or so. So a bit less than 1/2". From the picture, yours looks like it dose not protrude enough. I didn't get to measure a '99 head I have out in the garage, nor the flange thickness of the stock header.
I have spray painted the last two '99+ intakes I installed with the Ceramic engine paint in silver. I doubt it does much for heat rejection or very minimal. On the '98, I've run it for probably 5 years now. It still looks clean. I use aluminum cleaner to get the surface etched for paint. I think the one on the '98, I sand blasted it. I do have one ceramic coated on my '88 MJ. I haven't run it though.

75SV1 said:

I measured the protrusion of the dowel pins on a '95 Head that Russ ported. It protruded .460 or so. So a bit less than 1/2". From the picture, yours looks like it dose not protrude enough. I didn't get to measure a '99 head I have out in the garage, nor the flange thickness of the stock header.
I have spray painted the last two '99+ intakes I installed with the Ceramic engine paint in silver. I doubt it does much for heat rejection or very minimal. On the '98, I've run it for probably 5 years now. It still looks clean. I use aluminum cleaner to get the surface etched for paint. I think the one on the '98, I sand blasted it. I do have one ceramic coated on my '88 MJ. I haven't run it though.

Click to expand...

The dowel pins come out so they get re-installed to what-ever depth the installer hammers them into. The spray can ceramics don't do the job that a pure ceramic coating provides.

That and I've had 50/50 results getting ceramic in a can to stay on exhaust parts.

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I am gonna guess the running like crap is from the o2 sensor being covered in crap. We have had cars and trucks over the years that run like garbage and throw o2 codes because of all the mud on them. cleaned them off and away they go. If my memory serves me right you need to have a clean o2 for proper operation, something to do with it compares the oxygen content from outside the exhaust to inside the exhaust. almost like a self calibration for a baseline voltage. I am hoping to have the right guess but you know what they say, pride comes before the fall...

Picking up the story… At this point I’ve been over the intake/exhaust mani install several times and it looks good. However, it’s killing me that the P0171 code and stumbling/choking behavior is unchanged.

I decide I’m not going to spend more time chasing a ghost leak, so it’s time to find out where. Some folks do a soapy water test and pressurize the exhaust with a shop vac. That seems a little janky and I’m not all sure I can get soapy water everywhere I’d need it. So I turn to Amazon and buy a smoke test setup.

Smoke tester:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07JVT1NG2?

Tailpipe adaptors:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08HRRJ5KT? (the inflatable version is the hot ticket IMHO)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07R21Z42Y?

The smoke test works GREAT. Hard to get pics in progress but here’s a bit smoke out the tailpipe during setup.




So where’s it leaking? There is an obvious leak at the v-band for my muffler, but interestingly enough there’s NO LEAK in the header or merge. While I’m playing with the tools I do the intake side as well and find a tiny crack in the brake booster vacuum line. Hell, I can see a whisp of smoke coming out of the pivot past the bushings on the throttle body.

Huh, what-da-ya-know? No more exhaust leak but I still have the same symptoms. This conclusion forces me to admit that I either 1) entirely misdiagnosed the issue to begin with or 2) something new is going on with the install.

It’s time to get super methodical on this bastard. An exhaust leak upstream of the 02 would easily explain a P0171 engine code (bank 1 lean). The 02 sensor sees some fresh air, thinks it’s lean and demands more and more fuel until both short and long term fuel trims (STFT, LTFT) both exceed limits and throw the code.

So what ELSE causes a code P0171? Possible causes for P0171 from the 2001 FSM (as found searching forums)


I started from the most obvious and checked fuel pressure. I had already had done so, but I revved it harder this time just to be sure and it was still rock steady at 49 psi. Spec I found online was 49+/-2 psi so that was perfect. That lets me rule out the first three fuel related causes.



Moving on to the 02 sensor, I started with wiring and heater checks. Definitely found some horror stories in searching this one. Case in point:


In the 4 wire sensor, I had good power and ground on the chassis side and good continuity on the heater sensor side, so I ruled that out for now. 02 itself remains suspect but let’s see what else we test before I throw parts at this.

MAP Sensor test (Again quoting from my web search):


I pulled the map and used a safety pin to probe the back of the connector. Pulled some vacuum on this with a Mityvac and the voltage tracks exactly as intended.



Might be possible there’s an intermittent wiring/grounding issue but I’m setting this one aside for now too.

Throttle Position, Engine Coolant temp, and I’ll add in Intake Air Temp just because (TPS, ECT, IAT).

My cheap OBDII scan device does some live data modes so let’s start there and see what the computer is reporting and whether it makes sense.








All the sensors I was jumping on to check look ok. Throttle does a nice 0-100% sweep and values coming out of the temp sensors look reasonable… Oh and both short and long term fuel trims are pegged at +32%...

But then I spot it. Why the hell is the front 02 sensor reading close to 0v while the rear is reading 1v?

Are these supposed to be in the same range? Turns out yes, yes they are. Both my front and rear sensors have a 0-1v range with 0v meaning lean and 1v being full rich. I take it for a drive monitoring data real time and the upstream sensor never changes voltage while it’s supposed to be jumping back and forth around the middle of the range.

Now we’re getting somewhere! That’s enough evidence for me, so new 02 sensor it is. Having found such an obvious exhaust leak blinded me to the fact something was going on with my 02. Drop in the new sensor and she FINALLY purrs like a kitten.

So why was this so damn hard?

First off, I should have been looking at the live data on my scanner earlier. I can’t actually tell you whether I killed the 02 by removing it and playing with thing during my testing or whether it was a bad 02 all along.

In 25 years of wrenching on cars, the piece I never knew? O2 sensors are looking at reference atmosphere pulled from the BODY of the sensor, not just what’s going on at the tip.





Those holes in the body on the NTK sensor matter a lot. My working theory is that I ground grease into them while playing with stuff.




If your specific O2 doesn't have holes in the body it's likely it's measuring atmsopheric through a filter built into the wire entry area.

So kudos to CookDaddy, who nailed the diagnosis:

CookDaddy said:

I am gonna guess the running like crap is from the o2 sensor being covered in crap. We have had cars and trucks over the years that run like garbage and throw o2 codes because of all the mud on them. cleaned them off and away they go. If my memory serves me right you need to have a clean o2 for proper operation, something to do with it compares the oxygen content from outside the exhaust to inside the exhaust. almost like a self calibration for a baseline voltage. I am hoping to have the right guess but you know what they say, pride comes before the fall...

Click to expand...

Moral of the story, watch where you grab the 02 sensor body on install! My sensor wouldn’t clean off since the junk on it was kinda a slurry of mud plus oil from my power steering leak. I tried to clean and blow it out with compressed air but I had no change.

Thankfully I solved my PS leak too (albeit the hard way)… PSC power steering write up is next.

-Joel

Glad to know that fixed your issue. Ironically I've had a p0171 code intermittently with some running issues and revisiting this spurred me to finally purchase a new sensor after knowing full well that is what it needed. Here's to hoping for a similar result as you! Gonna install tonight.

Thanks for all the detail.

I learned something there.

Did not know about the O2 sensors being comparative.

I used a similar smoke machine to fine a leak on my old '01 XJ... I though it was leaking were the header flange bolted to the head... wrong, it was were the 2 header collectors connected to the pre-cats. Could see where the smoke was coming from after stuffing the smoke machine in the tailpipe w/the flared rubber connector that seals off the exhaust. I tried to find that for a long time... smoke machine made it easy.

Also helped me track down a slight rubber hose that was cracked near the charcoal canister near the fuel tank... which was throwing a trouble code off/on/off for 2 years. Drove me crazy that 5 minutes and a spare piece of crack-free tubing solved that headache. Having some knowledge and the correct tools sure help.

Glad you figured out it was the O2 Sensor.

Anak said:

Thanks for all the detail.

I learned something there.

Did not know about the O2 sensors being comparative.

Click to expand...

Indeed - very interesting discovery about the "inner workings" of that sensor. Thanks for sharing that info.

Alright Joel,

Based on your post regarding exhaust headers I've ordered the AFE header for our '99 XJ. I was leaning towards Banks prior to that, but the fact that they've had a good number of failures has irked me for years.

At the moment we've got a bit of a limited income, but we're of the mindset of buying the best quality and value as we're able to.

Our exhaust manifold is seriously cracked and we're going to let "Mission Creep" come into play by installing the AFE header along with a StinkFab transmission mount, and engine mounts; it'll be a good time to install new front and rear main seals, freeze plugs, and a transmission seal and filter.

When it comes to diagnosing and fixing vehicles, I tend to scour the internet whether it be forums, a bit of YouTube, etc. and try to weed out those who are firing off the parts cannon from those who have a reasoned and methodical approach. In other words, I'm trying to find "that guy" who knows what he's talking about. In this case, that's you!

Thanks again for the info. I'll be reading through your thread and getting up to date on your build. It looks like it'll make for a good read.

-John

StillStandin' said:

Alright Joel,
…When it comes to diagnosing and fixing vehicles, I tend to scour the internet whether it be forums, a bit of YouTube, etc. and try to weed out those who are firing off the parts cannon from those who have a reasoned and methodical approach. In other words, I'm trying to find "that guy" who knows what he's talking about. In this case, that's you!
…

Click to expand...

Yo John, glad it helped. FWIW, I’m a guy digging for reviews just like you are. I have a mental list of authors whose opinions I treat as gold, so I’m trying to add to the knowledge base and push the envelope just a bit further. Even as forums slowly dwindle, they’re still the best knowledge base that I know of. I don’t want to see them die (part of why I’m doing this).

I ran across this meme right after finally solving the engine headaches and it got a good laugh from me.




Time to talk steering…

If you read this whole thread you might remember that I’ve been living with a power steering leak for 3 years or so. I tried swapping o-rings a couple times but that didn’t solve it. Note, I was using viton for chemical resistance whereas one gent noted good ol’ Buna-N might have be a bit more forgiving. Details of the prior attempts here: https://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=246660166&postcount=488

Well, the leak was getting pretty bad. This was after a recent run on a dusty road.




The sketchy part was that even with the fluids topped off and re-bleed, I could outdrive the assist. When hauling booty on a winding dirt road, if I had a quick change of direction, I could feel the assist go away and come back. It’s pretty freaky when it tries to put you on a new line and/or suddenly the steering effort is 5 times what it was.

So I decided, screw it. I’m planning on keeping this jeep even if I eventually finish my crazy FJ40. Steering has always been a weak point so I ended up buying PSC’s pump and reservoir kit for the XJ.
https://www.pscmotorsports.com/psc-pk1852.html




The main thing that I wanted was a bigger/better pump. If I was running out of assist, I figured it’s possible the flow rate couldn’t keep up with the demand I was putting on things sawing the wheel around. Also possible that I was seeing cavitation or a big bubble burping out of the system. Either way it wasn’t getting ‘er done. I’ve been through 3 remanufactured pumps at this point so I wanted some brand new parts and PSC seemed to check all the boxes.

The pump in the PK1852 kit is this one: https://www.pscmotorsports.com/psc-sp32362jp.html It is all new and has a bigger displacement which is rad. I’d have preferred a direct mount reservoir for simplicity but I can live with the remote mounting (or so I thought). This power steering pump review was pretty helpful. https://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1143323

Note, the pump does mount with only 2 of the 3 original “through” bolts to the intake manifold. The physically larger bore size precludes the top bolt landing. Instead the 3rd bolt threads into a blind hole in the top of the pump housing.






PSC doesn’t give you this new top bolt which is a bit lame considering the cost of the kit. I believe it’s an m8 x 1.25 – 20 mm, which thankfully I had, so not that big a deal.

What IS a big deal, is the reservoir placement that PSC is using. I didn’t quite realize this when I bought the kit. PSC doesn’t offer installations instructions, instead you only get “installation tips” in the box. Which is this: https://www.pscmotorsports.com/pub/media/pdf/reservoir_tips.pdf

The placement of the reservoir in the PK1852 kit violates quite a few of the tips they give you!

WTF?!? Seriously?

Yep. For posterity, here’s the current install instructions with every “tip” highlighted that the kit’s designers broke by putting the reservoir so far from the pump.






The reservoir mounts to the brake booster so almost on the firewall. It makes sense that this could starve if you do any kind of steep climb.




The placement lands under a hood rib so it’s lower than it needed to be.




The run is close to 16” long (another no no).

The final deal breaker for me is that it PSC’s placement lands right in the middle of the of my air intake. Now sure, there’s no reason why PSC would design around someone else’s intake (AFE in this case), but it still sucks and because they don’t have install instructions I could check out in advance I had no idea.

That said, in doing some poking around after I’d purchased the parts I’m not sure their mounting works for us at all.

Here’s a user with some pretty harsh things to say about using their reservoir mount position.
https://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=246253406&postcount=282
https://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=246255964&postcount=283
I don’t know if the kit has been updated since this was written in 2008.

I almost returned the whole damn thing. However, shipping to and from Hawaii is so expensive that a return just kills me and these are obviously nice parts… so I decide to take the hard road and do a custom reservoir placement instead.

…

And proceed to not deal with it for about a year since I had too many projects and I wasn’t excited about dealing with this. Anyone else been there?

…

But then hey, look-ie here… Say one has a nasty exhaust leak and you need to yank the PS pump to swap a header anyways? If you’re that guy and you have some PS goodies on the shelf, then of course it would be enough inspiration to jump back into this.

I looked at half a dozen placements. My wildest idea was welding two fittings together to try for a direct mount solution and make my own “integrated reservoir” (too high and brackets would be complex). I was ready to cut down the reservoir itself like the gent linked above to get the reservoir higher but it wasn’t enough. Nothing wanted to fit and the big 12 AN fittings that PSC gave me have gentle bends for flow that aren’t conducive to close mounting, especially if I end up have to chassis mount this and need to account for engine motion. I wanted to get it into the front corner but I couldn’t make it land and going outboard drops the height too.

Anyways, here’s the solution I eventually came up with… I notched the corner out of my AFE airbox:




I’d forgotten that the box was steel… Why a shield needs to be as heavy as the AFE piece and isn’t made from aluminum, I have no idea, but at least it was easy to weld to and I don’t care enough about the weight to remake it. Not shown, some edge trim for the reservoir to sit on at the horizontal cut.




The fittings that PSC gave me aren’t going to work anymore but thankfully I have some stuff lying around that I can make work. As noted, the feed line is -12 AN and I used a 60 degree bend and a straight plus some actual braided line to make my own line.




By the way, PSC no longer lists a phone number on their website, but I just noticed that the description of the PK1852 on their site has a little nugget about XJs that states “The PK1852X upgrade is only applicable for 1997-2002 TJ/XJ.”

If you want to try this and you have the right years, you should call and talk to PSC and find out what that “X” designation means. Oh, but you can’t call them since they no longer list their phone number on the website. Yay! So you have it, here’s the contact info that you get on an invoice.

PSC Motorsports,
P. O. Box 926
Azle, TX 76098
PH 817-270-0102

I spoke to PSC several times throughout this process. One challenge is that no matter what I do the pump on a XJ is mounted fairly high so I was gonna violate their recommendation on avoiding a flat feed hose. I was at least able to confirm that hydraulic head pressure still matters so as long as the fluid surface is above the pump, I should be okay (even though it’s pretty much a direct copy of their top left pic on “examples of what NOT to do”)

One downside of my placement is that the PS and fuel lines are fighting each other a bit. I try to go flex the steel fuel hardline by a few degrees by hand and I fell spray and hear a hiss. Are you kidding me? Nope, I just cracked my fuel line. I probably should have bleed pressure before messing with it (or used a bending tool rather than by hand). Hindsight.

No one has one on island, but thankfully summit carries the MOPAR replacement and my rig is already down with the stupid engine issues I noted above. I paid my penance and bought a new one.






At some point I mounted the optional splash vent to the side of the air box shield with some little spacers as well.




End results:




Hey, am I ready to drive this thing? I take it for a spin around the block (still running crappy as it was right before I launched into smoke testing) and it feels normal, albeit I’m not driving hard enough where I might have run out of assist prior.

Park it back in the garage… Next morning there’s a big ass puddle of PS fluid on the ground, naturally it’s the expensive Swepco 715 stuff this time... Crap. Turns out that my steering box was leaking in addition to the reservoir puking fluid. Looks like I’m gonna get to address the box too…

So that’s at least the saga of the flaw in the PK1852 kit and reservoir mounting. Would their factory mounting work okay? I tend to think it’s a maybe… It does violate a bunch of their rules, but I don’t have any experience to chime on whether you can get away with it or not. If you’ve run it the way PSC intended, please chime in with your thoughts. Between the terrible user feedback I found from 2008 and the conflict with my air intake, I wasn’t going to be the one to find out.

To their credit, PSC is letting me return the unused parts (bracket, fittings, and lines), so kudos on some good customer service there.

There’s a happy ending to this story coming, but we’re not quite there yet.
-Joel

Good detail in all of that.

And I am happy to see that my review of their stock pump was of some use to you.

been a while on here joel, got any updates on the xj or the land cruiser?

hope you are staying safe from the fires out there brother!