My MJ - Nothing fancy

[Devilfrog]

Well been wanting an MJ for a loooooong time, finally many years later I find a girl that lets me have one (good thing I married her).

It's an 88 MJ, 4.0L, 5spd, 2wd Sport Truck ... thinks that was Jeep's name for the base model back then. Has the full guage pack though.

SO as expected the closed cooling system was in need of work, ran fine, just burbled coolant out a myriad of cracks here and there. The radiator had seen better days a few years ago ... still did it's job after a fashion, just didn't have all too many fins remaining and those that were there crumbled when looked at.

SO I had a few spare bits left over for the XJ ... old stock Rad in good shape, and recently flushed. A few other bits that I will toss on over the next few months as well ... but the cooling system was the big one.


The truck the day I brought it home.


The offending coolant bottle

and few pics to illustrate the general condition in the engine bay ... looks like there are still a few factory bits that have yet to crumble.



So I tore the front grill and bulkhead off and ran into this issue

we'll get into how I will fix that likely tomorrow, already started on getting those out, the whole drivers side came apart like that ... Yay!

Anywho, one, two skip a few and we arrive at today (truck came home Friday - two days ago).
Used 2000 XJ radiator (my old stocker), 6' of 5/8" coolant hose, and some Ghetto fab skills extraordinaire to arrive at this ...





That's a real live Fast Orange Coolant recovery bottle in all it's awesomeness ... and yeah ... that's the old pressure bottle strap recycled just in case anyone wondered

had some fun with some brakeline, part of the old vacuum system and some gerthunkin to create this work of something, not sure.

Otherwise I cut out the old warmup valve from the airbox as it was mostly not there anyway. Deleted the Vacuum connector and the EGR system since it was mostly crumbly and not really doing anything either. Moved the ballast resistor to the EGR valves spot to make room for the catch bottle. Moved the vacuum reservoir to the rear firewall just under where the old pressure bottle used to live. Yarded out the old heater hosing and ran new lines straight to and from the core. Used some poly hose (1/2") to recreate the CCV system and simplified the vacuum system as much as possible (well maybe a lot. being that most of it was for the EGR system anyway). Had to rebuild the Upper radiator isolators as the top studs were spun. Used Goop to seal them back enough to tighten them down, going to have to deal with that again eventually but it's good for now.
Cleaned 25 years of oil, grease and grime off the fenders and engine as much as possible ... it looks 1000x better than it did. went through some of the wiring cleaning as I went, oil was clean, cap and rotor are new, wires are old but in good shape ... she runs great, better than my XJ ... and the MJ has 20,000kms less at 211,000kms on the odo (just under 132,000 miles).
It's got the BA 10/5 from what I can tell but I'll deal with that one day, it shifts fine as is for now.
Looks like the engine was treated well for the most part and from the all the oil grime may have had some internal work at one point.
I did notice the drivers door hinges were pulling from the body so that on the list, as is some interior lighting futzing. The wipers weren't working when I tried them, but she's swinging now so may just need some lubing and some time on ... the truck has sat since January.
Charge voltage is 14.6V but the gauge reads around 12v at idle ... normal?
And the Temp gauge reads ~ 60-70 Celsius warmed up ... but I heard these Renix era motors run cooler.
Had to steal the Rad cap from my XJ for the test run, but tomorrow will be a run to the store for a new Valve cover gasket, and a rad cap ... then the install and trackbar replacement ... then I think we're good to insure the old gurl. after repairing the front bulkhead so I can get all the lighting back on. Ironically the passenger side had all stainless screws in place ... all different sizes, but at least someone tried.
And the stereo sounds decent - aftermarket with 6x9's behind the bucket seats.

Not planning anything special for this beasty, just a decent get me to work truck ... might rework the suspension a bit with some leftovers from the XJ and try to fit a set of 31" muds on the rear and some 30's for the front ... maybe swap in a 3.55 or so geared 8.25 or d35 eventually as well. one day I may consider a 4wd swap, but that's just pipe dream for now. It's a nice little truck as is.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

Stock gauges are known to not be accurate at times. As long as you know your volts/whatever are correct then not really a big deal.

 

[bluejeepkid]

Looks pretty cool

 

[kastein]

Looks pretty clean!

I used to get those busted off rusty grille screw studs out by heating them up with a soldering iron till the plastic/resin melted a bit around them, then unscrewing them with a pair of good new pliers with sharply serrated jaws. Then replace with stainless steel hardware... turn the heads down a bit with a file and a drill press where necessary.

 

[Devilfrog]

ended up drilling with a small bit at three points around the stub, then busting it loose with a punch and hammer. Then I filled the whole mess with JB Kwik and redrilled the pilot after it set. I like the soldering iron tip, I'll have to try that if I run into it again.
Got her all back together today, insured and driven several times ... found the floating feeling to the steering to be the completely worn out tracbar.
Replaced the valve cover and had to use a whole can of easy off yellow top to make the inside of the valve cover look like it had 211,000kms on it ... it was pretty nasty in there.
scraped what I could and blew it out with air, going to hit it with a few quick oil changes over the next while.
had plug die on me as well, so on went new plugs, rotor cap and wires. solved the dead hole but now I have a bogging when I drop to idle. hoping cleaning the TB next chance I get will fix that. Hiy the motor with seafoam and it runs a lot better now, may have had some bad gas as well, it has sat for some time.
Other issues of note ... drivers door pulling from cab, have to get that welded back up ... not bad but has started.
Wipers are well, interesting ... only one speed, and park is wherever they happen to be when I turn them off. If I roll back for mist they cycle once and park ... so not all bad. had to turn them on for 1/2 hour while I washed it to get them to this point though. hoping if I pull the cowl and lube the linkage it may get better ... dry wiper drag makes it worse, it's way better with a wet windshield Although I did get rid of most of the green algae and twelve wasp nests in the process (there were two starting in the drivers cab vent).
Temp still reading ~70 Celcius, so either it's the sender or the PO may have thrown a 160F thermostat in it to solve the "overheating" issue .... there wasn't one yet (but given the condition of the bottle and rad I was shocked it still ran cool-ish), but he was 80 so I just nodded rather than argue. Given that 70C is 158F I'm guessing it's the thermostat ....

Aslo don't have interior lights, guage lights are good just no door lights ... not a life threatening issue for me but annoying all the same. Stereo is great, but no radio reception ... what are the chances the antenna isn't hooked up ... HA!

Overall the truck is in fair to decent shape, I really enjoy driving it even in it's present state of disrepair, some things just make me go WTF though with whatever the PO's were thinking. Mostly wiring and maintenance related .... but it looks like this old gurl's a survivor and now in good hands.
Trading some suspension parts for a set of new tires/rims off a TJ (the ones similar to the ICONS but with the rounded profile and machined lip, tires at 70%) so I can decide what to do with these turbines and rotted Michelins (tires are new but cracked to crap). I like to Turbines but they are just a wee bit corroded ... might paint them and toss winter tread on them or use 'em for my Quad trailer. Been talking paint as well, just a cheapy driveway job, the paint/decals on this won't be missed, the paint's actually pretty had as well. Thinking red, or green (likely a bright green) .... maybe a black lower and color top parted at one of the body lines (not sure which yet ... but it's just rambling at this point). but it needs paint before winter as it's worn though in a few places (upper rear cab, along the bed liner, rockers in places, blah, blah, blah ...).

Going to have to sort out the coolant bottle, I mean it's doing what it needs to, but there has to be a better way.

Sorry, my camera midget took a nap so no pics of MJ goodness today. But it was a great Fathers day present from the wife ... the MJ and three days of time to work on it, was fun just to mech.

Also remembered the O2 sensor looked rusty enough to be the original ... so was thinking that may be where my stumbling is coming from as well.
Getting that out might need twelve expert pro's and a myriad of specialized tools ... so I might not be able to fix it, better sell the truck now and buy a BMW ... in truth it looks like it's going to fight me tooth and nail ... but I shall prevail. Now, where did I put my 22mm wrench ... or was that 7/8" damn! Now what, better call the pro ... I just can't resist.

 

[cruiser54]

Here's something to do as soon as you can. Saves tons of problems in the future:

Renix Ground Refreshing
The Renix era XJs and MJs were built with an under-engineered grounding system for the engine/transmission electronics. One problem in particular involves the multiple ground connection at the engine dipstick tube stud. A poor ground here can cause a multitude of driveabililty issues, wasted time, failed emission tests, and wasted money replacing components unnecessarily.
The components grounding at the dipstick tube stud are:
Distributor Sync Sensor, TCU main ground, TCU "Shift Point Logic", Ignition control Module, Injectors, ECU main ground which other engine sensors ground through, Oxygen sensor, Knock Sensor, Cruise Control, and Transmission Sync signal. All extremely important stuff.
The factory was aware of the issues with this ground point and addressed it by suggesting the following:
Remove the nut holding the wire terminals to the stud. Verify that the stud is indeed tightened securely into the block. Scrape any and all paint from the stud’s mounting surface where the wires will attach. Must be clean, shiny and free of any oil, grease, or paint.
Inspect the wire terminals. Check to see that none of the terminals are crimped over wire insulation instead of bare wire. Be sure the crimps are tight. It wouldn’t hurt to re-crimp them just as a matter of course. Sand and polish the wire terminals until clean and shiny on both sides. Reinstall all the wires to the stud and tighten the nut down securely.
While you’re in that general area, locate the battery negative cable which is fastened to the engine block just forward of the dipstick stud. Remove the bolt, scrape the block to bare metal, clean and polish the cable terminal, and reattach securely.
Another area where the grounding system on Renix era Jeeps was lacking is the engine to chassis ground. There is a braided cable from the back of the cylinder head that also attaches to the driver’s side of the firewall. This cable is undersized for it’s intended use and subject to corrosion and poor connections at each end.
First off, remove the cable end from the firewall using a 15mm wrench or socket. Scrape the paint off down to bare metal and clean the wire terminal. Reattach securely.
Remove the other end of the cable from the rear of the head using a 3’4" socket. Clean all the oil, paint and crud from the stud. Clean the wire terminal of the cable and reattach securely.
A suggestion regarding the braided cable:
I prefer to add a #4 Gauge cable from the firewall to a bolt on the rear of the intake manifold, either to a heat shield bolt or fuel rail bolt. A cable about 18" long with a 3/8" lug on each end works great and you can get one at any parts store already made up. Napa has them as part number 781116.
A further improvement to the grounding system can be made using a #4 cable, about 10" long with 3/8" terminals at each end. Attach one end of this cable to the negative battery bolt and the other end under the closest 10mm headed bolt on the radiator support just forward of the battery. Napa part number 781115.
For those of us with Comanches, it’s very important to remove the driver’s side taillamp assembly to access the ground for the fuel pump. Remove the screw holding the black ground wire. Scrape the paint from the body and corrosion from the wire terminal. Reattach securely.
If you want to upgrade your grounds and battery cables in general, contact Jon at www.kelleyswip.com. He makes an incredible cable upgrade for a very reasonable price.
　
Revised 03-04-2013


Click on this link for more Renix tips. I would highly recommend #s 2,3, and 4.

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/cruiser54s-mostly-renix-tips-153657/

 

[Devilfrog]

Thanks, I'll look into all that ... I already did the Valve cover one when I cleaned the cover ... just standard practice for me, except I drill the hole in the center of the flat spot of the "tubes" and leave the splash guards in place (they never seem to get mentioned except for one guy who thought they were a valve).

The grounds and C101 were on the top of my list.

 

[Devilfrog]

Toughest oil filter to date ... Hands, nope.
Strap wrench ... Crumpled filter.
Screwdriver pry, torn filter.

Hour later it was off, after ripping it in half, using two allen keys through the inlet ports, a crescent wrench to those and a big arse scewdriver through the crescent wrench. I think this was payback for how easily the tracbar came out.

I'm gonna say this filter was on too long and was running on bypass. Oil inside was black, crankcase is honey colored, next filter goes on in 500km, then another oil change.

Swapped the thermo out, had a 180 in it already, the swapped out the stock fuel filter.

Nothing like regular maintenance :screwy: