messed up motor

[Goatman]

Over Labor Day weekend I was at the Delta jet sking......had a blast. I forgot how much I enjoyed that place, used to keep a boat there. We stayed at Tower Park Marina off of Hwy 12 between I5 and Rio Vista.

Unfortunately, I blew a head gasket (and possibly worse) towing the two big 3 person skis up there. It took me 7 hours on Friday to get 45 miles from Bakersfield and back. The aux fan wasn't working, diagnosed that a diode in the harness that keeps current from the temp switch going back to the A/C compressor was bad. Since Jeep only sells a new harness (NOT!!), a new diode was soldered in, which didn't last very long. I took it back to the shop and he found a heavier diode, but didn't like it because the diode still got real warm, even though the wires on each side were fine. A toggle switch was installed direct to the fan relay to assure that the fan would work and I wouldn't get hot towing the skis in the afternoon. I had just replaced the radiator and fan clutch, so had confidence that if the aux fan worked there was no way that it would get hot.

Well, the fan quit working, even with the toggle switch, and so did the temp gauge/idiot light. By the time I figured that something was going on and pulled over, it was hot as blazes and the motor died before I got stopped. I got the fan working with a hot wire, and fixed the blown heater hose, but it got hot again before I got to the next off ramp, with bubbles into the coolant reservoir. Damn!!!!!

So, now I have to decide whether to tear it down and fix it or just swap in my spare motor. The spare runs perfectly, but has 210k on it, and the truck only has 117k and the motor was rebuilt before I got it.......because it got hot!

Well, at least I had a great weekend, other than Friday.

 

[Phil]

At least you got out to the Delta. Did you go look at the crowds that must have been around Lost Isle?

Sucks about the motor, don't you have a stroker?

 

[Gary E]

order that cam and the few other quick things for the stroker and toss it in there. I can't remember all the other little things you wanted to do to it. Maybe put a thicker head gasket on to get more volume (I know it will mess up the quench a bit)

Or heck if you are considering not finishing the stroker revamp in time and swaping another motor in whats the diffrence if you just throw the stroker in, see how it runs as is and see if you think its worth making all the changes to it. If you still want to make the changes you can pick a convienent month of downtime.

 

[Gary E]

Oh, figured out its the MJ

I would pull the head and check the surface with a decent square for flatness, if its all strait and you can tell it was definatly the gasket, I would just replace the gasket.

 

[Goatman]

At least you got out to the Delta. Did you go look at the crowds that must have been around Lost Isle?

Sucks about the motor, don't you have a stroker?

Yeah, Lost Isle was mayhem. We couldn't even get a PWC in there to park. Had to be a hundred boat's squeezed into the docks, and a whole bunch more anchored out and either swimming or taking dinghys to shore. That place had to be ROCKING!! A Coast Guard boat was patrolling the area, too.

My friend, who owns the skis, is new to the Delta, so I told him I'd show him around. It was just the two of us for the whole long weekend, so we covered some ground. We covered from the Meadows to Discovery Bay, and Village West to Rio Vista. Those PWC's are fast and we could really get around, plus we had a blast jumping some of those big boat wakes.

The stroker is for the XJ, I'm using the MJ for a daily driver. The engine runs without missing, just bubbles into the coolant, and there's no water in the oil, so maybe I'll just get the head off and see what's going on. I just don't want to risk having a problem with the block. I can send the head out to get checked, and surfaced if need be, but the block is a different story. Plus, I'm not sure how the rest of the motor is after getting that hot, twice.

Gary, maybe I should just throw the stroker in the MJ to see how it runs for awhile. Of course, then I might just make a pre-runner out of it......

 

[Jes]

Those PWC's are fast and we could really get around, plus we had a blast jumping some of those big boat wakes.

You're crazy, kids these days!

From your first post I thought you were talking about ol' yellow, like you don't have enough to do before Moab!
I say throw the stroker in the MJ to test it out.

Jes

 

[2offroad]

is it me or is Bakersfield hard on ers?

 

[CRASH]

You're welcome to any of the engine parts off of Old Red's motor, once I'm done with it.

My strokers at the machine shop right now, gettin' some lovin'.

BTW, how much does Jeep want for a complete wiring harness? I was thinking it would be great to replace the whole harness in the new rig.


CRASH

 

[Kejtar]

BTW, how much does Jeep want for a complete wiring harness?

A right arm... a left leg...... and your firstborn....

 

[CRASH]

Somebody must be able to get it at a discount.....

Where's old Mike Rollins when you need him?

CRASH

 

[Gary E]

To the thread Hyjacker:

Do you really want to rethread/mount that wiring harness through the whole thing? Geesh are you trying to make this a show jeep or something Dishwashers I am told work really well cleaning wiring harnesses. Do you have rats at that place eating wiring?

Don't even think about using the L word, I can get pictures if you need proof

Maybe is should be efficient Gary ?

 

[CRASH]

The winch must finally be mounted........it only took what......a year?

CRASH

 

[Goatman]

I haven't priced a harness for an XJ, but every harness I've either priced or had to buy was $600 to $1300, and there is usually one for the front and one for the back, breaking at the firewall.

I've decided that I'm putting the stroker in the MJ. I think that's a good way to check it out thoroughly without tearing it down. If I'm happy with how it runs, and can live with the premium gas, I'll swap motors with the XJ and the MJ sometime this winter.

That stock short bed MJ with 28" tires should run real well with a 4.6L.

 

[Gary E]

more like 6 Months

The funny thing is I wired it and it actually works

I must say I am pleased with the way the remote solenoid setup worked. I made a small mounting plate just for the female receptacle next to the winch and spliced the wires to the relay box behind the bumper, I even used sodder and heat shrink tubing

good plan Richard

 

[CRASH]

Better stock up on 28" tires. I recommend Mickey Thompson "Sportsman ET" 28 x 14.50's......

CRASH

 

[Goatman]

I don't want tires with too much bite, the truck still has a D35. uke:

BTW, since the trans and t-case from the junk jeep (with the stroker) is eventually going in the MJ anyway, no better time than to do it now. Don't need to remove the trans from either block, just pull 'em and swap 'em. Will move the crossmember and shorten the driveline, then mess with the front end and linkage when I get around to it.

I wonder if that motor will ever find it's way into the XJ? :dunno:

Hmmm, anyone got a 14 bolt laying around, and a HP60? :woohoo:

 

[CRASH]

Oh man, how is going to be a fair race back to camp if you're still running the tired old motor in the Yellow Heep? It's gotta get a stroker eventually.

Cripes, and here I thought I was going to resort to nitrous to beat you and Farmer Boy......

CRASH

 

[Goatman]

Well, I know I won't be able to get out of swapping the stroker into the XJ, especially if you show up with one. Damn, I guess I will have to go ahead and pull the head and put a cam in that thing.

Unless.........I find a cheap HP60. I already can get my hands on a 14 bolt. Put some wide flare fiberglass fenders on the MJ, pull the bed and make a tube flat bed, and run full width axles.............

I hate to have to do all this swapping, but since the manifolds and the brackets can stay on the block, it shouldn't be too bad. There's no quicker and cheaper way to get the MJ going again.

 

[CRASH]

I never thought I would hear you use the words "full width" in connection with a vehicle you owned.

You must be having one of those mid-life crisis' I keep hearing about.



CRASH

 

[FarmerMatt]

Mid Life? I'd say more like 2/3.

Matt