New member, First Jeep!

[NewJeeper]

Hello fellow members! I'm brand new to the forum and wanted to introduce myself and my new project. My name is Dustin, I'm 28 and an Iowa native but am currently in the state of Florida. I love working on vehicles but have limited knowledge due to teaching myself. I have learned a ton over the last six years and am sure I will learn more! I have only wrenched on Chevys up until now. I have done everything from axel swaps, lifts, tune ups, disassemble 350 and 400 motors and top end refreshes. I bought the jeep as an alternate mode of transportation to my motorcycle. Contrary to popular belief, it does get cold in Florida! Also, I don't like taking my wife's only vehicle when the weather is bad or I want to spend a day fishing. So I'm sure you all wanna hear about the Jeep huh? It's an 87 Jeep Wagoneer 4x4 with the Dana 44 rear. The motor is the I6 4.0 and it has 152,XXX miles on it and brand new tires. I paid 1100 bucks for it and its pretty clean inside and out. There's a few door dings along the body and the worst sent is on the drivers side quarter-panel. You should be able to spot these out in the pics. One thing I noticed when getting a picture of the rear axel housing is that the frame is a little tweaked on the drivers side. In the rear picture you can see the bumper is a little higher on that side. During the test drive it tracked straight but it has a horrible vibration while accelerating. I chalk this up to U-joints but will investigate further. It needs a tune up for sure and the brake system looked at due to a soft pedal. For the price, I can handle these minor issues. So here she is...

 

[dukie564]

Welcome. D44 rear is a good find. Pics not working though (take the ".html" off the end of the link)

 

[NewJeeper]

Thanks! After several attempts, I figured it out.

 

[seanR]

That thing is junk. You should just give it to me so it won't leave you stranded.

 

[NewJeeper]

That thing is junk. You should just give it to me so it won't leave you stranded.

I see exactly what your trying to do here! It's a decent little Jeep huh? I'm giving it a tune up today hopefully! That is if the wife lets me....

 

[seanR]

Re: Re: New member, First Jeep!

I see exactly what your trying to do here! It's a decent little Jeep huh? I'm giving it a tune up today hopefully! That is if the wife lets me....

She already told me you couldn't. I am on the way to pick it up.

 

[seanR]

I used to live near Ft. Walton Beach. I loved it down there. I owned a bar in Destin.

 

[Cottontail]

Welcome, from an Iowa native now in Tennessee. Good find! Lift it and come to Kentucky in July for the Crawl/15th Anniversary party!

 

[NewJeeper]

She already told me you couldn't. I am on the way to pick it up.

lol, she specifically told me to not let it interfere with spending time with the boys. Fort Walton is a nice little area! I am really enjoying my time here in the panhandle!

 

[NewJeeper]

Welcome, from an Iowa native now in Tennessee. Good find! Lift it and come to Kentucky in July for the Crawl/15th Anniversary party!

Thanks Cotton! Funny thing is I looked at a 96 that was a $1000 but I would have had to put new tires on it and replace too many parts. The guy did a hack job on the fenders too. When I told my wife I was gonna pass, i specifically told her if I would have bought it a better one would have come up and I was gonna get pissed. Good thing I passed! I'd love to lift it and travel to have fun with it, but I'm gonna take my time on that!

 

[WB9YZU]

Looks like a nice older rig with lots of potential.
It's hard to find a clean, unmolested one.

Welcome to the Forum

A heads up:

This is a Club Forum. The Club is divided up into Chapters. Florida is in the SouthEast Chapter's area, though you can post anywhere you have access to, you'll probably find local connections there.

There is a Technical FAQ section, but it hasn't been updated in a bit - browse away. Please do a "Search" before you ask a question, perhaps someone has asked it before (This Forum is OLD ).

Colors of the Users Name indicate Status:
Red=Club Member
Bold Red=National Board of Directors Member
Green= Supporters
Blue=Vendors
Black=Forum User

Read the Forum Rules so you know the lay of the land.

Good Luck

 

[NewJeeper]

Thanks for the info WB. I am totally new to forums so I'm sure I'll make a mistake or two. If I ever decide to take the beast wheelin, I'll be sure to hit up the Southeast chapter!

 

[seanR]

Re: Re: New member, First Jeep!

Thanks for the info WB. I am totally new to forums so I'm sure I'll make a mistake or two. If I ever decide to take the beast wheelin, I'll be sure to hit up the Southeast chapter!

They suck come to Wimterfest.

 

[Cottontail]

When is Wimterfest???

 

[hawkeye 1]

New Jeeper, very nice Wagoneer.

There is a Technical FAQ section, but it hasn't been updated in a bit - browse away.

Really, wasn't that your baby until you renounced your membership in a hissy fit over non licensed Ham operators and such? Just wondering.

 

[MT Mike]

New Jeeper, very nice Wagoneer.




Really, wasn't that your baby until you renounced your membership in a hissy fit over non licensed Ham operators and such? Just wondering.

+10! Funniest thing I've read all day.

 

[WB9YZU]

When is Wimterfest???

Sean can't type

For the new guy...
Winterfest is the Midwest Chapter event. I think it's in March. There is a thread going on it in " Events"

 

[NewJeeper]

I'll have to check the thread out.

So an update to everyone checking in on this thread... I was going to start a tune-up today. I replaced the fram filter with a Bosch prior to starting wrenching. I brought just the front of the Jeep in the garage and started clearing away all hindrances to the valve cover because I wanted to replace the gasket before an oil change. The person before me friggin blue RTV'd that son of a gun on and it was a pain!!!

So after beating and prying (gently so I didn't scuff the mating surface that is...) it finally came off! I can't tell you how many times I cursed whoever used RTV on the valve cover!

Wait for it.....

Yeah.... That was a lot of RTV and holy SLUDGE!!!! I have never seen sludge this bad!!! I'm talking over an 1/8th of an inch in some areas of the head, rockers, and pushrods!!!

Game plan is to pull out the rockers, vacuum the whole dang head, scrape and repeat til it looks clean. Any advice on cleaners that won't ruin my bearings??

I'll re-install the rockers, mount the valve cover and gasket then do an oil change with some sea foam and run it for a bit. Any advice on how long? I'm not talking driving, just letting the motor run in my garage. After that, the plan is to change the oil and replace the pickup and pan gasket.

I started cleaning up the valve cover a bit. I tried using my wire wheel and drill but it was dead. I only did enough for an example and am waiting for my drill battery to charge. Should I be using a brass wire wheel or steel?

Btw, it feels great wrenching and getting greasy again!!!

 

[WB9YZU]

For the bad news:
Your bearings and creak are already scored as well as your cylinder walls.

I've seen engines like this before, and by the time you pull the valve cover off and see the caked on durt/sludge, the damage has been done.

The problem was a poor maintenance schedule.
Can you make it better? Well, cleaner maybe. The drain holes I would attack 1st to try and open them up. Try not to get any of that stuff in the lower end.

Then plug the holes with a rag and have your way with it. When you do the rockers. If you decide to dissemble it, lay it all out on a rag and put it back together as you took it apart.

The CCV mods probably didn't help. I'd fix those. Start with removing the baffle in the valve cover and cleaning the area. then make sure the orifice in the rear port is clear and passes air. Make sure you have manifold vacuum gong to the rear of the valve cover and the front port goes to the air box.

 

[NewJeeper]

The drain holes I would attack 1st to try and open them up. Try not to get any of that stuff in the lower end.

Then plug the holes with a rag and have your way with it.

Here is how I attacked the job: these holes that are plugged with the red caps are the drain holes your talking about right? They were actually fairly clear.

The CCV mods probably didn't help. I'd fix those. Start with removing the baffle in the valve cover and cleaning the area. then make sure the orifice in the rear port is clear and passes air. Make sure you have manifold vacuum gong to the rear of the valve cover and the front port goes to the air box.

I'm almost done with the valve cover. When I reinstall the cover, Ill make sure each hose passes air. Was the front line that is supposed to be routed to the air box the cut rubber tubes pictured below? What is the issue with the cone filter? Every Chevy I have owned had one similar? Is this not okay for a jeep?