Reviving a 1989 XJ after 15 years in storage

[Ecomike]

2 Hours? Braggart, LOL. Took me 2 months :shhh:.

Most of that was procrastinating, shopping and waiting on parts, tried to fix it the easy way, LOL. Did not know about the crud in the tank till we dropped it and pulled the pump and found what a mess it looked like, then looked in the tank and freaked out. Tried for ages to get the cover off the tank and the pump out with out dropping it. Damn near could not get off with the tank removed. Had to cut the mounting straps and bolts off and replace them. I Replaced every thing, nothing got reused. So far the fuel lines, and FPR and injectors are OK on that rig.

I didn't bend any valves in my 89 when I revived it but I killed a fuel pump with crap sitting in the tank by not pulling it and cleaning it. Thought it was going to be a pain but it was really easy. I have the tank skid plate and trailer hitch that I had to drop. Then dropped the tank emptied the remaining gas/crap that I could the cleaned it out with acetone. Once dried I reinstalled the fuel pump and put it with the hitch and skid back in. The whole process took me about 2 hours working easy.

 

[lawagoneer]

I found the crud in my tank after replacing the fuel pump without dropping it. Worked for about 3 minutes before dying. Got another new pump, had already replaced the filter and necessary fuel lines with the first pump. Point to think about it was quicker and easier to replace the pump with the tank out than in the vehicle, for me at least. When I dropped it I know what I was going to do. My XJ is almost rust free as well, that makes a big difference.

 

[Ecomike]

I did not want to drop the tank, and I was partly right about not wanting to as the mounting nuts would not come off of the bolts (bolts were bent I think, or threads damaged, it was not rust), had to cut the bolts and one strap. Then I had to go find replacements, vent valves, hoses, level sensor and the tube assy and wiring (already had 3 new Bosch pumps in my stash), gas tank, bolts and straps....

Once we got the tank open, I decided to just replace it (found one dirt cheap delivered on Amazon prime for something crazy like $70)?

But after about 6 attempts at getting a tool to fit the flange-seal, and then getting cruizer54 to make me a tool to force the cover ring off, I had to give up and drop the tank anyway.

I found the crud in my tank after replacing the fuel pump without dropping it. Worked for about 3 minutes before dying. Got another new pump, had already replaced the filter and necessary fuel lines with the first pump. Point to think about it was quicker and easier to replace the pump with the tank out than in the vehicle, for me at least. When I dropped it I know what I was going to do. My XJ is almost rust free as well, that makes a big difference.

 

[IntrepidBear]

Guys, I just wanted to post an update.....the jeep finally drives!! AND I think it shifts properly.

The fuel residue was really nasty stuff. Not only did the tank get a good cleaning, I also had to scrape the residue from the inlet ports on the block, and the inlet manifold. Thanks for the tip Ecomike! The hot bath/clean did not remove the deposits. I had to go through each port with a small pick and solvents to get it all out. Had to flush the fuel line, soaked and flushed the injectors.

Put it all back together, and cleaned all the grounds, and turned the key, and it runs! The engine sounds healthy, now I have a minor coolant leak to resolve and I should be able to take it for a proper road test. Man what a pain in the butt this job has turned out to be.

Thanks for all the help/advise.

 

[Ecomike]

How did you get it out of the guts of the intake manifold?

Acetone should have worked well. But dries very fast. Hard to work with. Aircraft paint stripper might have been the best to use.

Congrats on the reviving.

 

[IntrepidBear]

I used a mixture of gasoline and lacquer thinner with a small stiff brush and a pick. It took ages. Thinner cut the solids better then gasoline, but evaporated too fast to work with, so I alternated between gasoline and thinners.

Unrelated question: the barn where I stored it had fruit bats living in it. It appears that the droppings have etched the windshield pretty badly. I have never run into this before, but I am trying to get the marks off with little success so far. Any ideas on what to try? I have cleaned, washed, used detergent, used very fine steel wool, razor blade all to no avail.

 

[Ecomike]

Try a solvent based, paste style paint stripper? But it sounds like the acid in the bat droppings etched the glass.

 

[cruiser54]

Get a new windshield. This thread is driving me batshit.