Thanks! I do realize it's a fully American forum. I hope nobody minds me hailing from across the Pond. I'm a Hungarian, living in Poland... in Hungary there are few Jeeps, Polish I do not speak so well, so I'm happily jumping onto English-speaking forums. Done that with all my previous cars, bikes.


Looking at your picture it reminds me of a temple I saw in Delhi.
Siddh Hanuman Mandir, right next to Jhandewalan metro station.

 

Today I have finished some TLC inside the car, plus noticed that I broke the reverse-light switch.
Bought a horn too. Now I can make noise before running over some poor bastard.
Tomorrow is the first bigger trip with the jeep, hopefully I'll arrive back here laughing!

 

Do the CAD bypass now......

 

Finished the first bigger trip with the XJ, A quick run to the south and back. 1200km crossing the Tatra mountains then being bored on the highway for 200km flatland.
We finished with flying colors!



nothing broke, nothing fell off, and nothing ended up smoking. The car performed truly admirably. The new filters gave some low-rev life back into the engine, even the electric stuff seemed happier, maybe due to the fixing of the terrible connections around the battery.




Consumption for this 1200km was an amazing 7L/100km (33mpg), which is unbelievable for a truck of this size... it looks like it would eat up a whole petrol station with the guard dog, but no.
The only hiccup was my doing...
forgot the oil filler cap...


quick fix on a Slovakian gas station

 

 

new Oil plug arrived. Apart of that nothing happened. since the car absolved the trip to Hungary so well, I,m just using it.
Lot of other fish to fry presently, so the Jeep has to wait and avoid misbehaving.


But it does trick me. Something is with the starter relay or it's feed circuit.
Interestingly, when I turn the key the parking brake light comes on... the two systems should not be connected in any way.... Still.
Sometimes I turn the key and VRMMMmmm
Sometimes CLICK and nothing.
checked the wires to the relay first with a meter, then I thought I hook on a similar load (4W bulb) to see if just the voltage drops somewhere. It seemed ok. Once I thought that the ground wire lost connection but it's not it. checked ground, moved it straight onto the battery clamp. Works. Proud.
Yesterday afternoon: Click again.


Fortunately since I've done the wiring job I know very well what connector does what, so just touching the starter motor's wire to positive will get the tractor purring. But starting in front of the shop at 11 at night with magic hands under the hood is not so fun. Specially in wind and rain like today...


I will figure this out, but I wish I already had!

 

Sorry for the little break.


I had technical test, and it turned out, that my right rear brake was shot, plus the tie rod apparently was too short... considering, that I've been under the car quite often, and that I spent big buck on repairing the front suspension, it's surprising that nobody noticed, that the tie rod is too short. It took some time getting the right part. (the short one is sold on every street corner, but the correct one, nowhere. (or very expensive. )


Anyway, got it, mounted it, all cool. Also got a full rebuild kit for the brakes, and though the handbrake needs adjusting the guts of the drums are replaced. What I've seen in there, was definitely nasty...


Just jacked the car up to get on (finally) with CAD removal.
Noticed some play on the front propshaft.
There's a ring on it with a grease nipple. And grabbing it I feel it buckling. what is beneath that ring? Is that something allowing the propshaft to follow the movements of the axle?



Also I thing, the pinion bearing has some play. Is that something I can change with the diff in situ and without special tools?

 

Grease the crap out of that driveshaft slip joint and see if it's better.

Is the front pinion seal leaking at all? Give us an idea of how much up and down play or sided to side play you have in the pinion yoke.
Have you changed front diff fluid? If so, was it silvery?

 

Hzoltaan,
Do keep up your valiant efforts. Enjoying your updates and subbing your thread.
Tim

 

I want one of these so bad......... The cool rigs are always overseas

 

Hi there, sorry, I'm just using using and using the car, and it seems Ok.
The play was certainly noticeable... I'll try to measure it with a micrometer soon.
Did fill it up with grease.
When the rig goes beyond the awesome speed of 100km/h (55mph?) there is a noticeable vibration since the front prop is connected by CAD elimination.


Oil in front diff was not silvery. What would that signify?


I have issues with continuously leaky water system... water does not (or not consistently) disappear from the reservoir, but somehow my electric heater runs dry every now and then... The system needs bleeding all the time. Strange French cooling circuit!


Other issue now that summer has hit is the electric windows... Brrrrrr....
The glass is stuck, the motor barely can move it up and down. Solicon is no avail.... Probably I'd need to take it out and see what can be done.... but I'm skeptical.

 

It's not difficult to remove the door panels and lube the window regulators.

 

I'm afraid I have done that already.
Either way, I'll have to disassemble it and take a good look.


Also I'd like to install new central lock actuators, master ones, which will open the car using the key. Presently I can open the driver door, than with a separate switch on the door panel I can open the rest. (pax door and cargo)
Also I find the locking option of the windows and locks not needed... Never seen anything like this on my previous European cars, and certainly do not regard it useful on a 3 door car!

 

Clutch is gone!

Finally I got a few days off from work and gone to the mountains to have some fun.

At some point I sweated to put into 1st even with the engine turned off, so there and then I called it quits and made a disgraceful retreat out of the bushes and onto the freeway heading home in 4th gear...

It's always been kinda strange, that the clutch pedal went all the way in to fully disengage, but with no regulation and having other stuff to fix on the jeep I let it at that.
Sadly now it broke. Even fully pressing it in, so that the veins in my neck stood out, the clutch only partially disengages. Sometimes I had to turn off the engine to slam it into first gear.

Poor gearbox took quite a beating, but we made it home (or rather to my workplace's parking which is only a few hundred meters away from the only jeep mechanic in town.)

Luckily the guy was helpful, so I might have a diagnosis in a few day's time.

I'd appreciate your comments on it.

Gearbox: AX5, engine: 2.1TD
clutch fluid is not leaking, though i should have changed it guessing by the colour. Seemingly I have an external slave cyl, for which I'm grateful like hell.
There always been some noise with the clutch relased, which goes away when the clutch is pressed. Clutch did not slip, but it always disengaged only at the end of the pedal travel.

 

Got the clutch fixed. It was a leaky slave cylinder and a totally broken clutch release mechanism. (the arm was snapped and bent)
Workshop also replaced the blown crank seal and the bearing of the clutch mechanism. Also washed the engine, to figure out where all the gunk came from. Nice bunch of guys, I was really happy with their work.


Here come a few pictures of a very clean 2.1TD