Stabsthedrama

Good tip, didn't think about letting it sag and going in from the front.

I've been apprehensive to tackle it after my last 96. I swear on anything that it was factory cross-threaded (as I have heard can happen) - I had the pipe off and everything, and no matter what I would have done short of hacking it off and chipping it out (which is what I should have done in retrospect), it was not going to come off....period. The one on (behind) the cat came off fine, but the upper one was just....ugh. Finally just swapped out the entire exhaust system besides the cat (needed it anyway.)

Hopefully this one isn't as bad.

And ya I'm stoked about an injector swap. Hopefully programbo has some sometime, cuz I'm not spending $43 a piece on just Standard Motor #fj46's or some crap like that...

Thanks again for all the help and reading this long thread, you'll be seeing me on here quite a bit. This XJ is a part of me now, and I'm sure it's not the last one I'll scoop up.


I'll let you know how the seals go

Stabsthedrama

Also, here's a pic (screenshot of a video) - of my plugs (2nd from the right is #4) The other 2 I had panned too quickly past in the video, but were about the same as the other 2 good ones.

DFlintstone

Well, it's a little "sticky" to say #4 looks like an injector/over rich, after your first compression numbers. In any case I hope you run it between the seal replacement and the injector swap, so we can get a better idea on which, (if either) was the culprit!

My 02 sensor came easy last year. I changed it last in 02.

And you are welcome, passing it forward to someone who is not a moron is refreshing! (commas, capitols, sheez, parentheses even!, in high cotton here)

Stabsthedrama

So...drove today, was probably the hottest the jeep got this year (hot day, traffic) - started having the oil light flicker at idle (had the issue when I first got the truck but oil switch, wix filter, and oil change seemed to clear it up, hadn't happened all year since). And it was smoking more than ever out of oil fill hole.

Might have to keep the jeep on standby until I do these seals...

And ya...I work in highly technical fields (avionics, programming, computer building, etc) but I just love older (ideally pre-obd) vehicles. So ya I guess I'm not a moron, but when you post to forums like this with a problem, you should really articulate yourself the best you can, which, like you said, people rarely do .

DFlintstone

Sorry to hear that. I'm wondering what are your actual miles. 120K last fall seems a little low for an 89. 5K/Year...maybe, or the cluster was changed or something else happened. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not seeing the seals affecting blow-by. Oil consumption, low vacuum, yes. It's always recommended to verify oil pressure with a mechanical gauge instead of relying in the oil pressure sender. Idk...my issue is opposite. My 4.0 is strong, past 280K now, but it's dragged the uni-body through so much it's in it's "twilight years", all ready to fall apart with cracks all over.

Btw, I do have plenty of blow-by accelerating. Unless oil is fouling your air filter...well it is what it is.

Stabsthedrama

Yep that's the next thing is a mechanical oil pressure test I didn't think I would have to do that back when I first saw it when I got the truck because I like I said it did seem to correct itself.

The only other thing I can say as far as what I can tell that it's doing is there is a bit of clicky slapping sound but not loud under acceleration, that you can hear with the oil fill cap off, i can take a video if needed, though I've heard other 4.0s do it and have seen many people say the 4.0s are just plain noisy.

I just looked and ya I got it at 128, and as far as background on the jeep, it was a dude's daughter's dd, and he was a jeep guy. Had 2 lifted ones. He had it since like 40k he said I think. He seemed like a totally normal backwoodsy type dude (bought the truck as he was in the middle of a hunt). my guess is they started noticing the wobble at highway speeds and didn't want to mess with that which is completely reasonable. May have even started noticing the oil in the airbox (which I have cleared up a bit like I said). Low miles, ya, but I kinda doubt anyone fudged the odometer, but its of course possible.

We shall see...I really really do not want to give up on this one this far in, but my gut is telling me some kind of cylinder issue. I wouldn't be all that against buying a brand new crate engine to be honest, but again, don't have the place to do it, and my wife is getting sick of not having a reliable car for her to drive, even though to be fair this one has been reliable....I just fear for its immenent demise.

Stabsthedrama

You know what though? I'm just going to keep driving it.

I'll get under there tomorrow and locate any oil leaks (I'm leaking a little), fix those, do the o2, and change the trans fluid (it got a little toasted when the trans lines went and I didn't notice for awhile)

I'll monitor it and all that for awhile.

Honestly, the thing drives and feels 100% fine, so for now I'll stop beating dead horses here.

DFlintstone

Agreed. How often is it below freezing in the AM there?

Stabsthedrama

Like in the winter? All the time. Only in the December (really January) through feb/early march time frame though. Honestly she did great in the winter, never skipped a beat.

I kinda think the oil flickering thing only happens when it gets real hot, and I almost kinda wanna disregard it, even with my current engine skepticism. My 96 did it a whole lot more, but both of them did it the same way - once the engine gets real hot, like mid-commute, during idle (only in drive, park will kill the light) - the light will flicker a bit, and die out as soon as you gas it. Could be like 1-2 psi low and tripping it, but meh...I'm not really all that worried about it.

I'll just keep driving it, and learn to love the blowby.

cruiser54

I love your spirit of adventure. Go for it and keep us informed.

DFlintstone

Agreed^^. Well, I might "draw fire" here but here it goes. Multy weight oil depends on "chemistry magic", where the polymer chains link up when it gets hot. The chains break down. The "magic", well I don't care for it. That fails faster, than the normal degradation. Part of the reason I'm pretty familiar with failed engines is because I've dealt with plenty of them. Since I started running Castrol straight 30W nothing has failed in 15 years. Pennsylvania grade Crude. High Detergent, No Magic. It really, "drove it home", when I noticed it sucks for drilling or sawing metal. The blade's don't cut well, gotta use something less slippery. I have it in everything, the water pump, chipper, generators, lawn mower, roto-tiller, pressure washer, the 75 Honda 750, about 6 other rigs besides the DD Jeep. No more banging rod bearings, no more pistons falling apart. No way am I wrong, or something would have failed.

Since I'm the only driver, I know to take it supper easy on the rare days we drop to freezing here. If some dummy revved that up cold, on a 30* morning they might do real damage with that "syrup" in there. I guess it's redundant, but in your shoes I might try running some "real" oil.

Stabsthedrama

Did the o2 sensor and drained the trans fluid tonight. The nice thing about doing the o2 sensor as you described (jacking up frame, letting axle hang) is you can drain more trans fluid. Quite a bit more. I park in a concrete drain thing in my parking spot, which gives it a good seat, and on jack stand I can get it pretty high, and it definitely drains a lot more trans fluid as you jack it up.

Definitely worth doing it that way, though - you get a lot of room over top of the front axle. I used an open socket "o2 sensor socket" that I already had, after deep creeping it, since I figured I might as well try without cutting the wire. Bam, came right off.

I got some castrol 10w30 waiting to go in (I always use this when I change oil as well) - but I'm still figuring out what I wanna do about the stripped drain plug. The drain plug was a bit sloppy when I got it, and it got worse. 2 nylon washers on it right now, and it seals, but it definitely drips a little. The only self tapping drain plug that will work (in existence) for the m14 x 1.25mm is the dorman m14 x 1.50 (1x oversized), which I'm reluctant to try, though I've heard it will work. I really don't want to drop the pan, since any oil leaks I could possibly be having are not nearly enough to make it worth doing, and it would open up a can of worms as far as other preventative maintenance I'd want to do once the pan is down.)

Other option is running the same m14 x 1.25 bolt I have on now, but trying some tape on it + the nylon gaskets.

Anyway, once I figure out the drain plug, I'll throw in fresh oil, the can of restore I have waiting, and post results. I'll compression test maybe a week down the line too.

DFlintstone

Well, the straight 30W IS hard to find....Maybe take a shot up in "ask a question" tread for the plug. I got nothing. There use to be an epoxy "form a thread" Product. I think is was basically JB weld that came with an anti-sieze tube you coat the bolt with when you put it into the wet goo. Idea being you can then unscrew it out of the epoxy threads you just cast after it sets. I'd suggest blasting the hole clean with quick start, but to much of that inside the crankcase may not provide a welcome result. (big explosion). How about a Q-tip and finger nail polish remover! I did actually use it successfully once for a points cover on a Honda. Epoxy and aluminum seem to get along. It's also good with oil.

Hey I just remembered...try a different plug. At least one poster found that worked.

DFlintstone

Maybe this? > http://www.ebay.com/itm/Loctite-Form-A-Thread-Stripped-Thread-Repair-/121412764263?hash=item1c44c3c267&item=121412764263&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

cruiser54

I'm wondering why it's so hard to find an oversized plug? It's not metric.......