olddirtyjeep

hey all, just recently aquired a jeep and i've been reading like crazy trying to figure out what all i need to do to it, finally decided to bite the bullet and post. lol so here it goes. first, i recently purchased a 1994 jeep cherokee with a 4.0 i-6 engine, 5 spd transmission (ax-15) and im unsure of the diff at this point. its 4 door, and 2wd. it has approx 230,000 miles on it, and unbelivibley runs strong. since getting it, i have of coursed changed the plugs, and oil/filter. i need to do the shocks, the dizzy cap, rotor, plug wires, and i imagine some of the sensors as well. it has a valve cover leak at the back which i intend to fix tomorrow, as well as a little bit of a fuel injection leak, 2 or 3 of em anyways, but not bad, just a lill here and there. the rear seal on the trans leaks as well. still need to do the fuel filter as well. lol anyways, the following are the problems im having, and the symptons as i have seen them.
the mpg went way up with the plug change, but all of them with the exception of the 3rd from rear, showed signs of rich fuel mixture. no oil. after driving approx.miles, i checked the last plug and it already had signs of rich mixture again.. deposits on tip.
just had oil changed and of course, now i have the tapping sound. buddy is a pretty good mechanic and he thinks it is lifter or someting in valve train. ill look at that when i do valve cover seal. seal had me worried to, didnt know about it till i read post in here, thought the oil guys had screwed up b/c it was leaking like crazy after the change. then tightened the rear of the cover and what do u know. almost gone.
did the self diagnostic check and came up clean. the previous owner replaced the radiator, the pump, and hardwired the aux fan to a switch. the water pump still has radiotor fluid residue beneath it on the block, but seems to be from b4 he changed water pump. at least i hope it is. im cleaning that tomorrow as well. the real problem i have witht the coolant system is the following....
when i run it for awhile without the aux fan on, it gets hot, no warning lights, and from the rear of the engine, i hear a gurgling noise, almost like the t-stat opened, and its not getting threw at the rear accept for a little bit. if i leave the engine running for a minute at idle after a hard run and have aux fan on, i can sometimes hear it a little for just a few seconds. put new cap on radiator, and when its running, if i pinch hose, i dont feel a rush or anything when i let go. i figure, bad valve or something in the hose's to the heater core, clogged passage, maybe a hose or both collapsing, or maybe the t-stat.... there is a junction in hoses by valve c0ver with what looks like a vaccum switch or something. and heat seems to b not as hot as it could be. as i said, no lights yet, but im in dallas/fort worth area, and im heading to school in pheonix area so im a lil bit nervous about this... i'v only been here a short while, and being from the midwest, all i know of az is that its hot, dry, and supposedly a really sob to older vehicles that arnt ready for the heat. also, i thought it was a leak at the bottom of the windshield washer resevoir, now im thinking i might b wrong, after they filled it i saw a little moisture puddle on concrete after driveing... i havent seen it for awhile, but i need to look into that, make sure its not the heater core.
also, the ac clutch kicks on sometimes when i turn on defrost... it seems to turn off if i switch to hot, but is it supposed to come on if set to defrost, with the temp at cold???
the only other thing im seeing at this point, is the oil dipstick has a white build up at the very tip of it, only since the oil change. ever since i replaced the ccv valve up top i noticed it. the 90 degree valve at the front of the engine cover is supposed to b the breather, as in o2 goes into engine. it was just a hose, the valve having broken, and it was pinched.... no air or restricted. i put pvc pipe on there till i can get a new piece, and now it seems that maybe. that is what did it... i had a leak in radiator overflow hose that went into airbox that i recently fixed.... still had moisture in there, so when i opened up the tube, im thinking maybe it sucked it in the crankcase... gonna change the oil again and see how it looks. but, when i run the engine on the highway, with the aux fan on, but no heat running, ive noticed that sometimes, i open the hood and the elbow joint has been blown off the pipe coming out of the valve cover! it seemed to me that i was getting blow by, oil coming out around the oil cap, and the grommets on the two fittings front and back of vc, thats why i fixed the hoses/hookups to begin with. now it seems that maybewhen the engine is really hot, it starts blowoing instead of sucking air threw that opening, and blows the dang elbow piece right off. im totally in the dark and wandering if it has to do with the coolant issue, i have the haynes, and the fsm, i also have a multi-meter and would like to check the sensors... only problem being, i got the meter second hand and as of yet have not the slightest clue how to use it. any info you guys have or perhaps anything else u need to know to maybe help you help me, pleease let me know. im hoping its nothing to major, i got school coming soon, and its got to get me there and then to class everyday at least for a little while. lol thanks ahead of time. i have gotten so much help from here already, you guys rock. oh, and i never did get what exactly the jeep thing was till i owned one.... i love this dang thing... already making plans to get another one when i can afford it. with 4wd this time. lol

76ANTHONY

holy moly thats alot of typing, would have took me 3 days to write all that..
welcome to the forum and ummm could you just write down the questions?

mycherokee1989

You're not going to get anything answered with that long a story I'm sorry to say.

blank87

3 days to write it? takes me 3 days just to read that. geeezzzz. Just ask simple (1 or 2 lined) questions. A lot of the guys on here won't take the time to read the book above.

smtippin

I agree with the above posts that you need to simplify your questions. BUT, after reading your post, you seem a bit scattered, like there is a lot to do and you're ambitious but you don't know where to start. You seem to be attempting to diagnose issues based on the leaks on your engine. Before you get carried away with this, I'd make sure to clean out my engine compartment to see what is really existing and how bad the leaks are.

Also, you seem to have enough reason to do a pretty comprehensive cooling system overhaul (as if owning an XJ isn't a good enough reason as is). Since our XJs are prone to running hot, there is a TON of info already on this forum. Just search through previous posts to see how to clean and improve your cooling system.

After you do these things, take a couple days to see assess the Jeeps current situation. If you do too much at once, you may fix the problem but you might not know what actually soved the issue and as a result, what the issue really was.

Good luck,
s

kamokid

take it easy bro!! jeez!! lots of stuff you want done i suppose! lol try a few little posts instead of one HUGE one..