Bought a '92 XJ last winter for $900 and knew it needed some work. However it ran fine all winter and didn't make me spend a dime on it until now.

First of all it had a serious oil leak coming from the valve cover. Because of that EVERYTHING was covered in grease/sludge. I mean bad BAD! So the project was originally intended to degrease everything and fix the leak. It quickly grew.

So I started by pulling all the front accessories off of the engine. Brackets and everything got coated with degreaser then pressure washed. After that I cleaned them up with a wire wheel as best I could. Same went for the intake and header.

Before:








During:




After:




So because I had everything off the front I replaced the timing chain, fixed the crack in the timing cover, pulled the oil pan, pressure washed it in and out, and replaced all gaskets.





Then I welded up the crack I found in the header, welded in some new 7/16" studs, and painted it with VHT flame-proof header paint. VERY impressed with the header paint.

Front pipe got the same treatment. Upgraded to the 2.5" 54448 part number. Replaced the 02 also.







Also cleaned the IAC sensor and throttle body. Then I threw on some 703 injectors after I cleaned them same as I did in this vid:





Also replaced the balancer seal and plugs. The plugs were BAD. Gap was huge and 2 of them looked like this:



Here's everything going back together and all cleaned up:

 

Here's all 140 pics:

http://s816.photobucket.com/albums/z...ep%20degrease/

 

Are you sure the harmonic balancer didn't chew out that gouge in the timing chain cover?

 

It sure did. Looks like it started grinding the upper edge of the timing tab too. Hopefully the balancer was replaced?

 

Great Job-I'm sure the engine smells a lot better when it's hot. I like your injector cleaning video and your electrical setup-good idea to put that pushbutton switch in-makes it look professional. Did you see an improvement in the spray pattern during cleaning?

 

Looks great!

 

Follow me here - The timing cover had a hole in it that someone previously repaired with some kind of epoxy. You can see it in the pic above of the timing cover covered in grease.

So it looks like the balancer was obviously rubbing on the timing cover at some point, but the balancer that's on the car now must be a replacement because there are no marks on it at all.

Here's where things don't make sense. Now I can't get the balancer fully installed onto the crank. It simply won't go on, and needs to be about 1/4" closer to the engine. This causes all kinds of belt problems now because the belt jumps 1 rib and starts to shred itself because it's riding on the inner edge of the balancer.

So if the balancer was TOO close to the timing cover at once point and caused the hole in the cover, why won't it go on FAR ENOUGH now?!?!

I've measured with my digital caliper the distance from the timing cover to the end of the crank, and there's no reason it shouldn't go on. Also the inner diameter of the balancer and the outer diameter of the crank are good.

The damn thing just won't go on anymore!!! Ideas? Here's behind the timing cover:

 

I also replaced the heater core yesterday. Only too about 5 hours start to finish. I'll thank myself in December. Need to get my remote start installed too.

 

With the timing cover off it should be easy enough to see if the balancer ID bottoms on the face of the crank. It sure sounds like the balancer is trash. The balancer itself is two pieces with a piece of rubber stuck between. Post a picture of the balancer dead on & side view.

ETA:
In one of your pics the belt looks too skinny, does the belt & pulleys have the same # of grooves?

 

Make sure that key isn't slipping when you install the balancer, and that there's no crud in the crank notch where it sits that's keeping it from sitting flat.

 

i had the same issue with my 00 when i put a new short block in. The balancer would not go on all the way. Come to find out after pulling it back off that there was some gunk in the end of the key channel. I cleaned that out with a small wire brush and a small file. Got it started again with a dead hammer and then pulled it up tight with the bolt. Worked like a charm.

 

I wish I had test fit the balancer when everything was apart! I had everything off the front of the crank and there didn't look to be any crap on it.

The belt is correct and fits the pulley and number of grooves. It's the only part I bought from rock auto. After getting raped with shipping it was the only part that was cheaper to order from them. Everything else was from Advance.

Here's the balancer:

 

Oh and the engine fires up right away now! No more long or multiple cranks! I didn't even replace the rotor/coil/wires either!

I also noticed the end of the cruise linkage that connects to the throttle was broken off. I glued that ***** back on and now the cruise works!! I can't stand not having cruise control, so I'm happy it works now.

 

Looks great man! I definitely need to the same to mine

 

It was 2 full weeks of weekends and after work. The worst part was the grease and oil. I had to wash my hands literally every 10 mins when I was working on the greasy parts. I just couldn't hold onto tools anymore.

The combo of intake/exhaust gasket, front pipe, IAC/throttle body cleaning, 703's and spark plugs make the thing run like new.