iamdgw

So after enjoying the holiday weekend at the lake, I was ready to tackle the rest of the job at hand.
I was able to clean up the oil filter adapter pretty good and changed the three gaskets.

Did an oil change while I was at it since that was due.
It's been quite a while since I've changed my own oil - sadly - but it's such a straight forward job.

The only hiccup was I had naively purchased the oil and filter ahead of time without consulting the manual
and needed to run out and get that 6th quart having only purchased 5.

Everything went back together seeming fine. Tightened adapter, tightened down filter, tightened plug

But when I moved the jeep out of the garage today - after cleaning up my oil spills - there was a NEW SPOT
I'm annoyed.

Oh hey - also changed the plugs while I was in there doing the oil - that needed to be done.
Didn't have a gap tool - totally forgot - so just winged it, but it sounds fine.
Already seeing a bit of an increase in the fuel economy

Next is going to replace the O2 sensor that is throwing the code and see how long that lasts
and do the clock spring thingy for the air bag. trying to get the lights to turn off on the dash.

Also pulled off the previous owners brush guard and LED light bar.



How's it looking?

Also want to strip the painted wheels or replace with some of the 5 spoke rubicons.

iamdgw

on a whim - got some used J/K wheels on CL
Rubicon wheels from a 2013 - std 255/75/17 so 32.1"
After more research, I have learned that cutting of fenders would be required to make them fit
so I'm going to try to resell

anyone need .....oh nevermind..

iamdgw

I've looked into what it would take to go with the 32" wheels - not wanting to resell - and admit my mistake
but I'm not going for it. This is just a DD and will hardly see off road until I come up with more free time

it seems the jump from 2" to 4.5" involves exponentially more modifications.
and I'm not interested in trimming the fenders.

latest development is that oil leak I'm now seeing is NOT the adapter - but the rear main seal
which is apparently another common issue with these vehicles that falls under "pain in behind" to repair.

So I think I'll the professionals handle that one. We'll see how crazy $$$ they want to do the job.

Anyone have a good source for the clockspring? Is the Crown one OK to use instead of the Mopar?
I know some things it's recommended to use the OEM part I'm hoping this isn't one of them..

Looks like ~100 to get the crown vs -240 I think for the mopar - not wanting to do used....
Thanks.

Spencer_P

post back with that quote if you don’t mind, although I’m 99% sure I don’t trust anyone touching my Jeep except me, even that I don’t trust some times haha

ixanay_on-the_exjay

You can do it man! Regardless who does it make sure they order the right part, the 2000/2001 have different RMS part numbers than the rest. And make sure it's actually the RMS and not just your oil pan gasket or something silly like valve cover.

iamdgw

Yeah - to close this loop - I called the mechanic I've used in the past and he said they don't do rear main seals - so - um yeah - I'm just going to ignore the drip for a while longer and focus on other areas.

Spencer_P

That's what I did for a while but I just ordered the RMS and oil pan gasket so hopefully it goes well.

thetastelingers

I've been ignoring my drip too... I'll get around to it...

iamdgw

Let me know how it goes!

iamdgw

Today's task was the clock spring.

There are decent enough youtube videos out there telling you how to do it.
I found a steering wheel puller at my father's house - but needed to go buy the bolts.

For my 2000 Classic - they were 3/8" to thread into the wheel.
the puller had a 5/8-fine thread for the center bolt.

Once I had those procured - the job was a piece of cake.
one tip - I used a short allen wrench to reach into the top and lift up on the clip to remove the existing.

I went with the crown part from quadratec - wasn't the cheapest but sounded the most reputable - and now I've created an account for more goodies in the future.

Now my airbag light is OFF, the horn works, and cruise control works - I am happy.

...now I can take off that "...watch for finger" bumper sticker

iamdgw

After some more craigslist searching - and more research of tires sizes - and looking at pictures of different tire sizes

I found some used 15x8 grizzly rims on CL and then some 30x9.5 Cooper Discoverer AT3s on CL in practically new condition.
(now I just need a spare)

Let me know what you think of the new look:

iamdgw

It's been over a year since I've updated this thread -
I can't say I remember everything i've done to the jeep since the tires - but I can say it hasn't been much.

2020 has not been a good year - can I get an AMEN?

My boss at work left the company at the start of the year - and that left the group in a bit of a limbo while they figured out who to plug into that role.
Then the pandemic in March - and we all had to work from home and the kids got sent home from school.

We started looking for a house because we didn't want to be locked into our rental for another year. That was interesting
Almost bought a converted barn! - but that fell through. Thank goodness.

My mom passed - that SUCKED (still does)

But we did buy a house with a pole barn - so I have space to work on the jeep!

One day this summer before we moved - I came home from driving the Jeep and we heard what sounded like coolant boiling in the overflow reservoir - ?!? My research lead me to suspected a cracked head - being a 2000 and a seemingly "not if, but when" issue - so I just parked it.

I didn't / couldn't tear into it knowing I'd be moving - so it sat. I only drove it from the rental to the new house - which was only like 2 miles.

Oh yeah - I did buy new tail lights - wow those are pain to put on - I did discover, after removing the rear trim pieces that the bottom of the back panels are rusted pretty good. I think the trim and fold modification should cover it though - or at least I'm hoping. Why you have to remove trim to change tail lights is beyond me - but hey.

SO - now that we're starting to get settled into the new house - we've been in since the end of July - and we're all learning new routines with masks and part time schooling and the like.. I've finally started to dig into the jeep and see about swapping the head.

So far -
I've gotten the radiator drained, the hoses bent out of the way (or removed)
Power steering pump and bracket have been removed
Thermostat and housing have been removed
Coil Pack removed -
Throttle linkage disconnected and bracket removed and flopped over.
Today got the valve cover off

From what I can tell watching videos - I still need to remove the manifolds - and just move them out of the way - and unbolt the air conditioning compressor and I should be able to get the head off.

I plan on taking it somewhere to get tested - to see if it actually is cracked - but then I think I'm going to replace it anyway.
I'm hoping maybe it isn't and then I'll have piece of mind about the rest of the engine - but seems like this is a good thing to swap out anyway as failure is very common.

Here's some pictures - I have NO IDEA what I'm doing - I'm just following what I see on YouTube and read on the forums.
Is there supposed to be oil in the top of the rockers? - do these nuts look new? or is stuff well preserved under the valve cover?

Thanks as always - and I hope to keep up with this a bit better now that things have settled just a little bit.



Def. going to do a coolant flush and replace all the hoses

Finally got the valve cover off - progress is being made


IS this oil normal?

0331 casting clearly visible

Do these bolts look new?

Do these bolts look new?

Spencer_P

Here is what mine looks like for comparison, yours is pretty clean but I can't say if the bolts are new or not.

ixanay_on-the_exjay

Sound like quite a year indeed. Congrats on the new house! The oil pressure would have been the best indicator as to whether or not it's worth saving the bottom end. I too started taking mine apart before really knowing the oil pressure status however I did have a more sound diagnosis on the crack. I probably wouldn't get it tested if you're going to replace anyways (which you should at this point). You're probably watching the same videos I did, they are thorough and will get you through fine if you follow them closely.

I personally haven't heard the symptom you're describing as being associated with a crack. If your reservoir still had coolant in it and weren't continually adding it in and letting it get mixed with the oil then the chances of the bearings being shot are pretty low and you shouldn't worry too much. Feel free to check out post #8 on my thread is where I swap heads. Those bolts don't look new to me, if they were new the others would be too - you'll probably want to grab new head bolts but some folks don't. You'll need a special socket for those It's a deep 12 pt 1/2" if i'm not mistaken. Good luck!

iamdgw

Thought I posted this last night - but there was an error I didn't see -

Thank you Spencer for the comparison photo -
I'm guessing mine is just clean - as I checked the part number on the gasket and it mopar - so there's a good chance I'm the first one in here.

Ixanay - Yeah - there's a really good chance I jumped the gun. My fear was that the boiling sound indicated that the coolant level had dropped due to the crack and I just parked it. Assuming there's a dummy light to go with the oil pressure gauge - that never came on.
I don't always look at the gauges but I know I've had good oil pressure in the past. The jeep, besides being the capable fun off-road machine - was also to help me scratch the "I want to restore a vehicle" bug I had - so I don't mind digging into the engine - even if it was technically unnecessary.

I found a place near the office that said they could pressure test the head for $65 I think. So - I figured that was going to be rather cheap for the piece of mind it brought if they say that it is not cracked.
Compared to all the other stuff I'm still hoping to do while I'm into it... all new exhaust, including the pre-cats. maybe new manifolds - still to research. Power steering pump, then once I'm done under the hood I'm going to try the rear main seal - I've got A LOT to do yet.

What did you end up doing with your new fuel rail paint-wise? I'm pondering replacing that too just because of how rusty it looks.

Today - with my wife's help - I got the intake manifold off. Those bottom bolts were a pain to get to. I had to get under the jeep so I could see while she got the socket on them.