Peacefrog53

Well this is going to be my build thread. I have a 1988 XJ 4.0. Bought it from a guy in Fontana for $550. Engine barely ran when I bought it.

Peacefrog53

So I've had this baby for about a month. Unfortunatley I wasn't taking pictures when I was putting the lift on. It's just a standard lift. 4.5" Skyjacker shocks, 4.5" Superlift coils, and a leaf pack assembled with some old dakota leafs. I painted the tires, and the flares. To get the beast running all I had to do was replace the fuel pump. Dropped the tank, cleaned it up a little bit, replaced the pump, hooked it all back up and it fired right up. Replaced the radiator with one equiped with a filler neck, bought a resevoir bottle from the junk yard ($6) replaced almost all of the sensors, put my Hellas on the front bumper, ripped out the carpet, and finally washed it. This is how it stands as of now. I still have to get a bracket for my 102", finishe the open cooling system, fix a nasty rattle from under the truck, put the magnaflow on, sandblast and rinoline the floorboards, swap out the D35, and go rompin!

AaronTheXjMan

Looks nice, and for $550 what a steal. The couple things I would do though is, New paint job, the white is starting to turn to a manila, and I would sand off the chrome from the bumpers and trim and paint it black.

Peacefrog53

I didn't know if it actually started white....or was just this ugly yellow from the dealer...the clear peels off like dead skin..lol I'm actually planning on painting it a flat foresty green, or flat black..I want to have red suspension parts under the rig tho... i.e trac bar, drag link. So i'm leaning more towards black. And as for the bumpers, thats a great idea. Eventually i'm going to buy the ARB front and rear bumbers with a winch plate, and D-shackles. But in the meantime I think ill sand the chrome and paint them like you suggested.

AaronTheXjMan

Yea I think the black bumpers would go together nicely with the black fender flares, black paint job, red colored suspension, and a red differential cover.

Peacefrog53

Ok. After work that ugly under bumper piece is coming out, the trim pieces are going, and I will start sanding the bumper. Red diff cover...definitely..Like I said I'm supposed to be getting a cryco 8.25 here within the next month or so...maybe i'll grind that down and have it powder coated black..red calipers...red diff cover...hmmm....we will just have to see.....

bigtoews

did your jeep sputter alot wen you got it, before you change the fuel pump?
because mine is doing that and sometimes it will start really weird. like it wont start while your turning the key but wen you turn it back it starts.

thanks dave,

Peacefrog53

It barely ran at all. I had to have the gas pedal 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down for it to start or run. I checked the fuel pressure with a kit first though. Pressure at the rail was 17psi and at the pump was 19-21 psi. so I knew it was the pump..

Peacefrog53

Alrighty. So I dropped the trans pan, put the new track bar on, removed the valve cover, and painted both the trans pan and the valve cover. RED!! This was the hardest oil filter I have ever encountered. I had to basically butcher the heck out of it to remove it. I also used that seafoam "miracle", yea....not so much of a miracle, unless I did it wrong...twice.. I had no smoke at all coming out of the exhaust.. None...and I put nearly half the can in the vacuum line the first time, and a little more the second...O well...

Peacefrog53

Sweet! Don;t yopu love it when you think you've fixed one problem then BAM there is another one caused by the solution from the first. So heres the delima...dropped the trans pan and replaced the filter and fluid. changed the engine oil replaced the valve cover gasket filled everything back up and it stalls....It starts, and idles fine..but when I put the truck in gear (reverse or drive) the RPM's drop and it dies..neutral and park are fine...only when it's in gear does it die...Any suggestions???

x91j

when you did the seafoam you prolly flooded the engine a little bit so just rev it at hold it at 2500 rpm and that should burn it all out

Peacefrog53

Ok so it was a vaccuum problem. the vaccuum harness in the engine compartment, the colored tubes that run from the trans to the eingine, were disconnected. Therefor there was no vaccuum pressure in the transmission. brakes are good, trans is good, I even drove it to work today..

Peacefrog53

Baaaad idea....should not have driven it to work today. It drove TO work fine. But when I left to go home for lunch, it died when I stopped at the stop lights. Vacuum lines are still connected, yet now i'm having oil sprayed all over from the top of the valve cover. (where the PCV is SUPPOSED to be). Seems though if I had a breather filter on it, the filter would soon become clogged with oil. Right? I'm going to clean all the vacuum lines tonight. I've heard that some could be clogged. Also does anyone have, or know where I can get, a diagramn for the vacuum lines running between the transmission, the xfer case, and the engine?? Still can't find one. I've also heard that the stallijng and random over-reving could be associated with a clogged or malfunctioning injector. Or possibly the fuel reg??? We'll see....I love my money pit...

uhh...

I bought my 87 for 500 hundred bucks, ran like crap, replaced the fuel pump, ran great after that, but spit oil everywhere out of the CCV line in the front, replaced the clogged tiny one in the rear, and TaDaa no more oil. Sound familiar? hahah. But odds are is it is just the line running out of the back of your valve cover that is clogged, not allowing your crankcase to vent. Just clean/replace it and your set.

Peacefrog53

I just cleaned it last night. along with checking all of the other vacuum lines for clogs...That was the only one. Still doesn't explain why then engine dies when I come to a stop... Stupid vacuum leaks..