The new wires are on - and misfire has gone The whine in the radio (engine speed related) the slow starting when warm and the lumpy idle are also solved. It's amazing how well these things run with a decent spark.
OK, so its a bit embarrassing the my poor Heep has been running like this for what must be quite while with basic maintenance outstanding but I'm glad it's fixed now*. At least my grounds are all squeaky clean after all that hunting for the cause of the radio whine.

Plug wires are Crown, could have got Mopar from Amazon.com for a decent price but it would have been at least a week before they arrived and that's too long to wait.

Result!

1. Misfire (trying new plugs tomorrow, not sure how to get a mopar CPS in England)
2. Loud squeak from Aircon Compressor Clutch (compressor bought, need dryer and someone to de-gas/re-gas)
3. Rear left power window u/s
4. Still got a whine in the radio related to engine noise
5. Small rust spot under rear right window (1mm) needs grinding/rustproofing
6. Still haven't sorted out the windscreen seal, it's annoyingly noisy at highway speed (and leaks in a carwash).
7. Headliner is starting to fall off over the rear seats. Time to pick some roof material, matching scatter cushions, etc etc.
8. Want to replace the stock front fogs which were destroyed by my driving through very long grass and not realising that I was beating the carp out of them. LED would be nice but the prices for anything that looks factory are a bit


*going to do plugs and wires on the Range Rover now, parts have arrived. Gapping 8 plugs this time... fun fun fun.

 

These are some lights I'm looking at getting once I get my hands on a factory fog switch

 

Those look pretty sweet! Thank you for the link

 

I've been getting a note on the annual inspection for Rusted Front Springs for maybe three years now. Seeing as she's still sitting tail high I thought I'd measure the height from wheel centre to arch.
They came out at 17" front and 18.5" rear. Hmmm, food for thought
https://tinyurl.com/ts5tvuu (ebay link)

The radio starting going pop pop pop, I traced it to the wire on No3. Pushed it on tighter, Pop is gone. For some reason that was super satisfying, sometimes I guess it's just the simple things.

 

Had a go flushing the coolant today. While I was waiting for it to cool down between flushes I popped the belt off to check all the pulleys - yep the Water Pump has about 1mm play. I guess that's next. Now I'm wondering if it's worth wasting a load of new coolant between now and when I get chance to change the pump. It's got radiator flush in it right now, so it won't be rusting. But... winter is coming!

 

Sure is. When you do the pump catch most of the fluid that comes out. As you said, winter is coming, my overhead read -1 before.

 

I got away without it freezing last night, despite a heavy frost. I had 7 litres of coolant on hand so I've bunged a litre in today which should hold it in mild freezing conditions. Jeepey.com got my order for about £150 worth of bits so hopefully that'll arrive during the week. The pumps themselves are on back-order but I don't want to fit a cr@@py ebay pump so I'm waiting for a Crown. Then, my first water pump. The power steering pump looks to be in the way on our RHD Jeeps, could be interesting.

 

Jeepey can be quite expensive for some parts, even at times for the same branded part. When I replaced my pump over a year ago, I used a First Line pump that our parts supplier supplied. So far no issues.

IIRC you do have to unbolt the pump from the block but nothing else on it. It just moves slightly out of the way and job done. I did not have to remove my radiator, just the 2 fans, belt and water pump pulley. Be careful with the water pump gasket as on my first fitment, it slid slightly out of place and nearly ripped. This was due to having to manoeuvre around the PS pump. If you have more time then I had as mine was after work one day, you may find it easier to do a tad more unbolting than I did to get a clearer view of where it wants to go.

I'm sure you'll keep us posted. Good luck.

 

I also got a Thermostat, upper and lower rad hoses, serpentine belt and a new radiator cap. The parts cannon is loaded
I won't be able to do it after work, it's too dark at this time of year. Hopefully next weekend unless it's snowing!

 

Well it's done. I didn't have rad hoses after all but the Water pump, Thermostat and Belt have been replaced along with a full set of fresh coolant.



Shiny Waterpump! Shame about the rest of it. I'm not loving the orange shade in the T-stat pipes.

One good thing for RHD Jeeps is the super easy belt tensioner on the Alternator.

I nearly set fire to the thing when I fired it up and the squeak came back, but I put the new belt on and it was fine after that. So, I probably could have got away with just a belt to cure the squeak, but since she's been overheating in traffic, already has a new mech fan clutch and the radiator isn't very old I thought a water pump would be a good idea. The original looked OK when it came off but it did have some slight play in the bearings so probably better safe than sorry.

The last job is to finish bleeding it. I blew the heater core, block, rad hoses out with "Shop Air" - me blowing on the pipe - which will have left huge bubbles everywhere. Seeing as I bought de-ionised water this time I wanted to get rid of all the hose water and Rad Flush before I put the proper coolant in. She's had 6 litres of coolant and only a couple of litres of water. I should need about 11 litres to full so there's a bit to go and the gauge does run hot at the moment and the e-fan is on most of the time. I'll keep burping it. The Thermostat is a Crown 195degree unit which comes with a little hole/non return ball in the top so it should bleed eventually.

So not exactly thrilling, but the Cheap no longer sounds like nails down a blackboard whenever it starts, and that is great news for me I drove past a neighbour on the test drive and she didn't even look up. In the past everyone knew where I was!

 

Well... that didn't last long!
About a day, in fact. The noise came back, so I just decided to live with it until I miraculously developed a talent for fixing jeeps or a fat wallet.
Once the Cheap (I cursed myself with that one, didn't I) realised I didn't care about the screeching it got into a strop and the power steering failed completely. The pump is a 15 month old Crown and it spins fine, feels smooth. The nice red, bubble free as far as I can tell, fluid is getting pumped out of the filler cap.

So, dilemma time.
Here are the symptoms:

1. High pitched squeal - sounds like bearings to me. I did pack the two idler pulleys with grease when I had the belt off last time, IDK if that was the temporary fix for the squeal or not. Might have been the new belt.
2. Chuff chuff noise
3. No power steering - not at any revs, and fluid pumps back out of the reservoir filler at a steady rate.
4. No aircon - clutch never pulls in. I've tried an instant fill can thing, but I need to get it to a specalist to check the pressures and check for leaks.

Both noises are related to revs and disappear if you take the serpentine belt off so I'm confident it isn't anything serious in the engine. Both the compressor and the power steering pump run smooth and quiet when you spin them by hand, but I guess they may be different with a side load from the belt.

I've ordered a new PS pump (RBS-Handel this time) and I've got the compressor. I think I'm going to get a dryer for the aircon circuit, sell a kidney and just throw this thing at the local shop and tell them to fix it.

I'd set fire to it but Storm Dennis is dumping 5 inches of rain this weekend and I just don't have enough matches.

Some good news - I fixed the windscreen leak by pulling the top of the seal out of the channel and putting a fat bead of Arbomast automotive butyl sealant in there. Waterproof! Let's see what Dennis makes of it.

 

Although our Jeeps have been similar in the past, I've got to say (not too loudly incase it hears) that mine has been rather good the past few months. I've given it the new UJ's all round and front wheel bearing assemblies but to me, that's just general work to be expected.

And if you missed it, I ended up paying £115.92 for my UJ's but they were posted to Florida and brought back. That also included 3 spares that I only meant to be one spare, all Spicer sealed for life units. I cannot see the cost of buying them posted to the UK from RockAuto to exceed or even come close to the price Jeepey charge for them.

 

Yep, you scored a bargain there. Mine are in good nick or I'd have been begging a set off you

I'm smoking around in the P38 right now, hopefully I'll have the Jeep back together in a couple of weeks. I took it for out for a couple of miles today and the steering is seriously heavy :/

 

Power Steering pump replaced and power steering is restored. Excellent.
And guess what - the squeal is gone too. So, the squeal that I was told was the Air-con compressor was in fact the brand new Power Steering pump. But, new parts can't be bad - right? Well screw you, Crown! That pump squealed for its entire 15 month life and limped on until it was 3 months out of warranty before letting go. The new one is RBS-Handel (thanks to recommendations from this forum) and it is silent. I'd honestly be happier with a silent pump that lasts six months than one that sounds like a stuck pig from new so I'm happy.
The Cheap is now quiet, and with the new leads and plugs from earlier - misfire free. It's as smooth as a freshly buttered piglet.
Even the carpet is drying out now that the windscreen is waterproof and the Damp-Rid is making headway.
On the way to the garage, I noticed a nasty dive to the right under braking. She really doesn't like being ignored because this was new since she was parked two weeks ago. So, new front disks/pads and a re-tweak on the rear drums. It had to be done - pulling to the right is bad when you drive on the left....

Which leaves me with two questions:
1. If my aircon compressor isn't causing the horrible noises - am I just a re-gas away from working aircon again?
2. Do I really need a spare air-con compressor on the shelf?

Tune in next month... after payday Jeep day.....

 

Take your front grill off and have a look at the condensor, it has steel bands that are the "frame" of the unit. Check if they look rusty as mine had corroded and took out the aluminium fins behind them. If they do, or even if they don't, ask the AC place if they can do a pressure test first as it's cheaper to find a leak during a test, than it is to loose your refrigerant.

If you end up needing a new condensor, I got a NIssens one from eBay, just be careful of your pipes if they are similar to the earlier ones. I twisted one pipe so badly I had to get one from a scrap yard, I got lucky as that XJ is the only one I've seen at a scrap yard.