Damn, you're good! That's exactly right! That Mitsu was a nightmare changing the water pump. I had to disassemble most of the front of the motor to get to it. I replaced the timing belt while I was in there because I didn't want to do THAT again! Then the power steering pump rotted out because of road salt. Even changing the spark plugs was a nightmare.

 

I bet it smoked like a freight train too. Those 3.0 mistu motors would drop the valve guides and smoke a lot.

 

Hi All,

Thanks for all the sage advice. Fishbone, had it right it was the belt. Took it to Tim, master Jeep mechanic and he quickly demonstrated how the belt conditioner had made it all worse. He said I could take it home as it was - I opted to change the belt. All is well. Thanks so much, again, I truly appreciate the support. Thomaz

 

The reason I got rid of it was a single cylinder misfire I couldn't fix without ripping it apart.