February 14, 2023
There hasn't been much done with the XJ other than to keep her running. She still needs an intake/exhaust gasket and a catalytic converter. She also needs the rear output shaft bearing and seal on the xfer case replaced before I can put the rear DS back in. So far she's doing okay with just the front shaft in and getting me around town. Highway travel is concerning so I avoid any speed zone over 50mph. If I absolutely must use the highway then I stay to the right and do 55 at most!
I'm also approaching the end of the first year of my dad's passing. I feel like the fog of grief is lifting somewhat but I'm not interested in much of anything. Go to work, go home, watch repair videos of Commodore 64 computers and hope I can repair my two units. I've hardly had the ham radio in the Jeep on as I listen to audiobooks now. I'm not on the phone with my buddies much anymore either. I am trying to find a way to break this funk I'm in. There isn't much interest in Jeep right now so there's nothing to post. Maybe things will change later after the first year is behind me. If they do and I am doing things with the XJ then I'll post something. For now, I'm putting my blogs on hold until that happens.
That's it from this trail. Keep the wheels down and the torque high!
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March 22, 2023
It seems Nanye-he can't wait to get some work done on her. Her protestations in the transfer case have become more pronounced and thus require my intervention.
Some time back I mentioned the rear shaft SYE output bearing was going bad to the point I dropped the driveshaft and have been running front-drive only with the t-case in 4High. This was right after putting the new gears in the D30 up front. I haven't changed the gear oil since and have been putting it off. Well, the vibrations from that bad bearing were making the spinning yoke felt through the body and had to deal with it. So I did.
During a lunch break on Tuesday I pulled the SYE housing off, cleaned up the RTV and checked the bearing. The movement wasn't in the bearing itself, it was the bearing moving in the bore it sits in. There was slop in it I hadn't noticed when putting it together the first time. So I pulled the snap ring and tapped it out. It all but fell out which made me wonder if it was the wrong bearing from RT Offroad from the get-go. I had ordered a Timken 207S bearing and forgot the S was for the single-sided stainless steel shield. Since I couldn't get it out without risk of stranding me I installed it with the seal face towards the rear output seal to make sure it would get all the lubrication it could capture.
It did not go in as easily as the old one came out. I had to tap it many times to get it seated into the bottom of the bore. It did go in and I installed the snap ring. I tried tapping it back out to see if it had any play in it. I didn't notice any so I may have a better bearing than the SKF that I removed RT Offroad used. Well, it's a Timken so it's better than anything else I suppose. Timken front wheel hub bearing assemblies, Timken outer axle bearings on the rear and now Timken will support the output shaft on the t-case.
I am feeling the effects of old injuries from a motorcycle accident I sustained in May of 1986 due to the physical injuries, age, and diabetes so working on the Jeep on the ground is getting more difficult over time. Suffice it to say after getting the housing back on and the yoke tightened down, I cleaned up, put away the tools and went in to dump the t-case fluid into the recycle tank. After doing that I took a step back and couldn't get my left leg up high enough to clear something on my left and fell backwards. I twisted my left ankle and knee trying to find purchase to keep from falling but to no avail. I hit the concrete floor hard and bruised my tailbone. My bad hip joint didn't seem to take any impact thankfully. My boss must have already been on his way to into the area from up front only to hear the clatter and find me on the floor. After helping me up and onto a stool I realized that working on the Jeep is becoming more difficult. If it isn't the arthritis in some of the joints, it's the lack of focus I can keep for long and forgetfulness seems to be mounting.
The driveshaft hasn't been installed yet until I can get down on the ground without having issue getting back up. So I will have to wait a few days and see how well I recover.
As the Jeep ages, I find that doing the more labor-intensive things on her are harder than before. Swapping out an engine might not be something I should do by myself, if that time ever comes. A transmission swap is out of the question without a lift and help now. Jeeps are inherently high maintenance vehicles I am coming to the realization that I won't be fit enough to keep doing the heavy lifting in the future. I may have to sell the XJ at some point and get something that isn't as needy. Hopefully I don't have any more heavy stuff to do until then. (Here me baby? Hold together.)
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May 31, 2023
The XJ's coolant was drained and flushed out along with the heater core. I was going to change out the thermostat but after spending so much time on the valve cover gasket replacement, I decided now wasn't going to be a good idea.
I got the cover off and surprisingly the cork gasket didn't leave but a few traces on the head's mating surface. Which is pretty good for the engine side. It means I won't get any junk down in there. Stuffed some shop towels in the spaces and went to work scraping it down just to make sure it was flat. That was the easy part.
Next was to get the cover scraped clean and with only a single edged razor blade, a flat blade screwdriver and a brass wire brush, it wasn't going to go quickly. Two hours later: I finally got all the RTV off the cover after shaving the gasket off. What a PITA! Glad I went with FelPro's PermaDry silicone rubber gasket this time.
Now for the reason why the cover came off. It wasn't because it was leaking a bit. I've been having a hard time trying to get the thing to run well at idle as well as get the fuel mileage I had before the crankshaft position sensor failed late last year. Since then it's been running rich and I couldn't find a leak at the intake manifold or in the exhaust system upstream of the O2 sensor. Seemed it might be an internal issue and pulling the pushrods out and checking for broken valve springs seemed to be the best explanation. Since the head was milled flat, I added a .005" shim between the pedestal and the rocker arm fulcrum to raise the fulcrum back up. Now I had a composite gasket on the old head so the distance between the top of the pedestal and the deck of the block should have been further away. Milling .007" off the head would have brought it closer to the factory steel head gasket. Well, I put the shims in anyway as a certain preventative measure.
No compression numbers are at the minimum factory specs but only just. Thing ran fine. Now there's a real issue that the computer is being told by the O2 sensor it's running lean, add more fuel. So the ECU does and my mileage is down 2-4mpg. A trip to my sister's revealed I got just over 14mpg there. I usually got 16.5+. I've tested wire crosstalk, continuity, and resistance and found nothing out of the ordinary. There must be a mechanical explanation. Scanner Danner on YT uses a spray bottle of water to detect vacuum leaks. It safer and works pretty much the same. The loud sucking noise is prevalent and it won't flash to fire. The exhaust is trickier. I should replace the donut between the manifold and pipe. I probably should check the torque of the bolts on the manifolds too. Especially the lower bolts.
The track bar was pulled out and inspected since it was getting a bit sloppy on the frame end. Turns out I don't have a flex joint there, just regular bushings. IRO sold me the wrong part. So I have to go through the trouble and getting the right part. Fortunately the 80014 part number is cast into the bushings so I should be able to get those locally.
I ordered the parking brake cables for lifted XJs and hope they will get here soon.
That's it for this posting. Jeep on!
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