1998 Cherokee 4.0 Ltd - Project

[Fourpot]

12 hours ago, V said:

Did you source your rear output yoke in the UK? I swapped in the same style 242 into my '93 to replace the long tail 242 back in 2007 and I never got around to completing it. I think Go-Jeep in Australia published the part number, I will have to check if his site is still up.

Got it from the USA, can't remember the company, but they supplied a guide tool for drill ing the bolt hole in the end of the shaft.

[Fourpot]

12 hours ago, V said:

I found the web page I was thinking of.

Excellent! This guide is for a pre 97, but the process is the same, just with a different output housing. With my kit, I just got the yoke, bolts and drilling guide-tool, which is all that was needed. Lots of good generic info there though.

 

[V]

It was some years ago that Go-Jeep published that article. I remember there was a discussion on NAXJA about adapting the idea to the later style short housing.

 

Found it! NAXJA DIY SYE drawings.

[Fourpot]

I bought myself a fancy little front guard thingy that I think will keep the front of the engine cleaner and a bit protected and also the steering arm, and it looks neat. 

Made a brew, stuck the overalls on, Diana Ross on the stereo and all set to bolt it on. You know what's coming...  

 

Of course, as my XJ is left 3", it didn't fit. The problem being the anti-roll bar, which is on brackets that take up the three inches in order to keep the ends of the anti-roll bar at t he right angle to the drop links. I couldn't bolt the guard between the brackets and the anti-roll bar bushes as then the angle where it would bolt to the front chassis member is all wrong. 

Other than a lot of fabrication, I thought about getting longer drop-links, so then the brackets could be removed and the bushes out back where they would be with no lift.  Google google google google.... and bingo! Some chaps across the pond, who had a couple of XJs and a few big ol' pick-ups, found the answer, which is to use the drop-links for the rear anti-roll bar from a Ford F350 truck, which are about 2.5" longer. Found some in the US, about £60 delivered to England.  They fit perfectly and are quite beefy (as you'd expect for the back end of a F350).  So the front of the Jeep now looks much neater and the drop-links are great.

Still couldn't get the damn guard to fit though... the holes don't seem to line up properly, but that'll be for another day now.

For anyone who is interested, the F350 drop-links can be got from Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Suspension-Dudes-1980-1998-2003-2019-K80015/dp/B0791LR4PC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3QM6VDENRRGFB&keywords=F350+rear+sway+bar&qid=1643575194&sprefix=f350+rear+sway+bar%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-1

[Fourpot]

Answers can always be found in the kitchen? Last time it was a garlic powder pot. This time a coffee container.  You'll have to guess...

[V]

A catch can for vented oil?

[Fourpot]

On 31/01/2022 at 11:53, V said:

A catch can for vented oil?

Either you've got a camera in my garage, or, more likely, you been there, done that.  The last time I did this was for a motorcycle using a very small ointment pot and before that for a mini using baby-milk powder pot (the baby is now 31 years old!)

[spookie the aardvark]

3 minutes ago, Fourpot said:

Either you've got a camera in my garage, or, more likely, you been there, done that.  The last time I did this was for a motorcycle using a very small ointment pot and before that for a mini using baby-milk powder pot (the baby is now 31 years old!)

And V wins again

You sure he isn't stalking you?

[Fourpot]

As V said, here it is...

Although my first breather arrangement was breathing nicely, I had of course forgotten how much these things spit oil. It had started to lightly coat everything beneath it. So in went the coffee pot to catch the oil. 

[V]

I guess we just think alike. You deserve the credit for such a great find. That coffee can is perfect for the job and a lot cheaper than the commercial after-market parts available.

[spookie the aardvark]

1 minute ago, Fourpot said:

As V said, here it is...

Although my first breather arrangement was breathing nicely, I had of course forgotten how much these things spit oil. It had started to lightly coat everything beneath it. So in went the coffee pot to catch the oil. 

Nice bit of engineering and recycling

[Fourpot]

Soooo, the 'oil catcher' wasn't really catching any oil, as there isn't actually any worth speaking of coming out. What is coming out is water vapour from condensation in the block overnight, with a hint of oil in it. So as the vapour comes into the can, most of it condenses and makes a puddle in the can. However, some is still vapour and that's getting through the little filter and then condensing and coating the area below, with the merest hint of oil.  

(Just to be sure, I checked, and there is no oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil. The collecting water in the can is completely clear, not pink like coolant.)

Anyway, I've decided to keep it simple. Back to the factory way!

[V]

You could still use the can for your axle breathers.

[Fourpot]

11 minutes ago, V said:

You could still use the can for your axle breathers.

Good idea! Though I've never seen anything come out of them. Come to think of it, I've never checked the tubes are clear 

[V]

My 2001 spits out some lube every now and then, mostly on hot summer days. My axle pinions are pointing upwards inline with the propshaft . I have to put a bit more lube in the diffs to ensure the pinion bearings get a splash. Sometime, a bit too much goes in and it gets spat out. My '93 has TrueTracs and I don't remember it spitting out. It makes a mess when the axles spit lube so it is easy to spot.

[Fourpot]

21 hours ago, V said:

My 2001 spits out some lube every now and then, mostly on hot summer days. My axle pinions are pointing upwards inline with the propshaft . I have to put a bit more lube in the diffs to ensure the pinion bearings get a splash. Sometime, a bit too much goes in and it gets spat out. My '93 has TrueTracs and I don't remember it spitting out. It makes a mess when the axles spit lube so it is easy to spot.

I have TrueTracs now, so that’s good news. I’ll pull them and blow through them at the weekend.

[digger]

Hi V,

Interesting your comments re pinion pointing up more. I've done that  to reduce the angles with my Chrysler axle.  I wondered about the lube difference with the pinion. Have you modified or fitted a different diff cover (ARB eg) to raise levels ?

Both you and Fourpot have far more knowledge re Jeeps than me. still in same subject area.  Have you come across any issues with the baffle that fits  behind the inside pinion bearing on a Dana 30. Its the one that looks like a flying saucer when viewed from the side!  In both of the axles I have ,this was a bit bent/damaged when I stripped it out, as if it had moved after installation. Luckily in neither was there any sign of metal shedding. I looked in my Chrysler shop manual where it is barely mentioned but and I quote ''next fit the oil baffle (if present)''. 

My conclusion at the moment is not to bother with it and set it up without it. Maybe I should raise the oil level as per my first para. Would appreciate your views please?

[V]

The oil baffle is an oil slinger, its purpose is to distribute oil to the pinion bearing. If your front axle is a High Pinion D30 it is required, if you have a low pinion in the front it may be optional. Most install kits come with a slinger, if it is not used it has to be replaced with shims. I will check my 2001 XJ manual later, it had a low pinion front axle from the factory.

 

My Ford 8.8 rear has a RockCrusher (now Solid) cast diff cover. I think the oil filler is slightly higher than stock but I usually jack up the rear when filling to get a bit more in.

[digger]

Ah, my D30s are HP!  That  is also what the Chrysler manual I have which covers  YJ and XJ for '95 in separate parts describes. I'll show it to you when you pick up the bits, assuming I still have it as its borrowed.

You are right, there are two oil slingers both flat and circular , the outer being the smaller one. The fellow I am on about is a baffle because it is,as you correctly describe, enclosed behind the inner bearing shell. It cannot rotate because it is clamped tight! I guess the idea is to maintain the oil level in the outer(?)  bearing. This is why I don't understand how they get bent! The baffle does appear to be part of the shimming so I had assumed one replaced it with shims. My rebuild kit came from USA without a baffle but lots of shims, including some of that size and thickness . I bought the bearings in the uk. I have observed some evidence of 'meddling' in both axles. My suspicions are that this was to replace the front seal. I thought  that if the pre load was not tightened as much as it had been , maybe this causes the bent baffle problem. I just wondered whether any of you had ever seen anything like it. All this is the other reason why I guess more oil would be better!

I will take a pic tomorrow of the damage if you would like to see it

[digger]

Here's the pics of the worst one. The other isn't quite so bad.  What i would like to know is. Has anyone seen anything like it before?  How did the damage happen?

My thoughts:   You can see chisel/screwdriver marks on it in the groove. Could some gorilla have distorted it when fitting,then it hit the pinion shaft??

                          Could it have been damaged when the pinion was fitted or removed?

                          Could it possibly have come loose in use maybe as a result of an improperly tightened pinion nut after changing the seal?

       Honestly I have no idea!

[digger]

Hi V, You are absolutely right, this item is important in a HP D30. Bearing in mind it is fixed(or should be?) I have read that its purpose is to maintain a 'reservoir' of oil for the front bearing so that its  'slinger' has some thing to sling!! I guess this is because the oil would tend to flow back to the normal level because the pinion is higher.

It doesn't solve the question of how can the damage occur!

[Fourpot]

Today I dropped the last of the 'break-in' oil out of the engine and put proper oil in. New filter too of course.

 

I can now start to open her up a little more (well, quite a lot more). I'd left in the injectors I was using on the stock engine, as I didn't want to run the risk of having an over rich mixture and washing the bores.  At running in and MOT engine speeds and throttle opening, the mixture has been at the lean end of where it should be, but not over lean. However, she has seemed to be less than hugely impressive if I put my foot down and have revs up around 3,000 or more. But then it's been a long time since I drove it with the old engine, so not easy to compare 'then and now'

The plugs are also at the lean end of looking OK, not that glazed look, but still at the lean end of 'just right'.

 

I've had some nice 24lb injectors for ages and got them refurbed recently (see post on 5th Jan). So today,  in they went. Only took me about 40 mins. Ran the engine for a few minutes to check for leaks - all good, so took her out for a spin around the block, which includes a good stretch of straight 60mph road. 

 

Wow! A huge difference in response at wider throttle and higher revs...  now it feels like I've actually achieved something by building a stroker.  Oddly, the fuel consumption seems to be about the same at a steady 30mph and a steady 60mph. I can't actually write the mpg here, it's too painful, when petrol is at £1.47 a litre!)

 

In the pictures here are the previous four-hole EV6 Bosch injectors which are now up for sale. I put these in a while ago and they improved response and fuel economy a little. These were refurbed and balanced when I got them (print-out included) and will come with adapters to link a the wiring loom with EV1 connectors to these injectors. One has an extension to clear the throttle cable bracket. £30 including post. PM me. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Fourpot

[Fourpot]

I drove down to Gosport and back at the weekend. The route took me down the A34 from the M40 to the M3 (and back the same way). I have made this trip lots of times in the Jeep, but this was the first time with the stroker 4.6 engine.

The A34 is quite hilly here, and there are quite a few uphill sections in each direction where the old engine would start to struggle in top to maintain 70mph (2,000rpm), so the auto box would change down, which was quite a noisy affair. I'd switch off the cruise and just back down a few mph.

With the new engine, with it's greater torque - peak at lower revs too, there was only one place it kicked down (heading south) and it almost immediately changed back up. Heading north no probs at all.

I was hoping that the greater torque at lower revs would be a better match for the 4-speed auto box and so it seems to be.

Using the orange 19lb injectors (Bosch - Chrysler Neon) with the new engine, I was getting 18mpg, which was less than the 20mpg with the old engine using those injectors, same kind of mostly motorway driving). With the blue 24lb injectors (Bosch - Mustang) I got an average of 25.4 mpg for the return trip, which included some very slow traffic on the M42 and driving around Gosport. (mpg figures according to the gauge, but the speed the fuel tank emptied is noticeably slower).

More performance for less fuel? Seems too good to be true, but I'll take that!

[Fourpot]

New alloys went on yesterday, they've been sitting in the garage for months, with two new tyres. The alloys are Procomp, same size as the steel modulars they've replaced (16" x 8"). I bought these because they won't go rusty in five minutes and they look nicer. I was also hoping that they might give me a small improvement in fuel economy. Each corner is now 4kg lighter (31kg from 35kg). I wasn't expecting to actually feel the Jeep accelerate better, but I did! Could be a placebo effect of course and I've yet to do a mpg comparison run, but a reduction of 16kg in rotating mass must be an improvement.

(kettlebell courtesy of the commandant).

 

[UKTJ]

1 hour ago, Fourpot said:

New alloys went on yesterday, they've been sitting in the garage for months, with two new tyres. The alloys are Procomp, same size as the steel modulars they've replaced (16" x 8"). I bought these because they won't go rusty in five minutes and they look nicer. I was also hoping that they might give me a small improvement in fuel economy. Each corner is now 4kg lighter (31kg from 35kg). I wasn't expecting to actually feel the Jeep accelerate better, but I did! Could be a placebo effect of course and I've yet to do a mpg comparison run, but a reduction of 16kg in rotating mass must be an improvement.

(kettlebell courtesy of the commandant).

 

Look good.  Where did you get the wheels from?  What size tyre are you running on them?