I am Jack's *super funky* carburetor

Judge for yourself: the float was stuck to the bottom of the bowl from all the crud! 

It took 3 1/2 cans of carb cleaner and a healthy dose of elbow grease to clean it out... and I will probably end up taking it all apart later and soaking it for a weekend. 

I am Jack's dirty carburetor

I picked up the carb kit and float yesterday, with the plan being to rebuild the carb on Saturday... here's hoping!

another step closer

Last night I put 5 gallons of gasoline in the tank and hooked the jumper cables up to see if Randi would start... after a lot of cranking, the answer was not yet!  I got some promising almost-starts, but more work is needed before she will run on her own. The carburetor is flooding gas like crazy, it looks like the floats are stuck and the idle tubes are fouled... time for a rebuild. That will give me a chance to check out more of the vacuum lines as well - I've already spotted a number of empty ports and hoses, and a couple of controls that have broken ports. 

The project continues... finally!

After a considerable delay due to family issues, I finally have had some time to work on Randi! One thing that has made this more of a priority: the Suburban blew a wheel bearing during Hurricane Ike, in addition to all of her other issues... she needs a break and some serious work done. After an oil flush, Dawn's Liberty is back on the road, so it will really be nice to have the Wrangler running for those times when we need two vehicles. Now, on to the updates!

I have replaced the coil, plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, fuel pump and the screen filter inside the gas tank. That last item deserves elaboration...

When the Jeep was parked for the last time 2+ years ago, it had gasoline in the tank. This needed to be drained before the engine could be started, and I wanted to see the state of the inside of the tank, to see if further cleaning would be required... therefore, I decided to drop the tank.

The Haynes book procedure is pretty spot-on, but there are some things that they don't tell you... such as the hose clamps for the fuel filler and vent hoses are in a position that is impossible to reach with a screwdriver unless you already have the tank out. Or that the tailpipe makes it a snug fit and you really need to jockey the tank around the pipe, or possibly remove it. Suffice to say that three hours (and a few bruised knuckles) after I started, the tank was on the ground.

The good news, after cleaning the exterior with a hose, was that the tank was the 20gal plastic tank... the bad news was that there was at least 5 gallons of old gas, and, upon removal of the sending unit, the filter on the end of the pickup tube was clogged and split in a number of places. More good news was that there was very little crud in the tank, so it didn't look like major cleaning would be needed. I started a siphon to drain the tank... the gasoline that came out looked very much like pineapple juice - not what you'd want to run through an engine. After the tank was empty (drained into cans for later disposal), I put a half-gallon of gas and a chain in the tank, sloshed it around for a bit to knock any crud loose and then drained the tank again and sealed it up.

After research, calling various parts houses and actually getting home with the wrong filter, I found that most aftermarket vendors only sell the tank filter for the 4.0 fuel-injected model (for electric fuel pump) so I ended up getting one from Jeep. The price was reasonable and it should last for another 180k miles... once I got that installed, it was time to re-install the tank.

After I positioned the tank underneath the Jeep, I reconnected all the lines to the sending unit and rollover-cutoff valves, then raised the tank and reconnected the filler hose and vent hose... sounds really simple but those are pretty stiff hoses and it took some doing to get them to slip onto the tank. It did take much less time to put the tank back up though - only about 45 minutes or so. Once all bolts were tightened, I took Randi off of the jack stands and moved forward to replace the fuel pump.

The fuel pump was a fairly straightforward replacement procedure, 2 lines and 2 bolts. I also replaced the 6" section of rubber fuel line between the metal line from the gas tank to the inlet of the fuel pump. The only thing left to do now is put some fresh gasoline in the tank and see if she will start!

I have placed her on my insurance coverage, so now I need to go to the county office and get the registration updated - it sucks that you can't go to just any office, but you have to go to one in your county. Once that is done and Randi is running well, it's off to the inspection station... I will probably drive her a bit around the place to make sure everything is running well before that happens.

More updates soon!

Don't worry - I've not given up my project, just taking a break to gather supplies and information! Smoke if ya got 'em!

wow - should it look like that???

Today I got Randi up on ramps to replace the lower radiator hose and do an oil change. The hose went on okay after I trimmed about 1/2 inch from the radiator end, so I filled the radiator with water to see if there were any leaks from the bottom... after everything had dried off, there was a slow but steady drip - I'm guessing that there's a small crack where the neck meets the radiator. It's a pain but easily fixed.

Next, I grabbed the oil-change pan and a 9/16 socket and started draining the oil... which seemed to have the consistency of pancake batter (ugh). I guess sitting for two years is not good for the viscosity (heh). After about an hour there was still sludge dripping from the drain hole, so I plugged it back up. I am going to get a oil pan gasket, pull the pan, scoop the remaining sludge and clean the pan properly... this will also allow me to inspect the bottom of the engine while I am there. It also has made me rethink postponing the changing of the differential, transmission and transfer case fluids - who knows what kind of goop those have turned into in the last two years?

Maintenance, Round 1

I started working on the Jeep in earnest on Saturday... first, I put two of the new wheel/tire assemblies on the rear axle and got her off of the jackstands. The original tires are P235/75R15, so I know they will fit and look good when I buy the BFG All-Terrain T/A's but it does look odd to have the smaller tires on the back and the larger tires on the front (heh). Then I replaced the fuel filter, PCV valve and air filter, followed by a good dose of B-12 Chemtool spray on the carb to remove some of the varnish - eventually, I'll need to remove it and give it a proper cleaning, but this will do for now.


Next, I tackled the upper radiator hose and thermostat. It went smoothly, and I noticed that the block still had a lot of coolant mix inside (especially when I dumped most of it on me by removing the bottom hose at the radiator!), so the block didn't crack. By this time it was fairly dark and I decided to postpone replacing the bottom hose, since there wasn't a lot of room for my huge mitts to get a driver on the clamp screw.... I may have to remove the fan (bleah). 


Another thing that I have noticed is that the vacuum lines are in various states of decay; the 258 I-6 has a rather Byzantine vacuum tree, and I'm not really looking forward to redoing the whole thing, but if I must... I certainly want this engine to run as good as it can!


Before I do anything, though, I am going to move it from it's current resting place and put it where I can work a little easier- then I will change the oil/filter and do the bottom radiator hose.


Once that is done and I've flushed the block / radiator and replaced the coolant mix it will be time to check the plugs, wires, cap and rotor, and see if she'll start! I'm hoping to her running by mid-April, but we will see. There is a lot to do!

Randi's Bio Sheet - wave to the crowd!

1990 Jeep Wrangler (4/90, Brampton ON)

• AMC 258 cid (4.2l) I-6 ("T" engine code)
• 2 bbl Carter carburetor
• 5 spd. Aisin AX-15 manual transmission
• NP231 transfer case (2.72 low)
• Dana 30 Front axle (reverse-cut) (3.07)
• Dana 35c Rear axle (3.07)
• P235/75R15 (28.8") on stock rims (15x6)
• Pioneer CD player / Jensen Sound Bar
• Red / Spice Soft Top
• Custom 2x6 rear bumper :)
  

New Shoes and other parts

Last night, Dawn and I went to Oak Hill to pick up some new wheels & tires... I found a guy on Craigslist, Jay, that had four wheels with tires (mounted) and one new tire (unmounted) for $75... I couldn't pass that up :) This will allow me to get Randi rolling, and I can put BFG's on the original rims later. The tires are in good shape, and have plenty of tread for inspection.

I am heading over to the parts store this afternoon to pick up the first batch of goodies, and plan to work on the Jeep this weekend. I should have updates and pics then.

** UPDATE**

Parts for this weekend's activities:

• Steering wheel cover
  
• Oil + Filter
  
• Fuel Filter
  
• Air Filter
  
• PCV Valve
  
• Radiator Hoses/Clamps
  
• Thermostat
  
• Coolant
  
• Wiper Blades
  
• B-12 Chemtool (spray & liquid)
  

The goal is to get the engine running and the tires changed out... depending on the condition / level of the differentials, transfer case and transmission, Randi may even move a bit :)

The Saga Begins....

Our story thus far:

Earlier in March (or was it February?), I rehydrated the battery and put a charge on it... I am quite sure that I will have to replace the battery, but if it will last long enough to get it running, good enough. I have also determined that:

• All the hoses / belts need replaced
  
• All the fluids (oil, coolant, differentials, transfer case) need replaced
  
• The front tires and spare are holding air, but the rear tires are flat... don't know if that's from valve stem leakage or something more serious yet.
  
• The steering wheel will need a cover, and possibly replaced. 
  
• The front seats, ditto. 
  
• The top will be replaced, but in the short term a Bikini Top will do nicely (c'mon, she's a JEEP). 
• The fender-flares are cracked and need replacing as well.
• I plan to put a square-tube bumper on the rear.

I am planning for BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/As, in LT235/75R15 - this will give a 1" lift over the stock p205/75R15, without requiring a body-lift. They will also not overload the axles, so I should have fairly close to stock performance without having to change gears.

The first priority will be performing all the routine maintenance checks / tasks to get her running after two years of rest, then any safety-related maintenance... once she has been inspected and ready to roll, then I can worry about cosmetics and toys :)

Spring Project 2008 is born!

It's been four years since my last Spring Project, so I am due for a new one... and, fortunately, I have one in my front yard! Dawn's 1990 Jeep Wrangler, Randi,  has been sitting for two years waiting for some TLC, and I'm just the guy to do it... it's been a while since I got to exercise my shade-tree mechanic skills, so let's get started! :)

As usual, I will post updates on my progress, as well as photos that will document the transformation from lawn ornament to mud-slingin', rock-hoppin' beast!