Dave's 76 Cherokee

[243]

The seal really helped to minimize the exhaust smell in the cab but it still rattles like crazy.

The exhaust dumps just behind the axles and that does not help either, I am waiting to have a complete exhaust installed with Flowmaster 50's and dumping out at the corner of the bumper, after 1500 miles of blown-out glasspacks I am not liking the sound or the noise.

It rattles and squeaks something fierce, I hope some of this will be minimized with a new suspension.

I pulled the T400 inspection cover and was surprised to see the teeth looked great, until I rotated it 180 degrees and found about 6" of teeth half gone. I went ahead and replaced the starter since it tested poorly, it is quite noisy but after two weeks it has only skipped once, it was skipping about 1 out of 4 attempts to start it and would not engage for 3-4 hits of the starter so it's better but still a problem.

Bill H. sent a revised chip and I plugged it in last night after getting home from work, it seemed to run strong but I am sure the tweaks were minor so it was probably my imagination. I am getting 10-11 mpg with an occasional 9 if I spend a lot of time stabbing the throttle.

Last week a co-worker moved the steering wheel while I looked at the suspension, there is still too much play in the wheel. There is one TRE with a little movement but I think it's the "rebuilt" steering box, the steering wheel moves about 3/4" left and 3/4" right before moving the wheels, the lower shaft moves but the pitman arm does not move. I think it's just a chitty rebuild, I cleaned up the garage this past Saturday and un-covered the disassembled original box and repair kit, I will attempt the rebuild in the next week or two.



My 05 Frontier needs the cam chain tensioner and pads again, the dealer repaired it at 54K under warranty but at 195K they are shot again and it rattles, really, really bad. The dealer estimate is 1800.00 parts and labor. I was planning to get a newer truck when it hits 200K and 10 years old in June even though I put tires on it about 6 months ago but it won't sell in the current condition.

I plan to attempt the repair next month but it looks to be an absolute huge PIA, estimates are 20-30 hours but only 100-200 in parts.

I feel confident in the Jeep so I can tear down the Frontier and not feel rushed. This requires removing all the accessories and a large cover on the front of the engine, I believe there are 25 bolts securing the cover and it's sealed with RTV and that sounds like a PIA too. If this is successful, I will probably continue driving the truck and postpone buying a newer truck for now.

Looks like a lot of fun

[243]

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[243]

It's officially out of commission, I started yesterday about 11:30 and had it disassembled about 5:00, about fours hours was spent removing the ps, ac and alternator, the rest was not too bad. I think it would probably take another five hours to get all the RTV off the rear timing cover and I have little hope of getting the cover back on without jacking up the sealant.




The number one issue is the primary tensioner pad (orange), it should have a hook that wraps around the steel plate about 2" higher, and the tensioner is now fully extended because the pad slipped down about 2", it should ride on the thick section. The secondary tensioner pad can be seen higher in the photo, I will not know how worn the pads are until I pull the chains.

Luckily the Cherokee is running well but I need both vehicle running well.

I will order parts in a few minutes and hope they arrive by Friday, Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be sunny and dry.

[SJTD]

And a lot of guys on the TDI forums complain about timing belts and ask why don't they use chains.

[243]

The chains are not the problem, I am pretty sure I can re-use them, but the pads are an altogether different story. Apparently, this was an issue with the VQ35 and the VQ40 was new for 2005 and based on the 3.5L, sometime around 2006 they offered different pads.

I only drove it from 95K to 195K with the noise but it has become to annoying and potentially an engine killer; that, and I would have a hard time selling or trading it with the noise.

[Stuka]

Nissan has a history of having issues with timing chain pads. Even the old KA24E in my '91 hardbody had issues with those pads not lasting. When they started to go it would rattle like crazy on start up. They used a similar setup to the VQ series, where they have the little piston operated by oil pressure to push the tensioner out.

[243]

Well, I made it home Friday to find the parts on the front porch and installed everything in about an hour. I decided to crank it over to listen for any unusual noises and it sounded fine. However, I started second guessing myself and pulled the #1 plug to make sure I had it on TDC and none of the chain marks would align as they were after turning the engine over by hand.

I figured it was only an hour so I would start fresh Saturday morning, I worked 12 hours total before I fired it up Saturday and the cam chains sound fine which is silent, but it was running crappy and I found a vacuum hose un-plugged. I reconnected the hose and let it idle watching the oil pressure and temperature and all was good until I noticed a huge pool of coolant running down the driveway and found a coolant hose un-plugged, there is a lot of chit on this engine!

The oil pressure looked fine and temperature looked fine so I took a spin to the back of the neighborhood, about 1/4 mile and the temperature shot up, this was most likely due to the t-stat not being open and air pockets in the system.

I had it topped off with coolant about thirty minutes later so I took it down the highway to gas up and before I made it home, the electric fan was running continuously and the oil pressure was dropping to almost 0 and the light was coming on, I could hit the throttle and pressure would rise and the light would go out.

So, the motor sounds great and I ran it hard a few time to just below redline at 6K with no issues.

I am not sure about the oil pressure and temperature. The e-fan is supposed to be on at temps above ~208 or when the AC is on high, the mechanical fan (it has one of each) seemed to be spinning slow but I was not having overheating issues prior to the work so I doubt the fan clutch died. I ended up using the original water pump after buying and installing a defective aftermarket pump, the original pump was fine, but I did replace the t-stat with an aftermarket 170 deg although the factory rating is 180 deg.

The Frontier/Xterra's are known to have chitty oil sending units and I have replaced mine before, I suspect there is not an oil pressure problem with a crank driven mechanical pump so I will pull the sending unit and clean it. I am also pulling the pan to make sure there is no sludge or debris blocking the pickup screen, pretty easy to do on the Frontier.

I may go ahead and pull the aftermarket t-stat and put the original back in or buy a new one at Nissan tomorrow, both worked when tested in the kitchen but other than the chain set, all the original parts will be back in and it should not be running hot.

At least the Cherokee gets me down the road and back and has not failed to start, 2K miles so far

[Stuka]

You would also hear some clattering is oil pressure was low. The chain tensioners run off oil pressure, if its low they don't push out so the chain rattles.

[243]

I think I found the problem.

First, I replaced the oil pressure sending unit after cleaning it and finding it leaking (75 bucks!) fired it up and oil pressure was steady about midway on the gauge, temperature just below halfway so I drove it around the neighborhood and then for a fairly long run on the highway, oil pressure started dropping when rpm dropped to idle and the light would come on. Before I made it home I heard the e-fan kick in and it stayed on until I made it home.

I grabbed the lower radiator hose and it was cool to the touch and the upper was hot, so the t-stat is not opening as it should and that explains why the e-fan kicks on but the mechanical fan clutch is not locking up with no hot air being pulled off the radiator, I can stop it with roll of paper towels easily and there is almost no resistance on it.

The oil cooler uses engine coolant and that may explain the low oil pressure if it's thinning out from heat.

I am still planning on an oil change and cleaning the pickup screen this weekend.

[243]

Back to the Cherokee, I need an exhaust and I typically want to do everything on my builds if possible, on my CJ I only farmed out the machine work on the block. I may have mentioned it earlier but Flowmaster has the U-Fit system with a bunch of mandrel bent parts and pieces to install a semi-custom system. I searched for several hours last night for people who have used the system but did not find many photos or threads.

I am almost positive I want to go this route but I want to study the undercarriage for routing especially after the rear axle. I may even add the 100 bucks for 409 SS but that will require I buy a new bottle for my MIG, I only use C25 now but will need Argon. I also plan to use Summit or Magnaflow band clamps in a few strategic locations so I won't need to cut the system apart later.

I also listened to a lot of Youtube videos and think the Super 44 or Deltaflow 44's will be about right.

All input is welcome, here are some examples:

[ShawnQ]

I have no experience, but looking forward to what you find regarding the u-fit

[Stuka]

Their dual setup wont work. Its intended for 2wd vehicles. You would need to go single exhaust. Dual can be done, but its a very tight fit to get around the t-case.

Unless you want to go through the leaf spring and go side pipes.

[243]

I have duals on it now, what won't work?

[Stuka]

I have duals on it now, what won't work?

How do you have them setup? The ones shown above have cross overs. Which are possible, but hang pretty low. Only way I have seen dual done on FSJ is to squeeze both pipes between the frame and t-case (tight, and need smaller tubing), or to go side pipes by going between the frame and the leaf spring.

[243]

I need to take a look, I recall downpipes running past transfer case and both running parallel to the driveshaft and then over the axle. Before I installed the tank, the tailpipes exited on either side of the spare and straight out.

[243]

I believe the Nissan crap is behind me, I replaced the t-stat and housing with a Nissan part, installed a temporary oil gauge and found oil pressure to be 95 psi at startup with 20W-50 oil, 10 psi idling and 40 psi at 2000 rpm while at operating temperature. The FSM calls for 14-43 so I believe the slightly lower pressure both high and low are reasonable on a 200K mile engine. I went to Nissan and their oil sender was made in China so I decided to exchange the OReilly sender that is also made in China but has a lifetime warranty. If the gauge keeps dropping to zero and activating the red light I will put electrical tape over the light and keep driving. I also added two cans of R134 so I have AC again.


As far as the exhaust, I looked at the current setup and shot some pictures, the tight spot is between the frame and xfer case, it has a 2.25" or 2.5" pipe through it now and I could easily notch the crossmember and run the pipe lower and gain clearance. The bracket makes it look like there is no clearance from the front. I need to measure the NP241 and see if it's wider or narrower than the QT at that point.






The drivers side is wide open without the coffin tank.





I am not set on dual exhaust, I like the kit that contains all the parts and pieces that appear would simplify the installation and the price is not bad. However, I am not opposed to building a 2.5" Y-pipe and running a single 3" to the rear bumper. It would be nice to find a U-fit type kit for a 3" exhaust but I have not found one yet.


.

[twisted frame]

We have different trans and T-cases but I figured I'd post how the shop I used did my exhaust in case it's any help. It's not a U-kit, obviously, but we still had to get a pipe by the D20 and down one side of the truck, away from the gas tank and then ran both pipes out the passenger rear quarter. I think we used 2.25" but it might be 2.5. It probably doesn't matter but I have headers. No crossover pipe - it just didn't seem necessary with my old, stock 360.

[243]

Thanks for posting the photos....

The only news I have right now is potentially good news in the long run.

I have postponed the engine swap or even buying the engine and transmission because I have been searching for a new house, I have leased for 8 years and decided 2 years ago it was time to go after my kids graduated but it has not worked out for a number of reasons. The current house and property is very nice, but I have no interest in using the upstairs bedrooms for an office or hobby area so I am living in a single large bedroom, 1.5 bath house with a single car detached garage.

I found a house last August and cancelled the contract after the inspection turned up major foundation issues, I cancelled a contract on a second property a few months later with a built out metal shop simply because I decided living in the shop and building a house would be a major hassle financially.

The market is tough where I am, I found a house a few weeks ago and it had offers after two days on the market. I found another house last week and should be in contract today or tomorrow, it's less than 10 years old and has a two car garage and decent driveway on an acre, very similar to where I am now but a single story and with an additional garage bay. There is access and more than enough room to build a metal shop if I decide it's needed but truthfully, I can do a lot with a good driveway and a two car garage.

[Stuka]

That definitely takes precedence over an engine swap. And owning is certainly better than leasing.

Forgot you didn't have a standard tank, which is why you have so much room.

[243]

Under contract, inspections at noon today and scheduled to close the first week of May.

I have planned the garage mod's for about two years based on working out of a single car garage for eight years and spending a lot of time on Garage Journal. I would love to build a 30x40 shop in the back but realistically, the money I would spend on a shop at this stage in life would take away from the "projects" so I am focusing on the garage. In the current garage everything is on wheels so I can move everything in and out or compress the space to work in bad weather, it has open studs and joists so it's always dirty and hot.

So the number one priority is air conditioning, I am sick of working in the heat and will install a wall unit or a split-dx system. I will add a sub-panel and run dedicated 220v circuits for the welder and compressor and 120v circuits for general power and lighting. Lighting will be surface mounted twin tube T-8's that worked flawlessly in my current garage. I have a 50' compressed air cooling loop I built out of 3/4" copper that I will move to the new garage that has worked perfectly for media blasting and painting. I like epoxy flooring and we use it on many of our projects at work but I am spoiled, the roll-on homeowner products won't work so I will lay ceramic tile. I will also install a spare LCD TV, sound system and data connection for a laptop and will have wireless access as well.

Not what I will call fancy but a comfortable and safe shop and easy to clean with finished walls and flooring.