Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Show off your FSJ photos and videos!

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

Am in Kingsport. New to the Wagoneer scene - got this for my wife - has wanted one for years - she calls him Teddy; I can’t bring myself to, so we’ll say Theodore.

Is a ‘90 model. Tripped across it locally on Craigslist back in August.
Image

While the clearcoat is basically gone, the body has no rust at all - with nice patina. At this point, we’re working on mechanical reliability issues. First thing was idle, and tuning - has the Affordable Fuel Injection set up on it & would run after the key was off.

Next was weather-proofing - all the doors leaked - replaced/repaired the weather barriers & replaced the window wipes.

Then on to replacing the pinion bearing in the rearend & repairing a massive transmission pan leak. Fortunately, we’ve found a great mechanic here to help with things I’m not equipped to do.

Am looking to do as much as i can myself & learning along the way, while farming out the rest.

Have a few other things on the list that need attention, but no hurry. Otherwise, everything else works:
- Auto lock-you-out feature; bought replacement door lock springs from B.J.’s, but wire gauge was too heavy; would lock, but not unlock - the springs were binding. Anyone know where else to get these?
- Headliner replacement - it’s out now, along with overhead console
- stock height leaf springs & shocks, if needed
- Whitewall tires
- Body bushings
- Upholstery repairs or finding seats in better condition

Thanks to all whose posts have gotten us this far. Will likely be leaning on the community as we get deeper in.
Last edited by Theodore on Sat Jun 17, 2023 3:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread
User avatar

Chubbinius
Posts: 351
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:33 am
Location: SD, CA

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee!

Post by Chubbinius »

Awesome, looks nice! How tough was the pinion bearing work?
1970 1414X Wagoneer "The Pig"
-Custom Special
-Dauntless 350 V8
-D27 front/D44 rear
2006 XK (65th Ann Edition)-DD
User avatar

dodgerammit
Posts: 1434
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:20 pm
Location: Middle TN

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee!

Post by dodgerammit »

Welcome. That thing is nice. I remember seeing it listed in the classifieds. I have no issue unlocking the doors even with weak springs. The biggest thing for me was making sure full 12 volts got to the actuators. I used relays, but there is a good youtube video of how to disassemble and clean the switches.
84 Grand Waggy-Radio Flyer (Garnet Red/3M Ebony Metallic woodgrain, with honey interior) AMC 360 :cry: 2004 4.8LS/Advance Adapter/727/242 D44/AMC20 Serehill tailgate and headlight harnesses :fsj: Ongoing thread-viewtopic.php?t=11897

92 Wrangler Islander 4.0/32RH/231 D30/D35 RHD

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee!

Post by Theodore »

Chubbinius wrote:Awesome, looks nice! How tough was the pinion bearing work?
No idea on that - we used a local shop JB AutoWorks, they did a great job. Was thankful it was only the bearing that had to be replaced, and not an entire rearend rebuild.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee!

Post by Theodore »

dodgerammit wrote:Welcome. That thing is nice. I remember seeing it listed in the classifieds. I have no issue unlocking the doors even with weak springs. The biggest thing for me was making sure full 12 volts got to the actuators. I used relays, but there is a good youtube video of how to disassemble and clean the switches.
Thanks for the recommendation on the video, will take a look.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Kerry
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat May 14, 2016 6:06 am

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee!

Post by Kerry »

I've replaced my headliner. I recommend the spray adhesive that "spider webs" when you spray it. It adheres better than the mist spray.
User avatar

FLeetFox
Posts: 243
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2018 7:05 am
Location: Blue Ridge Mtns

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee!

Post by FLeetFox »

Welcome Tedd...uh Theodore!
I do things my way, and I pay a high price.... JCM

will e
Posts: 5096
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:21 am

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee!

Post by will e »

Welcome! It's a nice looking rig! It will be a fun rig to learn on. Watch the for sale section for used interior parts in good condition. Patience is the key. And I love the idea of putting white walls on it. That will look great!

The picture makes me think the front springs are not stock, they look a little to arched. The back seems to sag a bit too from stock. I assume with white walls the rig is going to be mostly on road, stock height is nice for these.
81 Waggy 'WILL E' Retired
82 Cherokee WT - SOA/SF/high steer/Alcan springs/agr box/Borgeson steering shaft/AMC 401/performer/holley TA/HEI/BeCool/727/ALTAS (2.0/2.72/5.44)/D60 Snofighter(Yukon Zip,hubs,stubs,4.56)/14 Bolt (FF,BF shave, Discs, ARB,Artec Truss)/MTR 37X12.5/Corbeau XRS Baja & 5 point retractable harness/Hella Aux lights/tuffy console/killer32 sliders/Evil Twin bumpers, rack and roll cage/WARN 8000/TT Fabworks steering brace/dual batts/custom TC skid plate/ARB fridge

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

Jumped into the FSJ game nearly 5 years ago now with the 1990 Grand Wagoneer, local find; Looking back, i wish i'd created a build thread then to follow the path of struggles, successes/failures, improvements & learning along the way. Prior to the GW, i'd done a few car maintenance tasks in the driveway: oil changes, disk & drum brakes, valve cover gaskets, but nothing near like what i've gotten into here. When i started, my toolbox was a 20" Craftsman that was full with the lid closed. Since getting the Jeep in 8/2018, and giving up on our local Jeep mechanic due to shoddy work & deciding to tackle this ourselves - with the help of forums & youtube - the knowledge gained, the reliability increased & the tool collection exploded into a stash that overflows a 6' Craftsman rolling stack.

Have gone back thru old posts on the forum, collected the relevant ones with links, and put them together with work done w/o posts by timeline. Sometimes, there's a significant time lag between identifying the issue & finally fixing it - in those cases, given hindsight - will post problem & solution together where it makes sense. From here out, am planning on posting updates to this Build Thread.

After having purchased the GW in 8/2018 & lurked for a few months, we made intro here & moved into the endless loop of identify issue, troubleshoot, fix, rinse, repeat...

Table of Contents:

0) Intro - 11/2/2018 - Post 1
1) Back at home - Exterior/Interior pix - Before
2) Gas gushes out of gas cap after a fill-up - 11/2/2018
3) Initial Investigation to Return to Stock Height - 11/7/2018
4) Merry Christmas 2018! - 11/18/2018
5) Transmission rebuild - 2/2019
6) Brakes all around - 3/2019
7) Continuing the Leak Reduction Quest: Transfer Case - 4/2019
8) Moving along to tuning & oil change issues - 7/2019
9) Back to Stock Height with Whitewalls - 8/2019
10) Issue with hesitation on cold start - 8/2019
11) Road Trip Attempt - 8/2019
12) Visit to Ohio Amish Country - picked up a few tools that will come in handy - 10/2019
13) Power Steering Pump Bracket Sheered Off - 11/2019
14) Mystery Squeak Solved - Leaf Spring Re-do - 3/2020
15) Convert from Manual Locking Hubs Back to Stock - 10/2020
16) Center Caps & Broken Screws - ugh - 10/2020
17) Solved: Clunking Noise after converting from manual locking hubs back to fulltime - 10/2020
18) Engine Bay Wiring - Before - 5/2020
19) Spark plug wires - Before & After - 10/2020
20) Rotor Phasing - 11/2020
21) O2 Sensor Destroyed - 3/14/2021
22) Power Lock & Window Switch Connection Cleanup - 7/6/2021
23) Ahh, cool air; A/C attempt - 7/14/2021
24) Cooling System Redeux - 8/14/2021
25) Question re: Overhead Console Rebuild - 9/5/2021
26) Charcoal Canister Add - 11/26/2021
27) Fresh Air Vent Cleanout - 12/28/2021
28) Junkyard Find - 89-90 GW w/Original Sand Seats, Leather-wrapped Steering Wheel, etc. - WooHoo! - 12/16/2021
29) EFI rewire - 5/7/2022
30) Heater box cleanup & swap - 5/28/2022
31) Fog Light Cleanup - 5/29/2022
32) Wiper Motor Cleanup - 5/29/2022
33) Engine Bay Cleanup - 6/5/2022
34) A/C & Water pump replacement - 6/12/2022
35) Carpet installation - 1 - 5/2023
36) Steering Wheel Swap - 5/2023
37) Carpet installation - 2 - 5/2023
38) Carpet installation - 3 - 5/2023
39) Carpet installation - 4 - 6/2023
40) Stainless Trim Cleanup - 6/2023
41) Carpet installation - 5 - 7/2023
42) Headlight Relays - 3/5/2023 - apologies for being out of order, just realized i'd missed it.
43) Woodgrain Selection - 7/2023
44) Ugh - quarter window leak
45) Polishing Aluminum Bumpers - 8/2023
46) Found a set of Marchal Fog Lights - 9/2023
47) Intake Manifold Gasket replacement - Demolition - 10/2023
48) Throttle Linkage conversion to ball from standard GM TBI - 10/2023
49) Intake Manifold - Re-installation - 10/2023
50) Intake Manifold - Finishing Up - 11/2023
51) V-Belt Tension - 11/2023
52) Woodgrain & Emblems - Before - 11/26/2023
53) Woodgrain Removal Begins - 11/26/2023
54) Woodgrain Removal - Day 2 - 12/1/2023
55) Woodgrain Removal - Day 3 - 12/2/2023
56) Removing Chrome Trim - 12/2/2023
57) Woodgrain Removal finally complete - Day 4 - 12/3/2023
58) Mustache Trim - 12/3/2023
59) Air Deflector Installation - 12/3/2023
60) Naked GW - 12/3/2023
61) Vacuum Leak - ugh - 12/13/2023
62) Roof Rack Removal - 12/17/2023
63) Junkyard run: mixed results - 12/20/2023
64) Intake Adapter Received - 12/21/2023
65) Intake adapter Vacuum Leak fixed! - 12/30/2023
66) ...

Back at home - Exterior/Interior pix - Before

Taken prior to starting the leaf spring swap back in 2019:
Image

Interior needs some work - we'll get to that
Image
Image
Image

I have no pics of the cargo area; side panels are there, the carpet is gone - replaced with a large rubber mat
Last edited by Theodore on Sat Dec 30, 2023 6:53 am, edited 56 times in total.

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

11/2/2018: Gas gushes out of gas cap after a fill-up

Having had our ‘90 Wagoneer since August, but between not running right & being in the shop, yesterday was the first time i had to get gas.

At the pump, when i opened the cap, there was a slight rush of air as pressure/vacuum? released. I filled the tank til it clicked & thought it be a good idea to add fuel injector cleaner.

So we ran down the road a mile or so to the parts store & got some. When i opened the cap this time, about a 1/2 pint of gas shot out under pressure. Have never seen anything like this before.

Is there a trick to open the gas cap to not get wet with gas? Or, can i only run the tank 3/4’s full?

Here’s pic of the gas cap we have.
Image


First, i moved to a vented cap, which worked around the gushing issue, but you could smell gas around the car.

Years later (2022), i was finally able to solve the issue permanently by adding back the charcoal canister from a junk GW, and replaced the associated fuel tank vent & vacuum lines. I know tgreese is a big charcoal canister advocate; i've joined that club after living life without one.
Vapor Recovery Hoses - what to do? from 8/28/2021 details fixing a charcoal canister's blown seal, along with part numbers required to add the canister & vacuum lines back, and a Howell vacuum diagram provided by MysticRob on ifsja.org.

Fuel tank vent lines - capped off - the source of the trouble.
Image

The charcoal canister & now installed non-vented gas cap was part of a treasure trove a friend of mine tripped across in a local junkyard back in December, 2021 (more on that later), that included leather seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel, radio, rear air deflector, etc.; most of which will be added to our '90 GW
- see here: Junkyard Find - nearly complete 89-90 GW w/Original Sand Seats, Leather-wrapped Steering Wheel, etc. - WooHoo!.

Following [mention]nograin[/mention]'s advice (http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=174213), i used Dupont Viton 1/64" rubber sheet to replace the blown diaphram under the purge signal cap.

Charcoal canister & mounting bracket came from a GW in Jake's FSJ Junkyard in Burnsville, NC - Thanks, Jake! [mention]tanker[/mention]
Image

First by tracing around the existing diaphram(pic bottom left), and cutting carefully(pic bottom right), then by cutting closely around the metal to sit on top of the spring.
Image

Success!
Image

After rebuilding the charcoal canister, i set about finding parts to replace the vacuum switch, hoses & fittings. Thanks [mention]mysticrob[/mention] for pointing me to the Howell Vacuum diagram.
ImageHowell Vacuum Diagram by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Parts list:
  • 2-port vacuum switch - Standard Ignition Products - PVS71
  • 5/32" vacuum tubing - Gates #27038
  • 7/32" vacuum tubing - Gates #27039
  • 1/64" Dupont Viton from Dixie Rubber & Plastics, Greenville, SC
  • 5/16" Fuel Line - Gates - 8ft - replaces the vapor recovery hoses
  • 5/16" Elbow - Gates #28620 or Napa NBH-9920
  • 3/8"x3/8"x1/4" Tee - American Grease Stick - PRF44B
  • 3/8" Tee - Gates #28632 or Napa NBH-9932
  • 3/8" Elbow - Gates #28622 or Napa NBH-9922
  • 1/4" Tee - Gates #28631 or Napa NBH-9931
  • 1/4" -> 3/16" Reducer - Gates #28593 or Napa NBH-9893
Note: I have the parts to connect to the EGR, but haven't yet verified if it's good; and, have seen mention that it's better to run an ECM-controlled EGR valve, if running EFI; so, jury's out on that right now.

Underhood
Image
Last edited by Theodore on Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:49 am, edited 2 times in total.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

Initial Investigation to Return to Stock Height

Given worn out tires & 3" lift & the desire to return it to stock, we solicited advice on what's involved.

11/7/2018: Returning Lifted Wagoneer to Stock Height

Looked for advice/opinions on mechanic opinions i got today on ways to return our ‘90 Wagoneer to stock height. This is to be my wife’s daily driver, and will likely see no off-road at all. From what i can tell, it has new 3” lift via springs, from Rough Country, part# 8004. Shocks are new Rough Country N2.0.

Option 1: Replace the existing shocks & springs with new stock height shocks & springs. Est. cost is ~$1000-1200 installed.
Option 2: Remove the shackles on the front - see pic & de-arch the rear springs. Mechanic thinks we can use existing shocks. Est. Cost is ~$250.

While i’d prefer not to spend $1000+, Option #2 didn't seem feasible, and find it hard to believe we’d be able to keep existing shocks, without them bottoming out. De-arching seems like a hack.

Then-Current pic of the Wagoneer.
Image

Pic of the shackle on the front.
Image

Image

Pics of the rear suspension:
Image

Image

Image

Image

So, it seems mechanic #2’s opinion is out; and we’ll go with OEM springs & replacement stock height shocks.

At CandyManCan's recommendation, i decided to go with part# 97-402 for the fronts & 97-485 for the rear & began researching suppliers & local shops to do it; but due to other issues that arose, the leafspring & shock swap was postponed until 7/2019.
97-402 - Fronts
97-485 - Rears
Last edited by Theodore on Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Srdayflyer
Posts: 398
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2019 2:08 pm

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Srdayflyer »

based on your posted pictures it looks like a 3 or 4 " spring lift kit but based on looking at the steering links you need to change the pitman arm with a 3 0r 4 inch arm drop to bring the steering geometry back to a stock configuration or have steering problems but verify what you have . why do you want a stock spring height? what size tires are you currently running look like 32's, you need to find out what your ear ratio is and determine your current effective ratio is, my cherokee had 2.73 gears with 31x10.5x15 tires and the effective ratio went from 2.73 with h78x15's to 1.93 with the 31's, and would have dropped to 1.81 with the 32's i currently have but switched to 3.73 gears to get the proper power and torque curves of the factory ratio.

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

Srdayflyer wrote: Sat Jun 17, 2023 10:06 pm based on your posted pictures it looks like a 3 or 4 " spring lift kit but based on looking at the steering links you need to change the pitman arm with a 3 0r 4 inch arm drop to bring the steering geometry back to a stock configuration or have steering problems but verify what you have . why do you want a stock spring height? what size tires are you currently running look like 32's, you need to find out what your ear ratio is and determine your current effective ratio is, my cherokee had 2.73 gears with 31x10.5x15 tires and the effective ratio went from 2.73 with h78x15's to 1.93 with the 31's, and would have dropped to 1.81 with the 32's i currently have but switched to 3.73 gears to get the proper power and torque curves of the factory ratio.
Hey, srdayfyer, though we liked the look, 3 reasons: 1) ride as-is was bone-jarring; had heard that Rough Country’s ride rough - not sure about all, but can say that these did. 2) wife’s short & had trouble getting in; 3) noisy tires. Bottom line: We just like the look of the classic Grand Wagoneer.

Though I’m not to the point yet in the timeline - we swapped to stock springs, load-leveler shocks & whitewall tires, and love it.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

Merry Christmas - 2018!

In November, 2018, we took a ~100 mile road trip over the mountain to pick up a Christmas tree. In retrospect, given the
reliability issues we found afterwards, it's a wonder we didn't return on a roll-back... Given the learning curve we had to climb to fix the issues, it would be another 3 years before we'd feel confident enough to do that again. Appears that it had sat for many years, as the more we drove it, the more leaks popped up.
Image

First Christmas with the Wagoneer
https://forums.ifsja.org/forum/tire-kic ... e-wagoneer
Yesterday, we took the Wagoneer on short ride over Roan Mountain to Elk Park, NC to Elk River Evergreens to choose & cut a tree. Between now & Christmas, taking into account personal & business travel, it was either now or the 2nd week of December to get over there. They have a beautiful place, with thousands of trees to choose from, along with hot chocolate, popcorn, and a gift shop. This was the 4th year we’ve selected our tree there.

The Wagoneer was a hit with many people there taking pictures of it & with it, with quite a few references made to the Griswold Family Christmas!
Image
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

February, 2019: Transmission rebuild

After Transmission Rebuild - Jeep runs like new!
https://forums.ifsja.org/forum/tire-kic ... build-jeep

Had to put the project on hold for a couple months to save money for a transmission rebuild. Turns out the trip over the mountain back in November to get a Christmas tree, appeared to have blown out transmission seals, such that it went from leaking a quarter-sized drop in the driveway to bleeding like crazy.

So, rather than moving forward with suspension changes to return the Wagoneer to stock height, we are working to getting rid of leaks.

Previously, we had used a local Jeep shop that had done a lot of work for the previous owner, including the installation of the engine and fuel injection system. We continued to use the shop due to the history, but decided to change shops after the Wagoneer returned after a rear-end rebuild there, with one of the differential cover bolts broken off, and the shop would not stand by the work. Later, the transmission shop found other concerning issues that reinforced the decision.

Our new shop is more of a traditional garage, and is one of few shops in the area that rebuilds transmissions on site, not to mention my brother works there, so I can trust the work. While doing the transmission work, they found a few additional issues that gave us pause, such that we definitely will not be using the local Jeep shop anymore...
1. There were only 2 bolts holding the transmission to the block; 4 were missing...
2. Kick down cable was connected, but not adjusted correctly. We had not driven enough on the highway to figure out there was no passing gear.

Now that the transmission is rebuilt - it is like a new vehicle! Could not believe the difference it made.

Old Jeep ownership is definitely a learning experience - thanks for all the help/advice here. As we had mentioned before, we mainly got the Wagoneer due to its no-rust body, and thought we would go thru things as we needed to.

Next on the list is:
- power steering gearbox is leaking
- Dynamat installed as we go
- Headliner, visor & overhead console restoration - they are out now - want it back in before it gets damaged sitting around the garage
- Suspension returned to stock from 3in lift
- Tires
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

March, 2019: Brakes all around - After having daily driven the GW for a few months, my wife noticed that it nosed over sharply when stopping quickly. Investigation found that the wheel cylinders had both locked up; we replaced the front & rear pads/shoes, wheel cylinders on both sides, and the master cylinder which while full wasn't working well either.
Image

Image

Back together & stopping properly.
Image
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

April, 2019: Continuing the Leak Reduction Quest: Transfer Case
Issue with NV229 transfer case - HELP!

So, we continued the leak reduction quest & worked our way to the transfer case. Mechanic pulled it to replace seals & found that the pressure plate that goes in the clutch basket is broken. Am stuck til we find one.

Am having trouble finding one here locally. And, really dont want to spend the $$$ to replace the transfer case.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Poking around online - it appears the part is number 21 in this diagram - viscuous clutch.

Image

After looking at various options, I decided to try to find a replacement NV229 & made the first of what would be many pilgrimages over the mountain to Jake's FSJ Junkyard to pick up hard to find parts. Jake had gotten in wrecked GW that someone had taken the floorpans from, which given it was pouring down rain by the time we got there was nice. My brother & I were able to stand inside the cab & pull the transfer case standing up vs. laying on our backs in the mud. For good measure, Jake sent us home with a 2nd transfer case, in case there was an issue with the first. The local transmission shop went thru it to ensure things were good & re-sealed it - has worked like a champ. I held onto the 2nd transfer case for probably 6 months til i needed a few parts & returned it to Jake on my next trip over.

Picked up a set of Center Caps while we were there - will likely be a while before these go on:
Image
Last edited by Theodore on Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

7/2019 - Moving along to tuning & oil change issues
We're Getting There!

We’re claiming victory today. The Wagoneer has never run so well. Am coming up on a year of having it, and was still having travails with reliability, hesitation, stumbling, and even dying & being hard to start back. To date, we’ve rebuilt the rearend, and transmission, replaced the steering box, and re-sealed a NP229 transfer case from Jakes in Burnsville, NC (kudos Jake). Our goal is reliability & a daily driver for my wife. So far, shes been afraid of going further than a few miles from home. Our goal is to get it reliable enough to drive it to the Jeep Invasion in Sevierville, TN (100 miles away) at
the end of August.

Over the last year, Ive come to the conclusion that the 1990 Grand Wagoneer is a Frankenstein, with the previous owner in East Tennessee having bought a roller out of Atlanta and a rebuilt engine in New Bern, NC. In talking to Kenny last week at Watsons, the engine was rebuilt at a Jeep shop in Virginia Beach with approx 20000 miles on it, and came complete with an Affordable Fuel Injection EFI kit.

(1/29/2023 - knowing what i know now, i should've gotten a new EFI wiring harness, as the old one was hacked out of the previous car, which resulted in inumerable wiring issues that wreaked havoc with reliability/drivability - it wasn't until late 2021 that i knew enough & felt confident enough to finally rip it out & replace it w/one from Hamilton Fuel Injection).

Everything came together in East Tennessee, with the previous owner using a local shop to mate the body & engine.

Over the last couple weeks, Ive been reading/researching, even reading/re-reading the EFI owner’s manual & believing something was up w/ignition timing & vacuum leaks. Those suspicions were true. Having never messed with timing, I enlisted a friend who drag races to take a look. We found that the initial timing was set to 20 degrees advanced at idle. Affordable Fuel Injection recommends 0 for 360 & 6 for 401. Setting the initial timing to 0-1 greatly improved starting & running, but there was still significant hesitation, slow acceleration, idle issues, etc.

Yesterday was the day to recalibrate ignition components & do the first oil change since we’ve had it. Things went well replacing spark plugs - was interesting to note that they were inconsistently gapped – figures… Most were .037, some were .032, and one was .041. Replacement Champion Copper Plus RC12YC plugs were all gapped & installed at .035. Next came recalibration of the MAP Sensor, Idle Air Control, and Throttle Position Sensor – things went fine.

Trouble hit with the oil change & assuming the engine was a 1990. The filter - a NAPA 5128, mapped at Advance Auto to a filter with threads that wouldn’t screw on w/o cross-threading (which ended up being metric), and other small filters where the can was smaller than the gasket on the original. This led to some amount of trial & error, first trying a 1991 version filter (bore diameter was too small – 3/4in.), and finally researching & finding an article on fsjnetwork.com (Re: newbie questions oil, filter, model year breakdown for diagrams ('89)
that laid out the various filter sizes used for AMC 360’s that led to me believe that the engine is in the 1986 range, given the filter threads are SAE 16 pitch on 13/16 bore. O’Reilly’s had a Wix filter that matched the NAPA 5128. Success!

Once all that was done, it was time to start it. In a word, Wow! It’s never run so well. Was time for a road trip!

At idle, RPMs still go up & down (think there’s still a vacuum leak), but acceleration & power were great. Using Carb/Choke Cleaner, am thinking the vacuum leak is around the base of the throttle body – will be taking a look at that today. Got back home & checked for leaks again and checked the oil. No leaks, and oil showed full, but I had major issues putting the dipstick back in, it bound up about 12 inches in & required forcing it the rest of the way down.

All in all, yesterday was best day for the Wagoneer to date.

Dip stick still binds somewhat putting it back - is still on the list to figure out.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

8/2019 - Back to Stock Height with Whitewalls
Back to Stock Height with Whitewalls

Been working the last couple weekends to return the Wagoneer to stock height. Swapped out the Rough Country 3” lift springs & shocks for Dayton Leaf
Springs from SDTruckSprings.com & Monroe Gas-Matic shocks from RockAuto.com. What a job! Just so happened to have hit during the August heat wave. Never
done anything like this before. Kudos to members on the forum for parts recommendations & Matt at BleepingJeep for the how-to videos on YouTube. Watched
them a few times to gain confidence to start & went for it.
Link to BleepinJeep Leaf Spring video: https://bleepinjeep.com/video/how-to-in ... gh-country

97-402 - Fronts
97-485 - Rears

The rears took a day each, with the driver’s side being the worst - due to gas tank covering the frame bolt on the inside. Thankfully, I was able to support the tank with a jack & take the bolts loose, and get my hand & wrench into the gap to remove the frame bolt.

The other big gotcha was aligning the spring pin with the perch on the axle. Used a big 3” yellow ratchet strap from Home Depot to pull front to back, and an 1 1/2” strap to pull side to side. Had to do all 4 corners to line things up correctly.

Before with 3” lift:
Image

Only pic I have of the first swap in progress:
Image

After with stock height Dayton’s:
Image

On the rack for tires: Tires are Hankook Optimo 235/75R15.
Image

With new whitewalls:
Image
Last edited by Theodore on Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread

Topic author
Theodore
Posts: 377
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:26 pm
Location: East Tennessee

Re: Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

Post by Theodore »

/2019: Issue with hesitation on cold start;
Issue with hesitation on cold start

(1/23/2023 update: this post began an investigation the resolution of which took a couple of years to work completely thru. First thing was to understand exactly what i had, & climb the learning curve to begin to troubleshoot an EFI system. As i'd mentioned before, the GW has an AFI (Affordable Fuel Injection) system installed by the previous owner. At this point, in my
mechanic career, i'd never messed with EFI, wiring, pulled EFI logs, set timing myself, or pulled & replaced the distributor - took a while to get over that fear of all of that. Tried to use a couple of local shops to boost me off, but no one wanted to touch it. The wiring under the hood was terrible looking, especially given the EFI box was under the hood, with a lot of extra wiring exposed that should have been under the dash. Eventually(Spring 2022), we worked thru timing, rotor phasing, a new chip from Bill Hamilton & replaced the entire EFI harness, and finally got it how it should be. In hindsight, i shouldve started with replacing the harness given how hacked up it was; the learning from troubleshooting it increased the knowledge of how things work.

Here's a pic of the ALDL connector where you can see the mess of EFI wiring going around the master cylinder reservoir.
Image

To begin the troubleshooting/tuning work, we picked up a Bluetooth OBD1 Monitor from 1320electronics.com, an Amazon Fire tablet & a copy of ALDLdroid, and proceeded to build a virtual dashboard to see what was going on with the engine. This enabled me to work my way thru the myriad of configuration & wiring issues, finding countless voltage drop issues & tracing out wiring to find bad connections/bad splices, a broken fuse. Eventually, we work with Bill Hamilton at Hamilton Fuel Injection to figure out that the tune is too lean, & rotor phasing is incorrect. Once we get that the rotor phasing & tune right, we make the move to totally replace the harness & move the EFI box under the dash. After tremendous travail between 2020 & 2022, am finally daily driving the GW. More on this later...

Right now, the ECM is in mounted in a box under the hood, on the driver's fender where the rear window washer bottle should be. Given the hacked up nature of the EFI harness, am planning on getting a new one & moving the ECM to inside the Jeep - but wanted to get it running properly first.

Here's an example of a digital dashboard you can build with ALDLdroid. If i had a VSS, the Vehicle Speed would also report.
Image

When we started with ALDLdroid, the ECM was reporting Battery Voltage at ~12.5V; along with severe drivability issues (hesitation at cold start, intermittent dying when going into gear, and high speed backfire when letting off the throttle at 70mph, coasting to 60 & getting back in it.

Over a couple week period, i broke apart the wiring harnesses (factory & EFI) & ran voltage drop tests, finding a myriad of bad splices/ connections along the way. As part of that, ive cleaned battery terminals, cleaned all the grounds i could find, found and connected a previously unconnected 'green' 12-ga ground wire that was connected to the negative battery post - stuffed in the headlight hole. All of this got me from ~12.5V measured at the ECM to ~13.2.

After reading & re-reading posts, and talking to AFI & Bill_USN1 on binderplanet, i worked my way to the ECM itself, the main relay & fuel pump relay & began cleaning connections there with DeoxIT D100 contact cleaner. Corrosion was pretty amazing, as evident from the bubbling. That's when i found a major cause of voltage drop - the ECM fuse. The mix of corrosion & cracked connection was responsible for ~1V.

Cracked fuse - responsible for ~1V drop
Image

Battery voltage as reported by ECM jumped from 13.2 to 14.2, after cleaning ECM & relay connections and replacing the cracked fuse.
Image

DeoxIT D100 electrical contact cleaner - highly recommend
Image

Learned a tremendous amount during this exercise. From posts & conversations on forums like:
- binderplanet.com (Fuel Injection section)
- Gearhead-efi.com
- JeepForum.com (JeepHammer's Wiring Guides)
- chevytalk.com
- gmt400.com
- theamcforum.com
- pirate4x4.com
along with phone calls with Bill Hamilton @ Hamilton Fuel Injection, & rang-a-stang on ifsja.org who got me over the fear of diving in. Though it took a couple of years to get there, today (2/10/2023), we have a nice running engine.
1990 Grand Wagoneer - "Theodore" - AMC 360, fuel-injected, TF727, NP229 - Sand Metallic - restoring to stock - Build Thread
Post Reply