What did you do to your XJ today? 1M Views

[Frank_Grimes]

I lugged about 900kgs of pavers back from the landscaping joint in two trips. She sagged down quite a bit in the rear despite my best efforts at distributing the load evenly, but delivered like a boss.

Then jumped in to move it off the driveway and the ignition barrel made this snapping sound as it spun freely all the way to the stop. Now it feels like it's missing a "stop" as you turn it, and it only goes to "on" and won't crank. It's like the mechanism that engages the starter motor has broken off the barrel. I'll pull it apart one night this week, but a new ignition barrel is roughly $165, and I'm not keen on having another key so I might just hotwire in a pushbutton start.

[darksidecustoms]

Sooooo.... Finished the head swap yesterday with the help of a friend.

Found that the tops of a couple of the cylinders were quite caked so we cleaned them right up.



Plus new-
- front/rear oxy sensors
- crank angle sensor
- oil filter
- Platinum spark plugs

Also did the welsh plugs while we were there, even though they weren't leaking. Kinda glad we did as they were original Mopar from 97 and had 235k under their belt with quite a bit of rust.

But...

Just as we were filling up new oil and coolant, saw that each and every one were leaking, without even starting it up and building pressure.

Even though I had read Go Jeeps write up, the factory plugs had no evidence of sealant - although in hindsight they would have been fitted with machinery at exact pressures and even force.

So, it's another week without the Jeep and another days labour to pull the box and get to the back of the head (plus do the one at the back of the block that we didn't do yesterday), along with the manifolds. Again.

Really sucks when you can smell freedom and then you're old mate Murphy pops in to say hi....

[junglejuice]

So I am guessing you didn't use any Stagg paste then???

[Billnick]

About 12 months ago I replaced a damaged radiator and just recently noticed it had a leak. I had a bit of time up my sleeve yesterday so I whipped out the rad and took it down the the rad place expecting to pick up a replacement under warranty then and there. Wrong, its got to go "back" and "should be here tomorrow". PITA because we had to jam all our cleaning stuff into a little Mitzy Mirage for jobs last night and this morning. Doesn't look like I'll be getting it today either.
My tune up kit arrived in the post so I did the plugs and leads etc. Plugs were out to about 60 thou and the leads were all mushy. I'll be interested to see what they measure when I get another multimeter.

[darksidecustoms]

Originally Posted by junglejuice

So I am guessing you didn't use any Stagg paste then???

Bad decision but lesson learned

[anthonygubbin]

Originally Posted by Frank_Grimes

I lugged about 900kgs of pavers back from the landscaping joint in two trips. She sagged down quite a bit in the rear despite my best efforts at distributing the load evenly, but delivered like a boss.

Then jumped in to move it off the driveway and the ignition barrel made this snapping sound as it spun freely all the way to the stop. Now it feels like it's missing a "stop" as you turn it, and it only goes to "on" and won't crank. It's like the mechanism that engages the starter motor has broken off the barrel. I'll pull it apart one night this week, but a new ignition barrel is roughly $165, and I'm not keen on having another key so I might just hotwire in a pushbutton start.

Frank you can get the barrell re-keyed to suit you standard key. Just need to take it to a locksmith, once the barrel is removed.

Regards A

[junglejuice]

Originally Posted by Frank_Grimes

I lugged about 900kgs of pavers back from the landscaping joint in two trips. She sagged down quite a bit in the rear despite my best efforts at distributing the load evenly, but delivered like a boss.

Then jumped in to move it off the driveway and the ignition barrel made this snapping sound as it spun freely all the way to the stop. Now it feels like it's missing a "stop" as you turn it, and it only goes to "on" and won't crank. It's like the mechanism that engages the starter motor has broken off the barrel. I'll pull it apart one night this week, but a new ignition barrel is roughly $165, and I'm not keen on having another key so I might just hotwire in a pushbutton start.

I have an ign sw with keys and maybe even a full set if you're interested...