Clifford: dzJeepChic's '92 XJ [ongoing project]

[Bullitt_Bites 0]

Looks great!

[Number7 89]

We just got back from a Kingman wheelin weekend, the fuel pump is screaming like a banchee and the XJ smells like gas. Anyone have an idea what's going on? George:cool::confused:

[ob1jeeper 849]

MOST likely it has two separate issues...

 

Screaming fuel pumps are generally a sign of one which is aerating, and/or pumping higher pressures than it should, and/or whose bearings are about to go south... IF it's worse warmed up, my guess is that there is a restriction on the suction side, causing it to aerate the fuel coming into the pump, OR if it's doing it all the time, I would suspect the pressure regulator is not keeping proper pressures, causing the pump to work creating higher pressures than it should, or a restriction in the line back to the tank.

 

The smell of fuel is an indication of either a leak (pressure or otherwise)... -OR-

 

A fuel vapor venting system that is not capable of handling the amount of vented vapors. Perhaps a leak in one of the vapor lines, or the eng vac source no longer pulling sufficient vac to handle the vapors (plugged or broken/loose) lines... OR possibly a charcoal canister that got loaded with fuel due to combination of steep angles, or full tank and expansion of fuel as it heated, or was on steep angles, or washboard (where vapors are generated at nearly 3-4 times the rate they are on smooth surfaces)

 

HTH with a few ideas of where to begin to look... let us know how it turns out...

[Number7 89]

Thanks OB. George:cool:

[dzJeepChic 2,897]

Trip to Kingman revealed need new fuel pump and header and he still gets hot climbing hills on the highway and on the trail. Oh, and when fully articulated the front tires stuff so hard you can't turn the wheel; got a little trimming and bump stop fixing to do.

 

But he sure is fun to wheel!

 

 

More Later,

d

[dzJeepChic 2,897]

George dropped the gas tank to see if the fuel pump was being clogged by any crud in the tank. It was spotless:

 

 

The vent lines grommets on the top of the gas tank were a little dried out so he siliconed them:

 

 

He checked the return and vent lines; everything was fine - no blockages. He also pulled the charcoal canister to make sure it wasn't full of gas; it wasn't. It was nice and dry:

 

 

Since the fuel pump was screaming out loud over the weekend, he bought this drop-in unit which was the cheapest one. Looking back, he thinks it would've been better to buy a factory fuel pump and re-use the factory sending unit because he had to bend and twist this one so it would fit. He says this part that he got at Checker/O'Rielly's is a POS - DON'T BUY IT:

 

 

In the end he made it fit, only took an hour and a half - just to drop it into the tank! I drove it today - he starts up faster, I can't smell any gasoline, and I can't hear the squeeling anymore! Sure hope that was the cure.

 

More about the stuff he did before we left for Kingman last week later. Dang, I'm behind again! d

[stockjeep 43]

replacing fuel pumps on newer jeeps really suck. glad you found the problem

[dzJeepChic 2,897]

Here's some of the stuff that's been happening to Clifford.

 

1st, a Transmission cooler installation and eliminate the lines to the radiator:

 

 

Here it is installed:

 

 

George got a fan to mount behind it and fabbed a bracket to mount it with:

 

 

Installed:

 

 

Modification of Factory OEM TJ Steering Stabilizer:

 

 

Fabrication of a trick little bracket for the steering stabilizer:

 

 

Installed:

 

 

Front Axle Truss:

 

 

Finished:

 

 

Continued

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[dzJeepChic 2,897]

Next came a Tune-up - New Plugs, Wires, Cap & Rotor:

 

 

 

 

Here's the old plugs (nice coffee color):

 

 

Decided to try some Redneck Horsepower tricks; the upper throttle-body is bored out approx. 60mm, the lower one is stock:

 

 

George had this throttle-body spacer for a 4-cyl. Jeep laying around that he also bored out to 60mm:

 

 

$30 Carbide Burr, did the job:

 

 

The Jeep definetely has a better throttle response!

 

On the agenda was replacing a cracked exhaust manifold, until the ordered product arrived and George saw how far off the exhaust port holes on the new header were off on the new gasket. RETURN!

 

 

New Header lined up with new header gasket:

 

 

He had an old stock exhaust manifold laying around and the new header gasket lined up perfectly. Good thing he had an old one laying around, taking the original off Clifford only to find they didn't match would have been a nightmare!

 

 

For the time being, George closed the crack in the header with header wrap & exhaust repair goop from Checker until he can find a worthy header to buy.

 

Continued

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[dzJeepChic 2,897]

We could never find a good spot inside the Jeep for my bargain 4-Way, so George utilized the license plate holder that came with the tire carrier and made a mount for it. He welded tabs to the 4-way, and then bolted it to the license holder:

 

 

 

Even with the roll cage, we couldn't find places to tie coolers & such down, so today George welded halved chain links to the roll cage to provide tie-downs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've discovered it's hard to manage so much cargo space! Now we'll be able to tie the cooler down so it won't slide around when we go over rocks!

 

Shakedown on Rocker Panel Pass coming next!

 

d