89 YJ What To Do?

[Bill M]

My son has an 89 YJ that is pretty basic. We changed the carb to a MC2100 and have done some other things. Generally speaking the Jeep has done what I wanted it to do in teaching my son how to trouble shoot and work on his car. The question that we face now is should we fix up the Jeep or sell it? The Jeep is not reliable enough to send him off to college as it breaks down every now and then for fuel issues. I think I need to drop the tank and clean it out. He will be a Sr. in high school this year so I have some time. The Jeep has 150,000 miles on it right now and I suspect the engine has some compression issues. He loves the Jeep and wants to keep it but gets frustrated when it lets him down. I'm going to do a compression test this weekend on the engine. Generally speaking, assuming the engine needs to be rebuilt, are we better off selling or fixing? Our budget would prefer fixing over the short term but I well know that fixing can sometimes never end.

I would appreciate any insight.

Bill

 

[jps4jeep]

Perhaps the jeep is not done educating your son, I see an excellent opertunity to learn how to brush hone and re-ring a motor, porentially replacing main bearings and a valve job. and a newer style plastic fuel tank is very cheap used, heck I sold mine with the skid plate for $20.

If you are truely auto savy, you could invest some good father son time and about $500 into the vehicle and then have a fairly reliable vehicle. (by jeep standards)

 

[superj]

my 87 is very reliable. sounds like you guys need to just drop the tank and clean it.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

My son has an 89 YJ that is pretty basic. We changed the carb to a MC2100 and have done some other things. Generally speaking the Jeep has done what I wanted it to do in teaching my son how to trouble shoot and work on his car. The question that we face now is should we fix up the Jeep or sell it? The Jeep is not reliable enough to send him off to college as it breaks down every now and then for fuel issues. I think I need to drop the tank and clean it out. He will be a Sr. in high school this year so I have some time. The Jeep has 150,000 miles on it right now and I suspect the engine has some compression issues. He loves the Jeep and wants to keep it but gets frustrated when it lets him down. I'm going to do a compression test this weekend on the engine. Generally speaking, assuming the engine needs to be rebuilt, are we better off selling or fixing? Our budget would prefer fixing over the short term but I well know that fixing can sometimes never end.

I would appreciate any insight.

Bill

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending upon your point of view) your son has been bit with the jeep bug and most likely will forever be inflicted with the malady. There is no real treatment short of feeding the beast with what it craves, jeeps and jeep parts; not even a 12 step program will be of much use so it is important as a father to understand your son’s situation and to know sending him to school now in anything else other than a jeep (Well, maybe something fast and Italian), would only serve to lower his social status particularly amongst the girls. The fact is guys love jeeps and girls love guys who love jeeps because in reality girls love jeeps too.


To prove the point, I purchased my first jeep, a 1972 CJ5, 304, powder blue with a white Whitco top and chrome wheels, at the end of my senior year of high school. When I rolled into my girlfriend’s driveway to pick her up for a ride her father said, “How do you ever expect to get a girl to go out with you in that thing?” About that time out the door she came, jumped in, and off we went. Well, over the years many jeeps have come and gone but I still have one and most important the girl too.


To me it is most important to look at the overall condition of the jeep. What shape is the body, top, frame, drivetrain, etc.? Is what you have sound or a rust bucket? If the rig has been rode hard and put away wet, lots of body damage, bent frame, nearly rusted out springs and hangers, etc. then maybe it would be best to let someone else deal with the problems but if not then holding onto it may be cheaper than selling it and starting from scratch. After all you are familiar with this vehicle and to trade for another ride may just be opening a new can of unknown worms.

You’ve changed the carburetor to a MC 2100 and I assume you’ve done a Nutter revamp to do away with all of the troublesome vacuum hoses; this is a big step in making the jeep whole. That’s not to say there aren’t other things that will come up as is with any used vehicle but again you know what you have, what you’ve done, and maybe what you need to do. At 150K the motor, provided it received proper maintenance over the years, may still be viable. The AMC I6 is renowned for its longevity and I have heard of them going upwards of 250k without a rebuild however having said that if not properly maintained I have seen them go with less than 100K on the clock too.


So, what is the condition of the jeep? What does it need?

 

[Bill M]

I think you guys are giving me the motivation that I needed. The body could use paint as the original Islander yellow is faded but is otherwise solid. The drivetrain seems good. The Jeep will be needing a new top, some top hardware, tires, and maybe shocks within the year. I'll check compression this weekend to determine if we need to pull the engine.

The PO replaced the mechanical fuel pump with an electric pump mounted in the engine bay. I would rather have the pump back by the tank as they don't pull as well as push which may be some of the problem. There is also no oil pressure relay on the fuel pump power leg which isn't cool.

Thanks for the input!

Bill

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Just a thought, but maybe some of your fuel problems are related to the electric pump. Is there an accident/rollover kill switch attached to that thing?

 

[Bill M]

Nope, no kill switch. Which brings up another thought. Do you guys run the stock mechanical pump or do most people switch to an electric pump? Looking at the trail of the work that has been done on the jeep it seems that the PO had fuel problems. Based on where the pump has been located I think the pump is creating vapor lock.

I have worked on old cars for years (british sports cars) I have found that "new and improved" isn't always better. So I'm tempted to return to the mechanic fuel pump. Thoughts?

 

[superj]

my 87 has a holley in the engine bay, on the fender, because i have a 4.0 block so no spot for the mechanical pump. everyone who has the mounting point for a mechanical pump, runs them still, from what i have read. then you don;t have to worry about a regulator and pressure problems

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Nope, no kill switch. Which brings up another thought. Do you guys run the stock mechanical pump or do most people switch to an electric pump? Looking at the trail of the work that has been done on the jeep it seems that the PO had fuel problems. Based on where the pump has been located I think the pump is creating vapor lock.

I have worked on old cars for years (british sports cars) I have found that "new and improved" isn't always better. So I'm tempted to return to the mechanic fuel pump. Thoughts?

I’d go back to the mechanical pump, don’t know why it would have been changed but I guess we don’t have to understand what a PO was thinking. It might be good to redo the whole fuel line system while you are at it including dropping the tank and checking the pickup and filter.

Before I got bit by the jeep bug I was into MGs; bought two cars and made one but dumped it all for a CJ after one ride in a buddies jeep.

 

[RockScar]

Maybe go to fuel injection with a 4.0 head swap? I swapped in a 4.0, but if I could go back I'd do that.

I have a 'pulled running' parts 258 sitting in my garage with lots of goodies (mech fuel pump, alternator, aluminum valve cover, manifolds, etc) if you'd like to make a deal! PM me if interested or for pics.