OP
Austin's 98 TJ
- Thread starter Austin O.
- Start date
OP
Went for a drive this morning with my Dad and his jlru.
OP
Thanks! Already have gotten lots of help from y’all. Super happy to have this resource!
OP
Today was a long, but successful day.
About a week ago, on the last day of my trip to the mountains and off-roading, I went for a short drive on some forest service roads. It was about 20 degrees, and my heater was blowing cold air.
Knowing this was a sign of bad coolant, I checked the radiator when I got back and it was all brown and had solid particles in it. It must’ve frozen over night. I drove 2 hours home the next day, the heater worked fine, probably because the temp hadn’t gone below 32, and I made it home.
The next day, I planned to flush the whole system and on the way home from autozone with new coolant, I overheated on the highway. I had to stop a couple times to let the engine cool on the way home, and then my father towed me home once I got to my neighborhood.
It was freezing, but I had one day until a trip to Puerto Rico, and decided to do the flush anyway. What came out of the system was disgusting, but it all came apart easily and the flush went smoothly.
When putting everything back together, my thermostat housing cracked, so I had to go get a new one and a new gasket. Once I put that on and filled everything up with coolant, it had a slow leak. Additionally, coolant was streaming out of the weep hole in the water pump. I was disappointed, and had to leave the next morning for Puerto Rico.
I got a ton of help/advice from y’all on this forum during my vacation. And while in Puerto Rico, I learned 2 things:
- They like YJs better than TJs 🤦♂️ there were so many of them…
- They know how to celebrate new years:
Best firework show I’ve ever seen, and it lasted for 3-4 hours, and was free, in our backyard.
Anyways, I got back yesterday and this morning started working on replacing the water pump. I had ordered parts while on vacation and they came yesterday, just in time for me to work on it today and then be able to drive to school tomorrow.
I took everything apart pretty quickly, except for the serpentine belt which was stuck in there even with the idler/tensioner pulley completely loose and even completely off, out of the car. Someone must’ve installed the wrong size belt??
Also, getting the small metal pipe that connects the water pump to the heater core hose out was insanely hard. It took me, my brother, and my dad to get that thing apart.
Then I realized I had ordered the wrong water pump. A quick trip to autozone, and I got the right one along with the right serpentine belt. I put the cooling system back together, new gaskets, new thermostat with a burp hole drilled, and new thermostat housing.
When filling it up with coolant, both the thermostat housing and water pump had a small seep in them. I took them off, put some gasket sealer on them and put them back on. Upon filling up with coolant again, my problem was fixed.
I put the fan back on behind the radiator, and got the serpentine belt in after. It went together quickly and smoothly. When I turned the engine on to idle it and add more coolant, I had a bit of a scare where the temp gauge on the dash was not moving up. I was afraid I had installed the thermostat wrong and was gonna have to take it apart for the hundredth time, but stupid me had forgotten to plug the wire in to the thermostat housing 🤦♂️
Everything worked! My serpentine belt isn’t squeaking anymore either! I idled it a bit longer, then took it for a 15 minute drive. Was super happy to be driving it again. The operating temp seems to be just under 210 degrees, it stays there and is not overheating.
I finally got the fuse taps for my seat heaters in the mail as well and put those in today too.
It had its ups and downs, but today was successful and quite rewarding. I think it’s safe to say now that I actually know somewhat how to work on my car 😎
It cost me about $160 total, whereas I was quoted $800-$1000 at the local shop. Crazy how much cheaper it is do stuff yourself. Y’all helped a ton throughout this mess, thanks so much.
About a week ago, on the last day of my trip to the mountains and off-roading, I went for a short drive on some forest service roads. It was about 20 degrees, and my heater was blowing cold air.
Knowing this was a sign of bad coolant, I checked the radiator when I got back and it was all brown and had solid particles in it. It must’ve frozen over night. I drove 2 hours home the next day, the heater worked fine, probably because the temp hadn’t gone below 32, and I made it home.
The next day, I planned to flush the whole system and on the way home from autozone with new coolant, I overheated on the highway. I had to stop a couple times to let the engine cool on the way home, and then my father towed me home once I got to my neighborhood.
It was freezing, but I had one day until a trip to Puerto Rico, and decided to do the flush anyway. What came out of the system was disgusting, but it all came apart easily and the flush went smoothly.
When putting everything back together, my thermostat housing cracked, so I had to go get a new one and a new gasket. Once I put that on and filled everything up with coolant, it had a slow leak. Additionally, coolant was streaming out of the weep hole in the water pump. I was disappointed, and had to leave the next morning for Puerto Rico.
I got a ton of help/advice from y’all on this forum during my vacation. And while in Puerto Rico, I learned 2 things:
- They like YJs better than TJs 🤦♂️ there were so many of them…
- They know how to celebrate new years:
Best firework show I’ve ever seen, and it lasted for 3-4 hours, and was free, in our backyard.
Anyways, I got back yesterday and this morning started working on replacing the water pump. I had ordered parts while on vacation and they came yesterday, just in time for me to work on it today and then be able to drive to school tomorrow.
I took everything apart pretty quickly, except for the serpentine belt which was stuck in there even with the idler/tensioner pulley completely loose and even completely off, out of the car. Someone must’ve installed the wrong size belt??
Also, getting the small metal pipe that connects the water pump to the heater core hose out was insanely hard. It took me, my brother, and my dad to get that thing apart.
Then I realized I had ordered the wrong water pump. A quick trip to autozone, and I got the right one along with the right serpentine belt. I put the cooling system back together, new gaskets, new thermostat with a burp hole drilled, and new thermostat housing.
When filling it up with coolant, both the thermostat housing and water pump had a small seep in them. I took them off, put some gasket sealer on them and put them back on. Upon filling up with coolant again, my problem was fixed.
I put the fan back on behind the radiator, and got the serpentine belt in after. It went together quickly and smoothly. When I turned the engine on to idle it and add more coolant, I had a bit of a scare where the temp gauge on the dash was not moving up. I was afraid I had installed the thermostat wrong and was gonna have to take it apart for the hundredth time, but stupid me had forgotten to plug the wire in to the thermostat housing 🤦♂️
Everything worked! My serpentine belt isn’t squeaking anymore either! I idled it a bit longer, then took it for a 15 minute drive. Was super happy to be driving it again. The operating temp seems to be just under 210 degrees, it stays there and is not overheating.
I finally got the fuse taps for my seat heaters in the mail as well and put those in today too.
It had its ups and downs, but today was successful and quite rewarding. I think it’s safe to say now that I actually know somewhat how to work on my car 😎
It cost me about $160 total, whereas I was quoted $800-$1000 at the local shop. Crazy how much cheaper it is do stuff yourself. Y’all helped a ton throughout this mess, thanks so much.
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OP
OP
Have been having vibration problems when on the highway, going 65-75 mph. Switched out the spare with the front passenger side tire today, and that seems to have fixed the problem!
OP
Had the day off school today, also have the day off tomorrow. Had some other stuff going on, but still managed to make quite a bit of time for the tj.
First off, I had problems with the battery not turning on when turning the key. Fortunately that was quickly fixed after taking off the clamps on the battery and then retightening them.
Next, I decided to swap out fluids in the front diff since I don’t know when they were last changed, and I planned to do the back diff tomorrow, but I’m now going skiing tomorrow 🤷♂️
The inside of the diff looked really good, no metal bits at all or anything abnormal. However, the oil was super thick and had some bubbles in it, looked like maybe some water had gotten in, it definitely looked quite old.
The breather hose had previously been disconnected from the diff for however long it was before I discovered that, so some water had likely gotten in then.
I decided to take out the plastic fitting on there. Discovered that it was cracked, anyways. And then I tapped the hole and put in a new shiny brass piece instead.
Finally put the diff cover back on after a long time debating wether or not I should paint it red. Ultimately decided against it. Laziness definitely did not come into part of the equation there… 😬
I’ve long wanted to raise the seats a bit. A buddy of mine who had no experience with power tools or anything like that came over and I thought this was a good opportunity to do an easier project with him. We made our own spacers for the seats, he did practically everything himself.
Just had some leftover metal pipe that we cut to 3/4” and then put some wood dowels in the middle to prevent the pipe from moving around.
Bought some new bolts and then put them in under the seat.
Only had time to do the driver seat, but will get to the passenger one sometime soon. I loved the raised seat though on the short drive I took afterward. When I do the passenger side, I think I’ll paint the drivers side as well to both protect them from rust/moisture and make them not stand out as much under the seat.
Additionally, some stuff came for my project for next week
Oil pan gasket and rear main seal replacements in the near future, along with rear diff fluid change as well as a pinion seal replacement.
Overall, it was a good, fun, successful day!
First off, I had problems with the battery not turning on when turning the key. Fortunately that was quickly fixed after taking off the clamps on the battery and then retightening them.
Next, I decided to swap out fluids in the front diff since I don’t know when they were last changed, and I planned to do the back diff tomorrow, but I’m now going skiing tomorrow 🤷♂️
The inside of the diff looked really good, no metal bits at all or anything abnormal. However, the oil was super thick and had some bubbles in it, looked like maybe some water had gotten in, it definitely looked quite old.
The breather hose had previously been disconnected from the diff for however long it was before I discovered that, so some water had likely gotten in then.
I decided to take out the plastic fitting on there. Discovered that it was cracked, anyways. And then I tapped the hole and put in a new shiny brass piece instead.
Finally put the diff cover back on after a long time debating wether or not I should paint it red. Ultimately decided against it. Laziness definitely did not come into part of the equation there… 😬
I’ve long wanted to raise the seats a bit. A buddy of mine who had no experience with power tools or anything like that came over and I thought this was a good opportunity to do an easier project with him. We made our own spacers for the seats, he did practically everything himself.
Just had some leftover metal pipe that we cut to 3/4” and then put some wood dowels in the middle to prevent the pipe from moving around.
Bought some new bolts and then put them in under the seat.
Only had time to do the driver seat, but will get to the passenger one sometime soon. I loved the raised seat though on the short drive I took afterward. When I do the passenger side, I think I’ll paint the drivers side as well to both protect them from rust/moisture and make them not stand out as much under the seat.
Additionally, some stuff came for my project for next week
Oil pan gasket and rear main seal replacements in the near future, along with rear diff fluid change as well as a pinion seal replacement.
Overall, it was a good, fun, successful day!
OP
Had a good, long, day today. Oil pan gasket as well as rear main seal were both done.
Surprisingly, the exhaust was the most difficult part. The two bolts on the upper connection were rusted together. I sprayed some PB blaster on them and I managed to get one of them off with a lot of effort, but that ended up destroying some of the threads on the bolt. The second was even harder, I couldn’t get it to move at all.
Ended up somehow getting my angle grinder up in there and cut off that bolt.
The other, lower connection near the transmission skid was just a simple clamp, but after loosening that, the connection on the exhaust was crimped together. It wouldnt move at all. Sprayed some wd40 on it and was able to get it to move/twist a bit, but it still wouldn’t come out. Ended up just twisting that section of exhaust down, out of the way, and it stayed there until the end of the project.
The rest was pretty straightforward. Got the oil pan out, rear main out, replaced the seals/gaskets, and then put it all back in.
Went to the store and got some new bolts for the exhaust. And then finally, a new mopar oil filter was put in.
No immediate signs of leaks in the places they were before, so that’s a good start, we’ll see how it does this week. I drove about two minutes afterwards to return a couple tools I borrowed from a neighbor, and I may be imagining it, but I could’ve sworn the jeep drove a bit smoother after the oil change for just those two minutes I was in it.
As usual, many of y’all helped quite a bit with this and the research I did before it. I’m super thankful.
Planning to make some more spacers so I can raise the passenger seat and I will also change the back diff fluid this upcoming week. It's nice to always have projects to look forwards too, even if they’re smaller ones. Additionally, work started up for me again, so new tires and wheels may be in my near future once I earn a bit more money. Super excited for that.
Surprisingly, the exhaust was the most difficult part. The two bolts on the upper connection were rusted together. I sprayed some PB blaster on them and I managed to get one of them off with a lot of effort, but that ended up destroying some of the threads on the bolt. The second was even harder, I couldn’t get it to move at all.
Ended up somehow getting my angle grinder up in there and cut off that bolt.
The other, lower connection near the transmission skid was just a simple clamp, but after loosening that, the connection on the exhaust was crimped together. It wouldnt move at all. Sprayed some wd40 on it and was able to get it to move/twist a bit, but it still wouldn’t come out. Ended up just twisting that section of exhaust down, out of the way, and it stayed there until the end of the project.
The rest was pretty straightforward. Got the oil pan out, rear main out, replaced the seals/gaskets, and then put it all back in.
Went to the store and got some new bolts for the exhaust. And then finally, a new mopar oil filter was put in.
No immediate signs of leaks in the places they were before, so that’s a good start, we’ll see how it does this week. I drove about two minutes afterwards to return a couple tools I borrowed from a neighbor, and I may be imagining it, but I could’ve sworn the jeep drove a bit smoother after the oil change for just those two minutes I was in it.
As usual, many of y’all helped quite a bit with this and the research I did before it. I’m super thankful.
Planning to make some more spacers so I can raise the passenger seat and I will also change the back diff fluid this upcoming week. It's nice to always have projects to look forwards too, even if they’re smaller ones. Additionally, work started up for me again, so new tires and wheels may be in my near future once I earn a bit more money. Super excited for that.
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OP
Saw quite a bit of oil dripping under the transmission area after driving home from school today, got scared that I screwed up the rear main seal. But upon further looking, valve cover gasket is leaking. I’ll get that fixed sometime soon
OP
Very common leak that has many thinking RMS. Good eye
Now I’m not so sure… cleaned up the transmission area and it looks like it’s definitely rear main. I know that my valve cover is leaking as well. It just could’ve been hiding the rear main leak?? Unless this is still somehow valve cover?
OP
Big day today. Got home from school and immediately started working on the tj. First did the valve cover gasket.
I spent a very very long time getting that completely clean, it was a mess when I took it apart. Was hoping that this would fix the leak in the above post, but after a quick drive, still leaking.
So, I started work on the rear main seal. Took it all apart in under an hour… as opposed to the 3 hours it took last weekend. I think a big part of that is the fact that I got the jeep raised up quite a bit more. (And I didn’t have problems with the exhaust)
Luckily I had ordered two rear main seals last week, and I had the extra one for today. I was hoping I could reuse the oil pan gasket that I put in before, but it was a mess with the RTV, so I had to go get a new one.
All of that is in now. It went relatively smoothly, and I will put oil in tomorrow morning. Was too tired to go to the store and buy it tonight. Fingers crossed that it goes well tomorrow.
Still haven’t gotten around to doing fluid in the rear diff, as well as getting the passenger seat back in with new 1” spacers and bolts, but hopefully I can get that done this upcoming week.
I spent a very very long time getting that completely clean, it was a mess when I took it apart. Was hoping that this would fix the leak in the above post, but after a quick drive, still leaking.
So, I started work on the rear main seal. Took it all apart in under an hour… as opposed to the 3 hours it took last weekend. I think a big part of that is the fact that I got the jeep raised up quite a bit more. (And I didn’t have problems with the exhaust)
Luckily I had ordered two rear main seals last week, and I had the extra one for today. I was hoping I could reuse the oil pan gasket that I put in before, but it was a mess with the RTV, so I had to go get a new one.
All of that is in now. It went relatively smoothly, and I will put oil in tomorrow morning. Was too tired to go to the store and buy it tonight. Fingers crossed that it goes well tomorrow.
Still haven’t gotten around to doing fluid in the rear diff, as well as getting the passenger seat back in with new 1” spacers and bolts, but hopefully I can get that done this upcoming week.
OP
The tj seems happy, so I’m happy! I got some high mileage conventional 10w-30 oil today, and drove the tj for a bit. I think there is a very very very small leak, but I’m not entirely sure it’s there, or if that’s just from before. Nowhere near as big as it was before this whole thing. Good enough for me. I’m glad I got it done the second try, didn’t really want to do that all again.
OP
Oil pan was leaking a bit after that last attempt, not bad, but it’s not a super hard job to do, plus I had $30 in store credit at autozone, so I got a new gasket and did it after school today.
This time the gasket actually came with the little holdy thingys it’s supposed to come with, so putting the gasket and oil pan on was a million times easier.
In the process, I think I fixed one of my squeaking problems - it was the top exhaust connection near the manifold. It was gone for the short test drive afterwards, and no oil leak immediately after the drive, either.
I attempted the front pinion seal as well, but I couldn’t figure out how to get the yoke out. In all the YouTube videos I looked at, people just pulled it straight out. Mine was most definitely stuck in there. Any tips for that?? I just put it all back together and decided I would try sometime later when I have a bit more time.
This time the gasket actually came with the little holdy thingys it’s supposed to come with, so putting the gasket and oil pan on was a million times easier.
In the process, I think I fixed one of my squeaking problems - it was the top exhaust connection near the manifold. It was gone for the short test drive afterwards, and no oil leak immediately after the drive, either.
I attempted the front pinion seal as well, but I couldn’t figure out how to get the yoke out. In all the YouTube videos I looked at, people just pulled it straight out. Mine was most definitely stuck in there. Any tips for that?? I just put it all back together and decided I would try sometime later when I have a bit more time.
OP
Bought some wheels today!
Tires will be ordered in the next couple weeks once I get a bit more money. And I also ordered u-joints for the front axle today.
Tires will be ordered in the next couple weeks once I get a bit more money. And I also ordered u-joints for the front axle today.
OP
The tj has been rattling when turning it off, so I’ve been trying to chase the noise for a while now. It sounded like it was in the engine area, but finally found that the exhaust was hitting against the gas tank at the back. I moved the hanger thingy over a bit so it doesn’t do that anymore, and no more rattling!
Also got the u-joints from Amazon today, so I started working on the front drivers side one.
It took a lot of pb blaster, but finally got it all apart and put back together again with the new u-joint. In the process, I smacked my thumb with the hammer… twice…
Took it for a short test drive and it was still squeaking. So apparently, it’s the brakes. I should’ve figured that out before all this, but it is what it is. I’ll check the other side tomorrow and make sure that’s the brakes as well before I take it all apart to do the u-joint. Then I’ll figure out how to deal with the brakes…
Also got the u-joints from Amazon today, so I started working on the front drivers side one.
It took a lot of pb blaster, but finally got it all apart and put back together again with the new u-joint. In the process, I smacked my thumb with the hammer… twice…
Took it for a short test drive and it was still squeaking. So apparently, it’s the brakes. I should’ve figured that out before all this, but it is what it is. I’ll check the other side tomorrow and make sure that’s the brakes as well before I take it all apart to do the u-joint. Then I’ll figure out how to deal with the brakes…
OP
Got new tires today! Now have 31x10.5 on 15 inch wheels.
