Fairtax4me

Because it's better to disconnect the ground than the positive. Suppose you're working on the car and you disconnect the positive terminal, but you drop a wrench and it hits the positive post and the fender at the same time. You get a spark show. Now disconnect the negative and drop the wrench. Hits the negative post and the fender (or anything else metal) , nothing happens. Hits the positive post, nothing happens. If you get it between the positive and negative posts then you just have to hope it doesn't explode before you can grab a hammer and pound it off of there.

I wouldn't think the pulley are too far out of alignment now if it will run when the starter is engaged. The fact that it runs at all says that you've got it close, but maybe just not close enough. Turning the crank 180° is the difference between top dead center, and bottom dead center. I kinda doubt that will help the situation. If you're getting fire now, you won't get any after that. The jeep commercial. It's a few years old now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Vok2fM7Lg

Yes, it's the actual Tie rod, but most parts places list it as the inner tie rod end. I've never used any special tools to remove tie rods before. They're not supposed to be on very tight. It has a jam washer that has a couple tabs sticking off of the side towards the rack, and the outer edge is punched into a recess in the tie rod so it won't twist loose under normal operating circumstances. You give it a good turn with the wrench and the tabs will sheer off. Then it comes off easy as pie. The new rod should have a new washer that you punch/hammer on when the rod is installed.

Might be a fuel injector bleeding down and flooding the engine. Pull the injectors out of the intake manifold (still attached to the rail) and turn the key to ON. When the fuel system primes if one is leaking it will drip/spray gas out. Sometimes that can be cured with a good strong fuel system cleaner.

They're not difficult at all but you'll need a pretty big crescent wrench to get the inner off of the steering rack. I think about 1 1/4" was the one I used, although its probably supposed to be a metric size.

Just did one of these on mine. It had been split for a long time and the inner tie rod end was completely shot. No grease on it anymore at all. I got a Raybestos boot, and it was a very tight fit. Use silicone spray to lubricate the rubber and it will side on easier.

It's more for sticks and rocks than anything else. If oil/grease dirt and water were an issue the accessory drive belts would be covered too.

The plot thickens... Several times today I noticed the idle jumping around for a few seconds after starting. It levels out and stays steady for the rest of the drive afterwards, but it's adding yet another headache to the list. And the hard starting issue is getting worse. Now it sometimes needs to crank for upwards of 5 seconds before it will fire even when it's already warm. I hooked up a clear hose in line with the hose for the FPR and I see no liquid moving through the hose after driving 20+ minutes. But I can always smell fresh gas in the hose after driving. I even replaced the rubber hose to rule out left over fuel, but no such luck. Fresh gas in the hose after each drive. I can smell it, but it's not enough to see any measurable condensation in the hose. Trying to find a new one is like pulling teeth. None of the local parts chains can even get one, and the Soob dealer has to order it if I get one there. Takes about 3 days for special order pats to come in unless its VOR. Then it gets there overnight, but I'd have to pay some astronomical shipping fee. I did try the Test Mode that the manual talked about, and found that the switching solenoid seems to be working fine. So are both fans, and lord knows how many different relays under the hood and in the dash. Yet, the CEL has not come back on since the last reset. This will probably get put on the back burner until I get the FPR straightened out. edit: Thanks for the link. One of the posters in there is from the same town as I. As a matter of fact I think he might even work for the Soob dealer. Name rings a bell but I'm terrible with names.

X2 Hydraulic lifters can make one hellacious racket until they get pumped up. Idle the engine at about 1500 rpm for 10 minutes or so and that should shut them up. This spring you talk about is there just to keep the rocker arm from dragging against that center rocker shaft support block. I wouldn't think that would make a big difference to be there or not. It certainly wouldn't cause a racket like a drained lifter would.

If tire noise could cause bad bearings mine would have fallen apart by now. A stuck caliper or wheel cylinder would cause the excess heat.

Hard to say. Could be an imbalance in the brakes causing the extra heat. Tire noise can sometimes be mistaken for a bad bearing. Of course, if the noise goes away immediately after replacing the bearing and the same tire is still on, then it can be ruled out.

Didn't get anything done with this today because I was screwing around with a fuel pressure regulator issue. Mine was leaking, and apparently so are both of the two that I grabbed from the junkyard. Only paid $2 a piece for them, takes 3 minutes to change it, but it takes an hour for the car to cool off enough that I feel comfortable spilling gas all over the place, right over top of the catalytic converter. The manual mentions it being a filter there, but I see no mention of it on the label. And taking a closer look I see that not much on the routing diagram is even right compared to my car... then I noticed the VIN sticker next to it. And it's not the one for the car. So the hood was replaced at some point, and possibly someone screwed around with the vacuum hose routing. Which could be what's making the trouble. Anyone know how to tell if this engine is even the original engine? This is kind of making me mad. I expected to have issues with this car, but this isn't the kind of stuff I want to be wasting my time on right now. second edit: The connector, is that the two green ones under the dash near the transmission tunnel?

This is on the outside? Rubbing compound, follow it up with an application of wax or RainX. They do also make some prety hefty cleaners for removing hard water marks and adic rain spots, but it's usually pretty expensive, and can actually damage the glass if not done right. (I dun it! ) Mask over your edge trim to keep it from turning white. Any masking tape should do but the green stuff works best on cars for some reason.

You should be able to replace the control unit without having to remove the lines. But I think the motor is part of the housing and requires removal of the entire unit to replace. Depends on the type. It's not that hard to just replace the whole thing. Grab one from a junkyard.

96 ej22 if anyone was wondering... (always forget that part) I did search earlier and all of the threads I skimmed through the answer was either the MAP was the wrong part, the hoses were crossed, or there was some sort of vacuum leak. I've replaced all of the vacuum hoses except for the brake booster, and what I'm just guessing to be the pcv hose. It runs from a fitting on the manifold down to what looks like a flame trap, and from there down to the block. In line filter? In line between the switching solenoid and the manifold? I've got a check valve there. I mean, I didn't put it there, that's just what's been there since I got the car. Is it supposed to be a filter? It's aligned to allow air flow into the manifold. From what I've gathered about how this setup works it shouldn't matter, but I guess you never know. You said "if your car has" so I'm guessing not all of them did, so it should be fine without the filter then correct? I finally found the page in the horribly disorganized FSM that I downloaded that deals with troubleshooting the P0106 code. It mentions a Test mode connector. But I can't seem to find anything that mentions where it's located. Any help?

Is this an OEM replacement part or after market? Does the clutch release all the way when the pedal is fully depressed?

MAP/Baro sensor range/performance So I had this code pop up a few weeks ago. Replaced the vacuum hoses, Map sensor, and switching solenoid. Also checked operation of the check valve and it seems to work fine. Drove it 15 miles and the code is back. Got the parts from a junkyard, so I suppose its possible the sensor could be faulty. But what else could cause this code? Only comes up when it's on the highway after cruising for 5 or 6 miles. Wiring is all clean, no cuts in the insulation, no kinks or crimps. Nothing to make me suspect a broken wire at least. Any ideas? Anyone know how to test the sensor to see if its working properly?

I think it's just the drain plug. Might be the front seal but it's hard to tell because of all the oil everywhere under there. I've been trying my best to clean it up so I can see what and where is leaking. It's only down maybe a half quart. I have no idea how fast it's leaking though so I'm gonna have to keep a close eye on it the next couple weeks. Thanks for the help guys.

Do you have a vacuum pump? Use that to suck the air out of the slave cylinder. Sometimes you can just leave the bleeder screw open and let gravity pull the fluid through the line. Either that or remove the slave cylinder and articulate it by hand a few times.

Yesterday I got 33 out of mine solely highway. 55- 60 the whole way on a 120 mile round trip. I was quite impressed to see such a high number. You've got a few things working against you. First it's an automatic. Second you drive in the DC area. Intermittent misfires on all 4 could mean a number of things. Could be a coil, could be bad fuel, poor connections, moisture in the spark plug wells causing the spark to jump. You could have a vacuum leak, a ruptured fuel pressure regulator, a bad or dirty MAF sensor, lots of things. I;d start by checking the vacuum hoses (there are a few that can be quite the pita to get to), clean the MAF sensor, and maybe run some strong fuel injector cleaner in the gas. Couldn't hurt to make sure your plug wires are seated correctly.

I got's a leak. No surprise. What I need to know is, on the manual transmission (96 AWD) does the transmission and front diff use the same fluid? There's only one drain plug, and one fill hole where the dipstick is, correct?

A friend and I had the idea a few years ago to open a repair shop and call it Midnight Motors, because we always seem to end up working on cars in the middle of the night. :-p I have no idea about the suspected oil pressure related knock. Got a gauge to check it with before condemning the pump? Does it sound like valve train noise or are we talking bottom end? (more like middle on a Subaru I guess)

Being low by 1qt isn't low enough to starve the pump, but you got it running at least. I was just looking at that area on my 96 on Saturday. Not much room in there at all. I think you're gonna have to raise the engine again to get to that.

Strange. Tried Windex? It could be one of those situations where something stronger than just glass cleaner needs to be used first. I've had that happen plenty of times with kids finger prints, and dog slobber. Sometimes you even have to scrape it with a razor blade.

This style of pump does not need to be primed as said. Make sure the pickup is not clogged. Might also help to make sure it has enough oil in the pan. Though I'm SURE you've checked that... Make absolutely sure that none of the silicone you used has clogged in inlet/outlet passages of the pump.