My 1988 Grand Wagoneer

[sirrus]

Hi everyone!

After drooling over Grand Wagoneers for almost two years and looking for onee that's in decent condition and doesn't require selling both kidneys to get it I finally got one! It's a 1988 Grand Wagoneer (AMC 360 V8, stock 727 tranny and NP229 TC).

Here are some pictures:







I love that sticker


I was really surprised there's almost no rust on the body or frame, interior was in very decent condition. Test drive was good too, starts, runs and drives ok (especially since it was mostly seating for couple years) - so I decided to bite a bullet and bought it. Another thing that I really liked was that there was no mods of any kind, so she's preetty much stock. Well, except for some weird contraption one of the previous owner put under AC/heater vents on the inside - it doesn't blow out of factory holes, but does out of that thing. Not a big problem for me, I'll probably deal with that later

Next thing was getting it back home and I decided to drive it for ~200 miles, because I'm cheap and was super tight on time to figure out some sort of shipping. Honestly I was thinking that I would end up on a tow truck somewhere along the way, but she made it home without any major issues. The only problem was that engine was stalling on every traffic light (or stop in heavy traffic), so after couple times that happened I started to shift into neutral while waiting for a green light. Funny enough, this issue was gone once I made it home - I think that after I had whole tank of fresh gas through it it probably cleaned some gunk. BTW, PO told me that it runs better on premium gas (and that's what I put in her on my way home), but I want to check the timing and see how she runs on regular gas.

For next couple weeks I didn't have any time to start working on my new toy, but then things started moving I live in Hillsboro, OR and I have to smog test before I can register it. First time I went there I was sent away because my idle RPMs were through the roof (1450 rpms!). Well, I had that fixed, checked compression, put new spark plugs, wires and distributor cap with rotor. There was one more surprise (a good one) - compression was within 145-150 psi on all cylinders, so there's some life left in there Next time I went to DEQ station - I didn't pass again, but htis time I got some numbers. They only test for CO and HC here, CO was ok, but HC was 1480 ppm (max allowed is 220ppm if I remember right).

More reading the forums and TSM (so glad I got one on paper), some parts ordered. Now I'm almost done with carb rebuild (it was flooding, power valve was leaking), while I'm waiting for gaskets (one between carb and manifold) I decided to clean up and replace vacuum hoses - should eliminate couple leaks through broken delay lines and cracked hoses. She's keeping me busy for sure

So far my first priority is to pass emissions and get it registered, then onto the other fun stuff! I used to work on my previous cars, but those weere way different (late 90s/early 00s Benz) and I really liked it, but this is a whole new world to me with all the mechanical stuff and especially vacuum This forum is a gold mine for information (also got a lot from IFSJA) - so thank you all for all the info you're sharing! I hope I'll be able to contribute something myself too!

[jpswapmohn]

Great looking rig! It is the sister of my 88, same original color, etc. Your seats are in much better shape than mine were. Bought it in Boise, no rust what so ever, but the drive train was very tired. Now it is a widetrack with a bit of customization.

My recommendation is a 4” lift and 32” tires.. They just look right that way. (pics in my signature, if your interested)

Congrats on the purchase!

[78 WIDETRAC]

Welcome Nice Wagoneer.
If you need a guy to make the fine tune adjustments to pass smog I can recommend a shop, however its in SE Portland. It's harder to find guys good with carbs these days.
Kind of sounds like you've got it covered though.

[will e]

Welcome from Phoenix Arizona. Thank you for taking the time to post some pics and do a write up. What a handsome Jeep that is!

The stalling and high speed idle may have been due to vacuum leaks, so good thing replaced the vacuum lines. Hopefully the carb work will reduce the HC's.

You will get a lot of advice, expert help and encouragement on this forum. Don't hesitate to ask questions, we don't jump on folks for doing so.

What are your thoughts on the headliner? You should be able to either make or find the backing board. Fabric shops have fabric that will work (although it is not 'original'). Some folks have done some crazy things with plaid and other designs too.

[dodgerammit]

BJ's offroad now offers full headliner kits with the backing board.

[HowardT64]

That is a sweet ride!!! Beautiful shape too

[weeegoneeer]

Looks great! I have the '84 in gold, love that color!

[sirrus]

Thank you all for kind words! I'm so in love with that Jeep, can't get the smile off my face when I'm near it Spent couple hours with her today, new vac hoses (hope to finish tomorrow), new ignition coil (old one looked like it was a factory one ), fuel filter and some other stuff. No garage, so have to use all the time I can while the weather is nice

My recommendation is a 4” lift and 32” tires.. They just look right that way. (pics in my signature, if your interested)

Took a look at yours - it's awesome, just awesome! I'm not big fan of suspension lifts though, so I think I'm going to put stock-like springs/shocks later down the road

If you need a guy to make the fine tune adjustments to pass smog I can recommend a shop, however its in SE Portland. It's harder to find guys good with carbs these days.
Kind of sounds like you've got it covered though.

Please tell - can't have too many contacts, I'm sorta new to the area anyway and can use some recommendations for shops. I think I'll try with adjustments myself first (they don't charge you at DEQ if you fail, so why not?), if I don't succeed - I can always go to professional mechanic.

The stalling and high speed idle may have been due to vacuum leaks, so good thing replaced the vacuum lines. Hopefully the carb work will reduce the HC's.

Will see once I put it all together! Carb is ready, sitting on my desk, but I didn't think about getting new plastic gasket/plate while ordering rest of stuff. It should arrive next week, so I have some time to clean up things under the hood.

What are your thoughts on the headliner? You should be able to either make or find the backing board. Fabric shops have fabric that will work (although it is not 'original'). Some folks have done some crazy things with plaid and other designs too.

As dodgerammit said, they sell the whole thing at BJs - I was planning to get that. Not a first priority for now though and I'm also thinking about putting some sound/heat/vibro insulation before I install new headliner

Looks great! I have the '84 in gold, love that color!

Initially I wasn't in love with that color, but it really grew on me!

[78 WIDETRAC]

I'll post up the shop name for you. I brought the deq sheet the gave me after it failed. He read it- adjusted the carb. and guaranteed me it would pass no problem. Which it did. $40.00 seemed like a deal to get another 2 years on the road. granted its been a few years so it may be a bit more.

The hard plastic spacer under the carb may have hairline cracks, every one I've removed did. Look at it close. Bj's sells those as well I believe.

Be sure to clock the return on the new fuel filter at 12

Enjoy your wag.

[78 WIDETRAC]

Gary's auto on 91st and Stark. Old school mechanic that works on carbs still if you don't get it sorted.

[sirrus]

78 WIDETRAC, thanks for the info!

My plastic spacer had a lot of cracks and two of the "ears" (that bolts go through) were completely broken - ordered new spacer from TGW, should arrive soon!

Be sure to clock the return on the new fuel filter at 12

You mean that return line should be higher than the line going to carb? Didn't know about this, thanks again!

One thing that I still can't wrap my head around is thermal sensor/valve in TAC system, the one that controls second air door (hot air from the "stove"). That sensor is supposed to hold vacuum when cold and vent to atmosphere when above set temperature., according to TSM and internet During warm up that keeps air door open, once intake air is warm enough it closes warm air - makes perfect sense.

What gets me is when that valve opens (to switch the from hot air to cold) it's essentially becomes a vacuum leak? Maybe it's not technically a leak since it's drawing air from inside the air cleaner, but still looks strange to me

Initially I thought that the check valve is there to prevent that "leak" from happening, but it works in different direction. What am I missing here?

[sirrus]

While I'm waiting for that carb spacer to arrive I'm slowly sorting out other things under the hood and got more questions, hopefully someone can help me out.

Today I came across this thread and picture in the first post first caught my attention:


I got new PCV valve with rubber grommet and when I was replacing it I didn't find where that grommet goes, because my setup looked like this (sorry for bad angle but that is the only pic I have for now):


Thought that maybe they had different PCV connections on different years, even though that hose on mine looks more DIY that factory. It has a short metal fitting screwed into the manifold hole and short hose attached to it, PCV valve itself goes in that hose. And today I've seen that pic from above and it finally makes sense where the grommet goes! I suppose that's the way PCV valve should be installed - vertically, right into that hole in the rear of intake manifold and sealed by grommet?

It also makes sense that the valve itself should be positioned vertically (not horizontally, like I have it now), so that little weight inside of it would do something?

Another thing I was doing is replacing battery wires because the old ones, well, don't look like wires anymore, battery terminals are also falling apart Got new ones from TGW (link) along with their charging wire. Negative wire was easy one - it goes from battery neg post to AC compressor (thick wire) and to pass side fender (thinner one).

Then I got stuck, because positive wire from battery goes somewhere under the engine - looks like to some post on the starter. Original charging wire is considerably thinner that TGW one and today I read something about fusible link in it, but the one that I got doesn't look like it has it. Should I buy that fusible link, cut the wire and crimp it there?

The last thing I was reading about is there are some unfused circuits under the hood that can really use an inline fuse - so far I have choke heater and carb vent solenoid on my list. Is there anything else that I should add a fuse to?

[letank]

While I'm waiting for that carb spacer to arrive I'm slowly sorting out other things under the hood and got more questions, hopefully someone can help me out.

Today I came across this thread and picture in the first post first caught my attention:


I got new PCV valve with rubber grommet and when I was replacing it I didn't find where that grommet goes, because my setup looked like this (sorry for bad angle but that is the only pic I have for now):


Thought that maybe they had different PCV connections on different years, even though that hose on mine looks more DIY that factory. It has a short metal fitting screwed into the manifold hole and short hose attached to it, PCV valve itself goes in that hose. And today I've seen that pic from above and it finally makes sense where the grommet goes! I suppose that's the way PCV valve should be installed - vertically, right into that hole in the rear of intake manifold and sealed by grommet?

It also makes sense that the valve itself should be positioned vertically (not horizontally, like I have it now), so that little weight inside of it would do something?

Another thing I was doing is replacing battery wires because the old ones, well, don't look like wires anymore, battery terminals are also falling apart Got new ones from TGW (link) along with their charging wire. Negative wire was easy one - it goes from battery neg post to AC compressor (thick wire) and to pass side fender (thinner one).

Then I got stuck, because positive wire from battery goes somewhere under the engine - looks like to some post on the starter. Original charging wire is considerably thinner that TGW one and today I read something about fusible link in it, but the one that I got doesn't look like it has it. Should I buy that fusible link, cut the wire and crimp it there?

The last thing I was reading about is there are some unfused circuits under the hood that can really use an inline fuse - so far I have choke heater and carb vent solenoid on my list. Is there anything else that I should add a fuse to?

You have the correct PCV system, the pict you are refering to is on an edelbrock intake manifold, it has the upright PCV that was also used for the early 360 engine, not too sure when the switch was made, but the 85 has the horizontal PCV with the modulation from the charcoal canister

As for the battery wiring, the battery + goes to the solenoid starter, but for the later years the set up was different because the solenoid is on top of the starter, so the circuit is different and this is for year 1989, so may have an 88 but with an 89 electrical which can start as early as June of 88. check tom's site for your year electrical schematics

http://oljeep.com/gw/elec/GW_wiring.html

the unfused circuit is indeed the choke/Oil pressure safety switch that seems to be responsible for many jeepBBQ

[fulsizjeep]

FYI on the starter. The Mitsubishi starter was used through the 88 year model. My GW is an 88 built in July of 87 and it was so equipped. So it is 88-91 for the Mitsu starter.

[sirrus]

Thank letank, now I can leave PCV alone

Compared wiring diagrams for 88 and 89 from oljeep and my setup looks like 89 (this one). So it looks like I will need to add 14GA fusible link to charging wire going from alternator to battery.

Any ideas about TAC "leak" that I mentioned? I'm leaning towards that this "leak" is how it's supposed to be...

And one more of the recent discoveries - tried to determine what amperage fuses I need for unfused stuff and started with electric choke heater. Tried to measure it's resistance (from positive connection to carb body, tried different locations) and got an open circuit (no contact). Does that mean that my heater is dead?

[sirrus]

Well, it's been a busy few weeks! Time for some updates on my waggy

Most important one - I finally passed DEQ (on 4th attempt). In total it was carb rebuild, vacuum hoses overhaul, oil change, new spark plugs, wires, coil, distributor cap & rotor and the trip to mechanic to fine tune carb and adjust timing (was 6 degrees too late). Passed with flying colors, both CO and HC way below max (like 5-6 times less than max allowed). Could not be happier about it, and was daily driving Waggy since then. Much to my surprise I'm getting pretty decent MPG for city driving (around 10 MPG), was expecting way worse!

From there it was different things here and there - changed fluid in both diffs and transfer case. Oh boy, what came out of them didn't look like oil , more like thick mud. Brake fluid was also not pretty (almost black), so replaced it too, along with brake pads and caliper bolts. Little better braking now, but it wasn't that horrible before to be honest

And then some electrical work - pulled both front door panels off, took out window/lock door switches and power seat controls to clean them. Wow, these were green inside and out, and all contacts are black (I guess oxidation and a little burnt):




After some cleaning (ultrasonic cleaner with simple green and dremel with a wire brush) and grease (dielectric on contacts, sil-glyde on springs and friction points) they're like new:



And just like that I got back my power locks, windows and seats! Especially excited about seats, since I'm finally able to adjust the drivers seat

When I had door panels out I realized that backing board in them was actually some kind of cardboard, which was really tired after 30 years:


Got some plywood, traced the old ones and now I have new looking straight(!) door panels:



As it was my first time doing anything like this, I've made some mistakes, but eventually they got back on the doors. Next time I'll pull them off I think I will do them again, with plastic clips instead of the stock metal thingies.

Oh, and while it was out I also took mirror switch apart (was dead stuck before), cleaned/lubed it and voila, I now have power mirrors! To be honest, I have 3/4 of power mirrors - drivers one doesn't move horizontally. Since Passenger one does, I'm thinking it's either dead motor or broken wire/connection in the mirror itself - will get back to it some time

And the last thing was tailgate window - ever since I bought thee jeep, dash switch wasn't working and the rear one (key) was barely working. Took dash switch apart, cleaned it and checked wiring and switch operation - everything checks out, but still no action on the window. Took tailgate apart, got to the rear switch and of course it was all green/black inside. Once again some cleaning and grease (also on the regulator) and it works! But when I was putting it back together I managed to crack the switch a little - so for now I'm using only the dash one, planning to replace the rear switch when I'm getting back in the tailgate with relay upgrades

Also put finally put hood insulation on:

[freehold]

So impressive. Love seeing all this work. I wish I had more time to give mine the service you're giving yours! Keep sending updates--they're inspiring.

[sirrus]

So impressive. Love seeing all this work. I wish I had more time to give mine the service you're giving yours! Keep sending updates--they're inspiring.

Thanks! I wish I had a warm and lit garage to work on a Jeep now I’m limited to weekends only because it’s dark after 5, and even then it’s like 40-50 degrees and raining occasionally:) I guess I’m still motivated enough after freezing under it every weekend for couple month

[sirrus]

Time to share my progress over last couple months! Slowly getting things off my long to do list...

Right on the last day of 2019 I finally fixed my "intermittent power loss" issue. That was some story with mechanic that I went to pushing for replacing distributor and duraspark box for a "small" sum of $1000 (extremely rare parts and lots of labor, according to him). That looked shady as hell (thanks for advice from members here) and after a little more thinking I remembered that I never got to changing transmission fluid like I planned. So new ATF, new filter (old one was torn), lube locker gasket and replaced rubber hoses to both radiators. Old fluid looked nasty, like metallic paint nasty. After I was done and took Jeep on a short test drive it was shifting so smooth and no jerking or power loss. Best new year gift I could give myself

Turn signal and windshield wiper switches both started acting up more and more, so it was time to replace them. Also decided to get a new stalk. Just $20 on amazon, why not? Old one had all letters faded away with help of California sun This actually took longer than I thought (I didn't know that wiper switch is a separate thing, not a part of the stalk) so Jeep was sitting like this for week while I waited for wiper switch to arrive:



And then it took me 3 attempts to route cruise control cable the right way inside, so it wouldn't interfere with turning on high beams or turn signals But now I can take that part of steering column apart with my eyes closed, valuable learning experience

Replaced TC vacuum shift motor - nipple for vacuum line broke off on my old one, but didn't have a chance to test 4wd except for the fact that light on the dash comes on now

Next thing was new set of tires - old Michelins that I got on the Jeep were getting close to being 18 year old, so it was time for new ones. Went with Micheelin Defender LTX and really like them so far - quiet, goood ob both dry and wet road. Haven't driven them in the snow, but reviews were looking good.

And the last but not least upgrade was the headlights. Old Sylvania sealed beams were a bit older than tires and just laughable - barely any light on the road. So after some research I decided to go with Hella H4 conversion lights. I got european spec headlights for a few reasons - better light beam pattern, more light on the road, less glare for others and easier to aim. And they are considerably cheaper: $77 for kit (2 headlights, 2 bulbs and 2 dust covers) on amazon compared to $55 for 1 headlight (light, buld and dust cover) for DOT version on amazon. No idea why they only have euro spec as a full kit.

After reading forums I decided to do relay mod as well and put together my own harness. Nothing special compared to well known Serehill one, I decided to use waterproof relays, mesh wire loom where possible and two fuses instead of circuit breaker. One evening full of measuring, cutting, soldering and it was ready:



Spent some time thinking how and where I'm going to securely mount relays under hood. I didn't want to drill anything and the whole harness is made so everything can be reverted back to stock in couple minutes, so my solution was to fix relays to 3d printed plastic holder:



Used 3M extreme double sided tape to attach it to the passenger side fender under the hood. Fits perfectly and is not going anywhere:



Well, results are amazing! After aiming the lights I can safely drive after sunset

Speaking of aiming, when I was taking old lights out, I noticed that plastic parts on the headlight buckets that adjustment screws go in were all cracked. Thanks to jaber who makes new metal ones. They are great, but I had to drill mount holes a bit bigger to match holes on the bucket and use 5/32 rivets

[Fury5]

Nice job on the headlight relay harness. Looks very professional.

Richard