1990 Grand Wagoneer Build

[Jeepin' Pete]

Hey everybody, my name is Pete and this is my 1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer.

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It has the usual AMC 360 / TF727 / NP229 combo and had about 142k miles when I bought it back in June of 2018. The PO put on a rhino grill off of a 1967 J-truck, a BJ's aluminum radiator, removed the air pump, and removed the stock roof rack and sealed the holes. I started a build thread on Expedition Portal, but came to realize I needed more technical help, so here I am.

When we got it, the interior was pretty rough, and one of the stipulations from my wife when buying was that the seats and carpet would be cleaned up first. It turns out coolant was mixing with transmission fluid, so we had to have the transmission rebuilt first and an auxiliary trans cooler put on. That was a fun second day of ownership...

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[will e]

Welcome from Phoenix Arizona. That's a cool look for a 1990. I love the two tone paint. This is a great place to get lots of technical help and encouragement. We are not the biggest board around but there are lots of dedicated members who will support you and answer questions.

[Cheapthrills]

Wow that jeep is beautiful, you wouldnt expect the interior to look so bad from a jeep that pretty.

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[Jeepin' Pete]

Welcome from Phoenix Arizona. That's a cool look for a 1990. I love the two tone paint. This is a great place to get lots of technical help and encouragement. We are not the biggest board around but there are lots of dedicated members who will support you and answer questions.

Wow that jeep is beautiful, you wouldnt expect the interior to look so bad from a jeep that pretty.

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Thanks guys!

The next order of business was to overhaul the interior. I ripped the old carpet and seats out, wire wheeled and painted the little amount of floor pan rust (a HUGE relief ) and laid down sound and thermal deadening. The roof received sound deadening as well, along with Reflectix to help with controlling the Texas heat.

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Also, some burnt bulbs and sketchy wire nuts persuaded me to change the taillights to BJ's LED versions. I'm not sure I would do this one again, given the cost difference vs. just LED bulbs, but they work great.

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[Jeepin' Pete]

After the insulation, a carpet kit and Katzkin seat upholstery kit came from BJ's. (We even splurged and got some heated seat kits!) I spent way too long thinking about colors, but in the end mahogany brown seats and stock sand carpets won out.

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Both the seats and the carpet were a ton of work, but I'm really happy with the way it came out, and now my wife is happy riding in the wagon too!

[Jeepin' Pete]

Next, some cheap 3-position LED dome lights worked great to light up the interior. There were no dome lights when I bought it.

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A redhead steering box made the steering feel brand new and not leak everywhere, and a Rotella oil change and approved filter (I did a lot of oil filter research) gave me the confidence to start driving it again after the transmission mishap.

A steering wheel cover really put the cherry on top of the interior refresh, and I started to look at the engine.

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I cleaned up all the rust and gunk off of the air cleaner and hit it with a few coats of engine enamel. An AMC360 sticker, new air filter, and new intake hose finished it off. Then, I did the TFI upgrade after tons of research on here. New regapped plugs, wires, cap-a-dapt, cap, rotor, and TFI coil upgraded the stock system that was in need of a refresh.

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Then December came around and we got in the Christmas spirit.

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[SJTD]

Finally! Pichers of the Katzkin covers. I think BJ's would sell more of them if they'd post some pics.

They look good. Did you use the original padding?

[Jeepin' Pete]

Next, my wife and I found out we are having a baby, so the budget and time commitment plummeted. But, I have been trying to do little things here and there that don't cost much to get it to run a little better. I bought a oil pump repair kit to try and fix the low hot oil pressure at idle, just have not installed it yet. I also correctly fixed the air pump removal that the PO had done with some 9/16-18 bolts and copper washers into the exhaust manifolds. And that brings us up to date!

Everything I've done so far has been because of the answers I've found on this forum, so thank you to everyone for that!

Finally! Pichers of the Katzkin covers. I think BJ's would sell more of them if they'd post some pics.
They look good. Did you use the original padding?

I agree! It was really hard to find any good pictures. I did use the original foam. Mine was in okay condition, and the tightness of the cover helped to firm it up a little, but I may go back sometime in the future and learn how to cut foam and re-do it. Its just a little on the squishy side...

[Chubbinius]

That is really looking quite sharp! Nicely done!

[Jeepin' Pete]

That is really looking quite sharp! Nicely done!

Thank you!


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[Jeepin' Pete]

I spent a little time yesterday trying to clean up the engine hose routing and came up with a few questions.
The PO had removed the air pump, air control valve, and the cat, and I plugged the air pump holes in the exhaust manifolds. So yesterday I capped off the HDC CTO, capped off the connection on the passenger side of the carb, and ran the distributor directly to manifold vacuum, per many recommendations from this forum. I pulled the air cleaner off to do this, and towards the back of the block I saw some vacuum leaks:


In doing a little research, the corroded silver valve on the right looks like an EGR valve? Or PCV?

And the white one on the left looks like the dual CTO, which from the vacuum diagram leads me the believe that the open vacuum connection (leftmost) should go to the vacuum reservoir? The vac reservoir is the black ball right above, correct? Do I just tee it in the hose already running into the reservoir?
Any expertise would really be appreciated. My area doesn’t need emissions, so I’m trying to simplify the vacuum hoses a little, but not get rid of everything.


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[will e]

The silver thing on the right is the EGR.

[Jeepin' Pete]

I think the PO removed the EGR CTO, can I just plug the nipple on the EGR? I’ve read a few things about disabling the EGR vs. leaving it; what does disabling entail?

Also, what is the “F” in the pentagon on the vacuum diagram?



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[Jeepin' Pete]

Okay, an electrical question for you guys:
I installed BJ's LED rear taillight conversion kit. I followed my wife in the wagon the other day and when the headlights are on, both the taillights blink, instead of just the turn signal - just like the flashers are on. When the headlights are off, when the turn signal blinks, the opposite taillight flickers during the blink. The front turn signals operate normally.

I got in touch with Ryan from BJ's, and he said the manufacturer of the LED taillights said it sounds like a failing turn signal switch in the steering column is leaking current. However, I replaced the turn signal switch 6 months ago (albeit with a cheap one from Autozone), and have driven it maybe 6 times since then.

Has anyone had a problem like this? I was inclined to believe its the turn signal switch, but the fact that the front turn signals work fine stumps me.
Any ideas?

[Hspencer]

I know if you install an led bulb in an older vehicle that they will flash really fast if you don’t install a resistor but I would think a kit lick that would have one installed in the circuitry. Sounds kinda wonky. If it were me I’d go back and check the wiring and make sure it has a good ground, of course I’m a moron and rarely read the instructions until after I’ve done the install and it doesn’t work!

[Jeepin' Pete]

I know if you install an led bulb in an older vehicle that they will flash really fast if you don’t install a resistor but I would think a kit lick that would have one installed in the circuitry. Sounds kinda wonky. If it were me I’d go back and check the wiring and make sure it has a good ground, of course I’m a moron and rarely read the instructions until after I’ve done the install and it doesn’t work!

I did have to put in a different flasher, one made for LED's. I've read that those flashers can go pretty quick, would a bad one cause this?

[Hspencer]

Just took a look at BJ’s instructions for these, did you use the red or yellow wire for the turn signal? Also to you have working for trailer light, could be something interfering there. I haven’t looked at a wiring diagram but I would think that both front and rear park/turn signal would be one circuit, if so sound like a wiring issue. Have you double checked all of the new connections for good contact and proper connection?

[Hspencer]

Any luck?

[Jeepin' Pete]

Hmmm..
Well, it appears I used both the red and yellow wires. The instructions included with the kit are different than the attached instructions on BJ’s website, and didn’t mention anything about the rapid-fire function.



It is also worth noting that the turn signals and brake lights did function correctly at first. After installation I checked them and all was well, and the Wagoneer passed state inspection too. I will check my grounds to see if anything came loose, otherwise it sounds like it may be the switch.


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[Jeepin' Pete]

So, thinking about this taillight issue, I got a new flasher with the BJ’s kit. I was supposed to put it in the turn signal flasher location ( I’ll have to check where I put it, I may have messed up and put it in the hazard flasher location). Shouldn’t the two flashers be the same?

If I replace both flashers with one made for LED’s, will the halogen turn signals up front work correctly?


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