Another new FSJ owner, plus a list

[ma2fish]

Hello to the forum! I signed up a couple days ago, but here's the first post.

I bought an '89 GW from a forum member here and took her home yesterday. No rust to speak of, and a pretty solid rig so far. I'm already working on a list of "need to do" stuff to get her in shape.

First off, the front brake pads are down to the feelers. I'm tackling those this Saturday.

Second, the temp gauge never gets out of the blue range, although it does appear to be functional. For peace of mind I'm going to be replacing the thermostat, along with the sender.

Third, also just for peace of mind, I am going to pick up an oil pump rebuild kit and hopefully tackle that next weekend.

There's plenty more, but this is the plan of attack so far. The previous owner appears to have taken care of this GW well, and I'm just doing some things that will make me feel better about using her as a daily driver. I know I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time reading all the stuff in the tech library, and am really grateful for this forum.

Thank you,
Matthew

[Tatsadasayago]

Welcome aboard and congrats on the Waggy!

:drivin::fsj:

[jking03]

welcome and good luck with wag.. my 88 has issues but nothing terrible i am also new to the fsj.. well almost i had a 73 j-10 in high school..
anyways so far i havent seen anything asked or suggested here that hasnt helped.. you are in the right spot for jeep gurus .. everyone here has either been there donethat or in process..
again welcome from ohio
jeff

[goldhammer]

I'd get a decent set of a/m gauges before anything else. Then take a look at the oil pressure and other such. The factory stuff is generally not even a "swag" when it comes to what the vitals are doing.

Welcome and if these folks don't know something about these beast, I haven't seen it yet.:D

[FSJ Guy]

Wow. A temp gauge that doesn't get out of the blue range.

That's not a defect, that's what we all dream of! :p

[MischiefMan]

Welcome from Dallasish, Texas!

[Dumpy]

Welcome from across the state!

[will e]

Welcome to the site!

[Operations]

Welcome from the Valley of the Sun.


:cool:

[CHICOWAGGY]

Welcome! And my gauge is just a hair above the blue section. Just put in a 195 themostat and an Aluminum radiator and it stayed the same. I put an aftermarket gauge in and it registered the same. I think thats where it should be.

[mrs]

Welcome from Nevada

[stonehengeheels]

I bought one of the Mr Gasket radiator thermometer caps so I could compare the actual temp to the gauge. Very helpful to a new owner like me.

[ma2fish]

Welcome! And my gauge is just a hair above the blue section. Just put in a 195 themostat and an Aluminum radiator and it stayed the same. I put an aftermarket gauge in and it registered the same. I think thats where it should be.

Did you replace the temp sender too?

[ma2fish]

I bought one of the Mr Gasket radiator thermometer caps so I could compare the actual temp to the gauge. Very helpful to a new owner like me.
Hadn't thought about that, since I didn't know they existed. Sounds like something I should get...

ETA: Just looked at the Mr Gasket website and found this Thermocap, but it looks like they only come in 13 or 16 PSI, and the manual I'm looking at says the cap rating should be 15 PSI. Does going 1 pound over risk anything?

[Headhoncho]

Hadn't thought about that, since I didn't know they existed. Sounds like something I should get...

ETA: Just looked at the Mr Gasket website and found this Thermocap, but it looks like they only come in 13 or 16 PSI, and the manual I'm looking at says the cap rating should be 15 PSI. Does going 1 pound over risk anything?

1 LB over won't hurt anything.

Welcome from NJ. Bring your new wag to ECI!! Check the "Events" thread.


JR

[Mr Haney]

welcome- keep the Prozac and liquor handy, you will need it. and band-aids!

[jaber]

Welcome to the land of empty pockets and unfinished projects...:thumbsup:

[DerekTJeep]

Welcome!!

[billyj7175]

Welcome from Southern Illinois...

Funny thing...FSJ's and "to-do" lists go hand-in-hand. As with most of us, you'll soon discover that list only seems to grow...and grow...and grow...

[ma2fish]

Thanks all for the warm welcome!

Welcome from Southern Illinois...

Funny thing...FSJ's and "to-do" lists go hand-in-hand. As with most of us, you'll soon discover that list only seems to grow...and grow...and grow...

I'm finding that out fast! Going to have to tackle the sticky door locks and then do something about the lack of overhead lighting. The headliner's recently redone, but the overhead console is non-functional. The trailer light connector will need to be addressed soon too. The list is growing by the minute.

Picked up a Mr. Gasket Thermo Cap for the radiator this afternoon. I should be able to get an idea of what the actual temp this GW is running now.

[ma2fish]

Well, just got home from driving about 20 miles back from the night job. Had heat on the way home, but again the dash gauge never got over what I figure was 140ºF. So, Mr. Gasket's Thermo Cap says just over 120ºF when I pop the hood, engine still running. Ambient air temp is about 38ºF. Am I being overly concerned about the engine not getting up to temp?

[Gas Pumper]

When my waggy had the stock intake manifold and 2bbl carb on it mine wouldn't get out of the green zone either. Once I switched to an Edelbrock performer and Edel 4bbl and get on it, it slowly climbs towards the red. I was also worried about it not reaching operating temps but now I'm concerned that it will start to overheat when the 90+ summer temps come around.

Like FSJ Guy said, "That's not a defect, that's what we all dream of!"