New to the Wag scene! fuzzy pics.

[melophiliac]

Hello all,

Not too long ago I totaled my ride and needed something for my short commute to work. I've always thought the Wagoneer's were super sexy, found one in really good shape, so I got it.

She's an '86 Grand Wag, Dark Honey Metallic (I believe, lol), Honey interior, 172k with what I'm told was a fresh engine at 99k. I didn't get a great deal on her, I made the purchase mainly on emotion. But I did get a bit under what they were asking.

At first she ran decent, always started up. A bit rich, and kind of stumbly at times. So I started replacing vacuum lines and routing things to were they were supposed to go, replaced the carb can, and now she runs like a champ. I couldn't be happier.






I do have a couple questions/concerns though. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction.

1)My heater doesnt work. I mean, it blows, but not hot. I noticed theres somewhat of a lever at the top of the heater core, I believe it has a cable or linkage run to it, should this open up when I move the thermostat to hot?

2)When I put it in 4WD, I get a good amount of vibration. In 2WD I get some vibration at highway speeds, but nothing like this. I'm also having some trouble getting into 4Lo. I've only tried a couple times in a parking lot, so maybe I'm not doing it right. In 4WD, 2-3mph, trans in Nuetral, pull up on lever. I'm also a bit confused because I can't seem to get the T-case in Nuetral itself. I only have maybe 4 inches of travel in the selector. I'm going to look at it under the truck today after work.

3)Any idea what my lift is? It's got 33" tires, I would guess a 4" lift, but not sure. I know it's not SOA, doesn't seem like anything too extreme as far as a kit would go.

Thanks for any advice/info. Excited to be here!

[HD_JEEP]

Fuzzy or not..

Great looking Rig. I an not a mechanic but you are at the right place for advice. There is a great depth of knowlege and lots will chime in I'm sure.

Welcome aboard... Big southern jeep wave toyou....

[Chevelleguy]

Welcome and good looking Wag.

(1) The lever you mentioned is the blend door. Yes, it should move with the temp lever. If it is working properly and you are not getting any heat, you could have a stopped up heater core, a lot of leaves blocking the core, or a stuck thermostat in the engine that is not allowing it to come up to operating temp.
(2)The vibration is from the front shaft, kinda normal with that much lift. Mine vibrates around 45 mph when in 4WD. It is easiest to shift to 4L if you 1. Come to a stop in 4WD. 2. Put the tranny in neutral to take all load off the driveline. 3. Put the tranny in park with foot on the brake so that the internals of the transmission don't spin. 4. Give a sharp pull up on the range lever into 4L. If you just give a little pull, it should go to neutral. This is how I have been doing it for 6 years and it works every time.
(3) 33's will fit with a 4", but they will rub when you flex it. It is hard to tell with your angles and lighting but it doesn't look like a 6", which is what it takes to clear 33's without trimming the fender (yours are not trimmed).

Measure from the center of one of you hubs to the edge of the fender and I will check mine when I get home.

[Eugene 1]

looks like a good find. Welcome aboard!

[brubakes]

Welcome. Thats a good looking Waggy.

[seventynine]

Also....on the heater make sure someone didn't bypass the heater core. I assume you would have noticed this since you were looking at the blend lever on top of the core box but I thought I'd mention it.

Anyway there are two hoses going in to the the heater box...one goes to the back of the intake manifold and the other goes to the water pump. Are they hot when it's running?

Dean

[newtojeeps]

Nice looking rig. Maint. is a must with these things. And learning how to do it yourself is a good thing. Weclome aboard.

[melophiliac]

Thanks for the compliments. I was really surprised in the shape of this thing, not a spot of rust, other than a little surface in a couple spots.

The heater core is not bypassed, the hoses do get hot after the engine has been running. Maybe i'll try opening it up today. It could be full of leaves, don't know if it would effect this or not, but I noticed its a bit stubborn to slide from cold to hot on the control. I am curious if the thermostats removed though. It never seems to reach operating temperature, just a bit over 1/4 way up the temp gauge. I thought maybe the gauge was off. In any account, i think I might be replacing the water pump soon, I hear those need to be replaced every 60k or so.

I'll try your trick to get it into 4Lo. I'd like to go hit some light/moderate trails, but i want to make sure the selec-trac will do everything its supposed to. As for the vibration with the lift. I know on other jeeps, (I had a cherokee a few years back) that you could lower the T-case to reduce your driveline angle. Anything like this for the Wag's?

I'll measure from wheel center to fender when I get home tonight. The only rubbing I get is if I have the wheel clocked full left, the inside of the tire rubs on the leaf spring. But nothing when I turn right. I thought about the possibility of spacing the wheels out just a bit, but I'm worried about then rubbing on the fenders. I'm also considering maybe stepping down to 31" or 32"s. I don't want to go much higher to clear the 33"s.

Thanks again for all the input. I'm really glad to be back in a Jeep community. I've always said "Jeep people are a special breed." My wife always found it interesting that Jeep people will usually let you in from an on ramp before anyone else. lol. Very glad to be back.

[tgreese]

Spring rubbing won't be affected by the lift. The spring rubbing can be controlled by adjusting the stops on the axle. Look for a cap screw on each side, positioned to limit the wheel travel at lock.

[melophiliac]

Ahhhh, I see, I'll look for that today as well, hopefully. My list of things to look at/do keeps growing. I know extra lift wont help me clear the springs, unless maybe the SOA would give more clearance. It's just the size of the tires. It's not too big a deal, I don't regularly turn the wheels that sharp, but might be a good idea to adjust the stop just as a percaution.

[Chevelleguy]

You don't want to lower the transfer case. Jeep tucked everything up inside the frame rails and it should stay there to protect the case.

If the vibration is real bad (mine is ok) you may need to check your u-joints on you front shaft and maybe your axle shafts too. All of that is spinning all the time but only under a load when in 4WD.

[tgreese]

Yeah, spacers or wheels with a smaller backspace would stop the spring rubbing. I'd consider possible new interference of the tire with the fender lip before I spaced the tire out though. Your lift will matter re interference with the fenders. If it were mine, and everything worked except for some spring rubbing, I'd reduce my turning radius a little with the stops, or else live with it.

[melophiliac]

U joints were a thought initially.

I think I'll just end up adjusting the stops and living with it like that. I really don't like using spacers if I can avoid it.

[JFlu]

I'm fairly new too and already have had more help than I thought possible from these guys. It's a great family to be a part of......BTW, nice rig!

Welcome!!

[KyooMac]

Awesome looking rig!!

[Chevelleguy]

BJ's Off-Road will be your new best friend and they are just down in Gig Harbor.

[draglink]

That is one good lookin rig!! Really clean interior! I like the way you have dual tailpipes that exit behind the rear tire...NICE!! I have 6" plus front shackles and mine vibrates when up to 45-50 mph in 4HI. More pics!!

[melophiliac]

Si, more pics when I take some.

Chevelleguy, I measured 22" from center to fender on pass side and 21" on driver. I was parked on a slight slant towards the driver side. Average around 21".

I just got back from fooling around with her. I tried the trick to get it in 4Lo or even Neutral, no luck. But I didn't get to look around and see if anything's jammed up externally.

I did figure out that the cable that links the climate control to the heater core is broken somewhere. I can move the box open manually under the hood.

I got the pass front door window motor switched out. Well, actually my buddy got that one done, I was chasing another problem. My tailgate window. It will roll down with the switch on the tailgate, but not the switch up front. I replaced it, still nothing. Checked continuity on the new switch (and the old one, which i should have done before because it was good) and checked power to the switch, ground to the switch, continuity between the front switch and the rear switch. All good. The only thing I can think is there's something messed up in the switch in the tailgate. But I didn't have the special pinned torxe bit to pull it out. At least I chased it that far.

Hhhhhhh, so much more to do still. I can't wait to move into a place with my own garage. My apt now is really anal about working on car's on the property.

[vintagetrks]

Very Nice Rig. Welcome to the madness. Soon you'll be addicted. Looks like you've got a 6in lift to me.

[suzq044]

boo
pics no worky for me.