I’m once again beginning this month’s Jeep Creep column with a request. In all future questions, please list your first and last name so that we can publish them here. Please be aware as well that the first two letters are compilations of several email messages back and forth.—Jim Brightly

Squealing & Squeaking

I bought a manual. I had a successful tune-up last night to the best of my knowledge at least. I still have a major problem though and don’t have the money right now to invest in taking the Jeep in. I just started the Jeep and a huge squealing noise came out of it and it was also very hard to turn my steering wheel. The check engine light is still on and my A/C is pumping out hot air. Does this sound like anything you have ever heard of before? Do you think everything can be linked somehow? Or am I just hopeless, please let me know and thanks for any help you can offer.

I found out that my A/C compressor is shot and I could really care less if I had air condition or not. Is there any way to retrofit or do something unorthodox so I can keep the serpentine assembly functional and possibly take out the A/C and remain economical? Maybe I can put some pulleys or fit bearings in the housing—what would you suggest?

Charlie Panagakis
Illinois

First of all, now that you’re a Jeep owner, you need a manual. Go to the websites of 4-Wheel Parts or 4-Wheel Drive Hardware and order one for the Wrangler. A shop manual will give you all the information you need to maintain your Jeep.

Next, the exhaust cannot cause a “grinding” noise, unless of course it’s dragging on the ground or rubbing against a moving part like a tire or driveshaft. This would be readily evident with a visual inspection of the underside.

I think the squealing is because your fan belt is slipping. That accounts for the noise and lack of power assist for the steering. Hopefully, a spray can of belt dressing will cure that problem, but don’t drive it that way. Open the hood and check to see just exactly where the noise is coming from. You may have a seized alternator, power steering pump, water pump, etc. While you’re at the parts store, pick up a new fan belt as well. Before you start it again, replace the fan belt, then wrap up the old one and tape it to one of the radiator support rods in case you need it on the trail some day (do this every time you replace the belt). After you remove the old belt, make sure all the components that are operated by the belt will rotate. If one is locked up this will tell you, and you’ll have to replace it. Once the new belt is on, have the hood open, stand by with the belt dressing, and start the engine. If it squeals, hit the fan belt with the spray. Just make sure everything is spinning. The “check engine” light may require a Jeep dealer to discover and correct. If you don’t want/need A/C, do a search using our search tool for an air compressor and kit that’ll fit your Jeep. With an onboard air compressor you can even add a reservoir bottle and glad-hand hose connectors so that you can fill your tires while just idling the engine.

Lost LEDs

Just cut my TJ’s front fenders and relocated the turn signal along with the side marker lights and now they won’t blink. The turn signals I replaced with two-inch LED lights and I wired everything back up. The stock signals had three-wire connections and the LEDs have two. Could this be the problem? The package the LEDs came in does say they need a body ground so I will try that. As far as the resistor goes would it go on the live wire going to the light? About darn near scratched a hole in my head with this one. The TJ doesn’t see the street all that much but it would be nice to keep the cops off of me when it does. Does the resistor need to be of a higher amperage? Do the turn signal lights use a relay? Is it possible to use a relay with a lower voltage or wattage? Or would that even matter? It’s got to be the lack of enough resistance, then. Yea, the emergency flashers aren’t working either. I was thinking one of the flashers might have gone out, too. The instructions didn’t really say, it just said to have a good chassis ground but didn’t say anything about a resistor or the amperage. I’ll just keep testing different things and see what works. But I will more than likely bug you every now and then, to get your input.

Mike Marshall

Yep. Your LED instructions should have told you that LED’s use less “juice” to operate so there’s less resistance in the line, which is what causes the flasher to flash. Since, if my memory serves me right, there’s no separate, removable flasher in a TJ (as there is in the older CJs & YJs) you may need to add a resistor in each taillight line (contact the LED manufacturer if the instructions don’t mention this). If that fails, you need to disconnect the taillights and determine if the new LED lights have a wired ground or if they rely on a body ground. Either way, make sure they’re well grounded and that they’ rewired correctly. Yes, it has to create more resistance for the flasher to work. Did you also try the emergency flashing circuit? You might connect in one of the old lights temporarily and make sure the flasher flashes. I don’t believe there’s a relay in the circuit, but the installation instructions should tell you.

Back Slider

I am looking for someone to help me with my question. I have a 2001 Jeep Wrangler Sport and I need to know what that black piece that sits on top of my back door is called. It fastens the soft top window to the tailgate so that it’s tight and secure. Any help would be appreciated.

Brian Szymanski
Burnsville, MN

It’s the soft top retaining bar that you’re talking about. If you go to www.bestop.com and find the installation instructions for their Super Top for your model, you’ll find all the information on your soft-top.

Gas Smell

I have a 1993 Wrangler, and I smell gas. Someone told me that it’s the evaporative filter. What do you think? I’ve checked the gas cap and I notice that the rubber round seal was way off. Could that be it?

Silvia Di Angilani
San Antonio, TX

If it’s your evaporative filter you need to replace it immediately! Liquid gas doesn’t burn, its fumes do. If you smell fumes there’s a strong possibility that a spark or hot exhaust can cause a fire. You need to correct this problem yesterday! First, try a visual inspection, starting with the gas cap. A leaking gas cap is the most prevalent culprit. I just had to replace mine in Moab last month. If it’s not the cap, inspect every inch of the fuel lines, both going and returning, for tell-tale stains from the leakage. If this doesn’t work, without the engine running, have a friend apply air pressure at the filler tube, which should force fuel out of any leaking connections in the fuel line.

Thirty-Three Tires?

I have a 3” body lift on my Wrangler ‘01 with a Dana 44 and stock gears. I just put Toyo Open Country 33-inch tires on it. Do I need to change my gears? I just had it off road for the first time with the new tires and the tire movement in a ditch caused the rear tire to rub the fender flare. Do you think I need to put in a suspension lift of another inch or two? Or would a 4” lift do the job? Would wider fender flares solve the problem?

Adam Cole
 Medford, OR

The short answer is no but that also depends on whether you have 3.73s or taller gears. 3.73 gears are barely adequate for 33” tires. There should be a tag on the differential cover indicating what gears you have. If not, jack up both wheels until they’re off the ground, rotate the tires and count how many times the driveshaft goes around versus one tire rotation. That will give you the gear ratio. You’ll be fine on most trails with low range but you’ll need deeper gears to play in the sand at Florence with those tires.

Either way would work. If you do a lot of off-roading and now that you have a lift and more aggressive tires you’ll be trying more technical trails, you’ll probably want to raise the Jeep a bit more. However, if your wider tires are covering the sides of the Jeep with mud and debris, you’ll want wider flares. If both of these things are happening, you’ll want to go both ways.

Tricked-Up Throttle

My ’88 Wrangler’s gas pedal goes to the floor. I have to step on it pretty hard to even go anywhere and it feels like I’m only getting half the response and no power. I can only do like 35 up a hill.

Patrick McGirr

Patrick, you probably need a new throttle cable or at least check the linkage. Have someone press the pedal to the metal then you check the linkage at the engine. Are you getting a full throw? Disconnect the cable at the engine and work the linkage on the engine. Do you now get the full throw? Is it sticking? Use WD40 on every moving part in the linkage, including inside the cable sheath.

Dumb Distributor Dismantle

I have a ‘97 Wrangler with the 4.0 six cylinder. To make a long story short, I was an idiot when replacing my distributor. I pulled the #1 plug and found TDC. However, I need to know which direction the rotor is supposed to point when at TDC. I know it points to the #1 on the cap, but where exactly is that? My Haynes manual wasn’t much help because it shows the position of the cap mounting screws at the 11 and 5 o’clock positions. However, looking at mine they are at the 1 and 7 o’clock position and that’s the only way they face with the distributor mounting bracket lined up with the mounting hole in the engine block.

Scott
Elkview, WV

With the engine on TDC #1 the rotor is in the 5 o’clock position when the distributor is installed all the way into the block. You might need to go to Jeep itself for a better manual or see the websites of 4-Wheel Parts or 4-Wheel Drive Hardware. When I worked for Haynes in the ‘80s, the manuals were more complete than yours appears to be.

I’d like shout out a big thank you to Paul Schupp at Rock Lizard 4x4 in Kingman, Arizona, for his assistance in answering Jeep Creep questions.