In all of your future Jeep Creep questions, please list your first and last names, your hometown, and your state/province/country, so that we can publish that information here. If you don’t provide this information, we may not be able to publish your question and answer. Don’t forget to be as complete as possible with the description of your Jeep and its problems, too. No Jeep recalls this month. See all of the posted recalls at www.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/recallsearch.cfm.—Jim Brightly
Bad Battery
Perhaps you can help me with an electrical problem? I just bought an ‘81 Jeep CJ7. My battery is being drawn down while parked in the garage. I ripped out all the shoddy jury-rigged plow lighting and plow setup wiring. I replaced all the exterior bulbs as the turn signals flash at twice the normal rate. I then removed the negative terminal off of the battery and used a voltmeter to see if there was a draw on the system. I touched one probe of the gauge to the negative terminal of the battery and the other to the hanging battery terminal clamp and had a reading of 12.67 volts. That’s telling me that something is drawing on the system constantly, correct? I have an inkling that my problem is associated with the lights, but I don’t know how to proceed any further. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Also, one last thing, there are two extra wires that seem to be associated with the lights attached to the remote starter solenoid. The draw goes away once I remove one of them, but the lights won’t work then.
Tom McMenamin
Collegeville, PA
The same thing kept happening to my 1982 CJ7 until I replaced the battery. Verify first that your battery is good, and then check alternator diodes and the regulator.
| Other Jeep Creep Columns: -'09 July -'09 June - '09 May |
Hard Steering
I have a 1994 Jeep Cherokee with a steering problem. I have 35-inch tires on a 7 1/2-inch lift. I just put on a new AGR power steering pump because the old one not being strong enough to handle the load of the bigger tires. However, I still can’t turn the wheel from a standing start. When rolling it turns easily. But when I stop and have to turn sharply (I do heavy rock crawling) it turns extremely difficultly and I am pulling the wheel about as hard as I can. What is the problem? Is the geometry change from the lift affecting the steering box connection or just a bad steering box? I am trying to keep from having to spend a fortune on a new steering system.
Bryan, it sounds to me that you’ve more problems than contaminated fluid. But first things first.
Drain the entire system and fill with fresh fluid. Make sure the new fluid stays clear, or continue to drain and fill until it does. Also make sure to bleed the system of all air when you change the fluid. If you’re not sure how to do this, buy a good shop manual for your Jeep and it will tell you how. If a manual isn’t available at a nearby auto parts store, go to the websites of 4-Wheel Parts, 4-wheel Hardware, and/or Quadratec.
I already flushed my system, but when doing it, I had the wheels off of the ground, as you said. But I flushed the fluid through by turning the engine over for only about two seconds and then shutting it off. I had a buddy help me so that as soon as the reservoir emptied, we shut the engine off, refilled the reservoir, and did the same procedure again. We did this over and over again, and went through about 1 1/2 gallons of new power steering fluid until it came out clean. Actually, it came out clean way before we went through the 1 1/2 gallons, but we wanted to make sure. I am only asking because you said to do it with the motor off. I don’t know if that makes any difference. Also, I really don’t know how to bleed the system, but I’m assuming that by turning the wheels back and forth to each stop, with the reservoir cap off – is that how to bleed it? Is that right? I want to make sure I don’t have any air in the system that could be causing this.
Bryan, you may have to replace the gearbox with the heavy-duty unit from PSC or Howe after the system stays clear. The return line can be placed in a container, plug the return fitting in the reservoir and with motor off, wheels off the ground, turn stop to stop while keeping the res full of clean fluid. Put line back on, refill, start engine and top off fluid.
Now, after the flush, driving it while moving down the road is extremely easy. When I start the engine up before going forward, initially, the wheel turns back and forth from a stop position, perfectly, which is what we want. The problem occurs after I go down the road a while, stop and try to turn the wheel from a standing position (not moving forward). The wheel turns extremely hard again and it is too hard to turn to have that happen off road. However, as soon as I begin moving forward, even very slowly, the wheel turns very easily like it should. It just doesn’t make any sense that the wheel turns so hard from only a standing position.
I am told there is a screw or some sort of adjustment under the gearbox that controls the amount of force or torque or something that has to do with how much pressure is applied in turning the wheels. Is that true with our Jeeps?
Once you’re running clean and clear fluid, test the steering again, and let me know how it’s acting. We’ll move on from there one step at a time.
Thank you so much for answering me back so promptly and I apologize for my late reply. I really need your help. To answer your question, yes it turns more easily when I rev up the engine. Interestingly enough, when it is cold and I do my first turns out of the garage, the wheel turns perfectly. As I drive on, after getting up to driving temperature, it turns more sluggishly. However, this is only when I make a turn from very slow speeds or from a stop. At normal driving speeds it turns fine. Tonight, when I went out to test it, I came to a stop. It turned very difficultly. So I put into neutral, rev’d up the rpm’s and it turned well. So what do you think? Does it sound like the steering box? Remember I just put a new pump in it. Could it be from contaminated fluid? When I put new fluid into the reservoir, after putting in the new pump, the clear power steering fluid turned a dark oil color after a few minutes.
Darned, I am bummed that you are so far away. The problem here is that there is no one I know of who will diagnosis it for me. Jeff Howe, of Howe Steering, which I am sure you have heard of, makes a super steering system used by all of the desert racers all over the country. It is a tremendous product with a tremendous price. I talked to him and he will do it for a mere $3000, give or take $200. That is overkill and my wife would give me a sure kill if I went there. What do you think?
Bryan
San Diego, CA
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| Other Jeep Creep Columns: -'09 July -'09 June - '09 May |
What is the sensor mounted on the front of the AX-5 transmission?
Ryan
West Valley, UT
The crank sensor is on the bellhousing, front upper driver’s side.
Fuel Sending Unit
Would you know where I can locate a fuel level sending unit for a 1994 Jeep Cherokee (not the Grand Cherokee). It’s the XJ model, 4.0L, six cylinders. My fuel pump is good. I have tried all US dealerships and over 20 aftermarket/obsolete Jeep part companies with no luck to date. Would prefer new if at all possible.
Kim
Boston, MA
Go to the Web sites of either 4-Wheel Parts (www.4wheelparts.com), 4-Wheel Hardware (www.4WD.com) or Quadratec (www.quadratec.com). They’re the major catalog companies.
T-Case Lowering
I installed a 4-inch Skyjacker lift on my 2004 Wrangler (5-speed, 4.0 engine) along with a transfer case lowering kit. I wanted the T-case lowering kit removed so I took the Jeep to a driveshaft specialty shop. They installed an Advanced Adapters SYE, fabricated a new driveshaft, and removed the lowering kit. I drove it and it vibrated violently. They reinstalled the lowering kit and the vibration was almost nonexistent. There is a knuckle between my driveshaft and the SYE. If that was not there my driveshaft could be about 2 1/2 inches longer. My factory driveshaft is 11 1/4 inches long and my new one is 12 1/2 inches long. How do I eliminate the T-case lowering kit (I am losing 1 1/4 inches of ground clearance)?
Jesse Puck
Warrenton, VA
The T-case lowering kit is there to reduce U-joint angles, thusly reducing the vibration. Are you sure you need to tuck the T-case back up? I think you’re missing some shims on the differentials. The shims I’m speaking of are wedge-shaped metal shims that go between the spring perches and the springs, which effectively rotate the nose of the differential upward to reduce U-joint angles. These shims should have been in the Skyjacker lift kit (I’ve done about a dozen Skyjacker lift kits and every one of them included the shims). If you can’t find them, contact Skyjacker (www.skyjacker.com). I’m sure they’ll send you a kit in the next day’s mail.
Go-Wrangler
Is a supercharger available on a 2005 Wrangler 4.0 engine? If so, what is the cost for the kit?
Patrick
Evergreen, CO
You’re the second person in a month who’s asked me that question. I’m assuming that Factor X Engineering is out of business, unfortunately, because both the phone number and Web site are no longer valid. Perhaps you can find a kit on eBay.
Euro GPS
Same question as Sommersonne. I bought in January 2005 a 2004 Grand Cherokee 4.7 Overland with an RB1 (I lived in the USA). Returned to Switzerland since two years with my Jeep in a container. I am looking for a Europe DVD matching the RB1 Mopar DVD Navigation I have now, or some kind of intervention DVD to change the setting of my RB1 so I can use the standard Eur discs. Any ideas?
Jo
Lugano, Switzerland
Since Daimler was a partner with Chrysler when that GPS system was developed, I suggest you visit a Mercedes Benz dealer and ask them. Unless, of course, you can find a Jeep dealer in Switzerland. You might also visit Jeep’s Web site (www.Jeep.com) and ask Jeep customer service.
As usual, I’m shouting out a big THANK YOU to Paul Schupp at Rock Lizard 4x4 in Kingman, Arizona, for his invaluable assistance in answering many of the Jeep Creep questions.
