98 jeep wrangler
 

I bought a slightly shaggy wrangler last week. It has a bit of rust here and there. May replace front fenders and paint it. It has a four cylinder pushrod amc engine with a five speed od.

Driving it reminds me of a 240d but possibly a bit less torque. It has incorrect 17" alloy rims from a newer jeep. I'd rather have the 15" rims like from the factory. It needs tires. Actually it is a lot quicker than a 240.

The interior is a lot like a 240 too.

The canvas top is beyond flappy on the highway.

I am planning to pull it behind my RV.

Given current used car market, how many X original MSRP did ya have to give?

I dunno.... Maybe half or a third of original cost?

I guess they hold their value.

Jeeps hold their value real well based on what I've read.

Try to find one for sale. Perhaps mine was not sold earlier because of the four cylinder motor.....but I like that....again, like a 240.

I put tires and shocks on it and some suspension bushings, put on two fenders and had them professionally painted. The match is pretty good. I charged the ac and ran a test for the check engine light. They got it off but it came back on. Whack a mole. It drives ok but the wind noise from the flapping top is beyond irritating. I might spring for a hard top. The tank must hold 10 gallons...is that possible?

I have Cherokees, XJs. They hold 18 gallons. I'd say the Wranglers hold about that. The 4cyl. has a good rep. I think the prices of the TYs and YJs have come down a bit the past few years. Still, if pristine, they and the XJs can bring over 10K.

My brother had a 98 with the 4 banger. Was the slowest thing I’ve ever driven. Took everything it had just to get into the highway. And the mpg was similar to a big block suburban. If the price was good I’d get one to just putt around in and trash on the trails

I did talk to a guy who works on my Jeep. He said, 16 gallon gas tank, possibly 14 for the 4 cylinder.
A few 'upgrades' to make. First, I replace the stock headlights. I went with Cibie H4s from Daniel Stern Lighting and a headlight harness from him. A bit of $$. Some have been happy with LEDs. I'd replace the stock aluminum steering box spacer, with a steel aftermarket one. About $35 to $50. I'd also look into an after market double sheer trackbar (panhard bar). Probably $250 and up.

What problem is solved with the panard bar conversion?

Death wobble (plenty of youtube vids on it). I suppose if it isnt that bad, just a lot of steering slop.

Yes, DW. And yes I've experienced it more than a few times. There are a lot of other things that can cause it. The stock one might hold up fine for you with stock tires.
The guy who does some work on my Jeeps, said he had the stock one come apart at the drivers side while driving. He did keep it under control.

I put new tires stock size and new hd gas filled shocks. NO DW so far.

Jumpin' Jeepers
 

The panhard bar is a real bacon saver if you ever need it, not much $ compared .

Flush the hydraulic clutch RIGHT NOW and keep an eye on the fluid because those things use the crappy and cheaper 'donut' typ on clutch release bearing instead of a fork, when (not if) it fails you'll be pretty much stuck .

If you just want to tool around the 4 anger is a good choice, it's reliable and robust .

If you want to go off roading as fast as possible sell it on and get another .

The 4 bangers don't bring as much $$ as do i6 or V8's, with good reason .

I once ran across a donated "Sahara" 4 banger Jeep with crazy low miles, in beige and incredibly good shape, that's when I realized I'd never own a Jeep - my trailing days were long past =8-( .

I agree, the soft top is not good, used ones are every where, just take some time to search for one .

How about some pix ? .

I can't do pics now.

Also, I do use an OTK Trackbar. Part of the reason is I did the WJ Big Brake conversion and cross over steering. So, I had to do OTK (Over The Knuckle) Trackbar. I don't know if it, or the cross over steering setup or both, but it seems so much better than stock.
Also, I bore out throttle bodies for my own use. I did give a few to the guy who works on my Jeeps. I do plenty of work on them myself. He put one on a '96 XJ 2.5L 5spd. Said it helped on power. He gave me the 2.5 TB. The bore was small. I think a 4.0L TB would help, even if not bored out. He had to switch out the IAC valve and housing.

MIne seems to have a rather robust panhard bar, but the rear end makes some wobbly moves over certain bumps.

I have had the check engine light scoped at least four times now. The light will go off with a new o2 sensor but will come back and is intermittant after that. What is there after scoping it doesn't do it?

How about new plugs?

Tom

Is the engine burning much oil? Would that foul the sensor?

What are the O2 readings? If your AFR is out of whack it will kill O2 sensors. You should be able to read the O2 readings with an obd2 app.

What is an afr please? And how long does it take to fry a sensor?

I *might* know but will wait as the O.P. will prolly say it correctly .

As far as frying sensors, some fry in an instant, others like the O2 sensor in the exhaust can get sooted up over time if there's a misfire or running too rich .

none that I know of.

This one is decent with the 2.5 motor and five speed manual.

Air fuel ratio. Running rich will destroy the O2, how long it takes is relevant to how poorly the engine is running.

Pullibg readings from the O2 eill give you a good idea of what is going on. I would imagine thr 2.5 has a wideband upstream sensor and a narrow band downstream? Which sensor have you had to replace?

O2 sensors are almost always just showing issues that are rooted upstream like vacuum leaks or clogged injectors.

Recently went through a lot of similar troubleshooting on my audi. Still havent found the issue yet but its a little different.

https://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/off-topic-discussion/416943-what-would-cause-fouling-across-entire-cyl-bank-non-merc-tech-question.html

This was my issue fwiw, similar symptoms, completely different application. What Ive found is that there is a correlation of overfueling when at low throttle. I had a bad injector or two that got me a bit further down the road, but now still seeing this (attached pic), lambda value imbalance between bank 1 and bank 2, which is correlated pretty strongly with engine load. Bank 2 is fine, bank 1 giving the problem now.

Idk if its helpful but pulling this sort of data will really help diagnose the issue. I am assuming your jeep runs like garbage once the O2 is out of spec?



https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...07ff00c13d.jpg

It runs well but thows a check engine light. We have changed both now.

Hey T, wondering if you figured this one out?

From what I've read NGK brand O2 sensors are very good. About a year ago a friend had a check engine light on a different brand, replaced all 4 sensors with the store brand and still had the light. Replaced the sensors with a "quality" brand, problem solved.

Unrelated but on a Jeep was helping a friend diagnose long cranking periods to start, fuel pressure gauge would drop while sitting overnight. Problem was a new non-oe fuel filter. Apparently the check valve inside the filter was leaking, new OE filtered solved the issue.

As we all know part quality differs and new doesn't always equal good.

Good luck with this one t.

NGK Spares
 

That's good to know ! I stopped using BOSCH spark plugs a decade or more ago .

The new NGK copper core plugs I'm running in my old VW Bug were made in THAILAND .

They work find just like the old German BOSCH plugs did but don't anymore .

I think my little Ranger trucklet is due for a new 02 sensor, maybe I'll try an NGK instead of a low bid N.O.S. Motocraft one .

Ive used NGK plugs for years, and find them to be great. I havent used their O2s but in my experience Bosch is often the OEM and have had quite a few issues with offbrand O2s. Bosch is worth the money in O2 sensors.

Spares
 

Thank you Sir ! .

Thanks guys! I will pick up the jeep tomorrow. Apparently I need some exhaust work as there is a leak ahead of the sensor. I noticed it making a bit of noise but did not put it together before.

I finally got the controls and so forth straightened out as the check engine light is off. Lots of new parts including a new front bumper shocks and bushings and new stock size tires.

We decided to go back to a pickup and a travel trailer, so I am putting it out there for sale for $5,750.

I am told it also has a Jasper engine with likely relatively low mileage. lIt is the four cylinger wrangler with a five speed. Sounds like it would be a dog but with the five speed it is fine.



It has 170k on it I believe.

I sold it.