1989 grand wagoneer

[Scottintexas]

Bought it from my neighbor, it was an extra vehicle for the last 15 years so it's sat a lot, a racoon made a home in the engine compartment over Christmas and now it won't start, we pushed it into the driveway and tomorrow we start diagnosing it, we bought it for the cost of the new tires he put on it at Thanksgiving, just a little surface rust here and there and we know the previous two owners, carburetor FUN!
@Betik

 

[Bruce]

A wonderful family project!

 

[Babin Farms]

Sweet!!!!

 

[CarolinaJet]

Love those wagoneers. have fun and keep us posted on progress. I did a restore project with my dad when I was in high school. Picked up good skills and great way to spend time together.

 

[Ericd]

Looks great and will be fun

 

[Betik]

sounds like a lot of fun for Gracie

 

[Scottintexas]

day one success was pushing it into the driveway without initiating a hernia and not hitting the neighbors truck ( I let her steer and brake )

day two success ! after removing a raccoon nest, their hair is ultra sticky on top of sticking to all the old oil/grime, the majority we pulled out by hand but then we got the leaf blower and created a dust cloud, I don't think a N95 mask was enough to stop it, all the mud dawbbers will get to stay another day,

going through two batteries and jumping, a whole can of carb cleaner we finally got it running, it idles well, the tank was at about 1/4, we added three gallons and some HEAT and seafoam,
we took it for a test ride around the neighborhood and then on a side street for a 3 mile 45mph run, very happy with how it handles/rides,
came back home and changed the oil,

most of the power windows work but are very stiff, You have to push on them to get them to go up or down, and the passenger doors are super stiff from not being used in forever, luckily the rear tailgate work pretty well,

We have a laundry list of things to address,
the most urgent,
no parking brake
no turn signal or high beam indicator on the dash work ( I think that is a requirement for safety inspection)
get the headliner out, it's deteriorating / dropping and creating a dust bowl when you drive

once we get it inspected we can get it titled and then really go to work,

 

[adrianp89]

Sounds like some good bones. Body looks great. Looks like a fun project with the kid.

 

[Mesa50]

I had a 1990 Grand Wagoneer and loved it. Make sure to check the u-joint clamp bolts. They are notorious for just backing out on their own. I worked at a Jeep dealership when I was younger, and we sold tons of them. It’s best if you just go ahead and replace them, as they tend to stretch out and get sloppy fitting. My rear driveshaft just fell out one day. Fortunately, I was just pulling in my driveway from the mailbox.

 

[PEARCE]

Very cool family project @Scottintexas. I've heard that the old ones like that get the same or possibly better mileage that the new ones do. Please keep us posted on the progress.

 

[Scottintexas]

I've heard that the old ones like that get the same or possibly better mileage that the new ones do. Please keep us posted on the progress.

I wish, it's a 360 with a 3 speed, from reading I hope to get 12-13 mpg,

The STRUGGLE is real,

We had no parking brake, we were able to get the foot pedal to finally catch after a bunch of PB blaster on the gear and then we had to tighten the adjuster cable underneath, great holding power and our parking brake light even illuminated, but now it won't go off (it could be a master cylinder pressure issue but very suspicious it didn't start until I had adjusted the parking brake cable, the reservoir was very low on fluid)

We were going to get it inspected Saturday morning, starts right up, we idle it for about 20 minutes, sounds good, load up along with cleaning supplies so we can stop at the car wash/vacuum afterwards, get buckled in, she puts it in reverse and it dies, another 30 minutes of trying to start and we decide to change the fuel filter thinking all the old gas had sucked something from the tank, turns out the parts guy gave us the wrong filter, back to the store, change the filter which as buried under wires/hose near the front of the carb/distributor, finally got it on but now scared to turn it off or even to idle in gear, drive it to the inspection station, PASSED !, go to Grandma's house about 10 miles away to drop off some food and show off the car, leave it idle in the street while we get them, as they walk down the driveway it slowly dies like only a carburetor car can, another 10 minutes trying to start then decide let it sit for 20 and then it started up, nervously went straight home with one foot on the brake and one on the accelerator ( she's really learning a lot about driving techniques!)

researching Sat. night come across a you tube video, this guy's 3 nippled fuel filter is hooked up opposite of ours ???? Sunday go out and look, sure enough both supply and feed hard lines travel in front of the carb and somebody had hooked ours up backwards and we just copied what they did, changed it and it started right up and idled well.

When we put it in gear it idles very rough but that could be one of the 30 vacuum hoses that are cracked/broken/disconnected. that's next on our list, is there anyone that can even know what this means ?? Help me Obi-Wan ( aka Betik )






in the mean time we pulled the rear spoiler, someone had used it as a hand old and bent the support (before pulling it out of the roof)

any good suggestions on how to bend it back? or does it really make a difference/matter ?



Sunday we were able to get it vacuumed out and decided it was worth adding 10 more gallons of gas, good news, one of the turn signals on the dash decided to start working !

 

[Scottintexas]

We got legal yesterday so now we can really get some good gas through it, also pulled the old headliner down so we won't get "dusted" while driving,

parking brake light is still on, looking at the proportional valve as a possible culprit,

idles smooth in park, very rough in gear, I'm hoping the vacuum hoses will take care of that,



.

 

[adrianp89]

I think 4 15s would fit pretty well back there

 

[drewkaree]

When we put it in gear it idles very rough but that could be one of the 30 vacuum hoses that are cracked/broken/disconnected. that's next on our list, is there anyone that can even know what this means ?? Help me Obi-Wan ( aka Betik )


View attachment 173049



in the mean time we pulled the rear spoiler, someone had used it as a hand old and bent the support (before pulling it out of the roof)

any good suggestions on how to bend it back? or does it really make a difference/matter ?

View attachment 173048

No idea if there's anything more specific about that diagram other than it shows you what line connects to the next part, and if there's a splitter in the lines - at the very least, it gives you an idea of how to tackle replacing ALL the lines (in for a penny, in for a pound!). I'd do them all, since it would SUCK to replace one, and have another cause you problems. All new lines, you can rule that out for any potential issues, and you might have cracks that don't show up until it's pulling a vacuum anyway, so try to get them all.

The way I look at it, if someone used the rear spoiler once for a handhold, it's going to happen again. Remove it, be done with it, and don't put it back on. Seal off the roof to make it watertight, and call it good.

This looks like a super fun project to be undertaking with your daughter, and I like that she's willing to get her hands dirty, that will serve her well in life!

 

[Scottintexas]

Still going at it,
The list keeps growing but trying to keep it organized to drivability/usability getting priority,

my breakdown/tow home turned out to be either a broken fuel pickup sock filter and or bad sending unit ( I thought I had a quarter tank left),
fixed a leaking rear drum brake cylinder and that fix the brake light that was constantly on
new fuel sock is waiting to be put in,
new lock nuts for the spoiler and loose cargo rail are ready for install,
then we can install the new headliner
new hood insulation is ready for install
new carb rebuild kit has arrived ( still putting this off as a very rough idle won't go away )
bought all the vacuum hose to rebuild ( hopefully it will help the rough idle and get the 4wd working )
sounds like a might have a wheel bearing going out, a get a good chirp for 2-3 minutes when we start driving and then it goes away, almost sounds like a body mount/chassis squeak but I fear it can't be that easy,
new window wipes ready for install,

new service manual from Jeep has arrived !

and we need new headlights, I drove it to grandma's house one evening and had to pull over because I would have sworn only my yellow running lights were providing any illumination, ughhh, headlights??? looking holley has some LED retro's, there expensive but I think lights are worth it,

still have an issue of not starting when the engine is hot and turned off for 5 minutes, won't start even with starter fluid, wait 30 minutes and it fires right up with no issues, I'm thinking either stuck fuel bowl is flooding the engine, cracked distributor cap or my coil is going out, still in the diagnosing process,

 

[Babin Farms]

Sounds like you've got a lot of work to do. That service manual will be the best purchase made for this project.
When it's hot and won't fire up or even pop with starting fluid tells me that you have a spark problem, not fuel. Have you checked the plugs yet? It might be worth taking a look at them, they may be contributing to your rough idle problem.(doubt it but worth a look)

 

[rkluck]

Could also be vapor lock. Any chance the fuel lines are not routed right. I always do a tune up first so I can check the plugs and insure that the ignition section is good. Eliminates caps, plugs, wires etc. Jack the car up and grab the tire top and bottom and try to wiggle it. You will feel a slight clunk if the bearings are bad. You can also turn the wheel and sometimes feel the bearing binding. It is easy to take them out, check and repack them. This sounds like a great project car. I assume this is going to be your daughter's car? Should be very solid and safe!

 

[Scottintexas]

Happy day are here for the moment and we're enjoying them,

The random hot start issue turned into a also random stall issue ( it got my daughter her first experience of being towed, luckily we were only a couple miles from home in a neighborhood, after getting everything set up and explaining what I thought was everything I could to prepare her to be the towee, we have the cell phones on speaker so we're in constant communication, at the first corner I notice her going wide and then she say's "do I have to steer??" ugggh, I guess I went over almost everything! ) we replaced the coil since it was intermittent spark during the problem but the issue persisted,

We think we have that solved with a new ignition module, drove it 40 miles on Saturday doing errands and never an issue,

new headlights are in, Holley retrobright LEDs, they were expensive but work well and most importantly plug/play,

wiper fluid hose replaced so now we can actually wash the windshield when needed,

the list keeps growing as the more it becomes reliable the more money we're willing to sink into it

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Doing good!

It's gonna be a sweet ride once you get her updated.

Jim

 

[Jofuss3232]

I had one in my 20's and still to this day the most comfortable vehicle I have ever had. It was like driving your couch down the road.