Renegade's Patrol Log

JEEP LINKS including vendor sites for parts and tools as well as sites for jeep organizations

PATROL LOG includes log entries of minor repairs and and adventures between time of purchase and the present.

RENEGADE MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines developed for Renegade based on the BillyBob routines, including required tools, materials and procedures.

4. On the road again

April 10^th 2007  Once I decided to fab my own clutch line I ordered a backup master cylinder from Quadratec just in case I buggered the old one trying to make things work out (also to get a new o-ring and determine how this fitting worked). What made the flared tubing solution possible was a Hydraulic clutch line adapter fitting (#HCA-2) from Novak Conversions. It's the brass fitting on the lower left above. From the description on Novak's website:

These fittings each feature a male 1/4" DOT threaded ends so that the installer can use or make standard hydraulic lines or hoses for the particular situation. The tip inserts into your 1991-1995 Jeep YJ (and 1991-1996 Jeep XJ) or 1997-present Jeep TJ & XJ master cylinder using the factory style o-ring and retaining pin.

I measured the length of the stock plastic clutch line (48") and sent off to LMC Truck for a stock length of 1/4" steel line with flare fittings already installed at both ends (51"). I also ordered a couple of unions for good measure.

April 29^th 2007  Got my length of 1/4" tubing with flared fittings and unions from LMC. Brought my tubing tools down from the warehouse and set about figuring out how the bending tools work. Two of the tools have a tab on them that looks made for a table vise so I lugged the vise in from the shed and c-clamped it to the workstation where I was set up. The first curve will have to be the tightest I can make to clear the firewall.

Made the curve and took the tubing out to Renegade to have a look-see. No good. The fittings and the union are too long. If I'm going to make this work, I need some kind of ninety degree angle block. Time to search the McMaster-Carr catalog if I'm gonna pull this idea out of the pooper. At least I know how the bender works now and am happy with how nice the bends are. If I can get past this clearance problem, I'll be in like flint.

April 30^th 2007  Sweet Jesus H Gonzales! The simplist things turn out to be so fracin' difficult sometimes. Ordered a 1/4" brass female/female elbow online at McMaster-Carr but had the sinking gut feeling that the threads will be wrong after some more research. Went to the Lawson website and found a 1/4" female to flare elbow and tried to order that. Had to register and sign-in. Did that and still could not checkout my cart! Gave up and five minutes later got a call from a rep who read my registration process. I ordered the item from her but I still think the threads on the female portion will be wrong. All I want is a 90 degree brass elbow with female 7/16"-24 threads at both openings. Why is that so hard. Went to the Fastenal website where I think I found the elusive elbow fitting. My web browser crashed three times on the checkout process. ~!@#$%^ I know when I'm being beaten like a rented mule. I'm giving up for today.

May 7^th 2007  My problem here is twofold. I don't know the correct terminology for the connector I need and I'm in too big of a hurry to wait until I do know. As a result, I have educated myself at a cost of about forty bucks and I have some odd fittings that the executor of my estate will probably drop off at goodwill someday. My first two purchases from McMaster-Carr and Lawson respectively were dead ends. The third from Fastenal was the item I was looking for from the beginning. It is described as a "1/4" 90 Deg Union Elbow Brass Inverted Flare Fitting" on the invoice. As luck would have it, they were also the slowest shippers and didn't arrive in time for the weekend's work.

May 12^th 2007  I finally have the correct elbow now so, after some work on BillyBob and BettyLou, I set up to finish bending the clutch line. The very first bend I did a few weeks ago was perfect but I was not having the same luck today. I couldn't figure it out but I was getting sharp bends and the tubing was ovaling out. After I finished up and my subconcious had some pondering time, I realized that the first bend I did had the end of the tubing restricted from movement because the fitting was there and could not be pulled thru the bender tool. All of today's bends did not have that restriction. I'll have to find some way to clamp the tubing in the future when I use this tool again.

The working area where the clutch master cylinder sits on the firewall is tight and I couldn't see how to get the retaining pin for the special o-ring fitting out. The Haynes manual was no help in this task. Decided, then and there, to install the new master cylinder. Everything in the hydraulic system will be new now. Undid the radiator support strut and pivoted it out of the way, then moved the wiring harness aside. Pulled the spring clip (cotter pin) off the shaft under the dash and disconnected the pedal rod. Removed the two hex nuts holding the master cylinder to the firewall. Took awhile and some choice words due to the restricted wrenching area.

May 13^th 2007  Decided the best approach wuz to put the elbow on the Novak o-ring fitting first. Couldn't find any info on installing the o-ring fitting into the master cylinder so, I winged it. Soaked the new o-ring that came with the new master cylinder in brake fluid for a few minutes, then installed it on the bottom recess of the Novak fitting. Put the master cylinder in a vise to hold it and inserted the fitting, then drove the new retaining pin that came with the master cylinder in with a brass hammer. I guess it's OK. It swivels pretty easy but so does the old one I took out yesterday.

Fished the new fabbed hydraulic line in next. I found out the hard way that it goes in easier from the bottom. Bolted the new master cylinder to the firewall loosely so I still have some fudge room to jocky the hydraulic line into the elbow fitting. After I got the fitting snugged up, the master cylinder bolts were tightened, with the same cussin' that I used taking the old one out yesterday.

Hooked up the other end of the new line at the bellhousing end with a standard union. There are two clamp brackets that I took off the old line. They anchor the hydraulic line to the bellhousing and the lower firewall. It took some additional in-place bending to get the line next to the anchors. OOPS! Two of the sharp bends got compromised and started to flatten out. I got the flats undone but they are still restricted a bit. I'll have to see how this whole assembly works. I may be ordering another piece of tubing to bend.

May 28^th 2007  It's Decoration Day. Take a moment to relfect on memories of the fallen in their service to our country. I've been goofin' off this weekend and not getting much done. Did manage to drag the air compressor out and put air in Renegade's almost flat passenger side rear tire. Continued on by re-intalling the front driveshaft after replacing the universal joint bearing cups that had missing roller bearings with new cups from a replacement joint. Finally, the skidplate crossmember was jacked into position and bolted into place. Transmission mount hex nuts were placed too, all with threadlocker blue.

October 13^th 2007  Renegade has been sitting quietly, waiting for me to get back to him. Today, when I opened the hood, I saw that the air cleaner element had fallen off. Disconnected the rest of the air cleaner and brought the assembly inside the Krash Lab. This appears to be some kind of plastic bond that let go. I had some black Plasti Dip at hand so I opened that up and glopped generous amounts on the failed bond surfaces and slapped the two components back together. Put a paving stone on top of the assembly to apply pressure for a couple of hours will the Plasti Dip cured.

October 28^th 2007  Got back to Renegade today. Had a morning storm. After the shadetree garage dried up a bit, I finally got down to bleeding the hydraulic clutch system with a pressure bleeder I purchased for this specific task some time back. I had ordered all the accessory connectors so I could use this on the hydraulic systems of all three vehicles. One of them fit the clutch master cylinder so I didn't have a problem there. The power bleeder was connected (empty) and was pumped up to 10 psi for a pressure test. After ten minutes, it was still holding at 10 psi. At least, I had gotten all my connections tight when I plumbed my custom line. I opened the bleeder valve down at the bellhousing and was rewarded with the sound of hissing air. Good so far. Released all the pressure in the power bleeder and added a couple of quarts of DOT 3 brake fluid. Pumped the pressure back up to 10 psi and proceeded to bleed the system. Drained fluid at the bleeder valve until the fluid ran clear without bubbles. Did this a couple of times with both the clutch pedal in engaged (with a helper stick) and released positions. The pedal doesn't have as much resistance as I thought it would have but, it being a new performance clutch, I won't know until the engine is running if everything with the clutch is hunky-dory or not.

That was the good news. Here's the bad. The battery was recharged and put back in the Jeep. With the tranny in neutral, I tried to start Renegade for the first time in over a year. It cranked for some time but I was happy with that because I was hoping for some oil circulation before firing. Renegade did start after a minute or two. It was missing some and I had to keep jiggling the throttle pedal. After thirty seconds or so it quit missing but there wasn't any power and I had to keep jiggling the accelerator. When I let it go back to idle, it quit. After a few minutes, I started it again but it stayed lit only a few seconds and wouldn't start again after that. The gas stabilazer additive I had put in was way past its effective date but I think the problem is water in the gas. That's what it feels like anyway. I guess draining the tank is next.

November 10^th 2007  The weather is beautiful today. Cool and not a cloud in the sky. Last weekend, I ordered a "Shop Manual, Engine, Chassis & Body 1991 Jeep Reprint" and a "Shop Manual Electrical, Heating-A/C & Emissions 1991 Jeep Reprint" from Bishko Automobile Literature and they arrived mid-week. These things are much more detailed than the Haynes and Chilton repair manuals I've been relying on.

I set about draining the gas tank. Following the manual, the gas cap was removed, battery ground was disconnected and fuel pressure released from the valve on the fuel rail. There was no pressure. I don't know if this is a problem or not at this point. A siphon tube was inserted into the gas tank filler to drain the tank but it would not go into the tank. Took off the fuel filler neck shroud underneath the fender at the rear and removed the filler hose. Put the siphon directly into the tank at this point and proceeded to drain the tank. I got just shy of five gallons which is about half of what I expected. Put everything back together and took the battery into the Krash Lab for recharging.

November 11^th 2007  Armistice Day. Hug a Vet! Stopped on the way to the Krash Lab this morning and got five gallons of fresh gas to put in Renegade's now empty (I hope) tank. Poured the gas into Renegade and re-installed his charged up battery. Took a lotta crankin' but Renegade finally started up. No power on the throttle but he would idle ok. Ran the engine for about a hour to recharge the battery again and run out the rest of the bad gas/water while I smoked a cigar.

at the end of the hour, there was still a slight hesitation when the gas was hit hard but it wasn't bad. I'll check into fuel line cleaning additives in the upcoming week. The clutch would not work unless I pumped it hard and fast five or six times before shifting. Time to get the pressure bleeder out again. It may be jumpin' the gun a bit, but I think it's time for a little victory dance.

November 17^th 2007  It promises to be a good weather day. On the way up to the Krash Lab, I picked up 'nother five gallons of gas for Renegade. Yesterday, I got some Gumout Fuel System Cleaner from my favorite FLAPS. It's good for 21 gallons so I poured half of it in Renegade's tank, followed by the gas to mix it up a bit. Hooked up the power bleeder again and bled the clutch circuit. Pumped the bleeder pressure tank up to ten psi with a quart of DOT 3 fluid in it. This time, I pumped the clutch pedal fast, six times, then fixed it, pressed to the floor, with a helper board. Bled a couple of ounces off, then repeated the whole process two more times. After that, I had a firm clutch pedal for the first time in twenty-three months. Life is good!

Started Renegade up. I've got a "check engine" light. Damnation! I'm not gonna get off that easy afterall. A few weeks ago, I got a Innova Equus 3140 Can OBD II and I scan tool from Amazon.com for work on BettyLou. It's 'sposed to work with Jeeps 1993 and up. The fly in the buttermilk is that Renegade is a '91.

I found the proper Chrysler diagnostic connector under the hood so, I said "what the hell", and hooked it up. Followed the instructions and was rewarded with two trouble codes: DTC:24 Throttle Position Sensor Input Above The Maximum Acceptable Voltage and DTC:33 An Open Or Shorted Condition Detected In The A/C Clutch Relay Control Circuit. Pondered the manual fer awhile. Found out how to test the Throttle Position Sensor and the A/C Relay and where the heck they were in the engine bay. I'm not very good with electronics. It's all voodoo to me. Got the multi-meter out and, if I did the Throttle Position Sensor tests correctly, it is indeed outside parameters. The relay tested OK but I don't know how to test it under load. I thought of swapping it with the fog lamp relay but they are different model numbers and that is probably a bad idea. I went online to NAPA and ordered both items.

December 2^nd 2007  The pain and suffering continues. The throttle position sensor and relay finally arrived from NAPA this week . . . Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! This is not a relay. It's a relay socket. Damnation! Went online and checked NAPA's website. I put a relay in the shopping basket. When it hits the basket, it turns into a socket. Same thing happens at RockAuto's site. I take that back. It does say connector on the NAPA site but it's mixed in with relays and the a/c relay is the only one not available. At the RockAuto site, it sez harness in the description but relay in the title and picture.

I went to Advance Auto Parts and the counter guy gave me a GP Sorensen MR78. I would have felt better about it if he had let me finsh saying "1991 Jeep Wrangler A/C Clutch Relay" before disappearing into the stacks. If this thing doesn't work, I'll try Chrysler Parts Direct. Shipping takes a long time with them but they do have it listed under the original part number.

I didn't even get to the relay today tho' since I ran into a brick wall with the throttle position sensor. This thing fits to the back of the throttle body and you can't see the two screws holding it on. After a minute or two fiddling with it, I knew it was gonna have to come off. Two electrical connectors, throttle cable and four capscrews later, I had it in the Krash Lab to remove the sensor. The screws are the acursed torx screws. They are tight. I think I'm the first human to touch them as they seem to have been put on by a malignant robot on the assembly line. I finally get one out. Damnation! It's a fine-thread self-tapping deal that is triangular in cross-section, not round. I then broke my two T20 torx bits on the other one. One bit sheared and the other one twisted. I just know that if I keep messin' with this, it will break off.

I go online to Quadratec and order a Rock-It Hi-Flow Throttle Body. As long as I'm going with a new throttle body, I might as well as go performance. Then I go to the SnapOn Tools website and order a quality replacement T20 torx bit. At least, the weather is good today. I grab coffee and a cigar to consider what my next moves will be. I sit on the back stoop on a bubble chair. The air compressor comes on and I go over to shut it off. I hear a noise behind me and turn to see the bubble chair roll over my coffee. Murphy wins today.

December 8^th 2007  It's a good weather day. Worked on my truck, BillyBob, 'til noon then continued on Renegade's resurrection. The throttle body arrived during the week. It was $209 plus 'nother $209 for the core charge plus shipping. You can see how much it's bored out by comparing it with the old throttle body. All the metal beyond the edge of the gasket is gone on the new one. It also matches more closely the diameter of the Poweraid Helix Throttle Body Spacer that I installed back in March of '03. Installed the new throttle position sensor with standard stainless steel #10 - 32 screws and anti-seize compound in lieu of the accursed torx screws. The instructions for the throttle body sez to tap the torx screws to "shock" the sealant before removing them. I didn't do that and I don't know if that might have saved me from breaking two torx bits. I also installed a new fuel injection idle air control valve I ordered some time back. The "probe" on the working end of this thing didn't look like the old one. Most alarming to me was that it was a quarter inch shorter. I put it on anyway and put the new throttle body on the engine. Time for the moment of truth. Cranked the engine and it started up but wouldn't idle lower than 2,000 rpm. I turned it right off again.

Back into the Krash Lab with the throttle body to put the old fuel injection idle air control valve on the new throttle body. It was a bit sooty lookin' but I was pretty shure the new one wasn't working properly. With the throttle body back on the engine again, it was started for the second time . . . That's better! It settled down to a 900 rpm idle and it didn't stumble when I blipped the pedal. The "Check Engine" light was out even tho' I hadn't put the A/C relay in yet and the socket was empty. I turned the engine off and put the relay in.

Put Renegade's license tag back on with stainless steel connectors and took him for a ride around the block. Feels pretty good and the clutch hydraulics are holding too. I'm feeling good. Time to break out the beer. This week it is Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale.

December 9^th 2007  After I got to the Krash Lab this morning in BillyBob, I took a shakedown run up to the warehouse and back in Renegade. Feels strong but it's been twenty-three months since I've driven the jeep. I did notice that the speedo was not workin' so that bears some investigation. When I got back to the Krash Lab, I noticed that the wire for the oil pressure switch was off and had been for some time. I didn't take it off or even know what it was. Had to do some research on the intarweb to find out what the heck this thing is. The guage has always shown good pressure. I reconnected it. OK, Renegade is good to go fer awhile. I don't know what's next fer the jeep. It's either coolant system or exhaust system improvements. For the time being, I have to concentrate on getting BettyLou back on the road and my attentions to Renegade will consist of regular maintenance and cleanup.

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Issued Sunday December 9, 2007

Updated Thursday April 26, 2018

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