Moby - 2001 Jeep Cherokee (XJ)

In other news, I got some parts today!

Solid Axle has all of their diff covers on sale, most 1/2 price, hard to say no to that, so I ordered a front and rear diff cover for Moby. What's a little more unsprung weight?

Came with RTV, and STICKERS!!!

Thanks for the heads up on the Solid diff covers being on sale. Gonna order a d30/8.25 set for the gf's trail beater XJ.

I guess Moby's A/C compressor wasn't up to being put back into service, it had been on the DL too long to be put back into the batting order full time.

So now I've got an A/C compressor to replace.

I've driven Moby to work 3 times in the last couple weeks, and it's been out to the farm a few times since having the A/C up and running again, maybe 400 miles since I got the A/C working again, and now I get to do more A/C work. At least the dash doesn't have to come out this time.

I will bring over the Comanche and we will have a/c charging party. I'll even bring your d44 to you. :)

In reply to ridinwitcj73:

Moby hasn't moved since diagnosing compressor clutch bearing failure. I bought a new Denso compressor to replace it, figured with the age/mileage I may as well go ahead and replace the whole thing. Said new compressor has been in Moby's front passenger floor board for a few weeks now.

In the mean time I had to replace my Volvo's A/C compressor as well, I put the compressor in, and put the belt back on so it's driveable, but still need to replace the accumulator and orifice tube on it.

I've got plenty of A/C charging to do. We should probably wait until it's warmer weather again though, my vacuum pump won't draw enough inHg to get all the moisture out unless the ambient is 80°+, so maybe in the Spring. Could probably get away with getting the engine up to temp, and turning he torpedo heater on in the garage though, the struggle would be fitting a vehicle in the garage and closing the door.

I can come get that axle sooner if it's in the way.

Is the Comanche R134? I put schrader valve adapters on dad's John Deere to use my R134 manifold on its R12 A/C system. I used some stuff called Red Tek 12a in his tractor, that's supposed to work in place of R134a or R12. I didn't replace anything, or do anything special, other than the adapters, I pulled a vacuum on it for half an hour, and charged it with a 4oz can of Red Tek seal conditioner, a 4oz can of Red Tek universal oil, and 3 6oz cans of Red Tek 12a, in June and it's still blowing cold.

It's not in the way. The Comanche is r12 so I am glad to hear that Red Tek worked in your dads tractor! The A/C in the Comanche was blowing cold until I had to break the lines loose so it shouldn't take much to get it charged back up. High jack over carry on. :)

Not an update of substance, but I did finally put the A/C compressor on over the weekend. I pulled vacuum on it for a while, but it wouldn't get much past 25 in Hg, and I could watch the needle go back to atmospheric as soon as you turned the pump off. Everything you read warns not to reuse the gaskets/o-rings, but this is the first time that that warning has held true for me. New A/C line to compressor gaskets are on their way.

I also managed to break the fan shroud, it's been epoxied back together, and has some "high-tensile strength" tooth picks epoxied across the break for good measure.

Since I had the glazed/cracked belt off I replaced it with a new one from Gates.

I cranked the engine up, belt screamed, worse than I remembered. I figured I didn't have the tensioner tight enough. However, after a little investigating, the Alternator is locked up, not turning at all.

The alternator and compressor are both on the same side of the engine. I thought maybe I had miss diagnosed the noise, and that the original noise was actually coming from the alternator. Inspecting the compressor I removed though shows that it's sure enough got a shot bearing. That's just too much of a coincidence though, for both to fail at basically the same time.

Another clue though, is that basically everything on that side of the engine has a film of rust on it, even the aluminum alternator housing.

Then it hit me, when I patched the rust hole under the battery tray, I got grinder dust everywhere, and the two closest accessories to where I was working were, you guessed it, the compressor and alternator.

After I patched that hole, I blew everything off with compressed air, but obviously not good enough, I probably blew more metal dust into the alternator and compressor clutch when I was blowing on them. I obviously didn't do good enough of a job of protecting things while working. I had wrapped the A/C hard lines in that area with foil, and had built a little shield out of foil, to protect the engine accessories, but between ham fisted me working in a small area, and the wind, my shield didn't stay in place too long.

Basically I ruined both the alternator and compressor.

Now I'm shopping for an alternator, new is cheaper than a reman, but I read horror stories about new made in China alternators dying quickly and often. I might be able to have this one rebuilt.

Story of my life, "I do dumb things."

I've given Photobucket the boot, and am hosting my own photos on my own site now. I've gone through and fixed all the image links that I can. There's a spot or two where a post of mine with image links were quoted, and the quote still has the original Photobucket links in it, nothing I can do about those, but the content I originally posted is all fixed now.

I've not updated this in over a year now. Though not much has changed. I have collected parts in the mean time.

Sad thing is Moby has sat long enough that the fancy $$$ Yellow Top Optima I put in it is dead as a hammer. My little Schumacher "smart" charger doesn't have an AMG/Gel setting, and keeps saying "check battery." I read the Optima manual I had stuck in the glove box, they claim I can connect another fully charged battery to the Optima, and then connect my charger to it, and get it to take a charge that way. I guess I'm willing to experiment.

Moby has been doing a fine job of holding the driveway in place and storing stuff. I now have everything I need to put the Truetrac in the front, and I bought a rebuilt Ford 8.8 LSD from East Coast Gear Supply. I've also got a 4.10 ring and pinion for the front D30 to match the 8.8.

I even bought a Harbor Freight 20 ton press around April of last year, but it's still in the boxes it came in, in the back of Moby.

I've finally gotten over the hump with my health, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever ain't no joke, I've got most of my energy back, and a little motivation. I've currently got a little ATV project in the garage, as soon as that's out of the way, Moby will finally be getting some much deserved attention.

Slow and steady wins the race....keep at it.