My 93 Restoration Project

Body work while fender was off and then the after pics with the fender attached back on.

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Some riding where there are building up land for subdivisions. Day before my cranking issue. I was also too lazy to put my fender flare back on. It was a B-word to get off in the first place.

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Back in the shop. I have to take a screwdriver to solenoid to get it started in order to move it around the shed. Scares the shit out of me every time whilst banging the back of my head on the front tire.

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Thermostats control the minimum operating temp not the high end Your 180 degree tstat will open up at 180 degrees but the radiator is what controls the high end of the temps.

A big problem Jeeps have is getting air trapped in the engine's head creating hot spots. The system needs to be burped to get the air out and doing it on level ground may not work. I burped the air out of the system by raising the front end about 12 inches on some wheel cribs I made but you can also use ramps or park on a steep incline. Something to get the radiator up over the height of the engine. I trashed a company XJ 4.0 on the highway when it overheated and had just had a fluid change. Happened very quickly. The dealership explained the situation and what happened. They saw it all the time.

The proper thermostat should have a little loose rivet on going through the flange and should be positioned so that rivet is on the top side. It helps let air out.
 
Thermostats control the minimum operating temp not the high end Your 180 degree tstat will open up at 180 degrees but the radiator is what controls the high end of the temps.

A big problem Jeeps have is getting air trapped in the engine's head creating hot spots. The system needs to be burped to get the air out and doing it on level ground may not work. I burped the air out of the system by raising the front end about 12 inches on some wheel cribs I made but you can also use ramps or park on a steep incline. Something to get the radiator up over the height of the engine. I trashed a company XJ 4.0 on the highway when it overheated and had just had a fluid change. Happened very quickly. The dealership explained the situation and what happened. They saw it all the time.
I am not sure if it was burped properly with the 195*F thermos. It was already done before I bought it to bring it home. When I installed my 180*F thermos and got everything back together, and filling in some coolant, I drove it to where I could incline it in order to burp it. It says my Jeep should take 11 qrts, but I think it took in only 8 and that includes the reservoir tank as well.

Right now, my temp reads right below that first big tick halfway between 100 and 210 so 140 150?. It takes awhile for it to get to this temperature sometimes. Before it would read 210 in less than 5 minutes.

Even after driving on the road for a few hours it still sits below the first big tick. Granted, it has been pretty chilly lately in Louisiana.

The only time it went over the tick was when I was riding off road and playing with the 4x4.

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Next body project to see what I can do. It is crooked so it will need a beating and some welding. I have been contemplating to find a new one in good condition. I had one someone was selling for $150 at a junkyard, I should have bought it. Oh well.

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Trying to lower steering column to get to ignition switch. I believe it to be the issue after some help from others. I would also like to try and fix this guy. I my PRND needle is broke.

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Purchase log so far:

Doors - $300 total
Softtop/hardware - $150
Temp Gauge - $39.02
Rearview Mirror- $29.99
2x Side Marker - $9.98
Taillights - $59.98
2x Front Lamp- $15.98
Lwr Steer Shaft- $124.99
8x Hinge Screws- $15.92
Cowl Wthr strip- $36.99
Wndshld Tiedwn- $14.99
2x striker pin- $7.98
2x wipers- $9.98
Hinge Bushing- $22.49
L/R Mirrors- $96.34
Grille Bushing- $9.98
2x Grille washer-
OEM Side steps- $75
 
I am not sure if it was burped properly with the 195*F thermos. It was already done before I bought it to bring it home. When I installed my 180*F thermos and got everything back together, and filling in some coolant, I drove it to where I could incline it in order to burp it. It says my Jeep should take 11 qrts, but I think it took in only 8 and that includes the reservoir tank as well.

Right now, my temp reads right below that first big tick halfway between 100 and 210 so 140 150?. It takes awhile for it to get to this temperature sometimes. Before it would read 210 in less than 5 minutes.

Even after driving on the road for a few hours it still sits below the first big tick. Granted, it has been pretty chilly lately in Louisiana.

The only time it went over the tick was when I was riding off road and playing with the 4x4.

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As stated, thermostat sets the minimum temp, radiator and rest of cooling system sets the maximum temp. The 195° is proper. Mopar thermostats for the YJ aren’t truly from Mopar anymore so my typical default thermostat is the Stant Superstat 195°. I’d recommend going with something similar and of course, not the fail safe version.

As for burping, the system burps itself. A warm up cycle pushes air out as it warms up and when it cools down, the system will suck up coolant back from the reservoir. Keep coolant in the reservoir and do a few warm up-cool down cycles and it’ll naturally purge the air itself. Or, you can speed the process up by using a universal funnel kit and letting the Jeep warm up. The air will bubble out and replace itself with coolant.

Considering how much you flushed it, if you install a proper thermostat and make sure it’s all burped, I think you’ll be ok. 210° is certainly normal and where you want to be. If it goes much past that, maybe look into a fan clutch or a water pump swap.
 
1993 Automatic 4.0L Inline 6 with 175,000 miles.

It was really tough finding a decentish YJ with a 6cyl. I wish it were a manual, but it was hard being that picky too. Found this Jeep 8 hours away from me for $3500.It was a steal considering I found many others in worse condition for $5,000. The owner who sold it held it for me and facetimed up and down the Jeep before we made the drive. My dad and I towed it back home and have begun working on it. Now I am officially a Jeep owner with my first Jeep.

Completed so far:
Removed nasty wet carpet, washed and dried out tub.
Bought green half doors
Fixed broken temperature gauge
Bought Bestop soft top w/hardware (still need to attach hardware)
Changed out Oil Pressure Switch (It was leaking a good bit of oil, still and oil leak somewhere though)

I bought this YJ because I love the square light (I blame Jurassic Park) and I love the simplicity and ruggedness of this vehicle. I also wanted something to fix up and teach me some skills along the way. I found it interesting that this one in particular was originally owned in Hawaii and ended up in Arizona and then Tennessee.

There is still a great bit of things to do to this Jeep before I get it to where I want it and I only have so much income flowing at once lol.

Planned so far:
Get 4x4 working (Vacuum tubes are disconnected and all over the place, currently researching fix)
Sand rust from tub and spray
Replace passenger side sway bar ( driver side has a quick disconnect while pass doesn't. I would think you would want it on each side)
Replace all ball joints
May need to replace steering shaft
Troubleshoot horn (not working)
Replace Tailgate
Replace female end driver side seatbelt (Hard to find)
Replace seats (Not priority)
Repaint (Not priority)

New things are popping up everyday.

Thanks for reading. I will be updating as I go! May take years.

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I enjoyed ur story! I recently bought a YJ. It’s been done in the Jurassic Park theme. I plan to murder it out, but I get so much interest that I might leave it. Just took the near new radio and sound bar out as I don’t need music. Plan to sell. Have near new green carpet I’ll be pulling out too and selling. (Want no carpet). Good luck with ur project!!!! Ed
 
My temps now look like they are reading too low and it seems my thermostat opens up before reaching 180*F. My gauge is new and so is the temp sensor. So idk. I am tired of replacing gaskets. I will add more to this later posts
There's also the sending unit and wire connectors which can be a problem before replacing the sender try pulling off the wire connector and clean up the tab with sandpaper so it gets a good connection.

I had a temp rise off the scale but the engine was relatively cool. I found the connector loose and corroded. Also don't wrap the sending unit with Teflon tape to seal it as it needs to be grounded to the head.

You'll find lots of corrosion on bulbs, connectors and relays as you start digging into it and more often than not cleaning them up first will solve lots of problems.
 
I enjoyed ur story! I recently bought a YJ. It’s been done in the Jurassic Park theme. I plan to murder it out, but I get so much interest that I might leave it. Just took the near new radio and sound bar out as I don’t need music. Plan to sell. Have near new green carpet I’ll be pulling out too and selling. (Want no carpet). Good luck with ur project!!!! Ed
Haha thanks. That is a nice looking JP Jeep you have there. You bought it like that? What are you planning with it if not JP look?
 
There's also the sending unit and wire connectors which can be a problem before replacing the sender try pulling off the wire connector and clean up the tab with sandpaper so it gets a good connection.

I had a temp rise off the scale but the engine was relatively cool. I found the connector loose and corroded. Also don't wrap the sending unit with Teflon tape to seal it as it needs to be grounded to the head.

You'll find lots of corrosion on bulbs, connectors and relays as you start digging into it and more often than not cleaning them up first will solve lots of problems.
Yea, there is a good bit of clean up to do wiring wise, which was going to be my project this week since I had off, but I am still having the starting issue. Hopefully I will have that figured out tomorrow. I have it narrowed down to neutral safety switch, connection, or solenoid. I don't believe it to be solenoid though.
 
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Alright, next update. I got the Jeep starting again Nov. 25. It could have been sooner if I checked the Neutral Safety Switch first! Oh, well. At least now I know how to lower my steering wheel and get to the ignition switch and dimmer switch. Talk about a B-word getting to the bolts underneath on the firewall.

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While looking for the Neutral Safety Switch, I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it looking at me. Hey little guy!

After running back and forth to Autozone, on the forums, and diagnosing different things, all it was, was the NSS being unplugged.

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Dad tried to help fix the damage to the tailgate. He sanded it with a grinder and tried using a Mig Welder, but the tailgate metal was so thin, it kept making the hole bigger. He added some stuff to cover the holes that has to activate in the Sun and sanded that down. I will have to double check to what he used. Here are the before pictures:

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