Gradon's Stroker Project

[John]

Might give your machinist a call and ask if he has any bar stock Oilite on hand, if so he can cut you one to whatever size you want. I have made too many in the past from this excellent material. Most shops keep it on hand.Sounds like your motor is doing fine.
John

[gradon]

So I drained the tranny and the magnet had what I considered more small metal particles and a few shaving than there should be. The nose of the shaft looked fine, so I think the bushing is fine. I swapped in the 96 tranny. Tomorrow I need to track down some MT-90 and finish bolting in the starter, slave, and shifter.

[gradon]

Swapped the trannies and the noise is gone! Guess I'll be rebuilding a tranny in the future. Drove to work and came outside to see that the speed sensor housing was leaking the precious MT-90. Had to do an emergency drain and pull the gear out, clean it, caulk it, and then reinstall in same position. Wait 8 hours until I get off and yank out the shifter and refill. Start driving to realize gear isn't meshed w/ the one in tranny, so no speed and Jeep cuts out when coming to a stop because it doesn't run the deceleration fuel map because it doesn't know it's decelerating w/o a speed input. Anyhow, minor inconvenience when compared to everything else. I want Innovate to hurry up and release the lm-2 so I can data log and begin to tune the PSC1, find out if I need to get some injectors. When installing the distro w/ the rotor to be just past #1@TDC, it was about 1/4" past it. I'm sure I've read the exact amount it should be past it, but can anyone refresh my memory?

[John]

Try it this way, it works for me. http://go.jeep-xj.info/DistributorIndex.pdf
John

[gradon]

That article implies piston 1 is @ TDC. It is also lining up the leading edge--not the trailing edge just past #1 as I read before. Mine is currently setup with the trailing edge a 1/4" or so past #1, so it's probably 5-10* off compared to that pdf. I fooled with the speedo gear and still couldn't get it working--even with the rear axle on jack stands and my friend inside with it in first and giving it gas while I rotate it, so I guess tomorrow I'll have to drain the tranny again and pull it out.

[nick]

hey bro, I am sure you already checked, but did you make sure your speedo kill switch was disengaged? Additionally making sure nothing happened to the speedo wire on its travel up the hot side of the engine compartment to where you have your wires for the kill?

[gradon]

The speedo was working when I put the MT-90 in(after swapping the 96 ax15 back in). I had to take it out to seal it and I put it back in the same way, but it obviously isn't meshing with the gear inside. I think the gear might have come off or is pulled out a bit, so I'll drain it today and use the pump to put the oil back in instead of yanking out the shifter again(and again).

[gradon]

I drained the tranny and removed the speedo housing. The gear was not attached and was lodged down in the tranny. I didn't want to remove the shifter, but had to anyways to get to the gear. I used a coat hanger to pick it up and shove it to the tail section, where I could pull it out. A couple of the teeth were chewed up, so I had to take a razor blade to smooth them out. Put the gear back on the housing, caulked the seal and installed it back onto the tranny, jacked up the rear axle to verify that the gear was spinning(have to remove the bolt that holds the plug in and remove plug to see the shaft spinning). I also tried rotating the distro to leading edge @#1, but the engine didn't run good at all in that position, so I put it back to the trailing edge right past #1. The engine is hesitating a little and I think it is running lean(although there is no pinging). Gonna have to wait a while till I can afford that lm2.

[John]

Have you read the spark plugs yet? That can really tell you a lot. Read them hot, if you use octane boosters, it usually colors the enamel and makes it confusing to read.
John

[gradon]

I'll do that today as well as try to get the downpipe>cat junction sealed properly(the Borla downpipe aims up about 15*. I used the champion rc9yc(colder range), but have a good used set of double plat autolites that I can swap in if the champions are sooty. I'll also use the pop's scan tool to see what the fuel rims are--a good indication if I do need larger injectors(25.5# w/ the lt-1s or 26.9# with the FMS on the 49psi rail).

[gradon]

So I've been foolin with the PSC1-002 a little. Then yesterday I went back to the stock MAP and then took out the distro and cut the tangs(I had to use it) off. I then did the "spin one direction until it cuts off>>spin opposite direction until it cuts off>>repeat>>put in the middle of the two and tighten down. She's running better, but still needs to be tuned(esp hard throttle/WOT@2100-2300 range). The rpms on the r4 software are low compared to actual(I'm taking the tach signal directly from the back of the cluster)so I'm wondering if I need to tap the crank position sensor(pre-ecu) instead of the actual tach signal(post-ecu). I'll ask Split Second. Anyhow I'm at the 400mi mark and will be doing an oil change sometime next week. I'll have to order a case of the Brad Penn 10w30.

[dwg86]

What injectors are you running? Do you have any detonation problems? What octane gas have you benn using? Do you like the way it runs? Did you install the cam straight up ur 4 degree advance? Sorry for so many questions.

[gradon]

I'm still using the stock 23.2#, but am leaning towards getting a rebuilt set of the LT1s. I've been running 93 w/o pinging, although I do feel it runs lean. After fooling with the PSC1-002 yesterday, I know I can richen up the 23.2s to work fine(albeit at a higher duty cycle). I have the mopar30 installed straight up, due to this being my first build. I've had it 80-100 a couple times already and it is definitely stronger than my previously maxed out bolt-on 96 setup and still wants to pull. So that being said, I would like to see how the cam advanced 4* would bring the powerband lower, but this would also raise my 8.54:1 DCR (which is supposedly already in the red) to 8.74:1.

[Flash]

I think i would try lower octane fuels before i changed cam timing.

one more thing, didn't the renix version us a 4 syl tack signal, whether it was a 4 syl or 6?

What year is you jeep?

Flash

EDIT never mind yours ins 96 HO...........pretty sure that was only done on the renix models

[gradon]

i agree--if it can't run w/o pinging on 89/91, then it would be foolish to advance the cam.