Lumpskie's 1989 Grand Wagoneer Build

[lumpskie]

I'm new to Jeeps and domestic vehicles in general but I am absolutely smitten with my Grand Wagoneer. So, I figured I'd share my experiences and mistakes as I slowly turn this Jeep into the family road trip/camping/exploration vehicle!

Current Pictures:

Here's what I started with:

1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Engine - AMC 360, 2 Barrel Motocraft 2150 Carb
Transmission - Torque Flight 727, 3 speed no overdrive
Transfercase - New Process 229, 2wd, AWD, 4WD Lo
Axles - Dana 44 front and rear









Here's the work that was done just prior to me buying the rig: (By Jones Automotive in Ft. Collins)
New pistons (either .020 or .030 over)
Crank ground
New motor mounts
New Flex Plate
New Water Pump
New Thermostat
New Oil Pump
New Hoses
New Fan Clutch
Electric Fuel Pump
New Radiator Cap


My Maintenance work:

New Alternator
Replaced alternator wiring
Repaired driver's side window wiring
Repaired Radio
Sony Rear Speakers
Repaired rear window switch
Repaired rear window felt tracks
New Smog Pump
Replaced outer front wheel bearings
Replaced front spindle bearings
Replaced front outer axle oil seals
Replaced inner front wheel bearings
New distributor cap and rotor
New plug wires
New radiator (BJ's stock replacement)
New Fan
New Fan Clutch
New Water Pump

Modifications:

10" travel Gabriel Guardian Shocks
2" lift Alcan leaf springs, custom length
Mombasa Roof Top Tent
Yakima, 4 bar, drip rail roof rack

 

[lumpskie]

So, the one problem the rig had was that no charge was coming from the alternator. I pulled the alternator replaced it... still no charge. This was ok, though because the old alternator's bearings were getting "crunchy" feeling. So I started going through wires and found one that felt detached INSIDE the insulation. I cut the insulation away and that was the case. I twisted the two ends together and got a charge from the alternator.



My friend and I, then cut the bad section of wire out and soldered a new section in. Good as new!

 

[lumpskie]

So, the rear driver's side window didn't work from the back seat, but it did from the driver's seat. Reason?

Broken wire:



Also, I installed a real battery tie down.

 

[lumpskie]

So my front door locks don't unlock. I tried lubing up the locking mechanism but it didn't work. I think I need new lock return springs.

 

[lumpskie]

After that, I had to take care of some rust that had started in on the roof. I found a rust removal product that seems to work really well. It's called "A Must for Rust" and it worked way better than I expected on some surface rust on my roof. Check it out!

Before:


2 minute soak and 10 seconds of rubbing with a paper towel:


5 minute soak and rubbing with a shop rag:



Also, my dad gave me a roll of Mopar wood panel he had left over from the old family Plymouth Voyager. If I ever repaint and redo the wood on the Waggy, this might be handy!

 

[tgreening]

As I recall, but its been awhile, there are no lock return springs unless someone has added them aftermarket. I think what you'll find is the mechanisms are a bit gummy and drag, the wiring is corroded at the connections and in general in less than stellar shape, and possibly the electric lock itself is getting weak. Poor wiring is practically a given on these, especially considering the age and the relative complexity of it. Grand Wagoneers were pretty upscale as an SUV back in the day.

BJ's Offroad will get you most of the replacement parts you might need, though if you decide to lift I strongly recommend against theirs. It is fairly cheap as far as lifts go, and rides like the axles are welded to the frame. Their advice at the time (years now), was to grab a handful of my fatest friends and have them bounce up and down on the bumper for 5 minutes. No joke. I put 500 lbs of salt in the back and rode around for 6 months with it. Never changed a thing. But they do have a butt-load of parts.

Here's mine (sold) wining first place something or other at the All Breeds Jeep Show ove in PA.

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If you have any questions feel free to ask. My less than stellar memory might be able to answer.

Oh, and ifsja dot com or org, cant remember off hand, will be a wealth of info on all things full size Jeep.

 

[lumpskie]

Hey tgreening,

Thanks for the information. That's a beautiful rig you had. By any chance, was it featured in Four Wheeler magazine, or similar? I think I've seen pictures of it on the internet somewhere...

Now. The door locks. When I press the "unlock" button, I can see the lock raise slightly but get stuck. After I release the button, it returns to the locked position. I was thinking that these might help:

http://www.bjsoffroad.com/prod-962.htm

Also, I just got a set of Alcan's on order. I talked with Bill on the phone for about 30 minutes and he said that he could get me a "Cadillac ride" and some decent flex when he's done. I hope he's right!

 

[tgreening]

Yeah, it was July issue of Four Wheeler Magazine. Cant remember the year.

I dont think those springs are to assist in lifting the mechanism. They're just there to stop it from falling down. If you arent having trouble now with your doors locking themselves, these probably wont help you, but it wouldnt hurt either.

I'll bet if you take a meter you'll find low voltage at the electric lock. Almost all my switch and motor connections were bad. Bad is in corroded connections. Corrosion on the wires themselves. The kind where the wire starts turning green and powdery back up under the insulation. Poor grounds, etc etc. Very few of my switches were bad, they all just had bad contacts. I took apart most of my door switches and cleaned them up and good as new.

Wiring was the constant battle. If I had kept it I probably would have ended up yanking it all and rewiring everything.

On the doors, you can start by cleaning all the "joints" of the linkage. I'm guessing there is a fair amount of drag in the system due to gummed up old lubricant and dirt. Clean the beejeezus out of it and relube as little as possible with some lithium grease. Thats a start. Then check voltages, clean contacts, fix corroded wire, etc. I'd do all that before I started throwing parts at it. I can almost guarantee it needs done anyway.

Hey tgreening,

Thanks for the information. That's a beautiful rig you had. By any chance, was it featured in Four Wheeler magazine, or similar? I think I've seen pictures of it on the internet somewhere...

Now. The door locks. When I press the "unlock" button, I can see the lock raise slightly but get stuck. After I release the button, it returns to the locked position. I was thinking that these might help:

http://www.bjsoffroad.com/prod-962.htm

Also, I just got a set of Alcan's on order. I talked with Bill on the phone for about 30 minutes and he said that he could get me a "Cadillac ride" and some decent flex when he's done. I hope he's right!

 

[lumpskie]

Good idea. I'll get my meter out and check for voltage. I cleaned the mechanism once, but I'll take everything apart this time and really give it a good cleaning. Honestly, getting the power locks working will really improve my quality of life when driving the Waggy. Thanks for the advice and I'll post up my results!


Also, to catch up with where the rig is at now:

I got my radio working... only needed a new fuse!

After I got the radio working, I put $10 worth of junk yard speakers in the rear to replace the original Jensen units. Honestly, I'm surprised at the quality of the Jensen units. If they were still new, I'd probably take them over the new Sonys.

 

[lumpskie]

My dash mount rear window switch didn't work when I got the Grand Wagoneer. It would roll down the rear window, but wouldn't roll it back up. So, my dad and I tackled that project.

First, we verified that the switch was good with a multi-meter. It turns out that there was a coating on the connector prongs. After a little sanding, It checked out.


Next, we checked out the tailgate. There was a lot of old lithium grease in there, but it seemed like there was a lot of resistance against the rear window. So, we re-lubed the gears and slides in there.


Then we found the real culprit:

The window tracks. Here's what we found:

One side of the track is totally worn out while the other is in good shape. This gave us an idea:



Final design:



We sprayed everything down with silicon lube and the windows rolls up and down in 3.5 seconds!

While we were in there, we found out why the rear defroster wasn't working... cut wire. So, we soldered it back together.


Now, the dash switch works, the window slides smoother and more quietly and the rear defroster works!

 

[lumpskie]

And, one last post:

I bought cheap Roof Top Tent I found on Craigslist. I got it with a 4 bar roof rack system for $350. My thinking is that this will be a relatively cheap way to give RTT camping a try. If we really get into it, we can upgrade later on and probably not loose too much money on the deal.


Here it is closed:





Here's the Yakima Rack stuff:


And here's the tent open:

 

[tgreening]

I couldn't deal with the RTT and sold it. It was kind of cool being up high and all, it sure beat sleeping on the ground, but unless I was parking someplace for days it proved to be kind of a pain in the ********. Every day I had to close it to go run about, then set it back up when back at camp. Set up and take down every evening and morning got old fast. I'd rather have mounted it to a trailer. Plus it's still a tent, and tents are loud. If there is anyone anywhere near you you can hear them talk, snore, fart, you name it. Always carried a few sets of ear plugs.

 

[Mitch502]

$350 for a RTT is insane. Wish more people around here would sell some.

 

[lumpskie]

Hey tgreening,

I can see your point about the tent. We'll see if it ends up being something we love or not. What I told my wife is, let's get this cheap one and see if we like it. After a year or two, we can sell it for what we bought it for and either get a fancier RTT or go in a different direction. This weekend we'll give it its first test run and see how it goes.

$350 for a RTT is insane. Wish more people around here would sell some.

Yeah, I was really happy with that deal! The two Yakima racks were worth more than $350 by themselves!

In other news, I got new tires on the Waggy. I bought the Yokohama AT/S in 30x9.5 size... one inch bigger than stock. Total price was only $468, after I sold my old tires for $35! I'm pretty impressed with the thoughtfulness that went into the tread design. I like the interlocking tread blocks and I also like how the block sipes don't extend all the way through. It looks like these tires should do awesome in moderate snow and dirt (17/32" tread depth should help with that)... ok in rocks but poorly in mud. I can't wait to see if I'm right.

Pictures:

 

[4xchinook4]

Love the wagon! The picture post s ate what Make this a build thread.