Rob's 1988 Baltic Blue & Tan Grand Wagoneer Restoration

[MysticRob]

That does not look like damage; that looks like the notch that indictates the front of the piston...

I can't remember which side of the block that piston was on, but could be. Certainly is an odd shape though, not an arrow, or concentric shape.

All I know is there was a lot of oil build-up due to the blow-by, a lot of pitting (maybe from low spots in the build-up?), and what looked like that irregular chunk taken out. Figured that was likely why I had so much oil blow-by in the air cleaner.

At some point I'll do a compression and leak-down test just to see what's what prior to the tear-down. No matter what, the old thing needs some work, and I have no idea how many miles are on the engine, nor how rough those miles were.

[rang-a-stang]

[/url]PXL_20220615_020847107 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

...

That does not look like damage; that looks like the notch that indictates the front of the piston...

[cu4whln]

Bummer ...

At least its home, not stranded somewhere.

Watching with interest ....

[MysticRob]

Well that is a fine "Welcome to AZ" your truck gave you :/

Looks like a tear down, crack it open, and see what happened.

Do you suspect it started from above with debris through the intake?

Can't imagine head issues, as the problem is on opposing sides, but towards the rear.

I was pretty happy it made it to AZ, especially knowing I'd kludged a lifter replacement to get her running (old lifter was dished on #1 intake side so I just popped in a different lifter).
It was definitely the pistons coming apart in those 2 cylinders, as it had run fine for 100s of miles prior to that. I didn't even bother to scope the other 6 cylinders, figure the damage I saw in 5 and 8 was enough to tell me they're probably all pretty bad. Gotta figure it lean-burned into self-destruction when the engine shut down on the highway those 3 times in the snow. Still no idea what happened, as it started right back up and ran okay.

I have no idea how badly this old thing was cared for before I got it a couple years ago either, so I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd need to throw cash at the drivetrain. Good timing too, the rear main seal started leaking pretty bad on the trip.

If I can be convinced that Edelbrock heads will make a difference, then I'll throw them on a rebuilt short-block, along with a 4bbl intake, headers, and a modern day EFI system. Hoping I get some feedback in that other thread I created last night.

[devildog80]

Well that is a fine "Welcome to AZ" your truck gave you :/

Looks like a tear down, crack it open, and see what happened.

Do you suspect it started from above with debris through the intake?

Can't imagine head issues, as the problem is on opposing sides, but towards the rear.

[MysticRob]

I had some time recently to troubleshoot and diagnose a rough running issue the beast developed on the drive from Boise to the bottom of AZ.
I created a new thread here to discuss rebuild and performance options:
https://ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthre...75#post1735975

The following is just copied and pasted from that new thread to document here.
I popped off the air cleaner assembly to begin diagnosis and was met with a ton of oil soaked into the air filter and drowned insects:
PXL_20220615_001841059 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

The oil in the air cleaner told me I had a major cylinder compression leak into the crankcase forcing oil up into the breather tube, so I decided to take out all the plugs to localize the problem.
I discovered both the #5 (3rd back on driver side) and #8 (furthest back on passenger side) plugs just bashed and mangled. Great, the Jeep had turned into a V-6!
#5 electrodes almost touching:
PXL_20220615_004615686 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

#8 electrodes touching and porcelain missing:
PXL_20220615_011313746 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

Knowing bashed plugs come from debris in the cylinder, I decided to scope them both. Behold, I have missing bits from the piston crown and cratering in other areas. Pic shows the cylinder in top right with crown damage, and mirror image seen on cylinder wall in bottom left:
PXL_20220615_020847107 by Robert Stone, on Flickr

I'm thinking it ran hot/lean/bad at some point, caused the breakage to those 2 piston crowns, and the bits bashed the plugs. I know it started running rougher and hotter than normal near Las Vegas, but I blamed that on the weather and altitude at the time. I now know those 2 dead cylinders were causing the rough and hot running.
The only cause of the damage I can point to is when the engine stopped running on the highway 3 different times during the cold weather part of the trip in NV @ 7,000ft. Oddly, it never cut out in sweltering Las Vegas or throughout the hot AZ portion of the trip, so I wasn't sure if it was the Howell kit, or something else that caused the engine to just die completely in the cold weather. Oddly, I never heard any pre-detonation or any other warnings before it cut out those 3 times. Engine just quit suddenly, so I pulled over and restarted the engine without any issues.
Since I was towing about 3,000 lbs of crap in a uhaul trailer, I just kept going till I got to SV, and parked the beast in the garage.

I'm currently trying to figure out the best path to get her back on the road. Thought about an LS swap, but I'd rather just keep the stock engine, wiring, and controls in it to keep things simple, though I might throw an AW4 OD transmission in it at some point once I get the engine plans finalized.

[MysticRob]

Glad you made the first trip, without incident other than barely passing the next gas station

I know I'm going to enjoy hauling the rest of our stuff from Boise to Sierra Vista a LOT more behind our Escape Hybrid!

I know the BFGs were a nice upgrade.

Oh man, yes. Those old mudders would've driven me nuts with their howling and uneven tread blocks shaking everything. I was amazed how smooth the KO2s drove, waggy felt great, save for the loose steering from slightly clunking ball joints and VERY worn steering box.

[SOLSAKS]

I know the BFGs were a nice upgrade.

[devildog80]

Glad you made the first trip, without incident other than barely passing the next gas station

[MysticRob]

Figured I'd update this thread now that I have some time. All went according to plan and I averaged about 8.5mpg on multiple fill-ups, which isn't bad for an old '88 hauling a 12ft dual-axle trailer full of tool-box, tools, parts, work bench, and many boxes of household goods.
Not sure on weight, but the beast really struggled in a snow storm at ~7,000 feet elevation (no timing adjustments on my Howell TBI install), and on some of the steeper grades past the Hoover Dam headed into AZ.
I had it floored on many sections where it kicked down to 2nd gear and stayed at 45-50mph. She's due for a coolant and oil/filter change for sure.
Been setting up everything in the house so won't be updating the thread for a while, but will update on what I find when I get that maintenance done.

[MysticRob]

Wow Sierra Vista.......almost Mexico!

Welcome to AZ

Looking forward to the new job and new surroundings!

Oh my! That's tomorrow!

Yeah, Marc, it sucks but the opportunity down there is just too good to pass up.
My wife is staying in Boise a couple months so I'll be back up here to move or sell some other stuff later, so maybe by then you'll be up here and we can meet up.

[devildog80]

Wow Sierra Vista.......almost Mexico!

Welcome to AZ

[rang-a-stang]

Picking up the Uhaul trailer on the 10th, loading it, then heading to AZ on the 11th, with an overnight stop in Lost Wages, NV for arrival in Sierra Vista on the 12th.

Oh my! That's tomorrow!

[cu4whln]

Nice!

You will love those tires....

[MysticRob]

Those tires look amazing in on there! When is the actual move date?

Picking up the Uhaul trailer on the 10th, loading it, then heading to AZ on the 11th, with an overnight stop in Lost Wages, NV for arrival in Sierra Vista on the 12th.