How to kill an XJ in one easy step!

[jeep4x4greg]

Quick update: I do have water in my cylinders, I pulled a couple spark plugs and looked in with a flash light and could see liquid inside there. I also checked my old oil and it appears to be fine, nothing out of the ordinary just dirty and old (been about 5000 miles since last change so it is time for that any way). I got the battery off and checked the voltage and it was just barely over 6 volts so it is on the charger right now. Hopefully once that is charged I can pull all the plugs and turn it over and get the water out!

you can also pull the plugs and rotate the engine by hand if you are able to reach on an XJ.... I know on a TJ you can do it if you reach down and turn the crank pully. this would be better than letting it sit with all that water in there....or pull a battery from a friends car and do it with his battery. the less time the water is in there the better.

also...your oil may look ok....but change it twice anyways.

 

[Root Moose]

also...your oil may look ok....but change it twice anyways.

Can't stress this enough...

 

[Payback]

And as stated before, hit the inside of the cylinders is ample amounts of WD-40. Gotta stop the bleeding!

 

[Black Dog]

The oil is getting changed for sure, its time by the odometer and just from what you guys have told me. Its been a weird week here so I haven't had the amount of time it takes to get underneath and drain everything but hopefully tonight will be the night. I was going to use the battery out of my wifes car but when I mentioned that she gave me the big HELL NO! because she doesn't want me screwing up her car too even though I told her it would be totally harmless.

 

[Momrocks]

We're all getting worried that more and more damage is occurring because you are not clearing the water fast enough. If you do have water in the cylinders I assure you rust is taking hold. It forms in very short order on cylinder walls. Your rotating assembly is also very susceptible to rusting if you have water in the crankcase. If your interior is soaked I will assume that axles and maybe transmission and transfer case were submerged overnight too. Those are uglier jobs than changing engine oil and cranking with spark plugs removed but they need love too. Time is really of the essence in order to mitigate further damage.

 

[Piet]

Here are some examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84KiGJNTZWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-HyZPBNFUI

 

[SWbySWesty]

Yes, stand clear of engine bay. We didn't know and were all peering into the engine bay when Eric turned over the motor...we all definitely jumped back QUICK!

 

[Black Dog]

That land cruiser even managed to hydrolock with a snorkel even. I wonder if he was driving too fast through the water and drove through his own bow wave or something. I was watching some videos of water fording earlier and learned that keeping your speed right in the sweet spot is critical, too slow and you get stuck but too fast and you go through the bow wave. I think what I did that got me into trouble (aside from fording deep water without a snorkel) was that I plowed into it hard and fast because the whole time there was water splashing up high. You can tell from my pictures the water wasn't that deep so there shouldn't have been any reason to not make it through. But still, I'm not going to try that again without checking the depth first or with that much current.

 

[BigAl]

Steam cleaning your seats should work. .

he already stream cleaned them, try and keep up.:sombrero:

 

[Black Dog]

Its alive! I cleared my cylinders between rain showers and everything went pretty smooth, the engine turned over easily with the starter and water squirted all over the place. I got that done just in time for more rain to start but didn't get new oil put in, so that will have to wait again. I did get a good coating of WD40 in there and got the spark plugs cleaned off as well, so after 2 or 3 fluid changes we should be fat and happy.

 

[Root Moose]

Good news!

Don't forget to inspect/replace the fluid in the differentials, transmission and transfer case.

 

[Black Dog]

When I do the differentials, what is the general process for doing that? And what should I use as a sealer when I put the cover back on?

 

[chet]

sucks that it died. If it was clean water (which it looks like it was) there is no reason to throw out any interior peices. They are just wet. lay them out in the sun and let them dry and then borrow a carpet cleaner and clean them to remove anything that will grow mold. and reinstall. Don't get too worried. If your motor is fine clean water rarely does major damage.

 

[Black Dog]

It was a little bit murky because it is snow melt and rain water from higher elevations. So far there is a pretty moldy musty odor in the jeep even though I've been airing it out with all the doors and hatch open. The carpet is still damp but the seats are dry so they are keepable, we've got a steam cleaner that I'm going to use on them. The Herculiner is something that I've been contemplating for some time now but have always justified not doing it because of the extra road noise and stuff but now I have a legitimate reason to do it so I'm going to. So far the best price for Herculiner I've found is from Northern Tool at $105+shipping for the one gallon starter kit and an extra quart.

 

[SWbySWesty]

When I do the differentials, what is the general process for doing that? And what should I use as a sealer when I put the cover back on?

Yes, unscrew bolt or take out plug on cover. Then undo all the bolts. Take a screwdriver and pry open the bottom of the case with your fluid catching device underneath. Hold the pry open (since it will be held tight by RTV sealant and let it drain. It'll smell terrible. Once fluid is mostly out, pry the whole cover off and let diff drain. I personally try to get as much goo out of it as possible with my fingers and some brake cleaner. Let it sit and drip until happy. Apply line of RTV sealant to cover edge after scraping all old sealant off the cover and diff housing. Reinstall cover with all bolts and sometimes you'll see some RTV come out the edges...just don't go overboard. Fill diff with fluid up to the hole. Reinstall plug/bolt. Enjoy.

PS: Diff fluid can be found at the auto parts store. I think it's 70w90 gear oil. Someone please chime in if that's incorrect, but it should be in your manual.