Hallo joeblack5 :

good - you received pages

tell me - do you know your oil consumption ?
and how does air filter look ?- remember you have a steel sleeved aluminum moteur - block and head
could be good compression once started and warmed up - a leak down test will tell better than a compression test - if a diesel starts - that means good enough compression - warm engine always has better compression than cold - little smoke at start up is normal in winter especially with a 20 + year old IDI ( indirect injected ) moteur - 20 years of crap in the pre cup ( combustion chamber ) - at this point I would be more interested in hw much oil you use per tank of fuel

my bottom end had tick when I purchased it - so i have not started my J8S since purchase - it sits waiting a rebuild - which I will start right after New Years - so I will be asking you advice soon enough

New brake line installed - 15 year old midwest snow plow bladed truck - cancerous - and just order Cupro Nickle lines from UK - fun fun will I have bending and flaring more brake line

annoying is to the injection system - is really the most complicated system on the car - as to the Merc W123 - where the vacuum system is the most complicated / annoying

cheers:

Hi Metric,

haven't checked the air filter. What is the relation to the sleeved alum block?
This morning -15 Celsius and started without engine block heater. ran rough for a minute with a lot of white smoke.
I have no good data on oil consumption yet. so far ( 200 miles oil level has not changed ).

Where is desert s.w.

Later

hallo joeblack5:

desert southwest - Arizona
I am wondering if you problem may also be one from fuel - if you are running ULSD - your truck will not run good on this - needs some sort of lubrication - either a blend of bio Diesel or some oil - Canola or Peanut oil in the tank - once you chase down the source of your air leak - look into biodiesel20 in your area - your truck will run best on this - the raw oil is not the best as there is stabilizers in the oil off the shelf unless you get 100% Pure oil - tuff to find unless in bulk - like 2000L purchase

Ouch - -15º c that is a frosty morning - pretty good without the block heater - ide say your compression is fine fine - once you see how your air filter looks - you'll know if you have blow by or not

cheers:
Aluminum block sleeved engines wear a bit different than cast iron block - the sleeves will expand and contract different in an aluminum block than in cast iron

Hi metric,
merry christmas if applicable,

Did not look at the air filter yet, The oil filler cap does not pop of when you unscrew it but that is of course not under load.

I plugged the electric block heat in to see if it would start faster and it did.
I tested the current through each glow plug and it is 13 to 14 Amp.

Still wondering about the temp and oil pressure gauge. Do you know the resistance versus temp / pressure of these sensors?

I will see if I can make some pictures of the oil filter setup.

The gear ratio's on this car are very pleasant and makes it fun to drive.
Our merecedes and Van are setup for WVO and I hope we can convert this car as well.

Later



Later

Hallo joeblack5

dunno if I can answer this right now - need some investigation - am in the throws of seeking special engine tool MOT 521.01 to rebuild my J8S

Sent you a PDF on the J8S

Cheers on xmas

Hi metric,


Logged the first 1000 miles.
so far beside the slow start problems engine seems to be fine. The oil level on the stick dropped about 1/8". Not bad for 293000.
It is to cold here in PA to work on it. wouldlove to do a compression test and injector pop test.

Later

hello all,
New to this forum, I have owned a Jeep cherokee with the diesel 2.1 L TD since new. bought it new in 89 while in europe.
Mileage is just over 200K miles, 320K Km. just this last week it does not start on the first try, when warm it always starts on first go. checked glow plugs ok, replaced fuel filter, same result.
What could I check next? any help appreciated.

problem found!!!
things got progressively worse after first post, problems starting when hot as well as cold.
suspected fuel/air problem- problem found in fuel line from filter to Injection pump, line was cracked barely visible and not leaking any fuel but apparently letting air in causing the IP to get air comming in.
Line replaced and as precautionary measure also changed all the return fuel lines from the injectors and the fuel pump.
starts like new again!
love this engine.
If only I could get Biodiesel at a reasonable price here in NM that would make it even better!
I don't understand how you can promote the use of alternative fuels by making them more expensive than the fossil stuff ??

i have long owned an 85 with the renault diesel. here at 9000 feet, with a turbo, it will outrun a straight six gasoline jeep. easily. my jeep has 280,000 miles and runs great. white smoke, if not a coolant leak, is injection timing. coolant leaks smell very sweet. these trucks are very timing sensitive and the belt alignment marks are impossible to use accurately. also, you need the long bolt to lock it into tdc for setting the belt. slight rotations of the injection pump, once you are certain the cams and pump are timed correctly, will eliminate the white smoke. it is due to slightly late injection. as an aluminum block, it is lighter than the cast iron lumps in the gas engine jeeps too.

never, ever lug this engine. run it like a 2 stroke detroit. they are an absolute gem. and never use ether. the whole thing was designed as a gasoline engine and you will bend the rods with ether. the french did much better than GM did with the 350 to 5.7 conversion.

this jeep, running on charris ford's good Atlas biodiesel b-100, will suck the doors off his nissan turbo scout (that supposedly has 30 more horsepower). frencdh horses are very quick. never use much power with it below 2500 rpm. it really comes on strong at 3000 rpm, but you hit the governor at 3800 rpm. and automatics with this engine truly suck.

the injection pump is about the same as the VW rabbit unit. injectors etc are interchangable. northern auto parts sells overhaul kits for the 2.1 L diesel for $550. there is a guy in southampton england that sells new crate j8s engines, complete, for 1250 sterling (visit dieselengineexchange.com).

i first drove a jeep diesel for work in chile in the late 80's and absolutely loved it. cannot understand why they were never popular in yankee land. the diesel toyota's were awesome. ford and chevy offered s-10's and rangers in the south american market, but never here at home. even drove a diesel chevette down there for a while. i also have a factory perkins CJ5 (another story).

i have pulled a loaded 2 horse trailer from telluride to meeker CO and back. did fine, except for braking. overheating may be tied to lugging, SO NEVER LUG!

press on! eric

Hello Carl1967. I have a friend who has a Jeep Cherokee 1985 - 2.1 liter engine and is looking for a cylinder head. Can you help locate this item? Thaanks

e.---, metric and others

Thank you for your advice and good words.
Injection timing, my thermo module on the IP is shot. Is that the same as on the VW?
Does it retard timing when the engine gets warm?

Outside temperature is slowly getting better.Worked on my E350 today that has a fuel pickup pump ( membrame) that does not work on veggie or whne the fuel gets hot anyway.
Added an electric pump under the car.
I surely dislike changing that mechanical fuel pump again.

Later ,
J
W

HI,

I have an 85 that is hard starting as well. I have replaced everything in the engine but have not rebuilt the Injection pump yet. Jeep runs great once it starts and runs for 10 seconds then it idles and runs fine. hard starting with white smoke. Also, my high pressure oil lines to and from the oil filter are leaking, where do you recommend getting these?

quote:

Originally posted by fr8dog:
problem found!!!
things got progressively worse after first post, problems starting when hot as well as cold.
suspected fuel/air problem- problem found in fuel line from filter to Injection pump, line was cracked barely visible and not leaking any fuel but apparently letting air in causing the IP to get air comming in.
Line replaced and as precautionary measure also changed all the return fuel lines from the injectors and the fuel pump.
starts like new again!
love this engine.
If only I could get Biodiesel at a reasonable price here in NM that would make it even better!
I don't understand how you can promote the use of alternative fuels by making them more expensive than the fossil stuff ??

I would suggest these folks http://www.winnebagoparts.com/. they have the parts you will need.

quote:

Originally posted by Barry miron:
Hello Carl1967. I have a friend who has a Jeep Cherokee 1985 - 2.1 liter engine and is looking for a cylinder head. Can you help locate this item? Thaanks

hallo Domesticbiofuel :

they ( Winne parts ) will eb able to help you - expect to pay out many orifices - I lucked out - -eBay - but the hassle of shipping from PR ( yes Puerto Rico ) was a nightmare

why do you believe your head needs replacing - have you had tolerance checked ?
recent overheating or broken timing belt ?

if head is not warped - a thicker head gasket might work your trouble out

good luck

cheers:

quote:

Originally posted by metric:
hallo Domesticbiofuel :

they ( Winne parts ) will eb able to help you - expect to pay out many orifices - I lucked out - -eBay - but the hassle of shipping from PR ( yes Puerto Rico ) was a nightmare

why do you believe your head needs replacing - have you had tolerance checked ?
recent overheating or broken timing belt ?

if head is not warped - a thicker head gasket might work your trouble out

good luck

cheers:

HI Metric,

I agree, they ripped me a new one but when your the only game in town I guess you can charge what you want. I have spent way too much money on my jeep with these folks. Hey, any suggestions for hard starting. Once it is running it settles into a nice idle and runs fine. Throttle is hesitant when starting off on a hill, can be kind of scary actually. short of having my IP rebuilt what would you suggest.

thanks

Hallo Domesticbio:

Yes - I agree , 9 openings is all one should have - giving a limb or raping a new orifice casts an awful dark cloud over ownership

Trouble starting - first I would make sure the fuel system is in check - from tank to injectors

when starting/cranking - what colour is the exhaust ?

does your truck have block heater ? tell me of your glow plugs - have you inspected /tested /compression tested moteur ?

How long have you owned vehicle - feel free to share specifics and details

where I am going with all this - is it a fuel problem - or an moteur problem

what oil ( fuel ) do you run - Bio, what % , home brew or refined - virgin or waste oil reclaimed

have you checked/changed fuel filter

when running and warmed up - take oil cap off valve cover and cover loosely with a clean shop towel /rag - hold for approx. 30 sec - then return oil cap - how does rag look - speckled with oil , splattered or clean
how does air filter look ? tell me of the turbo - any play - oily in the intake compressor turbine ?

these are wonderful engines - and typically French engineering - should be treated like a French diesel - not German/Japanese or American diesel

will take a while to figure out - time well spent I say -

cheers :

hello;

eric here. my high mileage 85 needs glow-plugging hot or cold. 2x on cold mornings. but not 3x, or you will melt the glow plugs. the glow plug relay is fairly high voltage. if your battery is down at all, the relay will not close (no power to the glow plugs) even though the glow plug light comes on (you can hear a bit of a "thunk" when the relay actually closes, also the idiot lights dim a quarter of a second after the ignition switch is turned on). since you have to use the glow plugs a fair bit, they are rather short lived. you can test them in situ with an ohm meter. also; i installed a johnson outboard motor squeeze bulb on the fuel filter inlet. if my jeep sits for a week or so, it uses half the battery priming the injection pump. a few squeezes on the bulb and i get near instantaneous lightoff----if the glow plugs are working. the two rear glow plugs are easy to access. the front two are more difficult; i have a custom bent and shortened box wrench just for the job. the glow plugs are a very common size and come in two wattages; i use the higher wattage selection and, oddly enough (given what happens with spark plugs), the autolites seem to last longer than the bosch iterations.

i think i mentioned this before, but if your cam belt or ip timing is even slightly off, they become a smoking, non-starting misery. do cheap checks first; glow plugs working and timing correct, before surgery on the ip etc. any old diesel, as it loses compression due to working it, becomes harder to start. fact of life. i have seen big 3 mw werkspoor marine diesels that had to be ethered even though their jacket water was at near operating temps----low compression was the culprit. but the hondurans found it cheaper to keep on spraying until the ol' hoss was well and truly dead.....

So, I have given up on the Renault (I know, forgive me) and am swapping in a 3.0L 5 cyl. MB turbo diesel (617a). At the moment, that seems to mean I will have to give up 4X4 capability as I will be using a 5-speed MB manual transmission. Is there anything I can do to maintain my 4WD?

Hallo Venture:

this is sad news indeed:

what transmission are you to be using with this OM617-952 ?

best of luck to you - enjoy the summer

cheers:

At the moment, I think we're going to get a 5-spd off of a e300D. I was thinking maybe I could mate it to a transmission and transfer case from a 300GD, but haven't been able to find one yet, and don't even know if it will mate up.

The good news is that my loss may be someone's gain, as I will be selling all of my renault components, of which I have amassed quite a stockpile.

Cheers,

Trip