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MegaCabMan · 04-03-2012, 10:15 AM

Last week I took Thursday and Friday off from work to devote to reinstalling the engine. Well as I was headed to the machine shop to get the engine I get a call that I am needed back in the office...SHIT!

So I pick up the engine (Hell yea, I've got priorities) and then head over to the office and work until about 12:30.

I had the engine between the frame rails by 3:30 working all by myself. By Late Friday evening I had just about everything bolted back together except the wiring, radiator, trans cooler, AC condenser and the Front Grill.

Saturday morning, I get up and take the kiddo to her soccer game then after that I head right back to work on the jeep. I start fiddling with the wiring--it is a huge mess! I get enough of it worked out to hook up the starter. I decide to give it a test bump---CLICK BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, WTF! try again, Click BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Damn starter wont engage. I remove the inspection plate and use a screwdriver to short across the starter terminals and it is very clear that the starter gear and the ring gear aren't even in the same zip code.

I start comparing the old flexplate with the new one and sure enough the new ring gear is welded about 3/8ths of an inch further back. I guess I should have compared them more closely before installing the new one. I do a little research and find that they used two different flexplates in 1988. I purchased the one that fit just about every jeep/amc and international engine made between 1976 and 1990, turns out that I need the flexplate that was used between June 1988 and February 1989--JEEZUS

So Saturday afternoon I went to the lake and drank a bunch of beer!

Later this week--pull the trans and swap the old flexplate back in! Yeah for me!

04-03-2012, 10:15 AM	#14
MegaCabMan King of Fun Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 213	Last week I took Thursday and Friday off from work to devote to reinstalling the engine. Well as I was headed to the machine shop to get the engine I get a call that I am needed back in the office...SHIT! So I pick up the engine (Hell yea, I've got priorities) and then head over to the office and work until about 12:30. I had the engine between the frame rails by 3:30 working all by myself. By Late Friday evening I had just about everything bolted back together except the wiring, radiator, trans cooler, AC condenser and the Front Grill. Saturday morning, I get up and take the kiddo to her soccer game then after that I head right back to work on the jeep. I start fiddling with the wiring--it is a huge mess! I get enough of it worked out to hook up the starter. I decide to give it a test bump---CLICK BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, WTF! try again, Click BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Damn starter wont engage. I remove the inspection plate and use a screwdriver to short across the starter terminals and it is very clear that the starter gear and the ring gear aren't even in the same zip code. I start comparing the old flexplate with the new one and sure enough the new ring gear is welded about 3/8ths of an inch further back. I guess I should have compared them more closely before installing the new one. I do a little research and find that they used two different flexplates in 1988. I purchased the one that fit just about every jeep/amc and international engine made between 1976 and 1990, turns out that I need the flexplate that was used between June 1988 and February 1989--JEEZUS So Saturday afternoon I went to the lake and drank a bunch of beer! Later this week--pull the trans and swap the old flexplate back in! Yeah for me! __________________ I am the King of Fun! Just ask anyone. Everywhere I go, people always say, "Here comes that Fun King Randall."