Anybody know a source, in addition to the junk yard, where those long stainless steel (?) screws for the front amber corner light covers can be had? Missing one.

Also, that screw for the body ground (body side) from the battery. Anybody know the screw dimensions/thread pitch and if it can be had in stainless?

 

i browse at lowes and pepboys i seem to find what stainless i need there. i am in the processes of replacing all of my grille ones from rusty to stainless

 

Ace hardware usually has a ton of great stainless options.

Unfortunately, sizing can be a pain - I usually try to take one of the old fasteners into the store and just match it up.

 

https://teamcherokee.com/front-parki...che-1984-1996/

Is this it?

 

No, sorry, mine are long and shiny domed phillips head screws.

 

This is the head of the ones for the front corner marker lights.

 

I took mine out, and drilled out the hole to 5/16". Then I used a wire wheel and took the paint around it down to bare metal. I would have done the same from the back, but I could not get in there without removing the fender. So I settled for a 5/16" hex bolt and a gnarly star washer fed in from the back into the engine compartment. Over the bolt that's now sticking out goes a flat washer, then a lock washer, then a nut. All and liberally coated with dielectric grease. Tighten snugly. Now my upgraded ground cable end goes over that, then another washer, and finally a nylon locking nut. All of that in stainless, of course.

In other words, fuggedabout the stock screw! It's a lame setup! Upgrade!

 

https://www.google.com/search?client...30.v7IdmKci0pk




https://www.google.com/search?client...grill%20screws

 

The ground screw may be the same as the license plate screws.

https://www.google.com/search?q=stai...plate%20screws

 

Actually I found both a ground screw and a rear plate screw. The ground is more of a sharp point self tapper. They look pretty close though. The stainless plate screws I buy at either NAPA or the local hardware store.

 

Ground screw:

Found #14 3/4" at Ace Hardware, sold loose $0.40 each. Did not feel like it followed the threads of the steel/zinc screw that came from the factory, and they looked close, not exact, but seems sturdy in there.

Now to figure out that engine to body ground strap fastener and replace that thing with a 2 AWG woven, tinned copper 13"-ish strap.


Rural King had a box or 26 for $9, but seems like Ace is the better deal if you don't need a bunch.

 

It probably is, but what did you do to clean up the existing threads? No doubt you have a somewhat better connection than you had, but it's not a great connection.


Are you talking about the firewall to head bolt strap at the back of the engine? That is there ONLY to reduce radio noise from the injectors firing. You do NOT need a massive cable there. Unless other grounds are inadequate (which they might be) you wont see any benefit to a large cable there.

If you are talking about the one on the bolt near the dipstick, it wouldn't hurt to upgrade, but there's vibration to consider. I would go with a large braided strap, rather than a cable.

Remember some: basics:

1. A "ground" is nothing more than a path to complete the circuit back to the battery. We borrow the vehicle's body and frame because it's easy and cheap. We could run complete wires instead, and never connect anything to the body or frame., but that would be expensive and bulky. Electrically there is no difference. (Except that our usual method is more likely to have corrosion problems.)
2. Any current that flows from the engine to the body must return to the battery via that dinky cable you just re-grounded. A 2 AWG cable to feed an 8 gauge doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
3. Your main engine ground is the one from the battery to the to plate near the coil. THAT is the one that needs to be upgraded, and you have already done that. All other engine grounds are just making sure that the body and engine are well bonded.

 

I do not have a grounding strap on the dip stick mount stud. All four of those wires are grounded to it individually now. Used to have a copper grounding strap flopping around there from repairing the factory version several times.

Grounding strap to the firewall/dash to engine is the original. A bigger one won't hurt and looks kinda spiffy. Plus, if another ground starts going bad it will take up the slack. Looks like that one is about 13" long or so. It is the stock, tinned copper (?) braided strap, I am looking for a grounding strap to replace it with.

On the battery to body screw, it felt like it cut new threads which should be clean as freshly cut threads. However, after having the original self tapping screw in and out a few times, those threads should have been clean too. It looks like it grounds from the grommet to the bare metal of the body, where it was cleaned up when I did the battery connection replacement last weekend anyway. The anti-seize in the threads should not affect the ground between stock grommet teeth and body.

Your main engine ground is the one from the battery to the to plate near the coil. THAT is the one that needs to be upgraded, and you have already done that. All other engine grounds are just making sure that the body and engine are well bonded.

Just saw at Rural King they have the right length in red 4 AWG. Need to snag one of those instead of the too long one I have stuffed in there.

 

That's an excellent choice. Much better than the huge cable that some folks use. Radio frequencies actually travel on the surface of copper, rather than the interior. (It's called "skin effect") This means that the finer your wires, the better the conductivity for radio frequency signals. So, fine wires (like with a grounding strap) are the best for a radio ground, which is what this is.

Yep. I'm sure it did. That''s the advantage of using an oversized screw.

Ah, I couldn't see that the paint had been removed under the connector. That's excellent. (BTW, it's not a grommet.)


Not in the short term. I don't know how that will work in the long haul. Anti-seize has aluminum powder in it, which may corrode over time. That would not be good. On the other hand, it may be that the other components will keep the aluminum from corroding, which would protect the connection pretty well. Keep an eye on it and let is know how it looks in a few years.

That's a good size for that cable.

 

I misstated. The cable I replaced with a too long one is the one from the fuse block/relay box to the battery. Need to use about a 10" length that they have at Rural King.