Eagle

Brilliant!

More than likely, it was in gear when you removed the shifter handle, and when you reinstalled the handle and then shifted gears it's now in two gears at the same time. You should be able to see the shift rails and move them manually, but to do so you'll probably have to jack the rear wheels off the ground to take all load off the gears and synchronizers, and you may need a helper to gently rotate one of the rear tires back and forth to facilitate shifting.

"Reset the ignition"? I have an '87, two '88s, an '88 XJ, and an '89 XJ. I haven't yet encountered anything in the ignition or starter circuit to "reset."

The original 1987 model was rated at 173 horsepower at 4,750 RPM and 220 foot-pounds of torque at 2,000 RPM. The horsepower rating for this version was raised to 177 horsepower at 4,750 RPM and 224 foot-pounds of torque at 2,400 RPM for model years 1988 through 1990. As ImpulseRocket89 noted, the factory says the redline is 5,000 RPM. With a torque peak at 2,400 RPM and max horsepower at 4,750, there is NO reason to ever push it beyond 4,750 RPM, and you'll probably get better performance shifting quite a bit lower than that.

I use the one that Harbor Freight always has on sale for $3.99.

Nope. The 23.5-gallon tank is too long. It won't fit.

Depending on what chart you look at, 10-gauge is either .1345" or .1406" thick. 3/16" is .1875" thick. Even compared to .1406, the 3/16" is 33 percent thicker. That's fairly significant.

Must be the "Oh, $#!&! He knows what it's really worth" discount. :)

You mean the temperature sensor in the head? That's not "burping" the system, that's for the initial fill. Every time you drive the truck for the next week, after it cools down check the coolant level in the plastic bottle. As air gets burped out of the system, the level will probably go down. The correct fill level is HALFWAY when cold. Don't fill it all the way or you'll blow up the plastic tank.

The 18 gallon tank is the tank for the short wheelbase. If you have a long wheelbase, you need the 23.5 gallon tank.

As already noted, the windshield glass is the same for all years of the XJ and MJ. Part numbers changed from the factory for different years, but we've pretty much determined that the difference is only in the amount and color of the tinting. There is NO WAY using the gasket should add $449 to the cost of installing the windshield. The gasket should probably be about $25 (that's a guess -- maybe $50?). It's probably less work than fighting all the stainless trim and clips, so there should be no additional labor cost. You're being robbed.

That's a butcher job. Looks like he wanted to add a supplemental ground. You're on your own. I doubt anyone can figure that out from pictures.

Tilt wheel?

A '98 XJ would have the AW4. The XJ is the small Cherokee. The '93 thru '98 Grand Cherokee was the ZJ.

True. You'll also spend a boatload of money that doesn't need to be spent.

No you didn't. The '98 Grand Cherokee didn't have the AW4. The Chrysler 42RE replaced the AW4 midyear in the 1993 production run.

He's trying to do a complete engine balance. That's only for "real" race cars that are going to be run hard and long at sustained high RPM (like 7500 RPM and higher). That level of balancing is completely unnecessary for a street vehicle.

If a synchronizer slipped out of engagement, you'll effectively be in neutral and you won't be sending any power to the wheels. It's usually the second gear synchro that buys the farm -- I've never heard of fifth gear or the fifth gear synchro failing, but there's a first time for everything. Possibly just the shifter out of alignment?

It has been posted here before. Long or short wheelbase?

Yes, the clutch release bearing is also called the throwout bearing. Replacing it does require dropping the transmission, but it does not require disassembling the transmission. It's in the bellhousing. But the clutch release bearing wouldn't make noise only in fifth gear. (Unless that's the only gear you can hear it in.)

Are you sure the noise is in the tranny and not the clutch release bearing?

The XJ seats that cause the problems with height are the ones from the late 80s models that had the "rocking chair" seat cusion adjustment as well as the standard recliner in the seat back. The rocking chair mechanism adds a layer of hardware that in the XJ required a lower seat pedestal to compensate. There is no lower pedestal for the MJ. Find XJ buckets that don't have the rocking chair feature and you should be okay.

The heater core in my '88 Cherokee popped about four or five years ago. If yours is the original, it's on borrowed time. Much better to start new since you'll be in there anyway. Ditto for the evaporator.

The only part of a clutch assembly that makes any contact with the transmission is the splined center hub on the disk. The pressure plate, which is the part that you bolt to the flywheel, obviously has to match the flywheel.

I've always used black Permatex (not RTV) for installing freeze plugs. Never had one pop out. FWIW, the factory pressure cap is 13 psi.