Eagle

Driver's door has two wires. IIRC, passenger door only has one.

Basics: Step one is the apply for mortgage approval. It can be argued that there's no point applying for a mortgage if you don't have a property in mind, but you need to know how much the bank will let you borrow. That's based on your income, your credit load, and your credit history. Pick a bank, and talk to a loan officer about pre-approval. Once you know a bank will lend you the money, you need to make an offer on the house. Go through a real estate agent -- YOUR real estate agent. The paperwork is complex, and you shouldn't expect to understand it without help. When you make your offer, you will almost certainly want to include some escape provisions: One is if you can't obtain a mortgage, but you should already have that covered. Second is that the house has to pass a home inspection by a licensed (if your state licenses them -- most states do) home inspector. If the seller already has a home inspection report -- pay your own inspector to perform your own inspection -- I'll almost guarantee the two reports won't match. Any issues then become areas where you negotiate -- either the owner has the issues repaired by licensed and insured contractors, or the sale price is reduced by some $$$ to recognize that you'll have to fix these issues when you move in. Go to the city, town, or county building department and ask to review the file for the property. Ask if there are any unresolved ("open") violations of the building codes or other codes. If you saw evidence of recent repairs or alterations, or if the owner claims ____ was done recently ... look for the appropriate building permits, inspection reports, and certificates of approval. Year s ago I looked at a house such as you describe. I knew before even getting out of the car it was a bad deal, but my realtor insisted we go through it. The seller was a single woman. The problem was that her uncle of cousin was "helping" her get it ready for sale by "fixing" things. No permits, so no inspections. Fortunately/unfortunately, I'm an architect, and I've done some building. EVERYTHING her helpful relative touched was done wrong. We're talking roof shingles paid in the wrong pattern, doors hung that weren't square or plumb ... the list goes downhill from there. Building inspectors aren't perfect, but if there are permits and inspections, and the work is done by licensed contractors, at least you have some comfort level that the work might have been done mostly correctly. Be certain the house has a valid certificate of occupancy (unless it's old enough that the construction pre-dated issuance of certificates of occupancy in the jurisdiction). If there's no certificate of occupancy, ask the building department why not. My house is a good example: my parents had it built in 1950. Certificates of occupancy weren't issued in this town until 1970, when the state adopted a new building code. So -- I have a house that I know the construction and maintenance history of intimately, but there is no certificate of occupancy. In this case, not a problem. Title search: The bank will insist on this anyway, so both your realtor and the bank's lending officer can walk you through it. Also discuss buying title insurance. This protects you if there is a flaw in the title that the title search company misses. Good luck!

Shifting problems? I haven't heard of any shifting problems with them, but I don't hang out on "Jeep" forums, only on Comanche Club. But I used to spend a LOT of time at the dealership, in the parts room and jawing with the shop foreman. Never heard a single bad word about the 3550. As I mentioned, I have XJs or MJs with all three: The BA 10/5, the AX-15, and the 3550. If I had the money to make them all 3550s tomorrow, I would do it without a nanosecond's hesitation. It shifts MUCH better than either the BA 10/5 or the AX-15.

Sounds more to me like the clutch is not DISengaging.

Why did he replace the clutch pedal assembly, and what did he replace it with?

I'm late to the party. Sorry -- I've been sick. (VERY sick. Strep throat is no fun at 74 years of age.) I'm happy to see that the issue has been resolved. I would like to mention, however, that for future reference it would be helpful to use the correct terminology. Cranking IS "turning over," and turning over IS "cranking." They both refer to the condition where the engine is being rotated under power from the starter motor..

Drill? Batteries? You kids never cease to surprise me. Batteries - to drill holes. What'll you come up with next?

The replacement mirror glass inserts I've bought from friends who run a glass shop are glass only. The plastic "frame" stays in the mirror and the new glass is installed with mastic.

Coming soon to a politically correct United States of America near you ...

Having owned all three (my 2000 XJ Sport has the 3550), my opinion hands down is that the 3550 is the best. It's quieter, shifts smoother, and the gear ratios arr much better spaced out. Plus the first gear ratio is lower than the AX-15.

The Trailmaster 4" lift that was on my red '88 when I bought it was a short AAL in the rear. It got the job done, but it rode like a tank. A full-length AAL would (or should) have delivered a better ride.

I owned a '99 WJ with the aluminum "D44." It's not good enough to be classified as a turd. Here's a factoid I uncovered in going through the factory service manual. They didn't mention this is the owner's manual (God forbid they should tell the owner anything useful), but in the FSM they specifically said NOT to jack up the rear using a single jack under the differential. Why? Because the stress will warp the diff housing where the axle tubes enter, and the diff will be ruined. Of course, it wasn't necessary to jack it up to make that axle whine. Mine was noisy from the day I picked it up. The factory eventually sent a technician from Jeep to rebuild both of my axles in the dealership's shop -- after which the noise was worse instead of better. And, of course, as has been noted the wheel bolt circle is wrong. DO NOT buy this axle.

Come on, guys. NONE of you has EVER posted a message with a typo? We should be better than that.

Fort Lost in the Woods, eh? That's where I did Army Basic and AIT back in the Vietnam era. They had soldiers doing gate duty? Several years ago my late wife and I were in Maryland so I took her to see Edgewood Arsenal, which was my stateside permanent duty station before I went on an all-expenses-paid vacation to southeast Asia. They had civilian rent-a-cops manning the gate, which was quite a surprise to me. When I was in, it was all MPs.

Yes, there is.

My 2000 XJ has a mix of bubble flares and conventional double flares.

Bleed the clutch again.

MJs are double flared, not bubble-flared.

Why are you changing the thermostat housing?

It's beginning to sound like your clutch wasn't installed correctly. Or maybe just needs to be bled again.

Did the grinding sound like the noise we heard in the video when you tried to shift into gear? Are you sure the transmission was fully in first when you tried it? Try it in second. Even if it makes noise, try to let up on the clutch for a moment just to see if the truck moves. You don't have to drive it, the idea is just to see if the clutch is working properly. You're asking us to help you figure out what's wrong, but you're not doing any trouble-shooting. It's tough to diagnose from a distance with no input.

http://www.bteventures.com//mj1988electricalmanual.pdf Scroll down to pages 15 and 16 (of the PDF)

If you feel daring and you have a helper, you can dribble some gas into the throttle body, start it, then keep dribbling gas in and see if it will stay running. That's a simple way of confirming that the problem is a fuel delivery problem. Just be sure you have a good, working fire extinguisher handy. If the truck has evr backfired through the throttle body, DO NOT try the gas dribble method of trying to run it. A backfire would not be a good thing ...