gogmorgo

I've never had trouble changing a pan (mostly because I've never changed one on an engine bigger than 600cc) but the trouble I had lining up my tstat housing bolts/gasket on the side of the road in -35°C windchill with bare hands because my gloves kept sticking to everything tells me this could be an issue with a pan that weighs more than a half-pound. And this looks like an awesome solution too. Screw it in, slide the gasket on, pan on, let them click into place, unscrew a few, screw bolts in... perfect!

Okay, then... since we're on the topic of your sig anyhow, do you mind fixing it so you don't look so stupid? And yes, this bugged me so much I hid your signature.

That's a score... I really like the colour, too.

Yeah... every single vehicle I or my family have owned within my memory has had tilting seats. The factory MJ buckets in my '91 have: a lever under the front to slide them forward and back a lever at the base of the back that adjusts the tilt a lever at the top of the back to fold them forward to access the small space behind them.

Up in Dainternetguy's and my neck of the woods (er, open prairie?), it's not because it's a distraction, or because it's blinding or shining on the road or anything. It's because red lights are tail lights. Tail lights mounted on the front of your vehicle are a big no-no. Red lights also belong on emergency vehicles. Pretending to be an emergency vehicle is also a big no-no. Also, hooking them directly into the headlights isn't the greatest of ideas, as the headlight switch and wiring is barely able to support the load from the headlights. Sure, they're nice for show, but it would definitely be better if they were wired separately from the headlights, with their own switch, so they can be turned off when they shouldn't be on.

Fairly frigid, eh? More like a warm winter's day!

You'd be surprised. It's not uncommon to hit 100ºF in the summer. It's just that last summer was unusually cold and wet where I was (actually in Manitoba, but typically the climate is identical).

Also have General Grabber at2's. They're a decent tire and not expensive, but they are winter tires. They didn't wear down when I ran them this summer, but it wasn't so hot this year. Don't know what they'd be like in real heat. But they're great in snow.

Things are a bit easier to get at if you pull the instrument cluster, but not by much. I'm looking at replacing the same connector, but haven't yet had time. My connector and switch actually caught fire, and the insulation on the wires is melted all the way back to the main dash loom, so I'm going to have to pull the dash off to replace them. I've got some insulated spade terminals crimped on for the time being, and while it was definitely awkward, I managed to do it through the instrument cluster's hole.

Most of the engine controls, particularly the ignition system (i.e. spark) runs through the ignition switch, which is in the dash. If that's not hooked up and everything else is, you'll be able to crank it by turning the key, but it'll never fire.

Welcome to the club! Just a bit of a thought on the carpet. They tend to trap moisture, which I believe would actually encourage rot, not prevent it. Lots of MJ owners have been surprised by Fred Flintstone floors in a seemingly rust-free vehicle after pulling up the carpets.

My sister regularly ran the oil in my dad's tired old oil-burning sbc van off the end of the dipstick. She even found out that if there isn't enough oil, then it won't start. (oil level safety switches) The story hasn't ended yet... and just a few weeks ago the van made a 1200 mile trip pretty well straight through in 27 hours. And that was just the return leg.

Yeah, I'd advise replacing the switch, as well as doing a headlight harness upgrade. Why? My headlight switch set itself on fire a couple weeks ago. To replace the switch, you need to remove the lower dash panel. It goes all the way across to the passenger side, and is attached with screws along the top. It's also got the parking brake release handle mounted to it, but I was able to pull it back far enough without unbolting the handle (it's just two bolts, but mine were a little too snug for the mood I was in). There's a metal support for the dash right under the headlight switch. In the metal support, there's an access hole. Inside this hole, you should be able to feel a button. If you pull the switch knob out all the way (like you're turning on the headlights) then you can push the button and pull out the switch knob. There's a big fat nut around where the headlight knob used to be, and it unscrews with the biggest flat-blade screwdriver you've got. I actually used a small prybar to unscrew it as I didn't have a big enough screwdriver. Once you've got that off, your headlight switch is really only held in by the wiring harness, which isn't the easiest thing to get off. I found it helpful to pull off the dash bezel and instrument cluster to get better access to it, although it's most likely unnecessary and may be more work if you have a pre-1990 model (i.e. without digital speedometer). Installing the new switch is the reverse of removal, just keep in mind that the hole in the dash is keyed so the switch only goes in "properly" in one place.

The North Pacific Current actually brings reasonably warm water up the coast. It's partly why the west coast is so much more temperate than the rest of the continent. It still would be unpleasant to be in the water for prolonged periods in the winter months, but even as far north as Juneau AK, daytime highs are frequently above freezing during the winter.

Yeah, pulled my 91's cluster out a couple times this week, and it's all phillips. Unless you've got a 91 or newer MJ, it won't be a straight across swap, though.

So are you saying the situation changed? :brows:

Heh... Ninja'd by Jim.

Make your own "bump" with some kind of plastic-friendly epoxy? Run an 1/8" bead around the outside at the end of the "nipple" and let it set and cure before putting the hose back on. JB-Weld would probably work.

Also, I'm in the school of thought that if visibility is at all questionable, then I have my headlights on. Probably wears things out sooner, but it also meant I was one of the lucky few who had them fail during the day...

Pulled four XJ dashes apart, found four melted connectors, at which point I gave up looking. They all looked fine from the outside.... the middle of each was melted. None of them looked particularly corroded, either. Thanks, Hornbrod. If I can source a connector locally, I might go that way, now that I know they're available. But I was just going to use spade terminals. I'm fixing it tomorrow since I need my MJ to get to school and back and I've been coming in late and bailing early every day so far so I don't have to drive in the dark. There's an awful lot of dark this time of year, and I'm not going to be able to keep this up for much longer.

Welcome. The vacuum line going to the front axle, if that's were it really goes, would probably go to the CAD (centre axle disconnect) housing, which is in the middle of the passenger side shaft. For some reason I was under the impression, though, that the MJ didn't get a CAD axle until 87. Either way, though, if you post your questions in the MJ Tech section, I'm sure someone can provide a much better answer. It'll also be easier to help if you post some pictures (couple threads in the Testing forum detailing how to go about that). Also, we like pictures. :)

That's what I once said. But you might want to read the rest of the thread. The low beams with the XV's are drawing 150% of the current the stock low beams draw. You're probably OK with your '00 and '01 XJ's, because Jeep recognized the issue and did something about it when they went OBD2 (at least it's a different headlight switch, but my MJ was very much on fire and I'm very much not OK with that, or with anyone else's vehicle being on fire. I pulled enough dashes apart at a junk yard trying to get another connector for my headlight switch, every single one of them melted, to know that the factory wiring isn't really good enough for the stock draw, let alone even a slight upgrade.

Well, it warmed up significantly this far North. Nearly hit 19°F yesterday, and it's forecast for 15*F today. I was working outside in a t-shirt last night... It was pretty awesome.

Yeah, the XV are decent lights. I was actually sold them just over a year ago as what the parts store carried for an OEM replacement. They just contribute to this thing where your truck sets itself on fire unless you've upgraded the harness. Which I'm currently doing due to said fire. Making my own because I'd rather not wait for the Putco to ship.

Nice! I like that Jeep themselves kinda took that on. Really cool. Have you seen this build? Guy in Australia is mating a 40's Willys pickup with an '08 WK. It's been a few years in the works, 55 page build thread, and not even close to done. But it's gonna be awesome when it's finished.