knever3

I have the opportunity to get a '96 XJ for a donor for my '90 XJ. I have a good motor in the '90 so I would like to use everything from the '96 such as the engine harness, dash and interior wiring, trans and transfer case. My questions are: If I remove the '96 engine and strip it down to a bare block and head can I use the '90's engine? I don't know if there are any non-interchangeable parts such as a knock sensor or coolant sensor. I thought the major changes were from '97 so what are your thoughts? Thanks all!!

You first have to narrow down what you're asking. There can be a number of things that contribute to over heating an engine. Air in system. Clutch fan not spinning fan at proper speed or failed. If you have a second cooling electric fan is it working? Thermostat working? Heater core plugged or heater valve working? Water pump good? Do you have adequate pressure on your system? Usually around 13-16lbs is what the cap is rated for. The pressurized system raises the boiling point on the antifreeze water combination so it won't turn into a gas and blow the cap off and thus overheating. That said it's best if you have someone pressure test your cap and the truck to see if you have any leaks. If you don't you might have air in the system. To eliminate the air from a closed loop system (After pressure checking for leaks) start the truck with the cap off the pressure bottle, the bottle should be half full. Squeeze the lower and upper radiator hoses slowly until all air bubbles get forced up into the pressure bottle. You will hear a gurggling sound and see the bubbles come up if yours is clear enough to see out of. After doing that for about 10-15 minutes all the air should be out of the system. You can reinstall the cap, one note is that you don't over tighten the cap and strip it out. Let the truck cool fully for an hour and recheck the coolant level and add as needed. I hope this helps

I can't directly compare to the Bilsteins, These are stainless steel so they won't rust and all BDS suspension parts have a lifetime warranty no questions asked. One note however they don't come with the boots you have to get those extra. I ended up getting them ordered by a local parts supplier that had the boots in stock. The picture doesn't show the quality because it shows all the grain in the stainless reflecting off the flash. One thing that I noticed is most people use any type of shock they can find that will fit like from a F-250 for instance. Those shocks will have a much tougher valve setting so they will ride rough. Mine rides great because they were designed to work with that vehicle.

Don't switch to the orange stuff. Just use green antifreeze, don't bother wasting your money with the 50/50 mixture you're just paying for water. That said use 50/50 because if it's off either way it can freeze and it isn't as efficient on removing heat.

Engine block heaters draw between 500 and 650 watts of 115V AC energy. It's a lot less efficient to invert DC to AC so you will waste some heat energy doing so. Say if you were to get an inverter rated at a conservitave 1000W because the block heater would be a pure resistive load your battery will die a very short life. Adding a second battery with a 10V automatic cutoff and a primary battery for starting would only add cost because you will still have the constant drain and short life. I would expect in an apartment complex they would not want you running a small gas generator to run your block heater either. They do sell heating pads that you apply directly to the oil pan but again normally to be used with a constant power supply. Do you park in a car port or just out in the open?

How much do you want to spend? I have BDS and they sell a set of 4 for a Comanche with a 3" lift. I called and talked to them and they sent me just the shocks.

Welcome to the Grand Cherokee club. :thumbsup: :wavey:

The bed needs to be longer and it could use some AT tires and I'm good with it!

Fun!!

Nice update keep up the work!

I bought the felpro blue gasket with the metal inside so you can't over torque the gasket. These are notorious for leaking and over torquing any cork gasket is easy. Go with the nice one because how many times do you want to re-do the job?

I tried to modify my dual diaphram brake booster rod but had no luck. I think I ground off too much material so the switch won't turn on the brake lights and it's loose after tightening the bolt. I have a couple questions on what to do next. First, should I just mount another switch on a metal plate and use it, I bought a '79 F250 brake switch. Second, should I try to replace the brake pedal rod to the booster? Third, Can I use the one that connects to the cruise control? In the pic it's the white switch with the clear connector at the very top of the brake pedal. Thanks,

Well we messed with it and the cable seems too short to attach for 2wd. We managed to get it into 2wd to drive around but the linkage is too short to connect. I may have to cut some threads off to attach it but I will have to see if the cable has enough throw to engage 4wd low. I will take some pics to show when I get back to work on it.

They are from my '01 XJ and authough I really miss my Cherokee the '98 was quick and the '01 was a dog and of course ended up having a cracked head. I thought the '01 with the coil packs would be faster it was not so. Maybe someday.

I got to drive the truck for Thanksgiving yesterday. Today I used it to rake up the leaves and drive them around to the back yard to burn. I snapped a few pics for you to enjoy.

I raked the front yard and made one trip instead of many with the wheel barrow. Sure comes in handy.

I need a few pictures or video of the shift selector on the transfer case for the 242J. I have an aftermarket shift cable and don't have a clue where the stops are supposed to be. If someone could post a few pics of their setup when in 2hi, 4wd full time, 4wd part-time neutral and Low gear. This would help me tremendously. Thanks in advance!! I don't have any pics of the shifter on the case but here's what I got.

More progress, I have been hard at work and got the radio and amps installed. The amp board is not completely finished yet, I still have to make a black carpeted trim ring to cover it. Just for looks so I won't be doing it any time soon. On the to do list is modify the brake pedal switch so I have brake lights and work on the linkage for the transfer case. Here are some pics of what i've been up to. I made all new wires for the engine bay. I was tired of the old stuff so I used 4 gauge for the power and ground and I have 2 gauge for my amps. I ran the power wire through the inner fender and then out into the cab in the kick panel with grommets. All the terminals are soldered and heat shrink wrapped. OLD: New VS Old: Its hard to see but I installed a circuit breaker instad of a fuse. I like them a lot better since you can just reset them or trip them to work on the system. I also noticed I didn't have a body ground attached to the ground harness, there's one now made of 4 gauge. Radio install, I took the time to make the radio fit flush and with a lot of work removing the HVAC controlls and modifying the dash innards with a dremel multitool it fit nicely. I also used soemthing else that I will recommend to anyone, Gorilla Tape, the stuff it three times as thick as normal duct tape and a 10 times more sticky. I used it to secure my wiring before I put the carpet back in. I mounted the 1/2" plywood to a pair of heavy duty L brackets so I didn't have to screw through the cab and I put Industrial velcro on the back top of the board so it doesn't make noise or move around. So it's getting closer, I hope to drive it on Thankgiving.

I guess I dindn't know they were both aluminum, I would agree but the auxillary parts are still good. I'm sure a turbo isn't that easy to come by.

I like it, I am so leary about using dye. I would have to see it for myself to be a believer.

Great looking truck!

I hate Michigan's Junk Yards. Cars are piled up like cord wood in the mud and water with trees and thorn bushes growing around and through them.

Much respect.

:bowdown: :bowdown: Awesome work I wish I had body work talent.

$100 of R134!! That stuff it cheap why so much? Did you have a shop do it for you? A reptuable shop should troubleshoot the system with a dye before filling or soon after. That's not cool! ha They make some great dye detector lights and they work great. My last truck the '01 XJ was leaking inside from the evap core because you could see the dye on the drain tube under the fan. I sold it before I replaced that. I hope you get it fixed, I am no expert on A/C so I hope you find someone good to fix the problem.