schardein

Here is a fog light panel and switch. These are MJ specific, or at least extremely rare to find in an XJ as nearly all XJs had rear window defrosters and the switch is located on the right side of this panel. Any XJ that didn't have the rear defroster probably didn't come with the optional fog lights either. This one has a bad spot as can be seen in the lower right corner, but some of that is covered up by the dash panel. $25 shipped?

Good to hear you got everything working, but... What does removing the screw and spinning the needle actually do? I'm wondering if removing/reinstalling the screw just ensures there is a good ground connection between the gauge and the printed circuit?

Congratulations! Hard work pays off!

When I did my XJ, I used a shop-vac to remove the old foam. Worked really well. One of my shop-vacs has a paper filter which reduces the suction compared to the regular foam filter.

No real life experience, but my research shows they all interchange. I did notice that the holes to attach the underhood light changed sometime between 91-93. So you might find other small differences.

Are you only looking for the switch, or the panel also?

I wondered if a Jeep TJ of a similar year was the same and a quick google, looks like it is not. If it is in fact a 97-2001 XJ only part, it will probably be hard to find.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,2001,durango,5.9l+v8,1371912,cooling+system,coolant+filler+neck,14138

I've needed those before, and found they were surprisingly difficult to remove from the door shell without tearing them up, but in the end I managed it. This was several years ago. I just made a run yesterday, could have tried to grab a couple. Will probably be several weeks before I go again.

If you are talking about the small one, it was screwed to the door with two screws. There was a small plate that was pop riveted to the inside of the door that had two threaded holes. The mirror attached with screws to that. It had a similar (but different) mirror on the pass door that was just screwed straight into the door. Not sure if that was factory or the pass was added later, either at the dealer or by a previous owner. If you are talking the later style mirrors, they are held to the door post with three bolts from the inside.

OK. That sucks. But if you shop around you can probably replace all those pieces. Either from people who pulled all of it to make a trail rig, or from a junkyard donor. Early model XJs still turn up in the junkyard, but they are getting harder to find.

Are you tracking that he is running 33" tires? 3.07 gears would be a bad choice, and 4.10s would be close to ideal, for a daily driver/sometimes off roader.

Your XJ Wagoneer would have had the "top of the line" interior trim. Early XJs had much nicer interiors than later XJs (93-96). It seems to me that Jeep tried to save money in those years by making the interiors very plain. The changes are subtle. For example, early years the higher trim levels had chrome trim for the hockey stick style inside door handles. This was non existent in later years. If by interior upgrade you mean more modern looking, than 97-2001 is an option. My opinion, if that's what you are looking for, then buy one. I'm not a big fan of the 97-01 interior swap, but to each his own. You could swap an HO motor (and electronics) in to gain some HP. 1991 and up were HO. 96 and up were OBDII. My opinion, swapping to HO is a lot of work for not a lot of HP. I think you would be disappointed after spending the time and money. A better option might be going to a stroker motor at the same time as going HO. Swapping to HO will gain you some reliability (my opinion) and better availability of replacement parts. Your perceived lack of performance might be your gearing. You say it's stock, but not what it is. If you don't know, you need to find out. It's likely 3.55 which is the most common, and that's not ideal with 33s. Money spent on proper gearing will make it feel like it has more power and probably improve mileage. Going down to 31"s would have a similar effect. It's a question of your priorities. Is larger tires and off road performance important, or is better on road handling and mileage important? Way back in the day I had a Toyota with 35" (bias ply) tires on it. I replaced them with 33" radials and it was like driving a completely different truck. Power, mileage, braking, and handling improved.

Wow. Very cool. My friend totaled his LJ Rubicon and is rebuilding it by putting a Commando tub on the LJ Rubicon frame and drivetrain, and doing a LS 5.3 at the same time. Three Commandos are contributing to the project, so I've recently been researching them. Hadn't seen this one yet. Hopefully someone saves and restores this one. Just when you think there are no real life low mileage barn finds left, things like this show up.

It's definitely cool, but I'm not in the market for a toy. The same concept but street legal as a daily driver and true off road capabilities would have my attention.

Haha I like hub caps... sometimes...

I agree. My opinion on rear disc brake conversions, is if you are going to be doing a lot of off-roading, especially mud, a disc brake conversion should be high on the priority list for exactly the reason you stated-- reduced maintenance. Disc brakes are inherently self cleaning. But for daily drivers, I'm not sure it is worth the expense unless the owner just wants that cool factor. One of my concerns with a rear disc brake conversion is properly setting up the parking brake, especially for a manual trans truck. Full size drum parking brakes (properly functioning) are more effective than those dinky "drum brake inside the hub" setups. When I converted my 14b to rear discs, I could have just used front calipers and called it done, but that would have effectively deleted the parking brake. Proper way was to use the Cadillac calipers and have custom brake cables made for the application (which I did). Another concern is properly setting up the front/rear bias. Does someone who can't figure out drum brakes, which I agree are complicated, and more complicated than even meets the eye for someone new to working on cars-- can they figure out proper brake bias? It may be as easy as swapping combination valves, or require an adjustable valve to dial in the amount of rear brakes. Failure to get the parking brake set up and working or address brake bias could result in a vehicle that's more unsafe than one with factory drum brakes that are wore out or out of adjustment.

XJs up to 96 have the factory post mounted mirrors that are a bolt on for MJs. 97-2001 (late model) XJs have the larger mirrors. You remove the small triangular cover on the inside (I think you have to pull the door panel first?), then three bolts and disconnect the wiring and the mirror comes off. If you intend to wire in the electrics, get the body side connector and a few inches of that wiring also.

Yes, while you are at the junkyard, get those window sweeps/seals. If yours are weathered, you will likely be able to find some in better shape. Look for 95-96 XJs. Also, I don't know if the late XJ mirrors came in a manual adjustment type. I think they may all be electric adjustment. You can still manually adjust them, you just have to push on the actual mirror glass. This might be an issue if two people regularly drive your truck. My XJ had electrically adjustable mirrors, and I was able to wire in the new mirrors so the original switch works. Also, the late XJ mirrors are available with built in defrost. It may be a coincidence, but nearly every 97 XJ I see has the defrost option. It is easy to tell, there will be a defrost icon on the mirror glass. I have a set on my MJ (which of course does not have an electric defrost circuit of any kind). My XJ set does not... didn't know they existed when I did the XJ first. So. I've never tried to wire the defrost option in.

Oh boy. I could go several different ways on this thread. But I will just say that a vehicle is designed to stop with all four wheels on the ground. Going forward, which cars do 99.9% of the time, the front brakes are doing the majority of the work. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever from a automotive design theory standpoint to test the brakes as you have described. I wonder if that is actually in compliance with whatever State inspection program you have. If so, it's another reason I dislike state safety/emissions testing... generally speaking, it's not about safety or a cleaner environment... it's about money. And I can't help but say... we all know they use drum brakes on school buses, right? There are many advantages to disc brakes, but a properly serviced and functioning drum brake will reliably stop your vehicle.

I added the later XJ mirrors to both my MJ and XJ. I like the slightly larger size and the fact they don't fall apart at the joint like the originals. Some people don't like the styling though. I will say it is some work, you have to remove and carefully trim the stainless steel door trim to make the mirrors fit.

I really like the roll pan, but I want a receiver hitch also. Someone should make a bolt in roll pan with a custom receiver hitch behind the license plate...

I've got the rocker bases in my XJ and a spare set. Can't remember details, but after much consideration I decided they couldn't be adapted to MJs. At least not without major surgery. 84-86 buckets will mount to MJ bases. Whether they fold forward just depends on if they came from a 2 door XJ.

Actually, yes. I may be wrong but don't both modules have the key in ignition and door open function, and the blue one just adds the headlights? I could be wrong.

4 dr seats will work while you are looking for 2 door seats. If you find 4 dr seats with the upholstery/color you want in good shape, get them. When you find compatible 2 dr buckets, the upholstery might be trashed or wrong color, and you can swap the 4 dr covers on! Then you just have to cut a slit for the tilt forward lever. So you are really looking for two things- compatible seats frames and good upholstery. They don't have to come from the same donor.