schardein

Adding a pic to fix this thread. I don't know about everyone else, but I still can't see the photo bucket pics.

I've got two cats. They "came" with the house that I bought when I moved to MO. I live in the country, and I throw them outside in the mornings when I go to work, and let them in during the evenings. This past Saturday, they were outside, I was in the workshop, and it was raining outside. I left the workshop to go in the house through the garage. I left the driver side window down on the MJ and was surprised to see this on my way by.

I only have the drivers side, and an early style chrome grill. No pass side.

Interested in a good condition, original chrome headlight bezel for the passenger side. Need the one piece 91-96 style. OEM only please. I'm in MO. I do have a very nice chrome bezel, driver side, 87-90 style (both pieces) for trade/sale, as well as a bunch of other XJ/MJ parts.

I don't think a heat gun would have any effect on the originals as they seem pretty sturdy. It might on the aftermarket ones, if they are made from a different/much thinner material.

Haha, yes, the tow hook, air dam mods, and chrome were all secondary to the AC work anyway! I was disappointed in the XJ results (temp at vents), especially after the results from the Silverado that I did first, but after driving it had to admit that it does get the job done. Both Jeeps, the condensers and the lines coming from them were in very poor shape. Neither had working AC when I got them. I was probably a little lazy in not trying to diagnose/troubleshoot what I had, but in the end decided my time was best spent in starting from scratch on all three.

I basically made a U shaped cut from the top. Should have taken a picture. I really appreciate the offer. I may take you up on it, but would you consider posting a picture of the air dam, specifically the area of the factory cutout? Curious to see how close my solution was to what the factory did.

I bought a thermometer just for this. Silverado- 40, XJ 48, MJ 44 (on max). I will say this, when I took out my condensers, the fins basically fell out of them on both Jeeps. I suspect that they weren't nearly as efficient as they were when new. The new condensers I bought from Rockauto are the multiple pass type. I don't know if that's considered a better design, but I do read they should be replaced if the compressor fails because they can't be effectively flushed like the old single pass design. Also, the new ones were smaller in size than the originals. So they would have a smaller surface area. Do they make up for that in better efficiency of their design? I don't know. Perhaps another brand has one closer in size to the original? Does it matter? Again, I don't know. On my XJ, all my work netted about the same performance as you have now. I don't know if I have something else going on that I could fix to make it better... not an AC expert (yet). At the end of the day, I'm excited to finally have working AC, I learned a lot, made what I consider some pretty comprehensive repairs for way less than what a shop would charge, and didn't mind spending the money on the tools because now I can do it all myself in the future if I need to. On the XJ, one of the compressor bolts seized in the bracket and broke off. I tried to get it out, but gave up and put on a spare bracket. I think I could have saved it, if I had been patient and soaked it in PB Blaster and let it work when I first noticed it was getting tight.

Great question. (I really need to start a build thread). I'll be 50 soon and have never owned a vehicle with working AC. So, this summer I replaced all the underhood components on my Silverado, Cherokee, and Comanche. Now I have 3!! On the XJ and MJ, I basically converted to a 1996 setup. I used parts for a 96 XJ- condenser, compressor, receiver dryer, expansion valve, and lines. Everything went in well, I like the way the lines are ran versus the 91 routing. I did buy the small line from the expansion valve to the dryer at the junkyard as I couldn't find it new (2 of them). I also sourced the large line from the ex valve to the compressor from the junkyard (x2). All the other lines and parts are new. The dryer uses a different cutout switch and plug, which I also got at junkyard (x2). The XJ had previously been converted to 134, the MJ had not. I thoroughly flushed the evaporator on both. I bought a 30lb can of 134 off Amazon for $75. I used about 6 lbs between all 3 trucks, so I feel like I have a lifetime supply. This was my first time doing AC work, after a lot research. I bought a manifold gauge set, vacuum pump, and I happen to have a very nice digital weight scale to precisely measure how much refrigerant I was adding. All three were a complete success, although for some reason the XJ doesn't cool quite as well as the Silverado or MJ. Not sure if that answers your question, if you are looking for a brand name, I can get it. I got the XJ compressor from Rockauto, and the MJ I think from ebay. I just looked for the best price.

Went for drive Saturday night.

Thanks guys! Now I wish the late model mirrors came in chrome too! But I am used to the bigger view now. I will probably eventually switch to the chrome door and tailgate handles. The front bumper came from the pic-n-pull and is dated Aug 1985. The pic makes my paint look nice... it's not. Made a run to the metal salvage today, got two compliments

Are the seats original? They look like vinyl. I don't see vinyl faced seats very often in XJs or MJs (in buckets at least, not counting bench seats). I found a 96 XJ with full vinyl bucket seats recently, and it turned out to be a police model. I remember noticing how easy it was to slide in to the seat, and wondered if it was designed/optioned that way on purpose, since LE would be getting in and out so much.

It was out of a very early XJ, don't remember exactly what year.

Just wrapped up replacing all my AC components under the hood, adding factory tow hooks, and a little bling to the front end!

I just wrapped up adding oem tow hooks. Had the header panel and front bumper off. Also replaced all my AC components under the hood. Got everything back together and the driving lights don't work. Same connector beneath the air filter housing, the wire had corroded and broken off where it was crimped to the terminal. What a PITA. I'm thinking of replacing the entire thing with a weatherpack type connector.

Very cool. I like the combination of the newer shift lever and vintage emblem.

Here is my collection. As for replacing the pin type with the stick on type, the hole for the longer mounting stud (there is a longer and shorter on each letter) on the e will come very close to showing if replaced with a stick on one, because the stick on ones are "open" in the e. The longer mounting stud for the p is right smack in the middle of the "open" part and the mounting hole would definitely show. Also, since the stick on ones are open, the paint will show through, so if it has aged differently (or not aged, as the case may be), that may be a consideration too. I know this isn't the classifieds, but these are for sale. $18 per set. Pin set does not include nuts (did they have nuts?), all will need old tape scraped off and new tape (like Skorpyo listed above) put on.

Cool. What is the handle out of?

This is me. Hahaha

Haha, thanks Don. I've seen it, when I pulled these parts a couple years ago. Can't remember, and of course didn't take pics... or maybe it was missing.

Thanks guys. Yes, that is the thread I was looking at and I couldn't see the pics. Don't know if its my mac computer or the fact I'm currently out of data and running at dial up speeds. So the factory cut out was a perfectly round hole? I can kinda eyeball it from the pic, but would you mind measuring it and giving me a diameter?

I hated to post this, as I think the answer is out there, but the photobuket thing is preventing me from being able to see it. I am installing factory tow hooks with the 3 piece bracket on each side. I know I will need to trim the air dam to clear the hooks, and I want it to be as close to factory as possible. Can someone past a pic of the air dam that is factory cut for tow hooks? Or perhaps, have a printable template? Thanks

So is getting the dash lights to work a pain? Should I be looking for another 242 equipped XJ to get some wiring pigtails? Hadn't thought of that.