socal1200r

Went to the local Jeep dealer today, and asked them if the water temp and oil pressure sending units for gauges were the same for a 4-cyl and 6-cyl, and he said they are. Even showed me the parts picture on the computer screen, and they listed the same part numbers for either engine. So it looks like my gauge cluster swap is complete, and I'll just have to get used to the water temp and oil pressure readings being on the "high" side for now...

Faulty catalytic converter?

Went to Advance Auto this morning to pick up my new water temp sending unit, and I took a pic of all three sending units, for comparison. Looking at the senders from left to right, this is what you're looking at: Stock sending unit for idiot light / Duralast TU108, per thread, but for an idiot light / WT761, sending unit for a gauge So I removed the Duralast unit and installed the WT761 unit, and the water temp gauge now seems to work. Only concern is once it gets warmed up, the needle sits just to the left of the red area, right by the white mark. It's way above 210, not sure what degrees that white mark just to the left of the red area is, but since the idiot light never went on, I'm not going to worry about it for now. But it looks like I have fully operational gauges now!

Here's a sample from Summit of a Thrush glasspack and Thrush chambered muffler: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-24201/ (Thrush glasspack, $24) http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-17655/ (Thrush all-welded chambered, $30) To me, the all-welded chambered design is well worth the extra $6...

Went down to the local Advance Auto, and had them look up a water temperature sending unit for a gauge for an '87 XJ 6-cyl, to match the gauge cluster, and got their part number WT761. They didn't have one in stock, but should have one tomorrow. Should be a simple swap to replace the Duralast/Wells TU108 I have in there now, which doesn't appear to be working correctly, with this one. Good thing I was looking over the guy's shoulder while he was looking in the catalog, because he was going to order me another sending unit for an idiot light, but when I looked at the bottom of the opposite page, there was the section for sending units with gauges, and the part numbers were different, lol! So, I should definitely be getting a water temperature sending unit for a gauge sometime tomorrow. If price is any indication, this WT761, at about $18, is double the price of the Duralast/Wells TU108 sending unit, so hopefully that's another clue this will be the correct sending unit for the water temperature gauge. Since my oil pressure gauge appears to be working correctly, I was wondering what's the "normal" range of oil psi for the 4 cyl engine? According to the gauge, I'm running around 60 psi when in motion, and slightly less at idle. Is this the normal psi, or am I going to have to check and make sure I have the right oil pressure sending unit? The oil pressure gauge is working, but I need to know if it's reading correctly...

I know I need a sender for a gauge, and according to this thread, the part that I got was the one that was listed (Wells TU108): http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=921205 Not sure how much different they are visually, other than the gauge sender being longer than the idiot light sender? There's a BIG difference between the oil pressure idiot light and oil pressure gauge sending units, but I guess that's because it's a pressure gauge, and not a temperature gauge? The gauge cluster came out of an '87 XJ 6-cyl, and my MJ is an '88 4-cyl, so the clusters themselves should be easily compatible. The oil pressure sending unit looks to be operating correctly, but I have no clue what's going on with the water temperature gauge. I crimped the wire connector so it fits nice and snug now, but the gauge still pegs to the right when it's warm. However, it starts at the mark between 100 and 210 at startup, but then creeps all the way to the right when it gets warm. I'm thinking of going back to Auto Zone with the old water temp idiot light sending unit, and asking them for a water temperature sending unit for a gauge, and see if they give me the same part I already got. If so, I'll try Advance Auto, Napa, then maybe a dealer, just to see if they all want to give me the same part I already have...

Got the gauge cluster swap done, took my time, had my coffee, didn't end up breaking anything or cussing up a storm, lol... Anyway, one gauge doesn't seem to be working properly, it's the water temp gauge. I installed a new temp sensor, Duralast part # TU108, and the first thing I noticed is it's deeper/longer than the stock one. I also noticed that the switch cap doesn't fit real snug. It goes on, but it feels kinda loose. So I fired up the truck to check the gauges, was fiddling with the idle, watching the rpms move up and down, everything seemed to be fine. But, after a mile or two down the road, the water temp gauge pegged all the way in the red. Oil pressure was reading right around 60 psi, and would drop a little bit when I came to a stop. Fuel gauge appeared to be accurate, compared to what the big fuel gauge was reading on the stock cluster. So I pulled over, popped the hood and took the water temp switch cap off, and it dropped to the mark between 100 and 210, and didn't move. As soon as I put the switch cap back on, it went all the way to the right. So I took it off again, left it off, and drove back home. The water temp gauge stayed right at the middle mark between 100 and 210. I checked it again after I got home, put the switch cap back on, and it moved all the way to the right. So from what I've read in here, the water temp and oil pressure sending units are supposed to match the gauge cluster from the donor vehicle, not the vehicle it's supposed to go into, right? So I have a 6-cyl XJ cluster going into my 4-cyl MJ, so I got the sending units for a 6-cyl. Just for kicks, I went to Auto Zone's website, just to see if there was a different part number between a water temp sending unit for a 6-cyl and 4-cyl, and they list the same part number for both. So I'm back to square one. What's wrong with the water temp gauge? Is it the loose switch cap, would that cause the gauge to peg? I'm not low on coolant, and there's no coolant leaks under the vehicle where it's parked, so what's going on?

Shoot, just my luck...no, the "junction" was on the donor vehicle, an XJ that had power everything. I haven't looked at the speedo cable on my MJ yet, plan on doing that either on Sun or Mon. I'll follow the threads and make sure I remove the right cluster next to the gauges, where a clock or something is supposed to go, and see if I can reach my hand behind the speedo and unclip the cable. I've gotten this far, so I don't want to risk breaking anything just yet. I'll follow the speedo cable on the MJ, and if it doesn't have a junction like the donor XJ had, I'll take the partial cable off the back of the donor cluster, and figure out a way to unclip then reclip the MJ cable to the new cluster.

That was an awesome writeup on this procedure! I got a full gauge cluster from an '87 XJ 4.0/automatic, and stopped at an auto parts store on the way home and bought the water temp and oil pressure senders. One thing to add to this procedure, is that instead of trying to remove the speedo cable from the back of the gauge (the seller or I couldn't get our hands back there to unsnap the cable fitting), follow the cable to where it joins the rest of the cable, and just disconnect it there. I followed the procedure to adjust the odometer, and removing the teeny tiny c-clip took some doing. But after it was off, I followed the directions as posted, and was able to easily change the numbers to match my current odometer reading, too easy! Everything else looks fairly easy, provided I take my time and not force anything, so nothing ends up getting broken. One thing I was thinking of doing was replacing the regular filament 194 bulbs with LEDs. Has anyone done this? The reason I'm asking is I tried upgrading the incandescent bulbs on my motorcycle to LEDs, and they didn't work properly when I had them in the 4 turn signals and rear brake light. So I'm wondering if I swapped all twelve 194 bulbs on the back (9 for cluster illumination and 1 each for turn signals and high beam indicator) to LEDs if they'll all work like they're supposed to? If so, I'm thinking of going with red LEDs for the cluster illumination, and white for the turn signals and high beam indicator. With how much of a PITA it'll be to pull the gauge cluster to replace bulbs in the future, I'd like to replace them now before I install the new cluster.

For the price of a decent glasspack, you could get a Thrush all-welded chambered muffler, which IMHO is a better deal...but it's your money, get whatever you'll be happy with...

Get one of these: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-17655/ I have one of these on my MJ, and sounds pretty nice. They're less than half the price of a comparable Flowmaster or Magnaflow all-welded chambered muffler. Shipping is around $10, so check your local auto parts store, they might have one in stock. I got mine from a local Advance Auto, for about $38.

I know what you mean about taking the panels on and off...I'm planning on going to the local pick and pull today, and see if I can find the lower window trim piece for the passenger door. If I find one, I was going to try and install it today, but since I have those vertical window seals on order, I think I'll wait until I get them. That way, if I have to pull the door panel, I'll only have to do it once, and I can install the window trim and vertical seals at the same time.

Nice find...I'm still smarting from paying $116 for the 4 window wipes from Team Cherokee... Went outside and took a look at those vertical seals, and the driver's side one is rotted. The passenger side looks to be in good shape, but if they're as easy to install as you're saying, I'll just replace them both. So I ordered one of those style 24 window rubbers you had the link to, should get them next week. Hopefully, between these vertical seals and the window wipes I just installed, the glass should fit nice and snug, no rattling, and hopefully no water leaks down inside the door. I still have to make a trip to the local pick and pull, to get the aluminum window trim that goes along the very bottom edge on the outside, but after that, the window seals should be good to go...

Okay, followed the pics in Pete's thread: disconnected the three "tubes" going into the end piece of the CAD cover; removed the CAD cover; lined up the shafts and slid the collar over the shaft; removed the c-clip and shifted the fork over in the CAD cover, put the c-clip back on, plugged the three hose ends on the cover, and put the CAD cover back on; removed the front diff fill plug and topped off with gear oil; zip tied all three tubes up and out of the way. I played around with the lever and put the MJ into 4H and 4L in the back yard, and noticed something right away. Before I did this mod, when I pressed in the clutch, the truck would still roll a few feet, like a "normal" 2wd truck would do. Now, even with the lever in 2H, it stops rolling right away. Is this because I locked the CAD and it's normal, even though it didn't do it before, or is it "stuck" in 4wd now? Hopefully this is "normal", and I'll just have to get used to it. But it definitely didn't do that before, so I just want to make sure I did this right, and everything is working the way it should. UPDATE - just drove it on the street for a few miles, and I think all is well. There doesn't seem to be a big difference between how it drives in 2H or 4H, just a little more gear noise from the front. But when I pulled over and stopped, put it into 4L, and took off, yeah, it's in 4L, that's for sure. So it seems to move between 2H - 4H - 4L and back as it should, all thru the lever. So I'm guessing I did this mod correctly, and everything works the way it should.

When you say, "line everything up", what are you referring to? So this isn't as simple as removing the cover, sliding the collar over, moving the fork in the cover over, then putting it back on? Are we talking something similar to lining up timing gears, should I mark them before I start messing with the collar? What would have to be lined up by turning the driveshaft? And since the 4wd isn't engaged, the driveshaft should turn "by hand"? As for the fluid loss, I suppose I could put some gear oil back in thru that upper bolt on the CAD cover?

So if I'm following this correctly, locking the CAD and "disabling" the vacuum-assist will ensure that the lever in the cab will positively engage and disengage the 4wd system? Correct. Jeep did away with the CAD by the end of 93 anyway, and all Jeeps with a 228/229/242 have a non-CAD 30 as well. One more thing...in the thread that Pete linked to, the pics show the front axle being up on jackstands. That's not really necessary to do this mod, right? There should be enough room underneath to remove that cover and slide the collar over, move the fork over in the cover, then re-attach and be done with it? No mention was made of gaskets, so does care need to be taken when removing the CAD cover, or just make sure I clean the mating surfaces and put down some RTV, or?

So if I'm following this correctly, locking the CAD and "disabling" the vacuum-assist will ensure that the lever in the cab will positively engage and disengage the 4wd system?

Okay, my newbieness to the 4wd community will show here. What are the preferred procedures for operating the 4wd system on a manual trans MJ? I've heard that some 4wd systems you have to drive in reverse for several feet to engage/disengage the 4wd, some you have to be completely stopped, etc. So how about it, what's the step by step for proper usage of our 4wd systems, and what to listen/look for to make sure it's working the way it's supposed to?

In my MJ, that console would have to be placed pretty close to the bottom of the back of the cab, in order to clear the back of the bench seat. Since the seat back is at an angle, with more room at the bottom that at the top, something like that would have to go closer to the floor. But if the speakers are already mounted in it, should be pretty easy to mount and wire up...

If you're referring to my comment about raising the roof, I think it could be done. But you'd have to concentrate on the roof only, that way the doors and glass won't be affected. Maybe start by taking some pictures of the stock roof, than playing around with it in some photo-editing software, to see what it would look like. I did this with a Harley Sportster I used to own, taking some pics and then using the paintbrush and pencil to black out the air cleaner cover, exhaust, pushrod tubes, handlebars, mirrors, shocks, etc. Thought about doing the engine and cases as well, but then it looked too black for my liking. Helped me decide to go with a black-out theme before the factory offered it as an option (i.e. the "Midnight" version). Don't want to hijack the thread, but here's a pic of when it was a work in progress: Back to your roof. I'm sure there will have to be a good amount of roof left intact, in order to support the windshield, back glass, and upper door frames. Do some drawings with a section of roof cut out, then maybe play around with some bows with a slight arch in them to give an idea of the angle of the new roof. If you look at the angle of the windshield, you might be able to "cheat", and not continue with the same angle on the new roof, by masking the leading edge of the new roof with something like one of those windshield visors? And you could "rake" the new roof slightly, with it being bigger in the back than in the front, to allow for more headroom. 'Course at the other end of the spectrum on that project would be an entirely new raised roof, with larger windshield and rear window glass, thicker door frames at the top, etc. Only limitation would be money and one's own imagination...

Hmmm...well, if you can't lower the seats anymore, the only thing left to do is raise the roof of the cab. Didn't Isuzu do that with one of their mini trucks, called a Space Cab? Seem to remember they had something like that, and it was a couple of inches taller than the regular pickup...

Maybe what you could do is put small bass speakers in the b-pillars down at the bottom, in the stock location, and put small midranges and tweeters up in the headliner? The midranges and tweeters shouldn't need too much depth, to the point where your head would hit the headliner? Visit a local car audio shop that does custom work, and see what they have to say. Heck, for that matter, they might be able to mount midranges and tweeters in the b pillar cover itself, and you'd have full clearance on the headliner?

Although a V8 swap like you mentioned would be VERY cool, I think you're on to something with leaving it mostly stock. After I got my MJ, I was all for modding it with a lift kit, bucket seat interior, roll bar, light bar, side step rails, etc. But knowing this truck is older than my daughters, I'm starting to lean towards leaving it mostly as is, so my kids will know what a truck was like back before they were born. Nothing like the super plush trucks of today, with all the electronic gizmos, steering wheel controls, leather captain's chairs, GPS, etc. I've been told that back in So Cal, these things have a cult following, like old air-cooled VW buses. And since that's where my MJ will eventually end up, I think it'll be best to keep it as stock as possible. Modifying it is an easy thing to do, but keeping it mostly stock, and running as a daily driver, will be the challenge, lol! I'm with ya on keeping it mostly stock, using it as a daily driver, but putting it away in the winter. You've got a low mileage gem there, and hopefully one that will last another 20+ years...

Got the window wipes today, and they went on pretty easy. Started with the driver's side, since I knew I could roll that window down and roll it back up (the passenger window won't roll up if it's rolled all the way down). I rolled the window all the way down, and removed the door panel. The inside wipe just pulls up, and the outside one is a little harder, just have to release the tension on the three clips and pull that one off. Test fitted the pieces, to make sure I had the right ones on the right doors. I started with the outside one first, pushing the "fuzzy" side of the wipe into the clip closest to the vent window. Then just pressed it down along the edge, pulling the clips slightly apart with a thin screwdriver, and seating the wipes. The inside piece was just as easy, just pushing down hard so the long edge got under the window channel edge. There's no way I could've done this without removing the door panel, because there's a lip on the inner wipe that the top edge of the door panel sits in. So the driver's side was done in about 15 minutes, and I started on the passenger side. I repeated the steps I just did for the driver's door, and went to install the outer wipe first, when I realized the clips were missing. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the aluminum trim piece along the very bottom of the window opening in the door was missing, thus the reason why the clips were missing! So I installed the wipe anyway, since I didn't have anything there in the first place, and didn't bother replacing the inner one, since it looked fine. Plus, I didn't want to risk lowering the window all the day again, and have to fight to get it rolled back up. The window rolled up fine, and will provide a nice seal against water dripping down into the door. I think these four pieces are WAY overpriced, since I paid $116 for all four delivered. But I'm planning on going to the local pick and pull tomorrow, and see if they have that missing window trim piece. Those window wipes will probably be one of the few OEM parts I'll ever buy for my MJ!

I vote for option 2 or 3. Sounds like you've got other 4x4s for when that bug bites you, especially the MJ in your sig pic! Keep the "upgrades" simple, and any mods functional, and I'd stay away from lifting, 4wd conversion, bucket seat conversion, etc. Clean her up, do some functional upgrades, but keep her mostly stock. She'll do well as an unabused daily driver, and you can always count on at least one vehicle to be up and running.