Dzimm

So I'm finally to the point of trying to start my MJ. I'm doing the full 97+ swap so keep that in mind here. Everything is hooked up and seems to be working fine, however when I turn the key to start it I get the relay in the cab clicking, the relay under the hood stays silent, and the starter does nothing. If I jump the starter directly, it turns the engine over no problem so I know the starter is good. I am getting fuel so that's good, I'm not getting spark. I know what my next steps are as far as working out the no spark issue but I wanted to rule out the NSS as a possible culprit. When I shift the Trans into reverse I get no reverse lights, telling me it's likely bad or needs adjusted. I made an attempt to adjust the NSS but through the whole range of motion the reverse lights never come on. My question is when the NSS fails could it keep the reverse lights from coming on regardless and is there another way to test the NSS other than the reverse lights? The truck won't start so I can't do any sort of driving tests and the only thing I could come up with is using the reverse lights but that isn't working. I'm trying not to have to fork over $$$ for a new NSS when that may not actually be the problem. If the NSS isn't at fault, what could be other causes of the starter relays clicking in the cab but not under the hood? I've swapped in multiple relays and cleaned all contacts I could both + and -. I will be picking up a voltmeter tomorrow to do some testing but any input would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah it's got everyone around here really shaken up. Life is short and it can end in an instant.

That's some quick thinking to snap some pics. Glad they didn't try to take the manche.

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/03/16/cheyenne-mountain-crash-killed-2-identities/ Good buddy of mine was close with one of the people killed in this accident. It's hard to see this kind of stuff happen. Even if you think you're fine, find another way home. Don't drink and drive.

X2 on the heater core. You can replace thermostats all day long but if the heater core is clogged you won't get any heat. When back flushing mine I had to duct tape the garden hose to the heater hose so it would have enough pressure to blow the clog out. Keep in mind that when you put too much pressure through it you run the risk of it blowing a hole and soaking your floorboard.

I would first try bypassing the heater core. There may be gunk coming from there causing problems. I had this happen in my 98 XJ, except it was not getting up to temp. I flushed it forward and backwards really good with a garden hose and a ton of gunk came out, then flushed the whole system again and problem solved. The next thing I would try is to replace the coolant temp sensors and inspect the wiring for them. With the needle resting at the edge of the gauge on 2 different gauge clusters, either this thing is running super super hot or there is an issue with the sensors/wiring.

Do NOT use the washer style wheel spacer. If you are gonna use them, always use the bolt on ones. That and you can't have a wheel adapter in the washer style, they all bolt on.

I am offended by everyone that gets offended. So, they need to stop offending me! :yes: Lol! If only it worked that way....

The best thing to have is a good quality spring loaded center punch and a seat belt cutter or knife. Duct tape them together if you want it in one tool. Nothing better.

I finally got some time, since it got really cold again....., to post on the major progress I've made since the last update. The day after the last post a buddy of mine took me out to his brother-in-law's farm to weld up the spring perches on the new axle. It took about 2 hours to measure and get the perches aligned and then I spent another hour triple checking everything to make sure it was in the right spot. It would have been much quicker and easier to mount them on the truck to set the angles and position but I had no choice but to bring the Dana 35 and measure it on the table. It actually turned out really good and my welds weren't too bad but I definitely am out of practice. The next few days I spent getting the rest of the axle cleaned up along with the front bumper. I had also brought the bumper along with the axle to weld on my light tabs and to fix the bars on the ends. After the bumper was cleaned up I drilled holes out to mount my fog lights. Here is the axle in primer and bolted to the new leaf springs. Sorry not the best picture but here are the fog lights and off-road lights on the bumper. The weekend following the axle and bumper welding I went with a buddy from work to pick up his dream vehicle. Its a 1946 Willy's CJ2a. The thing is super nice. It has a Chevy small block in it and riding on 33x12.5x15r but it needs a lot of work, all I'm gonna say is that the throttle is attached with a section of all-thread and no spring to retract it... that should give you an idea of how much work it needs. I really want a Willy's now.... For some reason I only have one picture of it and its not a very good one. And before anyone goes crazy, yes we know that isn't the original windshield frame. I also met up with a guy I found selling a fasctory MJ gas tank skid plate on CL. He rolled up in a moderately rusty 88. $20 later I got a skid plate. I planned on getting skids but realized I really needed one for the gas tank as it sits about a half inch lower than the frame rails. I will have to modify it to fit the Dakota tank but only slightly. The Dakota tank is about 6 inches longer but I plan on cutting one side of the MJ skid and laying flat to fill that last 6". It was around this time I decided it was time to order my lift. I was really set on getting the 4.5" from Hell Creek but at the last minute I went with the 4.5" kit from Rusty's. The reason I went this route was because for the same cost to my door I could also get axle shims, extended brake lines, and upgraded shocks. Last Friday it was dropped off at my workplace and I brought it home. I really am glad I went with this kit solely because those shocks are super sweet, plus the build quality of the other parts is really good, but mostly the shocks. They are like a brushed stainless with burnt orange ends and the extended brake lines are braided stainless with a semi-transparent orange sleeving. They will match the truck perfectly as I am painting it some form of orange when its done. I'd prefer a burnt orange like the shocks but that's a super expensive color. And no that isn't a bear under the table.. it's my husky investigating the empty boxes. The day after I got the lift it was already on the truck and wow is it tall now. I love it. It sits very nicely and I think it will look even better when it gets 33s. The lift really kicked me into high gear and that night I kept working until almost midnight on it. The biggest accomplishment after the lift was finally putting the flexplate bolts in. I had been dreading doing it because I had to re-loosen the bellhousing bolts and that's a pain in the A$$. The next day (Sunday) I got a lot more done. I had been fighting trying to get the trans dipstick tube back straight as it was bent very badly. I failed and ended up kinking it worse and breaking a hole in it. So i finally said screw it and pulled the trans pan off along with the dipstick tube. I took the route that many people seem to take and cut the tube and used some fuel line to splice it back together. In my case however I not only had to cut out the joint but also about 3 inches of the tube so my splice is a little bigger. Someday I'll fix it properly but for now it will be fine. While I had the pan off I changed the filter as well. I had never had a trans pan off before so it was very interesting for me to see some of the internal workings of the trans. New filter installed. The rest of that Saturday consisted of me getting pissed off at the tranny lines cause they just didn't want to cooperate. I gave up on them when I realized I didn't have the correct fittings on the radiator and moved on to cleaning up the engine bay wiring. I did have to make a slight modification to a sensor wire. The harness turned out to be set up for the standard boxy shaped intake manifold but this truck has the horseshoe shaped one so the sensor was on the far side of the manifold, about 6 inches too short. I busted out the soldering iron and made quick work of the problem. Yes I know I should use matching wire colors but this is what I had at the time. And here it is run cleanly and split loomed. I took Monday of this week off to work on the truck since it was so nice out. Got my fittings for the trans lines to mate with the rad and got the trans lines hooked up and finally all bolted into place. That bottom fitting is in a very horrible spot. Had to use a little BFH and the smallest 90* fitting I could find. Throughout this week i installed the starter and alternator as well as changed the oil and started prepping the engine for its first start in over a year, maybe two. I did find I had to jump the starter motor as turning the key I only get a click from the relay. The motor turns over and it sounds great! I very well could have gotten it running but I am not getting fuel up to the fuel rail. I know the pump I put in is good and that my wiring is correct. I can hear it prime but it won't push the fuel. My guess is that it is due to the lines being completely dry. I didn't spend much time playing with it as the battery of course dies quickly when turning a motor over and it gets tiring charging it with my XJ. Yesterday I met with 90piosport99 and got a front d/s and the evap canister and lines from a 98 XJ to put in the truck. I was hoping to get these installed and maybe have it running this weekend but it got freaking cold again and it snowed, which means I really have no desire to be outside. Hopefully next weekend it will finally come to life.

Very well said. And that was my first thought reading this, why part out an MJ for 4x4? XJs all day long.

This for sure yes. I just can't remember which is which. Definitely need both plugged in though.

I'm pretty sure the grey one is for the NSS. I could be wrong I'm just going off of memory.

I bought this off of ebay from 1timberlake. He is the same person i got my overhead console from. We exchanged phone numbers and h made a deal. I traded him my old RKE board that i had with 3 remotes and I gave him some cash on top of it. But they go from 80 all the way to 150 is what iv seen these boards go for. Each RKE board can have up to four remotes programmed to it. It came from the factory with two. So having the original two remotes and 2 additional OEM remotes is pretty cool. I recommend just messaging him on eBay and I'm sure he can hook you up. Wow that's not a bad price at all. I'll have to send him a message. Thanks!

Where are these available like that and what do they run? Multiple key fobs would be awesome to have.

Yeah after talking with the company they told me the truck is a box truck but it was like the biggest it could be before needing to be a standard truck and trailer. Due to delivery timing I ended up having to have it delivered at work, which worked out good for me and the driver. Idk why I didn't think of having it delivered there to begin with.

None of these new Jeeps will make it to 200,000+ miles. At the very least, not reliably. They're no 4.0. Sadly this is probably true.

Use vise-grips to clamp the tab and tap the vise grips with a hammer if need be. PB-Blaster will help break up any rust holding them on. Also wiggle the clip up and down as you pull it back helps.

The bolt pattern on stock XJ/MJ axles is 5x4.5 so you would need adapters, which would push the wheels out further. If I had to venture a guess on the TPMS sensors I assume it's some sort of air pressure sensor.

I've been running my Brown dogs (rubber mounts) for about a year and a half, you will feel/hear more of a "humming" at idle because of the stiffer rubber. I don't mind it so much since it reminds me of my old muscle cars :D ,It's a personal preference thing.OK that's good to hear. All you hear from people who don't like them are that it shakes so much you bounce around in the seat and parts fall off as you go down the road. I figured it wasn't too bad. Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

Yes, everything* B-pillar forward is interchangeable. The are a few exceptions but all the major stuff is exactly the same. You'll notice that some of the interior pieces are a little different just due to the smaller cab area and the roof line is a little taller in the MJ. You say you want to do a semi resto and maybe 4wd swap, well the first thing I'd do is find a donor XJ of a similar year that has 4wd and the accessories you want that is in decent shape in the front. They can be had cheap, especially if the body is rusted out or have been wrecked, and you'll have pretty much everything as a spare part. It is much cheaper going this route than finding each part individually when you end up needing it. It will also allow you to see how few differences there are between the MJ and XJ. Yes Aftermarket XJ stuff is bolt on in the front. Some XJ rear suspension parts do work but they work much differently than on the XJ. Such as 3" aal for an XJ may only give you 1" of lift on the MJ or may not give you any lift at all.

So I ordered my lift last week. Decided last minute to get the 4.5" kit from Rusty's. Well today I get a phone call from XPO Logistics to figure out delivery to my house.. They shipped it freight to my house. I didn't even know that was possible first of all and second I live on a long and narrow gravel lane and the only place to turn around is through the grass and dirt, which isn't a good idea with a semi potentially fully loaded. My last lift from RC came in multiple packages through UPS. Has anyone else had a lift ship freight before?

Just curious what brown dog mounts people are hating. Is it the rubber mounts or the Poly mounts? I've never heard a bad thing about them until reading this thread. The brown dog website states the Poly ones cause more vibes and that's why I opted for the rubber ones. I have yet to try them out. I'm just hoping they aren't bad. Edit: also their website says that if you over tighten the bushing it will cause vibes too.

ChrisFix on YouTube has a really good tutorial on re-wraping a steering wheel.

IIRC the MJs and XJ autos were always aw4 but I could be wrong. Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk