Dzimm

To be fair I have a love/hate relationship with Windows. It's fantastic when it works but it's really stupid when it doesnt. Windows decided to be stupid on me today and now I get to do a complete fresh install because it completely fully broke itself. I built this PC back in 2014 using a Windows 10 Pro license I got through Iowa State University. I finally decided to upgrade my mobo, cpu, and ram to get onto some new/better hardware because I was still on a Piledriver FX-8320 CPU, plus I am sick of dealing with ethernet issues due to the NIC slowly failing from a lightning strike a couple years ago. First Windows wouldn't accept my license on the new hardware so I called microsoft. Basically told me with the activation errors I was getting I'd have to either provide proof of purchase or buy a new product key at $350 because its Pro and MAYBE they could offer me a discount. I said absolutely not to that price and gave the ISU tech department a call and they didn't have my university email inbox anymore so I no longer have proof of purchase. Next I hooked up some spare parts to make my old hardware whole enough again and performed a system restore to a few days ago to get to a point where windows was activated. That worked so I linked it to microsoft account and now my activation is linked to my account so I can transfer it anywhere, great I'm off to the races now! Put my SSD back in with the new hardware and booted it up and it did the few BIOS restarts while it figured out how to boot with the new hardware and then BSOD, auto repair fails, can't boot into safe mode, can't do any form of reset from that SSD, can't do anything but access the BIOS which does nothing for me in regards to windows. Same results on the old hardware telling me Windows done ducked itself.. currently waiting for my new install media to finish downloading so I can make an install tool.. I know a lot of you guys have had fantastic experiences with Windows yourselves, figured I'd share the latest stupid Windows moment.

This^^^^ very important to know. When the OP said 8+ inches I was expecting a cobbled mess but this actually looks like the lift was done well for the setup it's using. At least there is no undoing cobbled crap with this one.

In that case you know the trans is good, the motor is about the only other main part isn't it? Maybe pull it apart and inspect it for any obvious issues it may have. If all looks good otherwise maybe a motor replacement is worth it to get you along for a while longer.

I'm one who usually fixes vs replaces. I agree with the above that the new stuff is expensive and has all kinds of crazy tech now. A lot more to go wrong on new ones compared to the more simple old ones. That's said, there is a chance of further failures moving forward if you do fix it but then again you could go another 10 years without issue. Weigh your pros/cons.

Get some fabric and apart glue and recover it. On my XJ I took the fabric off, brushed the glue off and then threw some extra bed liner I had on it.

Would be nice if Ford made them. If you have done the research and found Nylon to be the only feasible solution, it's not going to be condusive to making a cheap replacement via 3D printing. Definitely could work but man that's a PIA to get good prints. I'm still struggling to get good repeatable results with ABS. For an enclosure I just broke down and bought the Creality one. It gets pretty dang hot in their during long PETG prints.

Definitely could model these up pretty quick. Don't want to step on any toes if @Foffett was actually working on these though. I would agree with him that ABS would be the best material strictly for temperature resistance, Nylon would be overkill. I'm not concerned with the force on the clip as it would be negligible. If someone happened to have a temperature probe they could place in this location and run the truck up nice and hot to get some actual temperature measurements that would be helpful.

Don't pull the dash try the bit in a wrench first because you probably have the tools already for that. Worst case grab the screw with vise grips real tight and pull the screw away from the dash, it'll bend the metal around the home a bit but it's fine. You can absolutely get that out without pulling the dash.

Just take the CEL bulb out and you'll never know! Only proper fix is to swap the PCM, not really a way to trick it to think the trans is there and working unless you were an electrical engineer and came up with some circuitry to do it.

If you have a philips bit, use a 1/4" wrench and some tape to hold it in the wrench.

Turning the car off/on did nothing or it caused it to drive fine for a bit afterwards? If it seems to be fine after shifting/power cycling that would point more to an electrical/sensor issue.

I've found that very few companies respond to request forms on their website, even very reputable companies. You pretty much have to find a phone number and actually talk to someone to get the ball rolling sometimes.

Pending, whos buying it?

Oh God yeah if you are still on a closed system, convert it.

^^^this is a good point. You will want to do the fluid change multiple times to get all the old fluid out. If at all possible you should drive it to circulate the fluid over running on jackstands but that will work in a pinch, just be sure to chock the front wheels and point it in a safe direction in case it falls. Also make sure you are in it to hit the brakes if that happens.

I'd grab yourself a new radiator cap. They are designed to release pressure at like 15psi or something like that. If yours isn't working properly then you would be building pressure in the cooling system and the weakest link would be your expansion bottle.

TROUBLESHOOT THE ISSUE FIRST!! As mentioned it's likely transmission related but don't start tearing it apart yet and don't just fire the parts cannon at it. First unplug your TCU and try to drive it starting in 1st gear and shifting manually to 3rd then D. This will determine if it's an electrical or mechanical issue. If it does still has power loss with the TCU unplugged, you will know it's a mechanical issue. Assuming it's mechanical, you would then move to a fluid drain and replace and test again. Post up your results of the TCU test and results of the fluid change if it's a mechanical issue. We can then help from there.

Yeah hopefully it's not your heater core. Really sucky job, especially doing it twice. Those heater control valves are known to fail and they leak coolant all over in that area. I almost forgot about that since I don't have it on any of my Jeeps anymore. If that is the problem, just take it out and either get new hoses that run all the way to the firewall (97+ XJs have the correct hoses so search for them rather than your year MJ). Other option is to get unions and hose clamps and splice the hoses together. The valve is useless really, and you'll have no issues without it. Just be sure to plug the vacuum line if you remove it. Post up your findings, really interested in what this leak will be from.

If you look at the firewall behind your oil filter you will see a little black spout an inch or two long. If this gets plugged it can cause water, and coolant if your heater core is leaking, to leak out of the box on to the floor and such. If you already replaced the heater core it's unlikely this is the issue but worth checking around to make sure. Do you still have the black plastic heater control valve thing in the hoses going to the heater core or are they solid hoses from the front of the engine all the way to the firewall? It would be almost directly above the oil filter.

That's a very odd spot. There isn't any sign of coolant elsewhere? My first thought would be rear freeze plug if you see coolant this far back but it likely wouldn't reach the frame rail. The only other thing I could think to do is check you passenger floor board and hvac box drain to see if it you heater core is leaking maybe.

I've linked one of the more detailed projects below. My 97+ build is also linked in my signature below. You have to look through the build thread section for 97+ swaps and you'll find all the info for anything on it. I believe there is info in the Write-ups section as well. As far as the rear harness, I'd recommend retaining the plug block from the rear of the XJ where all the rear harnesses plug into, this rearward is where you'll have to make some harness changes but you can plug the modified harnesses in here. You can take the XJ fuel pump harness and adapt it to work with other fuel pumps. I used a Dodge dakota tank and pump as it fits in the factory fuel tank location under the bed. I made an adapter for the wiring as the plugs are different but the fuel sender signals work with the XJ fuel gauge which is a huge plus for this setup. The taillights I just cut and extended the XJ taillight harness and modified the XJ bulb sockets to fit in the MJ taillights. I feel this is the easiest way to go about it. You could of course do it all custom but that's a lot of work compared to modifying the factory harnesses.

Yeah as mentioned start with a new seal and lock ring. If it still leaks then as suggested you can seal it up however I'd use a sealant specifically designed for fuel tanks rather than JB weld. Also, I'd be weary of having your mechanic doing anything else to the truck. There is no additional welding or anything of the sort on that flange, it's factory. If they haven't seen this style of lock ring, they likely have very little experience on anything but newer vehicles.

Yes I make cupholders in both of the styles mentioned here and have a third in the works. They are available for sale in the Vendors section. I had no idea this post existed.

You guys are thinking way too into it. Mine is crushed there as well as further down, from what I can tell the lower one is to clear the front driveshaft u-joint. I had to crush mine a little more for the blue truck due to some rubbing right there. The crush you are referencing above the O2 sensor is very likely to add clearance to something. As far as the performance difference theories, the Engine Masters guys tested crushing your exhaust because it was a common thing to do to get everything to fit in the old muscle cars. Their testing resulted in no changes with the exhaust uncrushed vs crushed, even on high performance engines. "Back pressure" here we go...

Big question I haven't seen answered yet, how rotten is the frame?