ghetdjc320

Good points. I’ve noticed that the seams is where I’ve always had issues. Factory seam sealer was 1k air dry and cracks with age. There is seam sealer in the bottom of both window frames on each corner and I suspect that to be a big factor. I removed all the factory seam sealer in the window frames along with most of the cab. Got down to clean metal, epoxy sealed it and used a 2k seam sealer. Either way though, the factory urethane should have been applied straight to the primer.

Cut and polish coming up

Teasers

Whatever you go with, make sure to follow the procedure for break in. Make a big difference in performance

The window sealing surfaces have been taped off now. Almost no body shops follow this practice but window urethane is supposed to be adhered only to epoxy sealer/primer per the TDS. Even the factory ignored this. There should be no base or clear under the urethane.

It may have been powder coated. It’s hard to tell for sure since the entire wheel was clear coated. No idea on color, just wanted to share a pic of the end result. I had these done professionally from a company in TX and I’m not sure what they used.

These are my restored turbines. The gray was painted, spokes polished and entire wheel clear coated.

Cab is in epoxy sealer

There are some XJ kits that cover most items. Changing the bushings in the leaf springs and control arms is quite a challenge. I’d recommend just replacing the arms since they are cheap. You’ll likely need an air hammer for the leaf springs.

^^ This is what i still see as the problem. You did not have this issue earlier. You need to find the root cause of this change. What eagle is describing is what he sees as characteristic of this transmission not the sudden onset of a problem. Personally I have never had any issues shifting into second or any other gear with the ba10/5. But putting all that aside, any sort of “sudden” onset of a problem is likely to have a root cause. Chocking up a sudden onset problem to something that you’ve been told is a problem you should be having is going to invite further issues. You’ve identified a leak of hydraulic fluid at the bellhousing. You’ve also stated that it’s not shifting as smoothly overall as when you got it. You recently had clutch work as well as a fluid change. You could first of all verify that there is indeed plenty of tranny oil in it by opening the fill plug and checking. A leaking slave cylinder or loose hydraulic fitting will only get worse. Keep hunting down the issue. I suspect you will indeed find the problem one way or another.

Akzo Nobel Lesonal clear

Time for some updates! Cab is now fully prepped and all body work complete. Ready for sealer. Had som “oil canning” in a damaged b pillar that took a lot of work. The metal had been stretched and did not want to cooperate. Learned how to use heat and controlled cooling to strategically shrink the panel back into place. Worked perfectly and eliminated the panel flop. Had to reconstruct the compound corner though which was a task and a half. Did one final retouch of all the critical seams in the window frames along with the firewall seams and windshield drain. Finished by skimming the panels in glaze to get them perfect. Will be sealing and painting in the next day or two. Just a few more small body panels to be completed before reassembly. Bed and glass can be installed and electrical can start.

Centric Posi-Quiet are the next best when it comes to parts store options.

Here is some info regarding brakes. General info on pads and rotors is covered in one of the paragraphs:

Very good info. Just remember that there is no place for a drywall screw on an MJ! Most of the plastic mounting tabs for interior trim are getting a bit brittle depending on where it was being stored. Pay close attention to the actual screw head. The link above is great. Get a good handful of those screws. Even if factory didn’t originally use that screw, use it if the application would benefit from it.

I’ll throw this out there for what it’s worth. I also have a great a many miles on the BA10, AX15 and NSG370. None of them are really truck trannys. The old 3 on the tree trannys and sm465’s were “truck” trannys. The BA10 was designed for a car and is a light duty but smooth shifting piece of junk. The AX15 saw life as the R151 behind turbo sports car application. All I’m saying is, don’t chock up bad shifts to a “truck” transmission. I’ve had problems with them all but they also shifted very well and didn’t require some special finessed technique to go in gear. The issues you are having do not sound normal. If I may make a suggestion; put aside the fluid or “truck” tranny debate for a bit and focus on that clutch. Try what cruiser said. We need to know if the clutch is fully disengaging before any more theories can be advanced.

I could snap some pics later. I saved all the factory hardware that was still good and labeled it. It’s primarily the head sizes that vary depending on application. They screw head design also prevents cracked plastic for many parts

Prepping the cab. Stripped down the problem areas I had on my old MJ along the back cab seams. Sprayed some epoxy down any place I got down to bare metal then replaced all the seam sealer. FYI, a great tool to remove the factory seam sealer is an oscilating tool with a scraper blade on it. The factory seam sealer was a very cheap one part sealer that has a tendency to crack. Poor application made the mater even worse. Fixing all the seams in both window frames is critical to keeping water out permanently. Also sealed all the joints from the new rocker panel and the striker reinforcement plates.

Once you activate the skim I don’t believe it can be deactivated on that PCM even with the factory scan tool. As mentioned above, program the keys to it. It’s actually a pretty nice imobilizer. I added one to my TJ and it worked great.

I ran the precision for a few years. Good pump overall. I’d recheck all the grounds though and check the quality of the wiring and connectors to the sending unit. Cruiser has some grounding tips for the fuel pump iirc.

So true, give it a try!

Being physically hard to shift could very well be the clutch. You mentioned they changed fluid around the time the clutch was changed which was about 200 miles ago?

That’s the Nick referred to above. He’s gone farther than anyone I know into the bendix systems.

Your switching from an AT to an MT? An AT doesn’t have a pilot bearing. The flex plate bolts directly to the torque converter.

If you’re going to have it all apart for a conversion, might as well replace it.