AZJeff

Radiator issues might cause overheating quickly, depending on environment, and for that reason might be #1. If oil pan shows signs of cracks, that's right up there as well. You are going to need taillights if you want to drive it on a public road, so that might be the next issue. The crossmember, as pathetic as it looks, is near the bottom. Thank God that XJ pieces fit here just fine, as there are a bazillion of those out there.

Cooling system maintenance is ESSENTIAL to a long-lived cooling system. And, given that the 4.0 MJ/XJ vehicles have a very marginal cooling system, it is doubly essential that the cooling system be flushed and refilled on a regular basis. Lots of people will be religious about changing oil, and then totally ignore the cooling system on the same vehicle. To do so on an MJ/XJ in particular is just asking for trouble.

Plastic tank radiators are the standard method of construction in modern cars (anything built after about 1995). For the most part, they are equivalent in durability to the older all-metal types. Like all other radiators, they are likely to fail due to corrosion because of lack of maintenance to the cooling system. if you flush your cooling system and replace the coolant periodically, you should see a reasonable service life from a rad with plastic/aluminum construction.

That's my buddy Robbie Layton. (Actually, I don't know him from Adam, but he is friends with Matt's Off-Road Recovery, and my son knows him.) Robbie is a REALLY GOOD body shop owner/operator. I wish I could afford to have him redo the paint on my MJ, but my wife feels that we need a house to live more than perfect paint on my Comanche.

I have NEVER seen any one use one of those down here in PHX, and in the 25 years I have lived here, I have had probably 10 windshields put in the various cars I have owned. The last 3-4 windshields that various shops have installed all involved using a very long handled "Stanley Knife" (aka utility knife).

I recently put a rad. in my 2014JK, and got it from Rock Auto. I chose a CSF with the OEM style plastic tanks and aluminum core. That radiator was made in Thailand, or at least that is what it said on the box. I have used CSF radiators in the past with no issue on my MJ and XJ. I think those were made in the Phillipines. We shall see how a made in Thailand radiator holds up. I was defect free out of the box. From my experience in sourcing parts in Asia before I retired, the Philippines and Thailand are several steps above China in quality and business ethics. (The Chinese will slip something over on a customer in a heartbeat if they think they can get away with it.)

I bought two inch thick foam sheet from Grainger, and then cut mine out with a large kitchen knife after tracing a pattern on to it with a black sharpie pen. I attached it to the heater box with contact cement. The edges are not as pretty as the die cut factory one, but it works just as well.

The proper term for that is the "cowl" of the vehicle.

Your average thief is not going to hang around your vehicle for long periods of time trying to figure out why the vehicle won't start. They want to smash a window, overpower the ignition lock, and be gone with the Jeep as quickly as possible. The longer they hang around a vehicle with a jacked up steering column and/or a broken window, the more attention it would attract. That said, I think HIDING the kill switch from plain sight does as much to defeat thieves as the actual kill switch itself. Putting an unmarked switch on the dash isn't nearly as effective as placing one in a location that a thief either cannot see, or would not think to look.

I have a center console in my MJ, and my kill switch is located inside the console, hidden inside the storage compartment in the console. Adding the siren/horn feature would require a method to detect unwanted attempts to start the vehicle, so that once starting is attempted while the pump is dead, it would trigger the horn. That's not a simple plug and play, since now you need an added sensor and circuit to indicate when the starter is engaged with the fuel pump power is off, and then trigger the horn in response. (It would also have to shut the horn OFF after you turn the fuel pump back on, for those times when you forget to turn the pump on before cranking. Ask me how I known. )

To some degree, that is true. Professionals (those who do windshields for a living) can get them out unbroken probably 90% of the time. Amateurs like myself wouldn't probably have NEAR that chance of success. For that reason, I never mess with windshields. I let the pros do it. Then again, I have full comprehensive insurance that covers my glass in my vehicles, so the cost to me is zero when I need a new windshield. (Side note: here in AZ, windshields have a surprising replacement rate. It it isn't flying rocks being kicked up by other vehicles, it's the pitting from wind-blown sand that trashes the visibility. I average a replacement glass on all of my Jeeps about once every 5 years. My JK Wrangler is the worst, where the nearly vertical surface insures that a rock hit will be a crack...on that vehicle, I average a new windshield every 3 years due to rock cracks)

To answer multiple comments on this thread: I have not tried the "5000" series Rancho shock, so I cannot comment on that particular version. I am just not a big fan of Rancho suspension parts in general, as I think there are better aftermarket brands than theirs, and at similar prices. The "Tab" various people are referring to on the lower end of the front shock absorber in an XJ/MJ is called a "bar pin"

Installing an XJ tank will destroy your ability to carry a spare tire in the OEM manner, and that means the spare goes in the bed (or you take a chance and skip the spare ) What I did was based on recommendations from fellow CC member "Dzimm" I installed a 22 gallon plastic gas tank from a 1998 Dodge Dakota pickup. The Dakota uses the more modern style of fuel pump commonly found on the XJ's as well, so there may be some adaptation needed for your wiring to connect to that pump/fuel sender unit to your older MJ wiring harness Dzimm can probably chime in on any special tricks for that wiring, as he was an invaluable source of info when I converted my MJ.

I don't like Rancho suspension parts in general, so I an going to suggest an alternative for the front: KYB They are modestly priced, and provide good balance between dampening and ride. Another good choice is Quadratec's house brand of shocks.

The windshield in an XJ (and MJ) is glued in with special urethane adhesive intended for automotive windshields. The adhesive is thick and strong, and the bead that attaches the glass to the cab is normally 1/2" to 3/4" wide and about 1/4"-3/8" thick. An auto glass shop will normally use a special utility knife with a handle about 16" long to cut the adhesive around the glass perimeter from the INSIDE of the cab. Once that is done, the glass can be pulled out. If you intend to try to salvage this glass, you will need to use the method described above. (The long knife handle gives you better leverage to cut the adhesive.) By the way, if you intend to ever install this salvaged glass, you will need to clean virtually ALL of the old adhesive from the glass once is removed so that new adhesive can be applied to the windshield when you install it into it's new home. One last thing--the trim around the windshield on a 2001XJ (that covers the gap between the glass edge and the body) will be a one piece rubber "ring" that slips over the edge of the glass prior to installation. The trim on an MJ as built at the factory would have been a series of metal pieces that attach to clips on the body to cover thet same gap. I prefer the later XJ style of trim, because it's easier to install, and eliminates any potential for rust to form between the metal trim pieces and the painted body. The good news is that the later rubber-ring trim from the XJ will work just fine on the MJ, as long as you remove the small plastic clips that were used to retain the metal trim when you install the rubber-ring.

An emissions test report would be helpful to make sure the OP is actually attacking the correct issue with new parts.

Let's start with some basics. I think your emissions failure is due to "excessive hydrocarbons", as that is the term used when evaluating exhaust emissions. Excessive hydrocarbons (aka "high HC") is in indication your Jeep is not burning the fuel correctly, meaning that there is too much fuel for a given amount of air entering the engine, or what fuel it IS getting is not burning fully due to poor compression, or poor ignition, or both. I assume you have some sort of formal report from a Delaware state approved emissions testing facility that would indicate what the results of their testing indicated. If you can attach a copy, or transcribe what is in the report, it would help us figure out what is going on. Just guessing and trying this or that is likely to be an exercise in frustration, so we need more details.

No, I do not, unfortunately.

Where did you source that evaporator? ( It's not a 97+ XJ type, BTW.)

YES, that is correct.

SoCalJeepComanche hooked me up with my semi-custom set of decals/stickers for my MJ. Mine is slightly unusual in that I have a 2000XJ's driveline in it, so my underhand "emissions" sticker should reference the 2000XJ information, but the rest of the stuff would be for the actual MJ chassis, which is from 1989. Here are the results in place. I did have to do something a bit unusual for my emissions sticker because the engine compartment is coated in bed liner, which a conventional sticker with pressure sensitive adhesive won't like. What I did was to attach the sticker to a sheet of thin aluminum of the same size as the sticker, and then pop rivet this assembly to the firewall in the appropriate spot. The rivets are almost unnoticeable, and thus the sticker looks OEM in appearance.

Our man in Guam is correct---an OEM one made from copper would be best. That said, they are like unicorns, so good luck. The next best choice is to go on to Rock Auto and look at all the aftermarket brands out there. I tend to try to choose heater cores from someone who has been in the aftermarket biz a while, and thus isn't just pushing out crap to make a quick buck and then fold their tent and move on. When did mine a few months ago, I chose one from Four Seasons, mainly because they have been providing aftermarket HVAC parts for a long time, and probably have at least decent suppliers for their cores and evaporators.

DO NOT USE URETHANE. Urethane is harmful to acrylic lenses. I did a bunch of research on this before I redid my taillights, and my initial plan was to use urethane, since I have experience with it as a retired engineer. Once I found MULTIPLE sources that said that urethanes and acrylics don't mix, I dropped it from my list of candidates for bonding the lenses. I would steer away from many RTV's due to UV stability issues. I live in AZ, and the sun here can be IMPRESSIVELY strong. That would make me worry about RTV longevity when exposed regularly to strong sunlight. (You should see my treated lumber trellises for the vines in my back yard...8 years old and due for replacement from sunlight damage.)

I used RTV, and found it bonded VERY poorly to the acrylic lens. I documented this in my write up. Based on my experience, I do NOT recommend RTV silicones for this application.

HERE YOU GO. MJ Taillight Restoration