AZJeff

Thank you, sir, that is perfect!

Does anyone know the "official" specifications for the wheelbase length of a MJ with the "short bed"? I am looking for something more than just "110" or whatever. I am hoping someone can tell me it's supposed to be "XXX inches, plus or minus Y inches"

Since you probably will not find a Comanche-specific harness, I would just hard wire (with solder and heat-shrink tubing) a trailer connector into the back of the vehicle. Stay away from butt-splices, unless you can keep them from getting water into them from under the vehicle. They tend to oxidize and become intermittent when exposed to a moist environment.

The ZJ and KJ factory drum type parking brakes work as good as any, provided they are adjusted properly and free of mud and other crap. The factory would not have installed an ineffective parking brake. Most of the issue is people using worn out junkyard parts in their conversions, and declaring all drum parking brakes junk.

That is completely dependent on where the vehicle lived. Here in AZ, the nuts come off the studs on ALL the XJ handles no sweat. I would guess up in your area, the rust on the studs makes it problematic.

Given the non-pressurized nature of the oil distribution in the rocker arm, I doubt it makes any difference. The FSM makes no mention of orientation consistency, either.

AGREED. They are cheap, and if you own/fix old Jeeps, they can help you identify suspicious noises that seem to crop up.

Here is my suggestion (having been in your shoes): Most of your decision should be based on the compression test and oil pressure. However, since you state that you have a trashed valved on one cylinder, at least one of your six compression test readings may be invalid. If compression on 5 of six is pretty even, and within acceptable limits for age, it's probably a good bet the valve is the cause of the low reading on the remaining cylinder. Once the head is pulled to deal with the valve issues, you can visually examine the low cylinder and confirm it's walls are smooth, and the piston doesn't rock too much. That would indicate that a refreshed head would make all things good in the cylinders, and that would be the route I would do on the top. If the oil pressure is within the normal range, don't worry about the bottom end. (This assumes you have no funky knocking noises right now.) If the bottom end leaks (pan/RMS), then drop the pan to fix that, and for less than $50, you can throw in a high volume oil pump that would boost pressures on loose bearings a bit. If the bottom is NOT leaking, just leave it be, assuming the oil pressure is OK.

But after the body refresh in 1997, only black handles were offered on the XJ.

I have had this happen as well. If the threaded portion of the ball stud (as that is it's name) is not too mushroomed, you can grind a chamfer on the first thread or two to allow the castle nut to thread on. A dremel tool is your best bet for doing this on the car. If you get to the point where the grinding enters the area where the nut will be on the threads when fully tightened, then it's too damaged to be reused, and a new tie rod will be needed.

You are my new best friend. THANK YOU!!

I am guessing the part numbers are different for the early and late switches. Does anyone know what are the correct part numbers are for a 2001 XJ cruise control switch group? I guess I could ask the dealer....

I don't know for sure what year the original buttons came from (either 2000 or 2001). The replacement buttons I put in came from a 2000, and changed nothing about the behavior. The PCM came from a 2001, but has been refurbished by an independent shop in the past, so I assume it was from a 2001 originally. Here are the exact behaviors: · When the switch on the steering column is pressed to turn the cruise control “on”, the light on the instrument panel saying “cruise” comes on. · However, as soon as any controls are touched (including brake or accelerator), the cruise light goes out, and of course, there is no cruise control function. I have used the FSM to chase down the cruise control system wiring. Here is what I have done so far: 1. checked all wiring between PCM and servo. Checked all wiring between PCM and buttons on steering wheel. Checked all wiring to brake light switch. 2. replaced servo with new Mopar unit 3. replaced clockspring (due to horn issues, but it also feeds cruise signals down column) with new Mopar unit. 4. replaced switches in steering column (used, but checked out the same as old ones with ohm-meter) 5. sent PCM back to original repair shop, who reports "no trouble found" What's next?

As my sig. line shows, my MJ actually has a 2001 XJ engine control system in it. I have been struggling to figure out why the cruise control does not work, and have been chasing wiring and replacing parts with no sucess. I need the help of an "jedi master" on the cruise control systems used in the later XJ vehicles. Can anyone recommend someone either here, or on one of the XJ forums, that I can talk to and pick his/her brain about how to diagnose my issue correctly?

About 3 gallons of crazy glue should hold it down.

Dielectric grease also has another function, one that is common to many low-current or low voltage connections: it prevents "fretting corrosion". This type of corrosion can happen on almost any connector that does not have silver or gold or platinum plating on the contact points (fat chance of that on most auto connectors.) The grease seals out oxygen at the interface point between the two contact surfaces (at the almost microscopic level) and prevents increase in impedance (resistance) across the joint over time. Lots of different greases will work, as long as they do NOT have any metallic components in them (like molybdenum, lithium, or such). Silicone greases are the most common dielectric type, but polyethylene greases work well, too.

How does one use a bubble angle finder to determine caster? I know the principle of caster, and how it is set, but I don't see how you can attach a level to anything that is parallel to the centerlines of the two balljoint studs to measure the angle. Can you explain, please?

My bad. I misunderstood. How clean and smooth is the bore of the MC where the reservoir is inserted? I ask because if you used new o-rings when you got the new reservoir, the only other possible source of leakage would be a corroded bore....

Fluid leaking between the MC and the booster means a leaky, defective master cylinder. Replace it.

I will affirm Eagle's thoughts. Ground temperatures down 10 feet are going to be 60 degrees, even here in AZ. If the gas station tank has not been refilled recently, that is the temperature of the fuel you put into your tank when you refueled. Now let that gas sit in a tank in 110 degree air, and where the pavement under the truck is probably 140 degrees. That fuel is going to heat up a bunch, probably close to air temperature. And it will expand--a LOT. Fix your vent lines, and all should be normal again.

The small hole in the thermostat is supposed to help with "burping" the system to remove air upon refilling. It DOES help. Since only OEM thermostats have those, I always add two holes to my replacement thermostats before installing. I drill a 1/16" hole 180 degrees apart on the flange, and then install the thermostat with one of the holes at the "12 o'clock" position.

I just went thru this issue. To avoid spring rubbing, three things have to be set correctly: 1. The axle must be centered under the chassis by adjusting the track bar so that distance from the outside of the wheel to the outer edge of fender flare is equal on both sides. On a lifted MJ/XJ, this will require an adjustable track bar. 2. The axle spring seat must be centered under the spring seat on the chassis. On a lifted vehicle, this usually means extended control arms are needed if the lift is over about 2 inches. 3. The axle spring seat must be PARALLEL to the one on the chassis. This keeps the front spring from bowing in a manner that will cause it to hit the track bar bracket on the chassis. The only way to control this parallelism is with adjustable control arms. (This will also control your caster angle as well.) It sounds like you have tried to control all of the above, but the one variable that seems unknown is if the springs are really intended for an MJ/XJ. If their OD is too large, no amount of adjustment will compensate.

Do you have the wiring diagrams for both an 89 MJ and a 2000 XJ? That’s the first thing I would get before even STARTING the conversion. This is NOT a plug and play upgrade.

Agreed. Try this to confirm: Start the engine, and while it's still stationary, run the throttle up to about 2000 rpm for about 10 seconds, and then idle back down. Then put it in gear and drive away. If the problem is gone (or substantially reduced) it's your fuel line that is filled with percolated fuel due to heat soak. Fixing heat soak requires shielding/insulating the fuel line in the vulnerable areas (near the exhaust)

These are VERY good points that I did a less eloquent job of describing. Making this kind of stuff isn't cheap or easy. Look at how much suppliers charge for the fender flares for an XJ/MJ, and the demand for that part is MUCH higher.