AZJeff

That is pretty neat and a good find. It saves a bunch of hassle. Too bad Teraflex doesn't supply those with their kit....

Here is a case of YMMV. I have a 1991 F150 that I had repainted my MAACO. They used the traditional acrylic enamel (not the more modern urethane with clear coat overlay), and other than a couple of very small bubbles in the paint on the hood, it's still good to go 8 years after painting. AZ sun is tough on paint, so I think that MAACO can do a good job if you do a lot of prep work. In the case of my truck, I took off almost everything I could, including stuff like headlights, tail lights, mirrors, and window trim. That meant that MAACO didn't have to do as much "precision masking" and could concentrate more on surface preparation, which is the real key to a good paint job.

OP-- I cannot comment on how to adapt the old style guage sender to a Dakota tank, but if you decide to do the Dakota tank installation, I can offer some suggestions on how to mount the tank so as to minimize the chance of getting near the driveshaft or the rear axle housing. Just amend this thread if you do go the Dakota route.

I have used duct tape in the past, and I find it tends to dry out, shrink, and even fall off the metal surfaces. (I live in AZ, and the heat probably is destroying the adhesive in the duct tape.) I tried using contact cement, but it was messy to apply. I finally broke down and bought the "real deal"" that the factory uses, and have been happy since on several vehicles. (I own several older vehicles that seem to need me to go inside the doors periodically.)

Just a reinforcing comment here -- OP cites two symptoms that are HIGHLY indicative of belt slip: 1. noise is reduced or eliminated (temporarily) by wetting the belt 2. noise increases as engine (and accessory drive belt) is accelerated These point to a belt tension, belt condition, or pulley cleanliness issues and not bearing related problems.

Unless you are actually attempting to restore your MJ to OEM status, I would not bother trying to get OEM watershields, which you referred to as "vapor barriers". (I sort of wonder if they even are available as a replacement part any longer). I have found that some thick polyethelyne sheeting ("Visqueen") of at least 4 mils or more makes a very acceptable substitute water shield. You can cut it with scissors or a utility knife to meet the shape you need. The exact shape is not super critical, as long as you cover all the large openings and attach it with an appropriate adhesive. I like using the OEM butyl strip stuff to attach the water shield, and that can be had on Amazon. If kept clean, it's reusable indefinitely.

What I did was to make a forked-shaped metal plate that went around the ferrule on the parking brake cable jacket. Then I drilled and tapped a 1/4-20 bolt hole in the new backing plate/caliper attaching plate to retain this forked-shaped bracket. The photo shows it installed, retaining the Teraflex cable. Clip.pdf

Guys, this topic has surfaced 8 bazillion times on XJ forums. Yes, the HB can go bad, and a careful visual examination with an inspection mirror and straightedge can rule out any issues there. Obviously an HB that has deteriorated will cause belt noises. That said.....Nobody who is not familiar with the XJ/MJ 4.0 belt routing has any comprehension on how tight the belt has to be to avoid noises. "Finger testing" the belt for tension is totally inadequate for judging proper tension. A belt tension gauge is mandatory for good results. End of factual rant.

Belt tension on the 4.0 has to be INCREDIBLY high to avoid slippage/squealing/chirping. Are you tensioning the belt to the recommended level and using a tensioning gauge?

I am pretty sure that any XJ/MJ/early ZJ proportioning valve uses the same brake system imbalance light (unless the vehicle has ABS.) Searching any junkyard for those vehicles should get what you need.

I ran my fuel pump ground for my 97+ INSIDE the cab, and attached it to the boxed channel across the back of the cab. Yeah, it is more work that grounding it under the chassis, but it's away from any of the outdoor elements that make for corrosion, and potentially flakey grounds later.

In case HOrnbrod's idea fails to pan out, can't you strip the harness back far enough in each direction to see the colors away from the damaged area?

When I ran into this issue, I took the "standard" Teraflex preload spacers and had the local machine shop turn the outside diameter down so they fit into the bore of the D44 axle housing. The shop charged me $20 for both. I had no idea Teraflex even offered alternative spacers. Wait until you get to the part where you connect the parking brake cables to the features on the caliper brackets. The Teraflex bracket isn't even CLOSE to the right dimensions to accept either an OEM ZJ cable OR the Teraflex aftermarket cables. The guys who designed that portion of the kit were REALLY asleep when the worked out those features!!

I notice that the OEM sliders have a large opaque area above and below the glass that will reduce the viewing area rearward. Unless one is interested in retaining the original appearance for restoration purposes, the aftermarket sliders actually have more glass surface, and thus more viewing area.

The type of relay you are normally used to seeing (with the four spade terminals) is called a "Bosch-type" and are commonly found in automotive applications. The biggest Bosch type relays I have ever seen are rated for about 40A. Once you need more than that much current, you wind up going into other types of terminals on the relay. Since these are claimed to be rated at 120 (which seems dubiously high), a screw terminal for a ring-tongue lug is needed, since the normal small spade lugs cannot carry that type of current.

The seats in my MJ are some OEM power units from a later XJ, and the power adjusters are all wacked out, so I want to replace them with something comfortable and to match my very dark gray interior. Here in AZ, it's hard to find any junkyard seats that are not all trashed due to the sunlight, so that means mostly considering buying new aftermarket stuff. Does anyone have experience in who makes a decent seat that won't break the bank? ( Recaro seats are not in my budget, but maybe something like Corbeau.) Does anyone have any thoughts?

OP's question aside, I have owned enough older vehicles without a trip odometer that I have always just used an oil-change sticker or the like to keep track of maintenance schedules. On MJ's which are a bit more maintenance intensive than more modern vehicles, it makes sense to use more than just the trip-meter to keep track of what was done and when.

You are going to need to repair the looseness in your steering column. That is almost certainly PART of the electrical issue. The good news is that the older XJ/MJ's used the GM Saginaw steering column, which is pretty easy to repair (and they often need it, too, unfortunately). This link will help you sort some of the issues out: http://www.chevyasylum.com/column/tiltcol.html

If you are going to use the original seat brackets in their original location, that "u-shaped" bracket reinforces the floor to prevent the seat mounting hardware from separating from the sheet metal. However, as others have noted, it's a great place for dirt/moisture (and the subsequent rust) to begin. If I was in this spot, I would make a spacer to fill the gap between the new sheet metal of the floorpan and the existing OEM reinforcement bracket. I would then run my seat attaching bolts all the way through the new floorpan, then the spacer, and then the reinforcement bracket, and bolt all of it together. You would get the strenght of the OEM joint, without the rust potential.

Send me your postal address via the message system on the forum, and I will mail you a CD of the shop manual.

You need the FSM for a late-model XJ to help you identify connectors. There is a specific section that shows the "pin-outs" and shape of each connector. If you don't have a manual, I can burn a CD of mine and send it to you.

You are spot on about silicone's inability to take paint, and that is why I don't recommend it. I use the real deal, body seam sealer, but OP was looking for a "cheap fix", and silicone and body seam sealer are both relatively pricey, on the order of at least $6 or more for a tube. It looks like he found another solution.

THe down side of silicone is that it only sticks on VERY clean surfaces, completely free of rust. The upside is that, if it does stick, it's flexible and resistant to most chemicals.

OK, I gotta ask....WHY? What intrinsically makes any use of asphaltic sealers bad?

There are TWO types of locking systems used in "intertia type" seat belts, and I think people are confused by the difference. I will explain and call them "Type One" and "Type Two" 1. TYPE ONE seat belt retractors are designed to lock when the vehicle sees a sudden acceleration or deceleration. It uses a small weight inside the retractor that moves off center when it encounters such an acceleration/deceleration, be it front to back or side to side. If such an acceleration/deceleration is not seen, the retractor will allow belt extension/retraction no matter how fast one pulls on the belt. 2. TYPE TWO retractors lock when the belt is pulled rapidly from the spool on the retractor. These types of retractors will function independent of vehicle acceleration/deceleration. I "think" (but cannot be sure) that the Type Two retractors are considered obsolete, as they do not provide belt locking protection in anything but a forward collision deceleration. Recent production vehicles are all equipped with Type One retractors. I don't know when AMC/Chrysler started using Type One retractors on the XJ/MJ family.