JustEmptyEveryPocket

I ran a test light from the red power wire through a bulb and back to battery ground. Nothing. So I guess this means I am reading 'ghost' voltage? I suck at reading electrical schematics. Can anyone point me to where the red power wire goes?

Neither side works. I don't think its a fuse because I have backprobed the connectors with my voltmeter a couple of times since wiring it in. Also note I had benched tested both of the lights I installed. They both worked then. Where do the wires from the b-pillar ground at? I can check that end.

Sorry to start yet another one of these threads, but I am having an issue and need input from people smarter than me: First of all, my truck's interior lights have never worked. When I got the truck the lights were pulled and the plugs were taped off and stuffed down behind the b-pillar trim. I am tired of it being dark in there, and saw some recent threads on this, so I went for it. I pulled some interior lights from an 01 VW golf, like the ones mentioned in THIS thread. They seemed perfect as they had the same functionality and fit into the same hole without mods. So I started trying to wire them in. I bench tested the lights from the battery and found that the red wire was power in, blue was switched ground, and tan was solid ground. Found this by trial and error, while connecting the wires in different configurations and flipping the lens back and forth. Then I got in my truck and put my voltmeter on the three wires. I had 13V in the red wire measured back to the battery. Then I measured from the red wire to the black wire with white tracer and it showed a switched 13V, going to zero every time I actuated the button in the door frame. I assumed the solid black wire was the solid ground. They are wired in as red to red, black w/ tracer to blue, and solid black to tan. After all that, I have no lights. Zero. Nothing in any position. Where did I go wrong here? What should I check/ test next? Side question: while I was fishing around on the driver's side behind the b-pillar I found a wire like the one in the fourth post HERE. What is it? Thanks for any and all help.

interesting. Now I just have to keep my eye out for one of those. Thanks.

Do you happen to have a picture of this part? When I got my MJ it was missing most of the interior trim and I have been trying to get it all back to stock. Not sure I know about this piece at all....

I remember Cruiser talking about this. Found it on his page HERE. So modifying will be your best bet. What is this about a harness directly to the ECU? I have never heard of that. Got more info somewhere?

I will say that for my engine swap I looked at the timing chain when the oil pan was off and noticed a lot of slop. Didn't have time, money, or parts to fix it then. 15,000 miles later and everything still seems good *knock on wood*. It is on my 'one day' project list. So IMHO the timing chain can wait if you are really in a time and money crunch. The one piece oil pan gasket is definitely the way to go btw. Make sure to use the install clips as it makes it way easier for holding it in place and getting the alignment right. I didn't find them at the bottom of the box till I was already done struggling with it . Good luck.

If your old cluster had the dummy lights only, then it has an oil pressure switch which only has on and off. You needs to install an oil pressure sensor so it can feed info to the new gauge. Easy enough to do, just be careful removing the switch. Too much force can snap things, then it becomes a bad day very quickly. A little late now, but THIS is an awesome thread to read through for this type of swap.

I just finished an AX-15 swap in my truck. Its really not that bad of an endeavor. Do a google search for "site:comancheclub.com ax-15 swap" and read all the articles. Different ones cover different issues. There is a specific pilot bushing to use, make sure to get the transmission mount plate from the bottom of your donor AX-15, the crossmember from the donor, and in my opinion get THIS shift linkage for the transfer case. Those are all of the major pieces to think about. I can tell you that the AX-15 shifts WAY better than my BA10-5 ever did. Especially after the BA10-5 exploded and left me stranded on the side of the road.

Personally I would check compression before pulling the head. If compression is close to equal on all cylinders then I would leave the head and head gasket alone. The only things that I would do with the engine out of the truck is the rear main seal, oil pan gasket, and intake/exhaust gasket. Everything else can be done without too much issue with the engine in the truck. Have you looked at the oil? Color/ consistency/ taste etc. Between that and a compression check you should be able to make a good decision. Value my advice for exactly what you paid for it though. Good luck.

If I remember correctly I also had to remove the speedo cable from a stud down by the lower control arm on the outside of the truck to get enough slack to unclip it from the backside of the cluster. Just follow the speedo cable from the transfercase (transmission) up the framerail and you will see the stud I am talking about. Remove the nut and pull the cable off the stud and push some of the slack into the cabin. Shouldn't be too bad and it will start giving you a good understanding of your truck and where things are and how they work. As other members say "Jeep On".

THIS THREAD goes through the entire dash removal. You will not need to go that far, just do the first couple of steps. It gives you locations of screws and tips on how to remove some pieces. Again, you do NOT need to remove the entire dash to replace cluster bulbs, so don't read the article and feel overwhelmed. Its actually not that bad to remove the cluster itself.

I may be wrong on this, but the 86 firewall is not made to accommodate the 4.0L engine. So you would need some serious fab skills to make that work, not that it can't be done of course. Also I don't think the motors mated to the same transmission (assuming automatic?). If they are manuals then I know they are not the same transmission. Anything is possible with time and money. Just may not be the easiest or fastest. What is the final plan here? or the reason for the swap?

Let me say: Welcome to the addiction! And with that, here is some advice in addition to what the gurus have said: 1. Read all the threads you can. Even if it doesn't make sense or seems like a rabbit hole, read through it. The more you learn the better off you will be. 2. Do your own work on the truck. It takes some gumption and tools, but is more than worth it in the end result. No more wondering if someone else "did it right". 3. Just drive it for a while. No lift kits, no bigger tires, nothing extra. Get used to what is there first, and fix EVERYTHING that is wrong as you find it. Changes come later. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy the truck!

my two cents: When researching my transmission swap I found lots more articles, information, parts, and guidance for the AX-15. Plus they can be found in jeeps from 1989 (midway year change) to 1999. The NV3550 was available in the 2000 and 2001 cherokee (not sure about wranglers) so there was a lot less out there for me to find. For me the background, documentation, and information on the AX-15 made it the hands down better choice.

Also make sure to rent the install tool while you are at it. Once its returned its a zero cost to you, so why not have it on hand? At least my local place the removal and install are two separate tools.

Sometimes the slider is slightly frozen in place. I have had to smack the power steering reservoir with my hand a few times to get it to move.

This is the type of light in a 01 VW Golf. Happened to see it in the JY earlier. Not sure what other models and years they may be in.

AZJeff, thanks for the input, but I can't say that I am comfortable with welding on a new ferrule and trusting it. If that is my only option I will figure it out I guess. However, I want to see if anyone came up with another solution? Maybe a different set of rear brake cables? If I remember right, Hornbrod did something with the stock MJ cables, but I can't seem to find that thread back. Anyone have the link?

I have been trying to put in a 97 XJ e-brake handle and so far getting it working is beyond me. Here is a run-down or what I have done. Read all the basic threads including this one, and this one, and this one, and also this one. So I thought I had a pretty good grasp of it. Putting the handle in wasn't bad. Drilled and used a piece of angle iron. Note that I plan on putting in another bolt to hold the angle iron from twisting. Just put it together to test the concept. I used the original front e-brake cable that was in my MJ and just looped the extra under the driver's seat like Alexia did. I used ZJ rear e-brake cables (can't remember driver or passenger side, whichever is longer). I think how they attach to the lever in the Ford 8.8 is self explanatory. btw, sorry for all the mud. I live on a gravel road. Also apologies on the blurry photo. I can take a better one if needed. Finally I noticed a complete lack of tension on the ZJ cables. So I began to tighten the *don't know the name of it thingy* inbetween the front e-brake cable and the two rear e-brake cables. But I ran out of adjustment before there was any tension in the lines. I can pull the handle in the cab and see no reaction on the lever in the axle's backing plate. Note that I can be really stupid, so assume nothing. What am I missing? My only thought is the I need to find some way of mounting my angle iron piece further back (away from the e-brake handle) to shorten the side in the *don't know the name of it thingy* inbetween the front e-brake cable and the two rear e-brake cables, pictured above. But in THIS THREAD it looks like his mounting point is CLOSER to the handle than mine even (picture below). So I must be missing something basic here.

Redrill and retap seems to solve it. Also had to clearance the slots in the crossmember since I went up a bolt size. Hopefully no more scares of the transmission falling down while driving.

I'm going to try drilling them out to a 25/64 size (next closest size that I could find) and tapping for 7/16x20 bolts. This is assuming the threads inside the captive nuts are just rusted out, but there is meat left to form new threads. If that fails, I found some rivnuts (nutserts?) that are threaded for M10x1.5. I will drill out the hole to 17/32 to accommodate them. If I go with this route, do I need to somehow knock the captive nuts off? I have never used rivnuts before, but it seems like they would only work in the sheet metal thickness of the frame, not with the extra nut inside. Tim, pretty sure the PO never touched these holes. The truck had a BA 10-5 when I got it, and there wouldn't be a reason to use the holes further back that I know of. Plus I ran a tap through them to start with, and it definitely felt like it was grabbing threads and cleaning them out. I am hoping (like I said above) that the threads were too rusted to hold the weight and stripped out.

87 MJ 4.0L with brand new to me AX-15. Truck is running and driving (thanks for all the help and advice in a previous thread) but I now have a new issue, hence a new post. While driving to work I heard several thunks and what sounded like gravel hitting the undercarriage. Not unusual since I live on a gravel road. However, when I got to work and peeked under the truck I saw that the passenger side of the transmission cross member had lost a bolt, and the other two (I only have three, as the PO torn away part of the inner bracket somehow, losing the fourth bolt spot) were backed about halfway out. Obviously when I installed everything they were put in fully and torqued down properly. I pulled out tools and tried to retighten the bolts in the parking lot, but they kept popping back off. It felt like some threads were catching, but after a few turns the bolts would drop back down. My only assumption is that the nuts in the frame rails are rusted out and have lost their threading, or have broken loose completely. Opinions on what I should do from here?

You all were putting me on. I took the handle out of the truck, snugged it in my vice, gathered my tools, and prepared for a long battle. Three hits later and it was done. I guess I shouldn't complain, but I was expecting more. I took the truck for a test drive tonight. Ran it up and down through the gears a few times. Everything seems good. It is so nice to have synchronizers on 1st and 2nd gear again, and to lose the awful howl in fourth and fifth. Only issue I am left with is the speedometer. When I put the gear in the transfercase (from my old transfercase) I didn't do anything special. Just popped it in, clocked it properly, and snugged down the holding fork. This was before I installed everything under my truck. I even put the old driveshaft in it and turned it to make sure the end of the gear turned, which it did. I am therefore surprised that my speedo is not working. Anyone have any ideas for that?

Haven't had a chance to break it (or let it break me) yet. Work decided to dump on me. This weekend I will get my shot at it.