silvertwinkiehobo

Stay away from the NV. Too few model years produced. There's several U-Pull yards around Western WA and Portland, from Arlington all the way down I-5. I'm sure your chances for the right trans, t-case, drivelines, shifters, etc, will be found at one or more of them. Only problem? You gotta pull it yourself.

The columns are painted metal, so with removal and proper prep, you could paint it. That way, you keep the original column, and you'd only need to find a black wheel and horn button.

I was an ASE-certified mech/tech, and had only dealt with two XJs in my career; Joe's MJ is the first one I've ever laid hands on. Having said that, there are things I've been learning about them, and I've been a mechanic of one stripe or another since '95 or so. So don't feel as if you might be incapable, as there are members on here who can help you.

I just noticed, Joe's looking a bit like Negan....*slowly moves away*

Joe (Maveric, the driver) and myself at the waaaaay end of Galveston Island last week, when we chased for parts in Houston.

I did that once when I sold a C6 to a guy, drove it to him in my '79 Ranchero, TC firmly held in place, BUT...this dipstick forgot to reinsert the dipstick tube before driving. The entirety of my bed was a dribbling disaster area. I only had a roll of paper towels and one Walley World bag to clean it up. Worst $100 I ever made.

Watta disaster! No wonder it was ditched, he was attempting to do too much!

Nice score on the header and light trim. Joe and I are searching for the short trim, like what you got, as Joe has the newer-style headlamp bezels.

Maveric and I were in Houston yesterday and today, because a U-Pull yard has a Comanche; unfortunately, a lot of usable parts are already gone, but we did score a few usable items. But they are getting few and far between, on a production run that didn't build many to begin with.

Other than Maveric's, I've only seen a few here and there in the last couple years. When Joe and I first began corresponding, the gal across the street from me had a white Pioneer with black stripes, but then one day, it was gone, replaced by a brand new white Nissan pickup. Not even a chance to find out if I could've bought it. Now, there's a black one here in Seguin, but no others that I know of.

It never ceases to amaze me what can be done to keep an engine from starting; however, a kid doing something to a component is a new one on me.

Man, that is tough. I've been unemployed twice (for extended periods) and currently on SSDI, and I'm not sure I'd be able to go back to work (health notwithstanding), because I can barely do work in my chosen field (auto repair/diagnosis). What I wonder is if I'll be forced to take a job I'm not normally qualified for, simply because the SSA wants me off SSDI.

Joe (Maveric) didn't like the newer column we installed, because it put the wheel off NINETY DEGREES....

That piece of deduction, that impressed me. I had never seen a later-model door switch group, so I assumed they were all the same, and that the relays were only for the RKE module to run the door lock motors. I drew a couple diagrams, one of the wiring color conversions between the early '90s relay wiring colors and the '96 wiring colors (the cross-body harness is from a '96, and the relays are from a '90 or '91). I'll go ahead and shoot high-res photos to post up here (I don't have a flatbed scanner).

Damn, You're good! I just remembered that I saw a tiny arc when Joe and I tested the switches, so thank you, I'll do that later today. I appreciate it.

Well, got pink and orange wires flipped to the relays, and now they lock/unlock in the correct direction. EXCEPT. I I now find that, with the driver's switch hooked up, the passenger switch won't operate the locks; unplugged, the locks operate, fortunately in the correct direction. I've been over the wiring I dunno how many effing times, comparing it to the diagrams, and honestly, this has me stumped, and the Texas heat likes to friccassee my brain. Has anyone installing locks with relays, on their MJ, run into this problem?

Well, I was hoping for one solution, not two, but I'll talk with Maveric about it. I was just going to swap the two wires I described.

The symptoms sound like the wires are out of place. You didn't attempt to turn the dizzy, did you? You just put the wires on? You should get a cap diagram and verify they're in the correct firing order. IIRC, the Renix 2.5 controls are the same basic design as the 4.0, that is, the dizzy is not to be turned, but the way you made your write-up, you only put on tune-up parts, not tried to dial in any 'timing.'

Youngfred, you stated that the door locks worked backward; Maveric and I are having the same problem. Do you swap the orange/purple and pink/purple wires?

I've had experiences with 4.0L cooling systems. But I also have experience with EFI, and running an EFI with a 'cooler' t-stat only makes the system run richer. That's why the plugs are a darker brown than normal. As for the cooling system, the rear head and the rear block freeze plugs (especially the block one--I once found one with casting sand in the block!) get rotted on the bottom and begin to weep when hot pressurized. Same with aluminum/plastic radiators; they can open up when heated and pressurized. Using a pressure tester has a great chance of showing any leaks

If you haven't done repairs yet, a couple things: 1) in installing power windows and locks, Joe (Maveric) and i thought we would need a replacement fuse block. We were wrong. But, for reference, if you need to replace fuse terminals, most of the fuse terminals are bussed together, which means replacing from one to five terminals at one time. they're stamped from a sheet of brass. 2) we still aren't finished with our electrical work, but if we end up not using the one we got from the junkyard, I can talk to Joe, see if he'd be willing to sell it. Let us know by PM or email me (silvertwinkiehobo@gmail.com) if you'd be interested. I'll snap and post a pic of the fuse block rear view, so that you see what they look like. If all your problem is, is that the terminal halves are spread apart, I find that using a small pick can carefully bend the halves of the terminal closer together. Just don't bend them too far, risking breaking them.

I was in my friend Joe's driver door earlier, and discovered something missing after he installed the wing window:

The funny thing is, they say the stand drops when the load is shifted, see screenshot photo. If it doesn't have a chance of shifting, there isn't anything to worry about. I know, $#!& can happen; however, I was once under a '55 Pontiac Star Chief on a 9000# two-poster, and during the Nisqually quake in Washington State many years ago, the earthquake could not dislodge the car. Why? Because I took the extra effort to ensure that it was lifted correctly. Same applies to jack stands, to prevent load shifting. Flat surface? Check. Even weight distribution? Check. Stand feet flat on the surface? Check. Remaining tires properly inflated? Check. Jack nearby and ready to go? Check. Stands rated for the vehicle? Check. Used in pairs only? Check and check. Your safety starts with you, recall or no recall.

In taking the panel off, I noticed an embossing that's hidden underneath the armrest. It shows that someone at AMC forgot the "I before E, except after C" rule:

Okay, so my friend Joe (Maveric) got this truck as his first, from a guy in the Bay Area. I'll let him tell that take, but I started the thread for him, as I was inside the driver's door to inspect and ensure there would be no problems installing power windows and locks, mainly to confirm the glass is the same between '86 ( when the truck debuted) and '96 (for the door wiring harness donor). They appear to be, and I snapped a pic in order to confirm tomorrow that I don't have to purchase window glass. But that's not why I'm here.