howeitsdone

Was able to get the piece cut. Not perfectly but it'll work. Nothing like learning to flux-core weld sheet metal. AKA, not really happening, but after quite a while you start to end up with something.

He takes less $ on FB

Was cleaning up the engine bay a bit as I'm planning to piece it together this weekend and found a nice surprise when I removed the battery tray. Need to source a cutout and weld in a replacement. I've got leftover Key-Parts floor from the MJ that I didn't use and can maybe make that work as a permanent solution.

That's a secret bolt. It's covered up from factory. Someone may have adjusted it and tried to hide it again, or maybe that was their "loctite" attempt.

Bought a Remy 20352 in February. Works great. $80.

Nope

Uncle Tony is the best! Learned a bit from his videos over the years.

Small update: Driven 1000 miles as of yesterday on the rebuilt motor and still NO LEAKS! Still check underneath almost every day just in case. I do have a misfire that I haven't tracked down yet because it really hasn't been terrible. Initially swapped out plugs and ran perfect but then came back again so I think something to do with a leaky valve seal because after a cold-start it spits a small amount of oil smoke out of the tail and never does any other time. Plus a little oil on the plug. But I'll figure it out when I'm done with the XJ rebuild. Also welded up a tow hitch and upgraded my 4-pin as a prototype. Still improvements to make on it.

Where you located? Gotta be a JY near you with a 242, no?

Little by little...

Got it sealed up tonight. This next week I'll start putting on the mounts and accessories. Still need to order a few things like the exhaust system, transmission line, radiator, and full steering setup.

Updating this with sold prices

Piecing together the motor. I'll start ordering stuff tomorrow.

Had the same problem. Silicone lubricant or Vasoline

They are 3-wire. It's just a mirror image and the connector is twisted.

Looks like DirtBound's https://dirtboundoffroad.com/products/manta-ray-rear-mj-bumper?variant=30322737479776&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2019-10-12&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=CjwKCAjwzuqgBhAcEiwAdj5dRs1FJSWjb7IXOqFkjy2RDnYaWX7hPnwqKaEUAYLuYBXTE6d8zDK-fRoCpMMQAvD_BwE

Looks like Chinese metri-pack. Hmm, I do for-see way too many people hacking their tail harness for these. Might be a new project for me.

Mine does on rare occasion. But usually only if I'm shifting too hard. Maybe chalk it up to warped plastics after 30+ years of heat baking the interior and parts shifting ever-so slightly.

I know what you mean! Found out my head was cracked in Jan when rebuilding. Felt defeated, but bought another head and went on with the rebuild. Yesterday I was tearing down another motor from my XJ and found it had a hole in it. Rather than let it get me down, I found a guy 40min from me selling a block that needs rebuilt. Called him last night and he said come on out Saturday and get it. It'll be business as usual in a few days. Both my motors with issues, yet here I am because a good vehicle is hard to come by these days. Plus I enjoy it Fortunately, a cracked head is much simpler than a hole in the block. Just need to swap in another! Of course, it'll take some time if you wanna do it right, but at least the truck didn't catch fire or anything! You can look at it as a large maintenance item that you can check off the list.

The center of the transmission shift lever is still the center regardless of shifter itself. Changing that won't fix the 5th & Rev problem. Without thinking about something internal in the transmission, sounds to me like the x-member, mount, or both are shifted a bit passenger. It may be possible that the mount cushion is backwards too, but that may shift it even more if so.

It's a grommet. Measure and buy a grommet plug and you'll be good to go.

2000 is when they began the coil packs. I suppose that would mean I'd need to convert to distributor cap and get a '99 ECU? Seems I should just find a 2000-2001 harness then. The ECU alone will be the same if not more expensive than the harness.

Not sure if this is just a NAXJA question or if anyone here might have some knowledge. As I'm tearing down my 2000 XJ to rebuild, I'm now toying with swapping everything into the Comanche for the 97+ conversion. The XJ has a 53020569 block (96-98/99) and is working fine with the 2000 harness from what I can tell. However, the 2000 is an automatic so the Engine harness is different. There is a 1999 manual harness available nearby that I could use in the MJ with the AX-15. I rebuilt my RENIX motor this year and would keep that in the truck. while swapping the usual like flywheel and accessories over. Only question is will the '99 harness pair well with the 00' ECU or do I need to source one of those as well?

Got the motor pulled. Ran into some hefty problems with lug nuts. Someone ugga dagga's the piss outta every bolt on this thing and cross-threaded a lot of them. Took me almost 2 hours to drill out one of the lugs. I was going to just cut all the spokes but would like to keep using as a roller for now. Also had to cut out the exhaust system and bash the O2 sensor because the bell housing was resting on it and couldn't get the engine out. I hate automatics So much extra crap