Gojira94

Front brakes installed. This is a PowerStop kit for 1999.5 XJ with cast rotors. Had to make a run to the boneyard for banjo bolts. Snagged a pair from a 97 V8 ZJ and another from an 06 Grand Cherokee. Exactly the same bolts all the way back to 91 apparently. Hoses are from Autozone - 777848 and 777849, 22" OAL. Pulling apart the rear brakes today on lunch break from job #1.

Doors finished.

Passenger side regulator and both new door locks in. Missing half the regulator fastener hardware for the driver's door, but I'll pick that up from job #2 at 5:00. Taking the driver's door lock out, I noticed the short rod attached to it was disconnected from the latch assembly and there was electrical tape around it. And... the one at the lock cylinder was also taped and partially destroyed. Fortunately, I had a couple compatible rod clips left over from door work on my C1500 a couple years ago. All back together and works like it should. Passenger door, ready for panel: This is the lock cylinder kit I used:

Passenger side regulator had dropped its receiver tube and there was no way I was going to get it back on the barbed end without pulling it. A little heat to soften it and I got it back on there. Followed instantly with ice to shrink and bond it as best as possible. I pulled the other one and greased both with synthetic grease. I don't know if that's a no-no, but the difference is amazing. Before they were both loud and very stiff. The ideal fastener to reinstall them would be stainless or yellow zinc M7-1.0 x 10mm ~or~ 9/32" x 1/2" but good luck finding those without having to wait a day or two at Fastenal or Amazon. Next best is 1/4"-20 x 1/2." With either nylon locking nut or prevailing torque nut on the back. The original rivets spin when you drill them, so you have to hold the back side of them with pliers while you drill. The nut to release the glass is 18mm. There's a wave washer under it.

it’s going into closed loop, O2 is working. Runs fine with TPS at 10% base. But… I’d like to see idle RPMs a tad higher. I read somewhere for a Renix manual anywhere from 650-800 is fine. I think I will adjust the base idle screw a hair. That’ll get me closer to 750 and probably raise the IAC counts a bit. I can only guess what that is, surprised the REM doesn’t pull and display that. I’m used to tuning GM stuff and IAC counts are a core indicator of a number of things, especially getting bigger cams to idle/ low speed off-idle without surge. EDIT: I take that back, REM does have an IAC indicator. However, Renix ECU only tells if it's moving one way or the other. ("<128 / >128"). I'll have to look at that again, but I'd expect it to be still and not moving up or down (stable at whatever counts it has at idle). IMG_0106.mp4

Thank you, thank you! There's still quite a few things to get squared away but she'll be on (and off) the road this summer for sure!

She's sitting on her 33s now. Rear still isn't lifted but tackling that soon. Trying to completely finish the interior before moving on. Throttle body from Leigh Performance Machine is on, having issues getting the adapted TPS up to range. Right now it's adjusted maxed out at 10% idle / 85% WOT. Haven't run it yet, but will today. I don't know if the bored throttle body's idle set screw is moved during machining or not, might have to ping Jeff for more info on that. I don't want to pull the TB and mess with it if I can avoid creating another issue. Trying to get 3 variables to line up- determine set screw ideal position, TPS happy, and IAC counts NOT maxed or bottomed out to compensate.

Seat brackets cleaned up and painted. Spent some time with the Bissell Green Machine on the seat fabric and it came pretty darned clean. Bumper is adjusted and secured tightly now.

Header panel is on, all lights work (yay). Bumper needs to be adjusted up and tightened, lower valance needs a clean before going back on. Interior is complete except for headliner, bench seat and visors, which hopefully I can knock out tomorrow. Doors will be their own thing, side-project. The regulators need some maintenance and cleaning. Door cards are in great shape. In the next week, I'll be onward to rear suspension. Also need to get those 33s mounted on the steelies ASAP.

Header panel stripped, cleaned and reassembled. O'Reilly-mixed Colorado Red in a rattle can worked pretty well to put some color back on it. It was pretty beat up. There's a deep enough crack above the Jeep logo that's going to have me looking for another header panel at some point but it's fine for now. The 10-slot grille is long gone but I don't mind the look of the 8.

I'll just say this last piece on it- Getting the timing gears set up has absolutely zero to do with installing the distributor, which is typically a much later step in engine assembly. The dots are to help line up the cam/ crank relationship when assembling the shortblock. If, due to age/ wear/ fatigue, the timing chain skips a tooth, that certainly will affect (severely retard) distributor timing, as it's driven by the cam. By the time we're installing the distributor, the timing cover is on and the dots are out of sight. So we use the timing tab marks, plus other supplementary methods to determine if we're on #6 or #1. Suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Putting your thumb on the spark plug hole of #1 and turning the crank tells you whether it's sucking or squeezing as it approaches TDC/ timing tab at 0*. We need #1 squeezing air/fuel, preparing to fire as it nears TDC to install the distributor. While #1 is squeezing (air/fuel), #6 is blowing (exhaust out). That's why they're both at TDC at the same time. The difference is what the valves are doing. A word on spark advance- We need to light the fuel/ air mixture some number of degrees of rotation before TDC because it takes a measurable amount of time for the mixture to burn. We want the peak of the energy from that burn to occur just after TDC, so the maximum possible amount of energy from it pushes the piston downward. That ideal point of finishing the burn completely varies by engine combination, but average naturally aspirated is about 12-14* after TDC. This ideal point after TDC is referred to as MBT (Maximum Brake Torque). Less efficient head combustion chambers need more time to complete the burn, so we light them earlier with more spark timing advance. More efficiently designed chambers burn more quickly and need less lead time to finish the burn by the MBT point. Our heads (every AMC/Chrysler inline 6 factory head) are not very efficient, and require a fair amount of timing advance to hit that 'finish at MBT' goal. Which really underscores the importance of Cruiser54's distributor indexing lessons.

Thank you, sir! Your build is coming along very nicely as well. My dad is in Linville and he said to bring the MJ up when it's roadworthy. We might could meet up in WS for a side by side red 87 MJs pic sometime.

Evidence of C115 having changed sometime after 1987. This is an 87 SporTruck column shift auto 4.0. As my current ECH is from either 89 or 90, that tracks with a connector change.

If the crank and cam gear weren't (visually) tilted at an angle to each other, but directly above and below one another... With the crank gear dot at 12:00 + cam gear at 6:00, both #1 and #6 piston are at top dead center, with #6 firing, #1 on exhaust stroke. With the crank gear dot at 12:00 + cam gear at 12:00, both #1 and #6 piston are at top dead center, with #1 firing, #6 on exhaust stroke. While one cylinder is firing, its companion is on the exhaust stroke. This is true for cylinder pairs 2&5 as well as 3&4, but only 1&6 have the 12:00 & 6:00 relative positions we use to "time" the engine. So... when we pop in the distributor, with #1 at TDC, firing, the dots are 12:00 cam gear and 12:00 crank gear, but hidden behind the timing cover. If you install the distributor with the timing cover off, and dots at 6:00 and 12:00, you're installing it 180* out.

I've seen this question come up time after time after time in the SBC world. The dots are for ease of lining things up when clocking cam and crank together. 6 and 12 is easier to see if you're off a tooth than at 12 and 12. Dots at 6 and 12 is the companion cylinder of #1 firing, not #1. In the SBC world, once the timing is set and the engine spun to #1 firing/ TDC, the dots are at 12 and 12. Dots together in a SBC are #6 firing, as 1 and 6 are both at TDC at the same time. Just so happens 1 and 6 have the same relationship in the AMC/Jeep/Chrysler I-6 engines. Crank rotates 2x for every 1 revolution of the camshaft...

These are the only 2 I've ever seen on an XJ or MJ. Is that one possibly an extra from a donor?

Carpet is in. I started the trimming at the front, just a little at a time until it lined up with the molded areas left and right. Then the sills, and rear last. I added a layer of 1/2" jute to all the areas the carpet didn't come with. Still have to install the rear corner trim/ seat belts and rear panel/ upper trim. And work the headliner in there while I'm at it. Really need to vacuum before I go any further lol.

Yep, you're right. I got confused. The StinkyFab are the ones I wanted, with the softer bushings.

w00t! Well done, sir!

The plastic pieces on either side of the metal bracket need to push together a bit. Once you have the 'collar' unlocked by backing out the U-lock about halfway, maybe a hair more, you should be able to get things to move toward each other. It will be a bit snug, but should move. Then use your thumb to snap the U-lock back into place. Notice the ridges you can see on the spring side? Those are what engages the U-lock 'legs' to hold things in place when it's snapped closed.

This is still a concern for me, I'm keeping an eye on it. This is what I'm lusting after for near-future upgrades: https://dbmetalworx.com/4x4-products/Ultimate-UPGRADED-HD-TRANSMISSION-&-MOTOR-COMBO-Kits-Jeep-YJ-XJ-MJ-TJ-&-ZJ-p97355283 Made with a poly durometer on the softer end from what I understand.

The adjustment point is right where your upper right arrow is. Leave the cable attached to the shift lever on the side of the trans while you do the adjustment. The locking tab on the adjustment collar has a U shape. It has a wide curved spot on one side and the tips of the 'U' shape just peek out the opposite side. Gently pry this side out, and the 'legs' on the opposite side will follow but remain partially inserted. You don't want to remove the locking tab, just back it out to where the grooves that hold things in place are disengaged. Then you can adjust the length of the cable. You'll want to pull the cable sheaths on either side of the bracket together with the shift lever in park when you do. Get it as tight as it will go by hand against the spring pressure and lock it down by pushing the locking tab back flush into the collar. Opposite side. Interestingly, one tip of the 'U' shape in this pic is slightly damaged (left one in pic): You may want to spritz it with brake cleaner first to get any grit/ oil/ fluids out so it will move more easily.

The adjuster is on the top side of the cable bracket at the transmission end. The collar comes off with a couple of locking tabs and you can adjust the length of the cable to match the indexing on the PRNDL. Your issue is that the cable is now too long for some reason, that's why it's not going the full distance into Park. It may have slipped inside the adjustment collar due to oil/ debris. Since the locking collar material is a HDPE-type plastic, once the locking ridges distort a little and it slips, it may do it again after adjustment. Here's one writeup I saw out there with a quick Google search. If you get it adjusted and it does it again soon after, you'll need to replace the cable. https://www.jeepforum.com/threads/transmission-shifter-cable-adjustment.1439633/

First, welcome to the forum - the (IMHO) greatest MJ site on the planet... please add your VIN to the registry so it can be counted and recognized. I can confirm the mount plate bolted to the bottom has that riser layer on mine as well. But I think that's just part of the mount plate itself. I did keep the spacer I made handy in case I want to install it due to trans cushion sag under the weight of the transfer case. It's a common complaint of the current aftermarket/ parts house trans mounts.