Jeep Driver

Permatex Ultra Black on both sides of cork........and clean clean clean.

Change the gear unit from an electronic sender to a manual cable.......they interchange.

Yeah you can drive it without the cable.

I lived in Largo the first 42 years of my life.......left there 4 years ago for the mountains. What a s-hole...........sorry dude.....LOL

Looks normal to me.

You can run through the gears without using the clutch. don't' sit at idle with your foot on the clutch. Throw it into neutral before you approach a stop. Use clutch only to initiate movement. Baby it to get a couple more months out of it. When it goes......it goes and it will likely fly apart. I got 249K miles out of my original clutch in my 98 Ranger.....mostly city miles too. Trans was never touched in the 13 years I drove it. I never ride or feather a clutch......smooth but swift.

Sounds like the throw-out bearing by your description.

Xylene is a very 'hot' solvent. Denatured alcohol will clean automotive finishes without breaking down the finish........soften it up too much and it will separate or breakdown underneath the new coating causing the new coating to 'lift' later-on.

To answer your question directly, yes there is a lot you can do- Get the bed up on saw horses so you can work the entire bed comfortably. I would first wash the entire bed and degrease. Remove filler tube mouth and clean inside fuel door thoroughly with denatured alcohol. Use 4" angle grinder and wire wheel and remove lose paint and surface rust from floor of bed and wheel well humps. Same with inside of tailgate. (this gets the bulk of the dirty work out of the way and from contaminating the outside of the bed) Use Scotchbrite pads to hand sand the inside walls of bed, use wire wheel and DA where necessary. Use air to blow out debris, use denatured alcohol to wipe down the entire inside of bed. Spray entire inside of bed and inside of tailgate with a catalyzed primer- http://directbuyautobodysupply.com/AWSC ... /6/Primers Spray 2-3 wet coats of primer surfacer, let dry, you are now done with the inside. I would use wire wheel at any rust spots such as above wheel wells to get the bulk of lose rust removed. DA the entire outside. Choose your grit and remember that what you do here will determine the quality of the finish. If you are going to take the entire existing finish down I would start with 150 grit. Change your sandpaper out frequently. Go back and work your way back to 180 then 220. Keep the DA moving and feather out any remaining layers of paint and primer. Mark all your repair areas with permanent marker, mark ALL defects for repair, it's the little dings that really show up after paint. Make repairs and sand out. Blow off and wipe down with denatured alcohol. Prime with catalized primer, 2-3 wet coats. While primer is wet look down the side of panels for defects in repairs. Let dry. Readdress repairs. Spot prime repairs and analyze again, address again if necessary. Spot prime with NON-catalyst lacquer primer. Spot putty if necessary. Let dry. Prime again the entire outside of bed with lacquer primer, a non-catalyst hi-build primer, let dry. Wet sand again. This coat of primer will help fill in any sanding marks and once wet sanded will provide a very smooth surface to apply your finish coat. Bear in mind metal once bare will flash in about 30-60 minutes depending on humidity. Point is don't sand to bare metal then let set for several days until you get back to it.....you'll need to sand it out again. I personally would pay little attention to the finish quality of the inside of the bed as I will have mine sprayed with a bed line from LineX. My guess is there is about 8-12 hours worth of work there....maybe more but I can't tell from the pics.

For giggles

:nuts: No. He's got the mindset to jack it up.........he's gonna do it. And I would/have too. I like my creeper and my space.

You assume way too much. You have to know someone will remove both sides at once. I never assume that anyone understands anything I say. Err on the side of caution.

BTW- Your life may depend on it. Support the truck correctly and securely.

Support the frame/body ONLY! not the axle. The axle will move, use ratchet straps to adjust.

To explain- After I got my MJ I went shopping for a paint job, estimates begin at $2500 and move from there......average is $3500-$4000. I'm poor and I can't afford that. So I shopped material prices, right about $400 for supplies including grits, primers, paint and base-coat clear-coat. Will be the same color but pearl. I'll need to do mine in sections, bed, then front clip, then cab with doors. Reason for this is time and the lack of a full spray booth. I have a shop that will spray my final clear-coat if I cannot get it 100% without flaws from dust or other contamination. I plan on 3-4 coats clear with wet sanding between coats anyway. I have air, DA, angle grinders, wheels, welders, cup guns........and more time than money. It's been years since that last car I painted but it will come back to me. It's work and it's money and if I pay for something I want it right. Some folks are happy with rattle can paint jobs.....not me.

I went and looked a an XJ a month ago........fresh paint.......owner prepped. They must have DA'd the thing with 80 grit......no sh-t. I don't mean to be a smart-@$$ with my previous post but really if you have to ask........leave it be.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/pts/2896625729.html He used to post with pics.............white, dent free, rust free with tail lights............$400 Pay now or pay later. I don't buy rust. So you saved $200...........yeah I know.........but now you pay 3 times more for bondo.

For those of you who are seeking donors or DDs- It takes work, long hours of searching and several trips to kick the tires of dead dogs......persistence. Yeah it's a 98 SE but in excellent condition and all parts are here for a donor swap and upgrade. Seller had a no-start condition and was frustrated and refused to sink any time or money into it. I bought it for $1000 and paid $110 for towing and 60$ for a new starter. Main problem was NSS which cost nothing to repair. Yes they can be found with God's blessing, persistence, and the art of negotiation.

don't' know where you are but round here the scrap..........damaged truck plus your left over parts.......all the scrap, will bring around $500 when you are all done. This brings your donor cost to around $1500

Swap the complete trans, TC and all. Go external slave if you can. You have to judge the quality of the parts.......if nearly new and undamaged.........? maybe a great deal. If it's someone's cobbled up load of crap..........then I guess not.

Your yoke should have a wear mark where it was riding at the seal originally..........that's from where I measured mine. Yes the yoke needs the flexibility to move in both directions.

http://jeepin.com/features/nss If you read some of the comments below the instructions........the incompetence of some is incomprehensible. I had this off and disconnected in no more than 5-6 minutes. Cleaned and replaced and down the road in no more than 35 minutes. And tutorial here is spot on.

After calling local RA was the first place I looked on the net..........no listing.

I have a 98 XJ Anyone know how to bypass the neutral safety switch? Also, anyone know where to get a TC replacement chain? Thanks