shelbyluvv

Links to what? The 97 conversion? There are 3 or 4 of them going on right here on this board. Mine included. Click the "Project Onyx" link in my sig.

Normally when the whinning stops while pressing the clutch pedal down, it means the throw out bearing is going bad. Did you replace the bearing when you did the swap?

I adapted the MJ tail light wiring to the 97+ XJ harness. I set it up like this. Both minor tail light bulbs come on with the lights on. (parking lights) The top major bulb is for the brake lights. The bottom major bulb is for the turn signals and 4 ways. Reverse lights stayed the same as factory. The reason I adapted the MJ harness to the XJ's is so I can retain my factory tail light lenses. I like the look of the MJ stockers over the 97+ XJ stock lenses. I will be doing a write up in my build thread in the next day or so... Stay tuned.

Take that new Fram filter and throw it as far away from the Jeep as you can. There is a history of Fram filters causing low oil pressure and knocking at idle. Get a Wix or something else.

Not stock by any means. My MJ is (or was) a 89 Eliminator. A twin to your truck.

Please... Don't!

Not yet. It does not have the right fuel pump or an exhaust manifold. Once i track those parts down she should fire right up. The doors bolt on like stock. You need to mount the newer style striker. Drill some holes and bolt it on. Sent you a PM with the info on it. I don't want to post that info for all to see on a open forum.

Installed all the wiring, tested everything, and heard the motor crank over!

We (my, son, daughter and I) spent the last 4 days working our fingers to the bone. We got orders to 29 Palms CA in August. That means the truck HAS to run to be loaded on a semi to be shipped. We got all the wiring, heater box, and stereo installed. We got everything working too. key in dinger, check headlights on dinger, check all lights (inside and out), check power windows, check power locks, check power mirrors, check wipers, check XJ radio, tweaters, amp and speakers, check TJ fuel sender and cluster, check I cranked the motor just to make sure the NSS and starter were talking and she spun over. All I need now is to get new, cat, manifold, HO fuel pump, and a rear shaft and she should be driveable! I also managed to get the XJs vin tag off the the dash and put the MJs back in it's place while using the factory rosette rivets! Here is a pic of the dash all lit up. I wanted to get a pic of the fuel gauge reading half a tank but missed it.

You would be better off buying drop brackets, track bar, 6" coils, and shocks. It would probably come out cheaper that way. It will give you a better ride as well.

I finally got the bumper. It is new and well worth the $160 shipped I paid for it. There are a couple little scrapes on the bumper caps but other than that it is flawless.

My plan is to detail the underside. Rough in everything else. Drive it a few weeks and work all the bugs out. Once it is running good with no CEL or other problems, blow it back apart, paint it, reassemble it, and let the wife enjoy her "new" truck.

Do not paint your engine bay before you get the steering column and under hood harnesses laid out. You will be chopping and cutting on your freshly painted firewall.

I just got home from there a few weeks ago. Had to get me some Red Stone candy.

It does happen if you are stupid and hit the water doing mach 2. If you go into it slowly and allow the water to stop the blades from spinning you will not have a problem. If you it hit fast with a hot fan clutch, there is a very real possibility that it will get pulled into the radiator.

Nice clean truck. One thing though. Your grille is up side down.

As was said the 97 was the first year of the new XJ. 97-99 are some of the best years to get an XJ. I like the electronics on these years better than any other ones. They are extremly easy to work on should a CEL come on. They talk to you. The 00-01 is a bit of a unique bastard. They got the LP30 front and coil pack ignition, and the dreaded 0331 heads. I owned a 00 Sport and it was a great Jeep. I still to this day wish I had it. I replace the LP30 with a HP30, replace the coil pack under warranty. The head never cracked and still has'nt. Russ Pottenger from here has it now. It will though, they all do at some point in time. If I were to buy another XJ as a driver a 97-99 would be the ones I looked at.

Have you looked into a used oil burner? Something like the Clean Burn 1400? They run about $3500 or so new and $2500 for a reconditioned unit. The cool thing is they will run off used motor oil, trans fluid, hydralic fluid, or diesel. There are small shops out there that would give you a barrel of used oil just to save them from having to have it disposed of. I am going this route when I complete my garage. It is something else for you to look into.

That was the plan all along for mine before my wife fell in love with it. It does not cost that much to do the conversion. Here is a break down of what I have spent thus far, 89 MJ $400 97 XJ $1200 MJ D44 $225 Tail gate $125 New NOS rear bumper $160 Front fenders $50 for the pair stock 97 XJ radio $20 seats $300 (2 different styles of buckets so far) front Bumper cars $20 97 XJ 2 door seat tilts $50 Dashes $50 (had 2 different ones) Rubicon MOABs $175 4" lift Kit $250 new A/C system $100 Total $4300 I bumped the total up in case i forgot some stuff. Stuff sold All MJ stock stuff $500 All not used XJ stock stuff and carcas $500 Other crap I sold that I did not need (2 97 Dashes and seats) $300 Total $1300 Total spent $3000 It is not to exspensive to build one if you wait for the right deals to come along.

Johnny, It should work. My truck now is a SWB, 4.0, AW4, 242, and D44. I can't see why it would not work for me. Get me the total shipped to 30102 and I will send you the cash for it.

I am soooo going to kiss you on the mouff when I get back home! (even if you don't still have the driveline) See ya soon buddy!

I need the stock rear shaft out of a, swb,_4.0,___aw4,___np231,___d35= 42.35" or swb,_4.0,___ax15-ba10/5,__np231,___d44= 42.25" U-joints can be bad. I will rebuild it. I will need it shipped to GA (30102). Thanks in advance, Bo.

You sure about that? This is a 2 piece inline six header.

Where have you been hiding buddy? You had a few of us worried. Welcome back.

Really unbelievable!