Minuit

More likely than not, an AW4 without an external cooler of some sort will overheat no matter what kind of driving it's been through. The "cooler" in the radiator is simply not enough. Transmissions that overheated with just the radiator heat exchanger is most likely where the "AW4s generate too much heat" belief came from. And I've never experienced Novak's other complaints. Toss on an external cooler of some sort (and make sure the fluid isn't burnt when you get the XJ) and you'll probably have no problems at all out of your slushbox.

I wasn't even thinking about the factory aux cooler when I wrote that - not that I've looked hard but I've never seen one. Was it part of one of the towing packages? For what it's worth, the one I installed is the Hayden 678 (plumbed in after the radiator) and I'm quite happy with it so far.

I disagree with the factory cooler being enough. The trans fluid I initially changed when I got the '91 was burnt, indicating the transmission severely overheated under regular driving conditions with the stock radiator. In its previous life it did not tow or haul heavy loads at all - it's been used as a car its entire life. Add an external cooler and the AW4 is great, though - there's many options out there and the process is quite easy. One of the best automatics I've ever driven with.

Rockauto shows out of stock... and it's my experience that they don't come back when they get marked out of stock. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

The one on my red truck is torn all to hell too. IIRC the part number is 53005384. Good luck finding one, since I've had no luck at all. NLA of course and I doubt a junkyard one will be any better than what we have.

I really, really don't see where the 55k went. "Over 55,000 dollars invested" is one of those phrases that just makes me groan. Maybe if they bought a brand new crate engine from GM and had the work done by a shop I could see it. And If it really is an '85 Corvette engine that would be an L98, not the LT1 that every redneck fawns over. I don't trust any power numbers whatsoever unless there's a dyno sheet to go with them, and I kinda doubt it's a 400hp engine. I think the owner got snookered by the guy he bought it from. Plus he ruined the unique Jeep tailgate. But his seats have the little trim covers under them, so that's gotta be worth it right?

I think we all can agree that people just suck.

That's pretty much exactly how the floors on my '89 rotted out, except the driver floor is pretty much completely gone outboard of the frame rail and the trans tunnel is pretty crusty until about halfway up. I don't remember if you said anything about it, but have you checked your fusebox for damage? Almost all of the manual MJs I've seen have much worse driver side floor rot than automatics, so I'm thinking clutch fluid definitely helps the process along. That, and I at least have a nice trail of rust leading right up to the fusebox and it seems like you do too.

That's the downside of having really expensive parts - I'm pretty sure just having the taillights smashed out would theoretically total my '89.

Remember that you own a limited production collector's vehicle with very difficult to source and expensive parts. Make sure the rectal orifice in question knows this.

About how long would it run with the truck off without hitting the low voltage cutoff? This is a really cool idea - would be sweet to have a cold drink waiting in the truck after doing outdoor stuff.

Here you go: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/uwc-174-5865gn

I've done the exact same thing, except it was in a small, pretty organized junkyard... and it was about a week after I got the phone. Got to the counter and realized my phone wasn't in my pocket. The junkyard was about to close so I left my home #. About 30 minutes after opening the next day, I get a call that someone found my phone on the yard. Wish I knew who found it. Bet I walked right past it 3 or 4 times at least. I ended up giving the phone to my Dad and getting a cheaper phone that wouldn't hurt so much if it got lost. Now I do a complete pocket and tool check every time I move from one vehicle to another in the JY.

If it's any consolation, at least you know whose @$$ to kick.

You know, I've gotten more comments about my truck at the dump than anywhere else - just about every time I'd haul garbage off someone would stop and talk to me for at least a few minutes back when I still used the '91 for dumpin' duty. As a member of the so-called "younger generation" not every one of us are glued to our phones and Facebook. We appreciate the classics. I let 2 of the damn things have their way with my pocketbook for crying out loud.

I want to eventually put power windows/locks in the 91 just because I think it sounds like a fun project, especially since it's becoming more luxury by the day. I could take or leave crank windows but sometimes they can be a pain, especially if I want the passenger window down. Sometimes I think about retrofitting a factory RF keyless entry system, but that probably won't happen for a few reasons. Now that the OP's question is answered we can think out loud about stuff that won't ever happen, right? :doh:

Thanks guys, I figured as much. [emoji106] Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

Here's a stupid question that should be pretty easy to answer. I don't have the trim covers for my bucket seat brackets, and I'd like to have them. Is it something unique to MJ buckets or can I use the seat bracket covers from an XJ? Here's what I'm referring to - the plastic cover under the seat. Pic shamelessly stealed without permission from Don.

That looks nice and all but shouldn't everything on there be chrome? :D In all fairness to the guy above asking if it was for sale, before I realized this was in the Tech forum I thought it was a for sale ad too. The sidebar doesn't tell you which forum a thread is in.

Much appreciated :thumbsup: I've gotten so far behind on my build threads. I might be able to update them next weekend, maybe?

That's some pretty nice oil pressure for 250k.

You'll find out soon enough. Cheap Chinese(usually) junk.

Yep, common on high trim XJs and MJs. Looks really nice in the right color I think.

Some trucks came from the factory with the grille and headlight surrounds painted body color. If you like it, just do it.

Heater cores always have a habit of popping at the very worst time, so I would replace it too. You've already done half the work anyway. The actual heater core replacement takes like 10 minutes once you have the HVAC box out.