Minuit

1989 switched out "Tan" for "Sand" which I'm fairly sure stayed the same until the 1997 refresh of the XJ. I have for sure seen multiple 96 XJs with Sand interiors. Cordovan lasted at least until 1992, but was pretty damn rare by then. As far as I know, that's one of the unique option combos: the '92 Laredo models had, as an option, dual power leather seats that were different from the Limited ones. While I'm here, here's another unique interior: a 1988 Laredo is the only combination that you could get grey plaid seats and door panels in. Another one is 1987-1/2 XJ Limiteds with black leather. Within the HO era I'd say it's probably a 74/24/2% split between Charcoal/Sand/Cordovan on both MJs and XJs. Personal experience, anyway. It's really sad what Chrysler did to the interiors of these things. Once the engine management system got into a good place, the interiors just got so damn boring. And I really don't think of the 97+ interior as an improvement in any way except electrical connectors. @fiatslug87 - ever thought of adding an (original) exterior and interior color column to the registry spreadsheet? Would make for interesting data.

Keep in mind that grey interiors in Jeeps weren't even a thing until 1988. Within that limitation, it's gotta be grey. The tan color of the year (and they changed it at least three times) is probably the next most common.

Well, as of the morning of the 1st we are back to square 1.25 again Things are better, but not enough better. Can't think of anything that could've brought it on. I got a call from a nurse earlier today to ask if I maybe had too much to drink for the new year. Good one. Not only do I not drink at all, but I was in bed by 10PM the night before. But maybe this is a common thing with seizure patients - alcohol is one of those things that you're often encouraged to give up along with the diagnosis because it can be a trigger. Oh yeah, and antihistamines. I was told flat out that I could never take Benadryl ever again. As it happens, I have a nasty ragweed allergy. The universe does have a sense of irony. Staring spells are still gone though.

Correct. They changed it again in 1989.

That's another member of the 84-85 RX-141/131/758 soup. Never actually had one, but I came close to buying one from a junkyard but couldn't come to an agreement on price. Probably quite a basic AM/FM stereo with single-ended outputs. If so, I wouldn't be THAT surprised if it was basically the 5751145 in a DIN chassis. Also, just throwing an idea out there: A video where I go through the high points of the AMC and Jeep radios, year by year. Yes or no?

Most of the interior screws are #8 sheet metal screws in various lengths from 1/2" to 1". Most of them are standard pan head, but some like the ones that hold the gauge cluster in are "washer head". https://www.amazon.com/Retro-Motive-Trim-Screws-Phillips-Washer/dp/B07D15JWQN/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=washer+head+trim+screw&qid=1609454454&sr=8-7

Shoot me a PM. I'm basically looking for a whole truck worth of them.

Spring clamps.

Anyone got any factory XJ/MJ hose clamps sitting around in the bottom of their toolbox they'd like to get rid of? I'm going to be doing a bit of cooling system work pretty soon and I've decided to switch back to the old clamps. Mainly looking for the ones that connect to the upper and lower radiator hoses, but will take any.

I think I'm gonna have to borrow this for later use

I cannot confirm with absolute certainty that that's a Delphi (now called Aptiv as of a year or two ago) connector, but it shares some very similar features to bulkhead connectors in the Delphi catalog. Unfortunately, on a Renix era Jeep there's roughly a 50/50 chance that it's a readily available connector from a respectable brand or some absolutely random garbage that nobody has thought about in 30 years that looks remarkably similar to something you can still buy. Look for any moldings in the connector that say "PED" - that would confirm it 100%. The mixed Metri-Pack series come in four different connector sizes, which each have several variations depending on wire gauge. Some more pictures of the pin that broke off, or where it's located in the connector, would help - assuming it's something you can still buy.

Good job. I'd always thought the C2C pans looked a little "cheap" and in no way like the actual Comanche floor. You did good showing the relevant info quickly.

I love historical guns, but for strict practicality I lean towards an AR-15 in .223/5.56 - that's probably the most all-around practical gun you can buy. 300 Blackout is very similar to 7.62x39 in a lot of ways. It's essentially a .30 caliber bullet in the same casing as .223/5.56. A 16 inch barrel will be fine in almost every case and saves some weight. A lighter gun is always better. A basic AR will probably come with a crap trigger... but that's the fun of it! You'll get to figure out what you don't like and tailor the rifle to your needs and wants. An AR can be swapped between .300 Blackout and 5.56 in about 30 seconds by switching out the upper. Easy peasy. Same magazines even.

Sadly not, but not to worry - it's fine. I start it up every now and then and make sure everything works. The next few things that are liable to happen: - I have the D44, a trac-lok carrier for said D44, and 3.55 gears. Might play around with that. - I have everything I need except headliner fabric to install the overhead console with new, more user friendly keyless entry. - Misc. audio system shenanigans?

Happy birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas... and some other stuff 2020 is almost over. No matter what, I think we can all agree that's a good thing. I sincerely hope that you'll be spending the end of this terrible year in safe, warm comfort. Anyway, I wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you'd prefer) and a happy new year, and maybe provide some useful information along the way. The AMC Model 5751145 I am now adding the 5751145 AM-FM shaft radio (pictured) to the list of radios I service, upgrade, and repair. While I have no detailed schematics, I have accumulated enough experience with this unit to feel confident in performing most work short of major repair. I can now add auxiliary input, perform mechanical maintenance to the tuner movement, and much more. The 5751145 is a basic AM-FM stereo radio with manual tuning, five mechanically stored presets, a single tone control, and single-ended outputs - this radio does not operate like a standard car radio of today with a "positive" and "negative" speaker terminal, both of which carry a signal. It only has positive and ground. This reduces output power greatly, and changes how I would suggest connecting it to an amplifier - I'd suggest treating its outputs as you would RCA outputs on an aftermarket radio. The 5751145 is made in Japan by Mitsubishi. It seems to pre-date the severe solder joint issues found in later Mitsubishi headunits, and seems very reliable if not mistreated. As always with mechanically tuned receivers, be careful to never turn the dial past its stops. The shafts are 5.5 inches apart. I plan on making another update soon with more details of what will be coming in 2021. As always, thanks for your support and business!

Yep - that's the fun part. You'll have to check that entire circuit for the problem. The ignition switch is a very good first guess. Simple visual inspection that you might want to try before getting the meter out: The ignition switch on these trucks is very prone to developing a bad connection internally and melting the connector, which can cause any number of problems. Many times you can find a bad ignition switch just by looking at it and the connector. To find it, just unplug the ignition switch connectors located under the dash roughly at the midpoint of the steering column on the right side. You're looking for any signs of high heat or physical damage to either the switch or the connector. If that checks good upon a visual inspection, it's time to get the test gear out and find out where the 12V goes away. Note that this does not mean the switch is GOOD, but it does mean that it's probably time to get the voltmeter out and check various places for 12V. The fact that your truck runs when the hood lamp connector is plugged into the ignition exonerates everything but the switched 12V feed to the ignition system for this particular problem. You (and your mechanic) are very lucky that he plugged 12V into something that's happy to receive 12V, or you'd be having MUCH bigger problems right now.

Not a bad look honestly. Do the new lights put out any light to the sides?

Yep - saw it right away. The body moving over the axle when steering is 100% a sign of track bar looseness, putting aside the fact that it's clear in the video. Had it even worse on my 89. Resolve the looseness and look from there. Tightening that up should make your truck drive considerably better too.

I can certainly understand the appeal, but putting aside the fact that I am a legendary tight-@$$, they aren't for me. For instance, my current electronics lab alone takes up a little under 70 sqft of my garage, but I'd really rather have that be indoor, climate controlled space and use all of the garage space to you know, park vehicles in. I could probably slim that number down a little, but I could definitely buy some more 80s boat-anchor equipment and use even more space too. I really don't like the idea of having to take care of a large plot of land that doesn't make me any money just so I don't have neighbors close. Doing yardwork and tree trimming and all that takes away from things I actually want to do. ...so give me a normal sized house on a normal sized amount of land!

This is usually the scope of the problem for most people. My experience says it's never just one spot, even if it looks like it at first. If you've really got it bad, add to the list: - The thick foam seals at the HVAC drain and heater pipes - The fuse block connector itself. This one gave me a lot of trouble. - a "trough" in the body that funnels water into the blower motor gasket - Windshield - Gaskets at the base of the steering column and clutch master cylinder if equipped To add to the (extremely common) antenna grommet leak - I'm almost positive the cause of this is rain water running down the antenna lead. No idea how to solve that one. The power antenna version of this grommet is sturdier, so adding a power antenna is a very roundabout way of fixing this problem, I suppose.

I felt like the smartest guy in the world when I discovered that little trick doing control arm bushings on my truck a few years ago

As I, not much of an offroader, understand it: The D44 carrier break is <-3.73 | 3.92-> However, you can ignore this carrier break by using "thick cut" gears to run a ratio that "should" be on the numerically high side of the break in a carrier that was meant for the numerically lower side of the break. I think after a while, the factory used one carrier for everything and used thick cut gears or "standard" gears, depending on the ratio used. I am unsure of when this started. The big difference you're probably thinking of came with the introduction of the JK. The JK Dana 44 is a beefier (and wider?) axle, and within that subset I'm pretty sure there are substantial differences between the Rubicon and non-Rubicon