98 XJ Advice

[Akula69]

Last night while working I came across a 98 XJ that was for sale/ It had been in a front end collision, and the hood, fenders, bunper, radiator and condensor were damaged. (They have now been removed). The rest of the exterior, engine and interior (blue) are in great shape with approx 160K on the clock. It has a clear title.

 

The owner wants to sell it badly, is suggesting he'd like to get "about $500" for it. I suppose I could go to certifit and replace the sheetmetal (priced out at approximately $600), but I was kinda angling for the interior transplant for the MJ. Two questions:

 

Can the cluster from the 98 work in the MJ? I realize some wiring would have to be brought over, but isn't the 98 cluster electric (rather then mechanical)?

 

and

 

What do you guys think is a fair offering for this jeep?

 

Thanks!

[Eagle]

Not "some" wiring will have to be brought over. ALL wiring will have to be brought over. Yes, the '98 cluster is all electronic. In fact, Chrysler went all electronic in 1991, then the system changed again for 1996 when they first did OBD-II, and then it changed again in 1997 ('96 was kind of a kludge of the 91-95 system, hacked to meet OBD-II specs).

 

A couple of guys on here have swapped the newer interior into their MJs. I think you can find a write-up on at least one of them if you look.

[dancome433]

yea its not a bad deal, I'm going to do the same swap on my comanche with my buddys rolled xj, I know you have swap out the complete wiring harness and eevrything, but i also heard you have to swap out the engine also because of the wiring harness not matching, can anyone verify this?

[JeepcoMJ]

yea its not a bad deal, I'm going to do the same swap on my comanche with my buddys rolled xj, I know you have swap out the complete wiring harness and eevrything, but i also heard you have to swap out the engine also because of the wiring harness not matching, can anyone verify this?

 

 

verified.

 

 

the 97 interior wiring, especially gauges, WILL NOT work unless you are running a COMPLETE 97+ system. this inculdes engine, transmission, and all sensors etc. that come with it.

 

 

the 97+ gauges are NOT operated directly off of sensors...the sensors instead are routed through the engine computer for it to interpret them and convert them for the gauges to work.

 

that said, you WON'T be able to make the 97 gauges work without the 97 engine computer and running systems plus motor and trans. no way around it.

[BPB]

$500 doesn't seem unreasonable. However I am a cheapskate at heart :peek: I would try talking him down. If it were me I would fix up the xj. Too much work if your mj runs fine.

[dancome433]

the 97 interior wiring, especially gauges, WILL NOT work unless you are running a COMPLETE 97+ system. this inculdes engine, transmission, and all sensors etc. that come with it.

 

 

the 97+ gauges are NOT operated directly off of sensors...the sensors instead are routed through the engine computer for it to interpret them and convert them for the gauges to work.

 

that said, you WON'T be able to make the 97 gauges work without the 97 engine computer and running systems plus motor and trans. no way around it.

 

what if i don't have the trans :dunno: i have everything else but my buddy put the tranny in his new xj along with the transfer case, which rolled 4 times at 75 mph,(ill post pics later) and is now sitting in a insurance salvage yard about 4 hours away, and they won't let me get the tranny out, believe me i tried, plus it was pretty messed up as you can imagine what that kind of a wreck would do :(