1999MJ Posted March 18, 2007 Author Share Posted March 18, 2007 Do you have anymore pictures of the interior. Do you have any Pillar pics where the seat belts go? I'll try and get some pictures of that up for you during the week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted March 18, 2007 Author Share Posted March 18, 2007 Let me go ahead and ask since it appears nobody else has throughout this thread. Just want to make sure nobody's asked already... Did you have any issues with the passenger-side air bag when you were taking the dash out of the donor? I wouldn't figure installation to be too bad, since it is the newer electrical style and it will NOT go off without a battery (whereas the drivers side of a pre-97 XJ could/would), but I was still wondering. No issues with the actual hardware/wiring? No issues at all with the bag. I never even touched it or the wiring. I took the dash in one complete piece with the air bag intack and just unpluged the main wiring harnass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 so are the airbags functional? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 so are the airbags functional? 100% Functional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 i am redoing my interior. headliner, carpet, dash, and driver seat finished. must do rear window area and find console.http://http:// going to transplant single window doors than redo in same material as rear window putting in bar across back seat for five point harnesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash_AF Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Updates? I'm considering undertaking this project to build a unique DD so I have some technical questions: What mods were required to bolt the dash to the firewall up near the windshield? Were all the holes for the wiring harness there or did you have to punch some new ones? How much fab was required to bolt the newer seats onto the old floor? You promised pics of the behind the seat area, did you get those? Thanks, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 Updates? I'm considering undertaking this project to build a unique DD so I have some technical questions: What mods were required to bolt the dash to the firewall up near the windshield? Were all the holes for the wiring harness there or did you have to punch some new ones? How much fab was required to bolt the newer seats onto the old floor? You promised pics of the behind the seat area, did you get those? Thanks, Joe No updates. I have been extreamly busy with customers rucks and have had no time to work on my own stuff. I don't have those pictures. I kep forgetting my camera before I go to the shop in the morning but I will get them. To answer your questions: 1) I pulled the windshield and had to fabricate some tabs and weld them to light up with the holes on the dash. The mounting hols between the old dash an the new one is off my a couple inches 2) Not all the holes were there but most of them were. I had to drill one extra hole and the holes for the auto trans shift cable since it was a stick and had to fabricate a coule things to get the center ebarake in there. 3) the seats werent that bad. I used the mounting system from the 99 cherokee and had to cut the seat mount brackets down to compensate for the height diferenc and slope in the comanche floor pan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 my two cents. when i was down in baja last, the baldwins had us pull over. they needed a tape measure to check their toe in. while waiting for them to finish i looked inside their prerunner. mind you i was in a stripped down , totally naked xj. the inside of this 600 hp, 30 in wheel travel with 37 in tires was showroom bring, bling. i decided right there to be as comfortable as possible. cupholders and all. granted i don't have $100,000 grand to drop in like them, but within reason for me. anyway, my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manche=man Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Hey I just joined and I'm going to do a similar project- I'm just wondering what you have to do to make the gas tank work? [/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryjeep Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Hey I just joined and I'm going to do a similar project- I'm just wondering what you have to do to make the gas tank work? [/img] Wondering here as well. I recently bought a motorless, trannyless '97 XJ from mjcanoe (thanks man ) for the dash, wiring, electronics, etc. But with the motor out, I can look at the fuel line better, and seems to me that you can easily adapt the line from a XJ tank to a MJ tank, just splice it somewhere near where the tranny mounts. Or is it an issue of the fuel pump? There's no way I'm installing a behind-the-cab tank, or adapting the XJ tank to fit; it's all going to be 'stock', if possible. Also, still would LOVE to see some more pics of the interior, as well as perhaps a few details on installation if you got the time. I got the new dash avaiable, and the old dash removed from the Comanche; I'm setting up some time when I can take the new dash out, and it would be cool to hear a few words of wisdom before diving right in. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted April 26, 2007 Author Share Posted April 26, 2007 Hey I just joined and I'm going to do a similar project- I'm just wondering what you have to do to make the gas tank work? [/img] I temporarly put the 99 Cherokee fuel tank in the bed and plumbed it in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted April 26, 2007 Author Share Posted April 26, 2007 Hey I just joined and I'm going to do a similar project- I'm just wondering what you have to do to make the gas tank work? [/img] Wondering here as well. I recently bought a motorless, trannyless '97 XJ from mjcanoe (thanks man ) for the dash, wiring, electronics, etc. But with the motor out, I can look at the fuel line better, and seems to me that you can easily adapt the line from a XJ tank to a MJ tank, just splice it somewhere near where the tranny mounts. Or is it an issue of the fuel pump? There's no way I'm installing a behind-the-cab tank, or adapting the XJ tank to fit; it's all going to be 'stock', if possible. Also, still would LOVE to see some more pics of the interior, as well as perhaps a few details on installation if you got the time. I got the new dash avaiable, and the old dash removed from the Comanche; I'm setting up some time when I can take the new dash out, and it would be cool to hear a few words of wisdom before diving right in. :cheers: I wish I took some more pictures as I was doing the swap but I didn't. Maybe this weekend I can get some more detailed pictured on the interior and some under the hood shots of that will help ya. Looking for any specific shots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryjeep Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 I wish I took some more pictures as I was doing the swap but I didn't. Maybe this weekend I can get some more detailed pictured on the interior and some under the hood shots of that will help ya. Looking for any specific shots? Just some general pics of the dash I guess, and if you can, where the main wiring harness for the dash comes through the firewall in the engine bay. I worked a little more on the Comanche today, and going by what you said, the 'air box' (I'm assuming that's the box with the vaccum-operated doors for the AC/Heater)... ...has to be swapped with the new one, but the old mounts can be used. I don't want to go unnecessarily far in removing stuff from the air box module. Is this what needs to be changed out? More? Too much? Anyways, there seems to be a 7mm screw way up and back behind that's up against the rubber/felt padding, and I can't get to it with anything. I'd hate to have to rip out all the padding that seems to be one-piece with the firewall just to get to one screw... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 yes, that comes out. here's the how-to 1 open the hood. 2 drain coolant and a/c frion (if you have it) 3. disconnect wires to heater fan (rear right side of engine compartment...if viewing from driver's seat) 4. disconnect heater lines and a/c lines going into the firewall by the heater fan 5. there are approx. 6 bolts going through the firewall in that area...4 in plain site (after taking coolant bottle and bracket out of the way), and 2 directly behind the engine block. remove those 6. go inside and pick up where you left off...accept you DON'T need to take any of the heaterbox apart. just disconnect wiring and vacuum hoses and the whole black heaterbox will pop out. careful of antifreeze spills. you gotta drain fluids for that project...the box can't be disassembled in the dash I did this to get an a/c heaterbox box out of a cherokee I had to put in my comanche. reverse to install new one. be a smart mechanic and lay in the new wiring harness and dash mounts first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryjeep Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 yes, that comes out. here's the how-to 1 open the hood. 2 drain coolant and a/c frion (if you have it) 3. disconnect wires to heater fan (rear right side of engine compartment...if viewing from driver's seat) 4. disconnect heater lines and a/c lines going into the firewall by the heater fan 5. there are approx. 6 bolts going through the firewall in that area...4 in plain site (after taking coolant bottle and bracket out of the way), and 2 directly behind the engine block. remove those 6. go inside and pick up where you left off...accept you DON'T need to take any of the heaterbox apart. just disconnect wiring and vacuum hoses and the whole black heaterbox will pop out. careful of antifreeze spills. you gotta drain fluids for that project...the box can't be disassembled in the dash I did this to get an a/c heaterbox box out of a cherokee I had to put in my comanche. reverse to install new one. be a smart mechanic and lay in the new wiring harness and dash mounts first Many thanks! I'll definitely be sure to lay in all the new wiring first, once I get the old wiring harness out, which ended up being harder than I thought. Now, I need to quit hijacking this thread...hehe :oops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted April 28, 2007 Author Share Posted April 28, 2007 i'll post some pictures up sunday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockhardzj Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Exactly whats in the works for my MJ. This project is kick @$$. I'm not sure what your way was about upgrading the guages and stuff, but the way I'll be doing it is swapping in just about everything from a 97-01 XJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted April 28, 2007 Author Share Posted April 28, 2007 Exactly whats in the works for my MJ. This project is kick @$$. I'm not sure what your way was about upgrading the guages and stuff, but the way I'll be doing it is swapping in just about everything from a 97-01 XJ. That's exactly what I did. just used the MJ shell. Engine,trans, wiring is all 99XJ. Good luck with your swap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryjeep Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 That's exactly what I did. just used the MJ shell. Engine,trans, wiring is all 99XJ. Good luck with your swap It's exactly what I'm doing, albeit I don't have a motor or tranny yet; but I have a question. When you went to swap in the dash, along with the wiring harness and air box, what order did you do everything in? When I took everything out of the Comanche, I learned the only way I could ever get the wiring harness out is if I disassembled the dash piece by piece, since all of the wiring was bundled up and taped against the air box. I wanted to take the dash out in one piece, but if I had, I would have ripped all the wiring out. What's the best way of removing the dash and wiring from the '97+ XJ? It looks as if the main wiring harness is not taped up against the air box like it was in the MJ, so it may be possible to disconnect everything from under the hood, bundle it together, remove the rubber boot holding the wiring in at the firewall, then take the main dash mounts out and remove it all as one piece, including the gauges, air bags, etc. That's my theory at least... I'd hate to screw something up, though. :ack: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 That's exactly what I did. just used the MJ shell. Engine,trans, wiring is all 99XJ. Good luck with your swap It's exactly what I'm doing, albeit I don't have a motor or tranny yet; but I have a question. When you went to swap in the dash, along with the wiring harness and air box, what order did you do everything in? When I took everything out of the Comanche, I learned the only way I could ever get the wiring harness out is if I disassembled the dash piece by piece, since all of the wiring was bundled up and taped against the air box. I wanted to take the dash out in one piece, but if I had, I would have ripped all the wiring out. What's the best way of removing the dash and wiring from the '97+ XJ? It looks as if the main wiring harness is not taped up against the air box like it was in the MJ, so it may be possible to disconnect everything from under the hood, bundle it together, remove the rubber boot holding the wiring in at the firewall, then take the main dash mounts out and remove it all as one piece, including the gauges, air bags, etc. That's my theory at least... I'd hate to screw something up, though. :ack: I started with the engine harness. Got that all in place then changed the steering column mount ( the mounts are totally diferent between the 2) and fitted the dash in. the 97+ dash comes out all in one piece with the wiring,air bag and everything else intact. I just took the trim panels,gauge cluster and radio to lighten it up a bit because I had it in and out of there a couple times for test fitting but once you tear into it you'll see how everything needs to go and where you have to drill new holes, and weld the column mount in for the newer steering column. All you need to do is just measure and copy the exact way everything is mounted in the XJ and make the same holes and mounts in the MJ. Measure and measure and measure some more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp4lo Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Cool truck, and good info. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88swampedmj Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 lookin good, iam considering bobbing my sb now... its a trail truck and every little bit helps.. i figure if i don't bob it now.. the rocks will do it for me lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1999MJ Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Sorry about the delay on the photos again. Keep forgetting my damn camera and my shop is 40 min away from my house. I'll get them up soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 i've removed MANY dashes now from manches and a few early cherokees...you CAN remove the dash in one piece minus the kneeboard, radio, bezel, speedo cluster, and by pulling the heater controls back through. it takes some gentle caressing and a sidecutters (to cut the nye-ties holding the wiring to the dash), but you can get the dash assembly with headlight switch, glovebox, and glovebox trim removed without much effort... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockhardzj Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Not only is it my plan to make it look like a 98, but it's got a nice set of rubbers rolling in at the 40" mark. Axles are yet to be chosen, but in the line of consideration are a matched set of 60s for $250 (got lucky too, they are 79 Ford D60s with kingpin and HP), or a matched set of 14 Bolts for about $100. Prices don't reflect condition in any way. My mom's buddy owns a junk yard, so cheap parts are pretty sweet. Suspension will be a custom designed 3 link, with a full sub frame to make the Jeep even stronger, and also to reduce stress directly to the unibody. It will probably have some sort of a coil setup front and rear until I can afford some nice coilovers. My main concern is getting the 98's engine and wiring and interior in, but it should be rolling on the 40's by summer's end. I just see the 97-01 mods as the way Jeep should have designed them. They are so much more styled and up to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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