'99 2dr. Project Null

[JeepcoMJ]

man, that thing is NICE!

 

 

 

 

lol. well, picked up the lund visor, did not look close enough at it...it's for a comanche, not a cherokee.

 

 

I'm going to check and see if I can make it work, but there's a bit more gap than I'd like. that said, I may just wait to find one for an xj, and hold on to this one to put it on the 3800 when the time comes. I'll only install it on the xj if the holes will be in the same location when I do eventually find a proper cherokee one...I don't want to drill two sets of holes in the roof on this thing.

 

pics of the swingout will be up soon. Hopefully Rob (automan) and I can meet up this weekend for my brother, dad, and I to check out his diesel, drop off black interior parts, and snag his plow frame so I can fix it for him and use it as a template to make one for my xj.

[Automan2164]

pics of the swingout will be up soon. Hopefully Rob (automan) and I can meet up this weekend for my brother, dad, and I to check out his diesel, drop off black interior parts, and snag his plow frame so I can fix it for him and use it as a template to make one for my xj.

 

Don't forget I am planning on buying that visor. :brows:

Rob

[Kittrell]

Thanks it was a fun rig. Still wish I had it sometimes. I won't muddy up your thread with a bunch of pictures, but I'll just toss up one of my favorites.

 

 

Keep up the good work on yours.

[JeepcoMJ]

well, have yet to get down by rob to steal his plow mount to copy, but I did accomplish a few things, of which I hope to finish up and have pics up this week.

 

while moving into the new place this past month, I accidently broke my fish tank in the back of the jeep, which held around 5 gallons of saltwater....so, the rear carpet had to come up, and the floors washed down with dawn and water, let her dry out, address any rust issues (rear floor looks great, driver's front is gone), steam clean the carpets out, and decide on replacing them with the vinyl '96 carpet I have, or keep the stock ones.

[JeepcoMJ]

put a new tailpipe on and eliminated the pre-axle turndown. a helluva lot quieter. also blacked out the wheels and put the hood bra I had on it.

 

[Rymanrph]

I just picked up a '99 2dr this past weekend that will be my DD. Your's looks to be in a little better shape. I'll have to start another thread on mine.

[JeepcoMJ]

I just picked up a '99 2dr this past weekend that will be my DD. Your's looks to be in a little better shape. I'll have to start another thread on mine.

 

 

nice! mine is only in OK shape.

[JeepcoMJ]

tailpipe all welded in.

full welded exhaust

added a 3rd cross bar

new tunes.

spent about 2 hours combining 3 sets of waterlogged and rusted out factory fogs to make one good set, to replace the bad ones on this thing. the fog light switch was also fried out...

and then there was light!

 

aside from that, I washed all the windows inside and out (first time in quite a few years, I'm sure), fixed the rear wiper arm, painted all of the wiper arms, and fixed the 3rd brake light as well as rebuilt the rear hatch wiring harness, since it was all sorts of wrecked from opening and closing for so many years.

[JeepcoMJ]

had a GREAT haul at the junkyard today. originally went to try and find a new driver's tail light since I shattered mine on accident...came out with...

 

a pair of new in box 97 up tail lights...already installed d/s one before pic for the drive home lol

 

found a 96 xj police package...which means complete vinyl carpet for 95-01 xj. complete with wheel well covers

 

a 97 and up 3 switch panel with good switches, and a factory 1999-2001 7 pin trailer harness connector, with brake wiring already set up

 

and there was a Meyer 7'6" plow on a J10 honcho, with an E47 electric pump...and a Meyer slick stick. yay! don't have to install a fugly dual switch setup...now I can put a joystick right on my shifter handle. also picked up a pair of good shift knobs since I somehow broke mine...

no pic of the stick i picked up, or shift knobs, but this is what a slick stick looks like

 

all for $80.

[JeepcoMJ]

got the rear floor cleaned up (not very rusty at all...few tiny bubble spots), and installed the rear vinyl setup.

 

while I was in there, I also cleaned out the rust/dirt/dust under the panels and down in the quarters.

[500 MJ]

got the rear floor cleaned up (not very rusty at all...few tiny bubble spots), and installed the rear vinyl setup.

 

while I was in there, I also cleaned out the rust/dirt/dust under the panels and down in the quarters.

 

So, why is it that this is only good for '95+ XJ's, why won't it work in our "new" '90 XJ? - This is exactly what I want for the rear cargo area at least...

[JeepcoMJ]

So, why is it that this is only good for '95+ XJ's, why won't it work in our "new" '90 XJ? - This is exactly what I want for the rear cargo area at least...

 

the cargo area would work pretty much all years, but the front carpet changed when they changed the seat mounts.

[JeepcoMJ]

carpet out, seats out.

driver rear

passenger side was just a bit of surface rust

all the bad shtuff removed

made a new piece out of a sheet of stainless that I had, then decided to call it quits. temporarily reinstalled the old seat bracket, after throwing the sheet down, so I could drive it home from my dad's shop.

 

I'll finish it in the morning.

[JeepcoMJ]

took more than just the morning, but here goes...

I didn't have any sheet steel, but my brother had a sheet of stainless sheet metal for me to use...my first time welding stainless, and while it's not pretty, it will do the job.

the front seat bracket was completely rusted out, so I made a new one. and got rid of the welded nut idea in favor of studs.

some of the inner rocker was rusted out, so I cut that out and plated new stuff in...

painted and bedlined...

Air bag computer mount welded back in, and computer bolted up.

passenger side. it was in pretty nice shape. also re-ran the amp wires nicely.

vinyl modified for the 97+ variances, and installed.

 

called it quits after that, and tossed the driver's seat back in so I could drive it home. I'll finish up the interior tomorrow, and start working on the sub box.

[Kittrell]

Air bag computer mount welded back in, and computer bolted up.

Holy crap, your airbag computer is still mounted under the seat? That was a recall for the '99.

 

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE

NHTSA Campaign No: 00V105000

Manufacturer's Campaign No: 860

 

Manufactured From: 07/25/1996 - 06/30/1999

Units Affected: 395,000

Owner Notification Date: 05/15/2000

Description of Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. WATER AND/OR ROAD SALT IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE COULD LEAD TO CORROSION.

Consequence of Defect

SUCH CORROSION CAN LEAD TO ILLUMINATION OF THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT OR COULD ALLOW INADVERTENT DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAGS.

Corrective Action

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE AND LOCATE THE NEW MODULE ON THE TOP OF THE TRANSMISSION TUNNEL.

[terrawombat]

I was going to point out the same thing. I've had a '98, 2X '99, and an '01 XJ that all had the airbag module mounted under the center console. I'm guessing the recall was done to the '98 and '99s on mine. But, those pictures do explain that random bracket under the drivers seat!

 

BTW, nice work with the seat studs. Never liked the idea of have seat bolts, especially the one on the back that goes through the floorpan and is completely exposed under the Jeep.

[JeepcoMJ]

Air bag computer mount welded back in, and computer bolted up.

Holy crap, your airbag computer is still mounted under the seat? That was a recall for the '99.

 

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE

NHTSA Campaign No: 00V105000

Manufacturer's Campaign No: 860

 

Manufactured From: 07/25/1996 - 06/30/1999

Units Affected: 395,000

Owner Notification Date: 05/15/2000

Description of Defect

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES. WATER AND/OR ROAD SALT IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE COULD LEAD TO CORROSION.

Consequence of Defect

SUCH CORROSION CAN LEAD TO ILLUMINATION OF THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT OR COULD ALLOW INADVERTENT DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAGS.

Corrective Action

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE AIR BAG CONTROL MODULE AND LOCATE THE NEW MODULE ON THE TOP OF THE TRANSMISSION TUNNEL.

 

yeah, i seem to recall that. I didn't do the modification because I don't have the mount for under the center console bracket, and just got sick of working on it lol.

[JeepcoMJ]

I was going to point out the same thing. I've had a '98, 2X '99, and an '01 XJ that all had the airbag module mounted under the center console. I'm guessing the recall was done to the '98 and '99s on mine. But, those pictures do explain that random bracket under the drivers seat!

 

BTW, nice work with the seat studs. Never liked the idea of have seat bolts, especially the one on the back that goes through the floorpan and is completely exposed under the Jeep.

 

thanks.

[JeepcoMJ]

finished it today. installed the 242 shifter in it, now need to hook up the shift linkages.

the 2 door specific trim on the lower door frame was broken. I had some original 85 2dr ones in black, they work OK. just hard to find the right parts for 2 doors.

d/s with original floor mat. ordering the nice rubber jeep ones this week

p/s

rear floor

rear seat..

dash.

[JeepcoMJ]

well, after completely disassemblying the plow setup, I ended up rebuilding the pump entirely, and while on ebay found that just the pump has been selling for a pretty penny. as a result, I sold the pump lol. I can replace it later, and I needed the money. going to build a pump for the jeep at some point later, since I can't pony up the cash for the needed suspension upgrades in order to use the plow.

[JeepcoMJ]

rear wheel cylinder went out a few weeks ago. rear axle still needs new wheel seals, so rather than fix it, I pinched off the line. I was just waiting to get the disc brake parts...didn't feel like spending $24 on a pair of wheel cylinders for brakes that I have no desire to have on the jeep.

 

picked up a set of complete zj discs complete with axle tube ends....came off of a 98 with 235xxx miles on it, so the jy owner couldn't sell the axle. $50 later, I had both sides, with ebrake cables, and brand new ebrake hardware with newer discs, pads, and calipers. going to be installing them along with the new wheel seals later on this week.

 

also going to be getting some 4" rear springs for it this weekend, and have iceland offroad flares on the way. going to be doing a lift on it since I just bought another 99 4 door xj that needs some electrical work, which I will be DDing.

[Guanaco.13]

Sick build so far

[JeepcoMJ]

The rear springs were sagging so bad that I couldn't put ANY extra weight in the xj without riding on what was left of the bumpstops, and I'm not quite ready to lift it...so...bandaid time.

 

 

those helper springs were on an mj that got scrapped out years ago. thought i'd never use them, and forgot I even had them until I accidently stumbled upon them. brought the arch back 150 percent...rear now sits high enough to give it a rake. I'll be throwing air shocks in as well, once I have a whole day to spend getting rid of all of the booger welds the PO's mechanic put on them to hold them in when they broke off. would have done it today, except it started snowing...i won't work under a dripping wet vehicle.

 

last night, I got sick of my rear endcaps and bumper looking like @$$, so I picked up some chrysler match duplicolor paint...here's the result.

 

all I did was scotch brite everything, then tape off the body/remove the tail lights so I could paint. I haven't put clear down yet, because I'm counting on a few days sun fading to bring the color to a perfect fade. unfortunately, instead of sun, we got snow. will probably have to redo it but oh well.

[JeepcoMJ]

a local guy does upholstery on the side, and has a 2dr xj that he plows with.

 

got to talking to him, he does ALOT of industrial seats. meaning rip proof tear proof and waterproof on all manner of equipment. my front seats are shot, and it seems I'm always getting dirty doing something or another...which is my justification for swapping in the vinyl "carpet", and why I want seats I can pretty much wipe clean and not worry about.

 

so, got him to do a quick "mock-up" seat for me to determine if I want to go this route, or go with leather. i'm going this route, but with green thread to match the jeep.

 

 

I'm going to pad up a set of my seats with the lumbars adjusted for me, add more padding to the side bolsters, and have him do a real nice job on the fronts. he'll also do the rear seat, once I add headrests to it.

[JeepcoMJ]

well, I won't be taking the effort to fix all the images here, but I will continue on.

 

Two weeks ago I finally did the air bag control relocation, and put a new center console latch and rear mount in.

 

Today I did my first oil change in 9500 miles....may be a bit over lol. In my defense, I did two oil changes on the first 1500 miles on this engine...then every time I wanted to do the oil change, I didn't have the $$$ to do it. So, it's been bothering me that it was sounding a bit "ticky", i knew i needed to do the oil, so I finally did. Mopar MO-090 filter, 6 qts Mobil 1 full synthetic 10w30, as I had run previously. 265,750 miles on the jeep, just over 10,000 on the motor. She purrs like a kitten now, and definitely makes me feel better knowing that that is done.

 

Another thing that had been bothering me is that, since I got it, the clutch has leaked. I determined it was the slave early on, since there has been no fluid visible anywhere except around the external slave and at the base of the bellhousing, presumably from leaking into the bell. I've done the clutch twice since I put this jeep together, the second time because several clutch fingers actually broke off of the pressure plate, not because of clutch wear. I got them to warranty me a stage two clutch, even though I bought a stock clutch when I put the engine in.

 

I had been holding off on doing the master/slave because I could only find a pre-bled combo, for $190 or higher. On a whim, at Advance Auto on black friday, I had them look it up, and they had just a slave, in stock, for $52...made in china, but I had a 30% off coupon so I figured "what the hell, may as well".

 

Install was easy, new slave is METAL, and BLEEDABLE. Two pluses in my opinion. The install was easy, though bleeding didn't go so well initially. I ended up manually bleeding it by pushing the slave rod back in and bleeding the air out of the reservoir....my god, what a difference it makes. I literally have to reteach myself how to drive this thing, since the clutch disengagement is all the way at the top, as opposed to 3/4 of the way down. You can definitely feel the stage 2 clutch and the crisp engagement it offers...and I can now roast the tires.

 

Anyways, I took it in for a quick hose-down afterwards, and snapped a pic or two.

 

The seatcover I had halfarsed

It is a waterproof, almost cut-proof material (you have to have special cutters to cut the material). The guy who did this for me is doing a nicer set of 4 for me right now for a 60/40 split liberty rear seat and two more two door seats, with this material being the only material used rather than the pleather he used on the side.

 

and the engine bay, freshly lubed K&N. I'm going to replace all of the plastic wrap on the harness, since I "accidently" got acid on it when I was doing a engine bay clean-up on it with the acid we used at the place I was working at, at the time.

 

This week I'm installing my Meyer plow, slik-stick control, nitesaber lights, a 3" lift using BDS front springs and hellcreek rears, skyjacker lowers, and a full set of 4 air shocks...I'm not looking forward to the rear shocks as they are currently welded in, thanks to the P.O.'s mechanic.

 

Also have a craftsman 41" single center drawer that will be going in the rear, and I need to do the headliner when I install my overhead switch-panel in the garage door opener part of the overhead console (since I can't find a 4 switch panel anywhere). The overhead switch panel will use stock fog light switches to control the upper/lower headlight interchange for the plow setup, and the reverse lights that will be included, as well as an on/off stock blank switch to turn the plow controls on, so that I can't accidently bump it while driving.