The truly "custom" '86 MJ Custom.

[Comanche County]

Looking good!

[jonb8]

All the little holes are to spot weld it back into the firewall and upper lip.

[onlyinajeep726]

Some progress has been made...

Got my donor XJ pulled over here about a week or so ago. Started the tear down by getting things separated from the engine so it can be pulled soon. Also pulled the various things needed to swap into the MJ. So far I've pulled the engine harness, dash harness, cruise control harness and vacuum motor, HVAC box, steering column and steering box.

On the MJ, I painted the engine bay satin black. Looks 200% better. Anyway, I've gotten the engine harness placed, relay center bracket fastened down, HVAC box installed and steering column installed. Next will be the steering box, cruise control harness, dash and dash harness. Also I will be swapping the coil springs as I am told the 2.5 and 4.0 use different spring weights. Anyway, time for pictures...

[onlyinajeep726]

Phase III... the rebuild.

 

Phase III officially started today.

I've removed my 4.0 from my donor today, but unfortunately not without a few broken pieces/parts. Managed to snap the O₂ sensor clean off, as well as snap the back of the starter solenoid off and I broke the barbed elbow for the return line on the power steering pump.

Minus that, removal went mostly well. Took longer than it did when I removed the 2.5 from the MJ, but I figured it would given the longer drivetrain. Got the AW4 separated just a few minutes ago and the Renix flywheel that I got a couple of months ago is now sitting comfortably bolted to the crankshaft.

I ordered my LuK clutch kit and pilot bushing yesterday from RockAuto. Should be here in a few days and then I can button my new drivetrain together. My biggest concern here is what to do about the automatic transmission control unit. I know you have to bypass the NSS so the ECU will allow it to start, but where I'm not so sure is whether or not I need to keep the TCU plugged in under the dash or if I can remove that entirely. Gotta research that...

Luckily, as far as the bits that I broke upon removal, I have an extra starter, O₂ sensor and my old PS pump from when I did my stroker swap and had to convert to the HO PS pump for the '99+ intake mani. Still pisses me off though haha. Who's ready for me to shut up and just move on to the pictures? lol

[onlyinajeep726]

Getting a little closer...

Got my LuK clutch kit today and another goodie I picked up off of a guy on ComancheClub. The elusive trailer hitch receiver for a long-bed MJ.

Anyway, in the past few days, I installed the HVAC box, the dash and dash harness. I also made a custom harness to adapt the XJ dash harness to the MJ fuel sender and tail light harness. I've gotten my 4.0 in place and supported on the motor mounts, the flywheel bolted back on (had to remove it to get the engine in), the clutch kit as of tonight. Next big thing is install the transmission and welding in some bolt studs for the relocated crossmember (which I don't know how far back it will be pushed back). Then it's a matter of getting all the piddly, little crap sorted out such as shortening the rear drive shaft and swapping power steering pumps (since I broke the return line barb). And now, it's time for pictures.










 

[onlyinajeep726]

Quick update.

I sold my former 2.5 and drive train Tuesday afternoon for $400. That night, I ordered $271 worth of parts from RockAuto to hopefully wrap up this project soon.

Among the things ordered were a new fuel pump (for the 4.0 MPI), a new O₂ sensor (to replace the one I broke like a moron), new pre-filled/pre-bled master and slave clutch cylinder system, and other small odds and ends. Just have a few big things to install like the transmission, figuring out how to mount the crossmember and shortening my drive shaft.

[onlyinajeep726]

Today has been pretty productive. I had my buddy Justin come over around lunch time to help with the transmission install. Got all four tires sitting on 8 inch cinder blocks to help with getting the trans. underneath the MJ. Ended up having a hell of a time with it lining up right. Had to take off the transfer case and we finally got it in.

I spent the a good part of the rest of the day figuring out how to bolt the crossmember on... My solution was drilling out the frame rail and tapping it to the bolts that were originally used (3/8" - 16). I know some of you will question the structural integrity of this and I too wonder how it'll hold. I know of the passenger side where I drilled and tapped, there was several layers of sheet metal that equated to about a quarter inch of metal for the bolt to fasten against. On the the driver side, I drilled out the crossmember instead and used an existing bolt hole from the original crossmember. I also broke off the drill bit for my last hole. Right now, I have 5 of 6 bolts holding it in place.

After that, I bolted my transfer case back on. By this point it was close to 7:00 pm, so I called it a night.

Oh, and I also swapped the power steering pump. I used the spare one I formally had on my XJ before I did the stroker swap on it.

The rest that needs to be done is as follows: (may be missing some things)....
 

• 4WD linkages
• Fuel lines
• O₂ sensor
• Wire back-up light
• Bolt-on the trans. shifter
• Shorten the rear drive shaft
• Install both drive shafts
• Fill the transfer case, transmission and power steering pump with their respective fluids
• Fill engine with oil and install new filter
• Swap fuel pump
• Install the CPS and mock up a mounting bracket (more on that later)
• Install starter
• NSS bypass
• Get the little window part of the dust shield bolted up (I'm using the former AW4 one)
• New spark plugs
• Custom ignition coil bracket
• '91+ heater hoses
• Overflow bottle
• Fill coolant system
• Torque down oil pan
• Clean/degrease engine
• Install throttle cable
• Plug in and fasten cruise control module
• Bolt-on exhaust down pipe
• Install air cleaner box
• Bolt down 4.0 battery tray
• Hook up clutch pedal to master cylinder push rod
• A/C lines with new O-rings
• New, HD engine-to-chassis ground strap
• Etc, etc.

Pictures now? I think so too.

Passenger side:


Driver side:


Passenger side, again:


May have to open up the shifter window a little... What do you think?


AW4 dust shield with AX15.

[Comanche County]

Don't quit man, love the guys that take the hard road....it'll be worth it when you're done.  Lots of work, and most may not appreciate it when you're driving your new MJ around, but you'll know what you did to get it there.

[onlyinajeep726]

Thanks man!  Your words are truly appreciated.  I can't wait till everything is said and done.  I'm so close lol

[Alicia]

Going great!! Almost there man! Keep it up

[onlyinajeep726]

Thanks Alicia!  Hopefully you'll see me driving it around by November. :brows:

[onlyinajeep726]

Man, I'm so close to being completed with this swap.

I've managed to get a lot of stuff done over the past few days. Fuel lines installed, fuel pump swapped, coolant added, oil and filter added, A/C lines installed with new O-rings... you name it. Still have a bit to do. Shortening the rear drive shaft is one of them, then she can move under her own power. I realized that synthetic 75W-90 GL-4 gear oil is not cheap. Need that to fill the AX15... I hope everything is good with the trans. since I had no good way to tell if it worked before I bought it... Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I got the 4.0 started today!! Ran a bit rough and shaky idle. Found out later by dumb luck that the vacuum line for the MAP sensor had pulled off. Put that back on, fired her up and she runs smooth as silk. SUCCESS!!

So... video? I think so.

 

[Alicia]

SUCCESS!!!!!! Sounds great too.

[neohic]

:clapping: That's always the best part. Working away at something to turn a key and hear everything come together. A big congratulations!

[onlyinajeep726]

SUCCESS!!!!!! Sounds great too.

Thank you!

 

:clapping: That's always the best part. Working away at something to turn a key and hear everything come together. A big congratulations!

And thank you!

 

 

 

Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked! :banana:

[onlyinajeep726]

Got a lot of odds and ends taken care of since the last post... Stayed out in the garage till 1:00 AM last night to get stuff ready for today's test drive...

 

I am excited to say, my Comanche has new life and can now move under its own power! . :MJ 1: .

 

I filled the AX15 with Redline MT-90 and got the 242 filled with Dex/Merc.  The drive shaft was taken to Fleet Pride this past Tuesday to get shortened.  Eveything works with exception of a very important gauge... the fuel gauge.  :fs1: Damn thing is stuck on 'E'.  Not sure if it's the float or the potentiometer.  But with that said, I've been extremely lucky thus far that everything has went as smooth and successfully as it has.  Still sucks that I have to drop the tank again. :rant:

[ComancheKid45]

Great work!

 

As for the fuel sending unit issue, just yank the rear driveline and you should be able to pull the whole thing out without having to drop the tank ;)

[onlyinajeep726]

Good news!  The gas gauge works fine...  It was just really low on fuel.  I had 4 gallons in there and being a 16 gal tank, I would have though that would mean a quarter tank, but noooo... So, filling her up this morning indicated that it was user error lol.  However, even with that 4 gallons in there, I still put 15 gallons of gas in it. 

[onlyinajeep726]

Had a bit of a scare today... went to go bring back my buddy's cherry picker and make a quick junkyard run and the truck wouldn't start... After testing the CPS, it determined it was bad (putting out only 0.3 VAC) so I got a new one for $33 and stuck it on.  I don't know why it died all of a sudden, but it did.

[onlyinajeep726]

So, it's been 2 weeks and so far, so good.  Painted the passenger side rims black to match the other two, cleaned the chrome trim rings and painted the hood to match the rest of the truck.  Other than that, just driving her to and from work and running errands.

 

. :MJ 1: .

[onlyinajeep726]

Been working at getting my interior finished here recently. Black Friday, my buddy and I went to LKQ on a 50% day in an attempt to find a 2-door XJ with gray or black bucket seats... Unfortunately, we did not find any. However, tonight, I spent a few hours removing the last bit of trim from the inside and got the front seat belts from my donor XJ removed. Thought the belts would be interchangeable, which they are mostly, but not without some modification of course. Had to do some drilling, but now I have the correct color and type of belts for the snaps that I used.

I've also been busy with paint. Got 90% of the trim painted black. Once I get some bucket seats, a center console will go in and the door panels will be swapped to gray from my donor. Along with that, the head liner is no longer tan. It has been sprayed with dark gray fabric paint.

Other than working in the cab, I have an issue with my power steering pump reservoir leaking fluid... Not sure why is started leaking now. Was on my XJ before its stroker swap and it never leaked. Oh well... Haven't met a Jeep yet that didn't leak something all over itself.

On to pictures...

Original MJ belt - top, XJ - bottom


Drilled a new hole and it's ready to go


Had to drill some holes into the B-pillar for the bracket "fingers"


Done


Painted panel... Notice the factory tan color


Gray head liner

[DangerWillRbnsn]

Enjoying watching your project come together thanks for the updates

[onlyinajeep726]

Thank you sir!  I'll be glad when I can find some bucket seats... then the interior will be pretty much done.  Only other thing I plan to do to the interior is a modified XJ overhead console...

[onlyinajeep726]

Been working on the interior a little when time permits... Still haven't found any bucket seats, but when I do, I can wrap up the interior...

Anyway, got the painted head liner back in, mocked up and test fitted the XJ overhead console, the B-pillar and A-pillar trim reinstalled and the sunvisors put back up. The overhead console works and fits good other than the temperature display doesn't work. Shows "OC" (as in Open Circuit, probably bad sensor), but the compass does work, or so it seems. I mainly wanted it for storage and a place to install some switches. Anyway, here are some pictures of that...





I've put just over 1,000 miles on the old girl in a year...

[onlyinajeep726]

A little update for the MJ...

Got a few thing done to her recently. For starters, new distributor cap with brass studs, new brass rotor and new wires. Got new spark plugs, also. Swapped to a bare aluminum valve cover. The one that was on it had been half-assed painted by the PO... It was flaking worse than a shady friend. While I was swapping them, I decided to steal the Permadry gasket from my XJ (found out I got the wrong one for the XJ anyway... it has a steel cover). Tightened it all back down with silicon-bronze bolts that I acquired for the job.

Went to the junk yard today and scored eight Dodge Neon 703 fuel injectors. Cleaned them up with brake fluid, ran brake fluid through them to flush them out good and swapped them in. Right off the bat, I can tell the idle is much smoother, she accelerates noticeably better and hopefully that will translate to an increase in MPG.

Now if I could just find a front drive shaft from an AX15 equipped XJ or MJ, then I could actually have 4WD on the truck.