Son of Stink

[Gjeep]

Re-assembly is the most terrifying part of the whole resto process – taking my sweet time as always to prevent damage.

 

With the new tailgate linkage in-place it was time to finalize all at the rear by installing the rubber linkage bushings on the tailgate itself and body side. Way back in 1999 when I bought my ’89 MJ as daily driver I knew I’d rebuilt it and without a doubt end up buying another MJ as well. With that I doubled up on new/NOS purchases for each of the MJ’s, so these rubbers are the real Mopar deal. I decided against riveting the rubber busing into place, instead used a large head stainless screw. Should I need to remove these at any point there won’t be any damage or challenges getting them off.

 

 

 

Inner door assembly is next up…84-96 XJ’s (and MJ’s) saw 2 styles of inner door rods connecting the latch to the inner and outer door handle. The first style was straight (for the most part) rod linkage supported by a plastic 2-slot support riveted into place near the inner door handle assembly. The later style rod linkage had a couple of hard zigs in it where a 2.25” diameter foam spacer was centered in each of the rod zigs. The goal of each was obviously to reduce rattle – which I never experienced with either rod/ support set up in the various MJs/ first gen XJ’s I’ve had. I prefer the first rod set up as that foam round eventually tears/ rots or moves significantly out of place. New cloth sleeves were installed on all just the same as the tailgate rods that recently installed. The plastic rod support was installed with a stainless self-tapping bolt (instead of a rivet as the factory did). Finally, new arm rest door screw inserts and hockey-style upper support plastic sleeve and metal clips installed.

 

 

 

 

The rest of the inner door goodies will go in as I chug along...

 

 

[fiatslug87]

Did you use nutserts in the tailgate and body for the bumpers?

[Gjeep]

Nope. Considered it, but decided coarse wide threads better. If the nutsert spins for whatever reason it would be no fun to drill out the attaching screw. Near impossible not to damage the rubber bushing. 

[Gjeep]

Found a incorrectly listed NOS windshield wiper linkage and motor assembly for the MJ. The person selling it believed it was for a ZJ. Perfect. Sliding it into place is a good time, especially when you’re trying to keep from scratching anything. But with my near final strand of patience, I managed to maneuver it into place. Stainless steel nuts and rubber washers behind them were used to fasten all the related bracketry to the firewall.

 

 

 

 

Also installed the rear fender-well ‘flaps’. I know Jeep used everything from self-tapping bolts in the early MJ years to plastic rivets in the later…I don’t like either of those methods, so I drilled-out the supporting sheet metal and flaps themselves slightly to push a black retainer in. Done. Nice and clean.

 

 

Finally, with the injectors pulled I decided to remove/ repaint the fuel rail satin black over the silver it was currently painted. Aiming to get that all back in this weekend – in addition to the fuel tank.

 

[Gjeep]

Been doing a mix of things over the past day or so… Almost done buttoning up the engine compartment – reinstalled the jack, ‘crank’ and Hobbs retractable light passenger side of the engine compartment.

 

 

Also installed the XJ/ MJ TSB upper hinge repair kit both sides slightly modified. Nothing wrong with my hinges, I just wanted to show a piece of Jeep parts history. I used button head allen bolts over rivets and trimmed the backside nut strip so wasn't an eye sore.

 

 

Originally the attaching nut strip showed an inch top and bottom, providing the installer something to hold. There was also an additional reinforcement plate to use that attached to the shoulder of the a-pillar that I decided was too much bracketry. The photo below is of the cut nut strip that installs backside of the hinge.

 

 

Hardware door side still needs to be painted...Flat torx from the TSB kit replace factory button head torx each side of upper hinge. Who knows, maybe this TSB install will prove worthwhile as my doors will have a bit more weight in them with 97+ XJ full glass and power windows. Something unique anyway. 

 

 

A Spectra fuel tank went in, complete with new hoses and clamps. It’s a well-made tank, however every single one I got came with 2 different ‘hangers’ – one of them being too shallow for the MJ. They should be identical. I ended up having the mfg send me the proper hangers for the fuel tanks I got. Took a bit to get everything into place/ looking good but done.

 

 

 

 

[Gjeep]

Got the XJ eBrake assembly installed. Cables are custom length (thanks to ControlCables.com) and the bracketry came from wrecking yard research… Chevy Beretta 2-door ebrake cable clevis and 3^rd gen Camaro clevis pin/ retainer work perfectly with the factory XJ eBrake lever. I used hardware store springs to manage the cables off the X-member.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[89 MJ]

Would you be able to make a write up for that in the DIY section? That is good information. 

[Gjeep]

Keeping with theme of eliminating the use of rivets on the MJ, I nutserted the attaching brackets for the power door lock actuators.

 

 

 

Routing the new hood release cable was a good time, getting around the clutch master and additional wiring. Still deciding if I want to install the factory under hood insulation or just keep the paint visible.

 

 

I also got the fuel tank skid back from the powder coater. To keep from damaging it at install, I back-out the front leaf spring bolt as that’s a hang up/ damage spot when installing the skid.

 

[MiNi Beast]

Are you going to paint the gas tank though? 

[Gjeep]

Nope not painting the fuel tank itself. 

[Gjeep]

Dusted off my Iwata gravity feed airbrush and put it to good use. I always paint the final assembly hardware after I paint the vehicle (as doors, hoods, etc are removed and painted separately). When painting on any scale, I’m a fan of keeping things separate – meaning – metallic colors are for one gun, solid colors another, and clear yet another. What got me enrolled into autobody school 20+ years ago was an accident I was in. Took my XJ to the “best” body shop in the city – Brizio hot rods of the ‘90’s used them on some of their projects. Told them I was a crazy perfectionist on par with show car aficionados…No worries they said, first repair had green splatter in the black paint…WTF? Try again, missed color match, try again… metallic in the black. Stop. Just going to do it myself and off I enrolled in paint/body school and am now accountable for my own paint quality.

 

 

 

The local wrecking yard had a couple fresh XJ’s land and I learned something new – ’00-’01 XJ’s rear door hinge shim is a solid 3-thin shim wide. And that’s exactly what I needed on my MJ driver’s door. So, I'm replacing those 6 existing shims with just 2.

 

[Gjeep]

Got the fuel skid in place…Took a bit of navigating and patience. Many thanks to my eldest daughter helping me install it. The factory tank was almost 1/2” shorter than the Spectra replacement thanks to crinkles topside at I’m assuming factory install strapping it down. I had been able to keep the plastic “skid” between the original tank and the metal skid with the original tank, but no chance this round. 1/16” clearance tank bottom to skid; and 1/8” to skid at the straps. I needed to cut smooth the studs on the strap as they would have been an issue mounting the skid. All good.

 

 

 

 

Also, as mentioned in a prior post, here’s the bolt (front driver side leaf) I back out so the skid can clear without damage.

 

 

[Red Mistress]

19 hours ago, Gjeep said:

The factory tank was almost 1/2” shorter than the Spectra replacement thanks to crinkles topside at I’m assuming factory install strapping it down. I had been able to keep the plastic “skid” between the original tank and the metal skid with the original tank, but no chance this round. 1/16” clearance tank bottom to skid; and 1/8” to skid at the straps. I needed to cut smooth the studs on the strap as they would have been an issue mounting the skid. All good.

 

 

 

How important is the OEM plastic liner for abrasion ?  

Assume the tank will swell with heat and expansion?

Thoughts, as I know you seek perfection.

 

19 hours ago, Gjeep said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gjeep]

The plastic 'skid' bottom side of the factory tank was not there if MJ optioned with metal skid. As far as a expansion, I don't know, does a fuel tank swell with heat/ cold? Assumed that was part of the vent/ valves top side job. If not, it should be a spectacular explosion.

 

Here's a snip from the Spectra fuel tank website around the topic. Will see.  

 

[Gjeep]

I couldn't get what RedMistress mentioned on the tank out of my head -- something wasn't right. I'm glad I took some pre-skid fuel tank photo's and hadn't tossed my original tank straps. Makes sense now why the tank is at at angle as I did more digging and measuring this afternoon -- no way the Spectra straps were going to work no matter how I bent them. Time to drop my skid and replace those straps. Dreadful. One step forward, two steps back...

 

 

Original straps on the hardwood. Spectra strap on top.

 

 

[eaglescout526]

4 minutes ago, Gjeep said:

Original straps on the hardwood. Spectra strap on top.

 

I learned this one the hard way when installing my tank, all three straps despite being the same part number wise(I used OEM ones), they each had a different bend to fit how they were installed. No matter how many times I forced one to bend I still couldn’t get a bolt on one. Been there done that, I feel for ya. 

[Red Mistress]

Glad to see you found solution.

 

Looks like Spectra shows a clearance of 3 to 6mm.  Which is around 1/8 to 1/4".

I would think any metal that has hot / cold liquid weight sloshing around would expand from time.

Not so much a pressure swell, just weight.

The creases in tank are engineered to minimize the swell.

 

 

Ford uses a hard rubber liner that is riveted to straps to prevent metal on metal abrasion.

 

Some XJ's use the straps around plastic skid to prevent metal on metal.

Guess Jeep didn't worry about MJ tank abrasion?

 

[Gjeep]

Slowly making my way through the assembly –

 

 

 

 

 

I prefer the 97+ XJ door handle. Cleaner looking and for whatever reason is smoother functioning.

 

 

[Gjeep]

Been focused on refinishing interior/ exterior hardware for the Comanche. I’m sure most of you are familiar with EvapoRust and I can’t praise it enough on the hardware with light rust – specifically the nuts for the seat tracks to floorboard. Came out overnight looking like new, ready to be painted.

 

 

Also installed a power antenna in the MJ, pulled/ ran the wiring sourced from a similar year XJ.

 

 

Finally, I couldn’t bring myself to installing the Beijing regulators into the MJ. I decided to go the route of US ‘97+ XJ regulators with the full window. I had drilled the regulator holes prior to paint as I had reservations using the Beijing setup. For those not familiar with the old door using the newer XJ regulator, only the three mounting brackets (one upper; two lower) regulator-to-door bolts required a spacer. The upper requires a 3/4" spacer; and the bottom two need a 1/2" spacer to keep the window centered in the channel. The motor mount didn’t require it, though I did trim down the studs for the sake of the door panel. Now those studs are flush with the attaching nuts. For the sake of my memory, I plugged the holes for the old style regulator so in the future if I need to replace it, I’ll remember to install the correct XJ era regulator.

 

 

[Gjeep]

Made my way through some time consuming to do’s – Got everything installed/ wiring run in the doors. Everything except the speakers. The full side window glass wasn't offered on the the MJ, but to me it gives the truck a cleaner looking profile.

 

 

 

A-pillar seals are on, as is the little foam block that assists with wind noise.

 

 

Under the hood I decided to go with the 97+ XJ hood seal and no insulation. I like seeing the paint on this one. All NOS latches, cable, rod, etc used. (And yes, I removed the ‘Made in Canada’ sticker to keep things clean.) Finally, the hood had plenty of metal to thread for mounting the bellcrank. I didn't use rivets, instead used window regulator bolts as they have a good size flange and are stubby.

 

 

 

[JimBorecky]

On 3/8/2022 at 8:35 PM, Gjeep said:

XJ/ MJ TSB upper hinge repair kit

Can you please tell me where you got these?

[Gjeep]

Jim -- Sorry to say those TSB hinge repair kits are long gone. I got these back in 2001. I'd be shocked if there were any out there...

[eaglescout526]

2 hours ago, Gjeep said:

Jim -- Sorry to say those TSB hinge repair kits are long gone. I got these back in 2001. I'd be shocked if there were any out there...

There aren’t. I looked a few months back and came across a TSB that says to use the later XJ hinges. 

[Gjeep]

More fun inside the doors – installed the Rockford speaker and noticed it was in contact with the glass when in the down position. The 97+ XJ’s compensated for the full glass/ speaker issue by providing an extra ¾-1” additional space between the speaker and glass via sheet metal shape and angle. Our old MJ’s don’t have that luxury if you want to keep with the stock door panel. First pass I shimmed the speaker front side with a 3/32” shim to give the speaker to lower window 1/8” clearance. Didn’t like how that looked and remembered how much ‘play’ there is horizontally in the window channel, so I decided to shim the add-in 97+ XJ front channel I added on the inside of the door. Perfect. Didn’t look funky visually and achieved the 1/8” gap needed. Funny part is, I almost never ride around with my windows down, but wanted to get it right for my sanity.

 

 

 

 

[Gjeep]

Installed my B-pillar speakers and connected speaker wiring. Whenever possible I try not to run new wiring if it already exists. An example is with the front speakers -- I used OEM green 2-in connectors on the wiring out of the aftermarket head unit and into the existing door wiring (keeping the factory radio speaker wiring intact). With the interior/ interior wiring I still need to wipe it down and sort it back to neat before reinstalling the dashboard and all else. I did cover it up during bodywork/ paint but dust has a way of making it's way in. 

 

 

Also took delivery of custom rear brake axle to chassis soft line. E.L. Johnston made it and it's spot-on perfect not only with length but hardware also -- and affordable -- $52. I had purchased the only existing 25" braded XJ/ MJ option out there and just didn't like the look or quality. Below is a pic of the E.L. made line, braided aftermarket, and YJ 17" (factory) line for comparison.