‘97 and up dash swap questions..

[Papa ken]

Ok, I have a ‘99 XJ that I a man using as a donor for my ‘88 MJ.  I have the entire interior ripped out of the MJ and I am starting to fit up the XJ interior. My first question that I have is I am having a hard time fitting up the new hvac box.  I haven’t seen anything on people having difficulty when bolting this up. The 5 bolt holes look to be the same pattern and I did a card board trace of the heater core and ac line area (I saw somewhere that this was different) and all the blower motor, line opening and top couple of bolts were all the same.  What am I missing.

 

Thanks,

 

Ken

[Dzimm]

You will have to drill a hole for one of the hvac bolts iirc it's the top right one.  Once you get it in there, put the nuts on the engine bay side and it's in.  To fill the larger space of the firewall where the lines come through, you can either weld in a properly sized patch or use a thick weather stripping/sealant to fill the gap.  

 

I would recommending cutting off the old hook style dash mount from the firewall before installing the hvac box otherwise it will be in the way. 

[Papa ken]

I will try taking some of the screw in studs out to see which holes are off. I am planning on patching any sheet metal holes when I yank the motor out.

 

Thanks,

Ken

[Dzimm]

On 7/4/2018 at 7:12 PM, Papa ken said:

I will try taking some of the screw in studs out to see which holes are off. I am planning on patching any sheet metal holes when I yank the motor out.

 

Thanks,

Ken

Be careful taking those studs out, they like to crack the brittle plastic.  Another option is to use a paint marker on the ends of the studs and press it into place, that will show any holes that need drilled. 

[Papa ken]

Good idea with the paint stick, I will give that a try during my next attempt at a fit up.