alright for the first one... what controls the shift light? mine comes on and off in 5th gear... drives me nuts... i could just take the bulbs out but would like to fix if its cheap... if not then id like to just unplug a plug somewhere if there is one... for another question... anybody ever slip gears on the steering gearbox? my steering wheel has slowely gone all the way around in about a month... im going to do the 99 durango snow plow gear box but for now is it possible to take off the pitman arm and stick the wheels back straight and then reinstall just for another month or so of driving? it only skips a gear every so often... are there teeth all the way around or is there a key that has to line up? think i have to do something special to make it skip but dont know what it is... i think thats about it problem wise but just wondering if the XJ 5 speeds ever came in 2 wheels drive? like in 89ish with the junk tranny? doesnt really matter ive just been wondering... thanks for the info guys!!

 

bump...

come on fellas... anyone who has installed a lift high enough for a extended pitman arm would know the answer to at least one of these... and today i lost the pass caliper... when i got the jeep the brake pads were gone and the rotors were shot so ive just still been driving it cause it didnt matter... it still stopped fine... was just loud lol... well today the caliper went out cause the piston pushed so far out it poped itself out and i lost all the fluid... limped to the parts store and got pads and a caliper for $35 for both and then went to the JY and got rotors for $10 each and took them to my buddies shop and had him turn them for me for free... beats $30 each for new junk valucrafts... so for $55 im back on the road... but heres a pic of the rotor... figured yall would get a kick out of it and probly hate on me a bit... lol

 

don't know about the shift light

but the steering wheel my be the splines at the steering wheel slipping
it would be hard for the pitman or the gears in the box to slip
you should stop driving it Intel you fix the problem it could go out completely and you can crash and hurt yourself and others

 

I was thinking it may even be in the steering column? because I never heard of gear box striping and it still being drivable?

 

thats kinda funny cuz my shift light turns on when im doing about 55 in 4th and then once im past that if i dont shift it shuts off. i would just leave it if i were you cuz all thats for is recommended shifting for better gas mileage im pretty sure.

 

There is a vacuum switch that is operated when the front axle disconnect is fully engaged. What is probably happening is that you are loosing vacuum in 5th gear from the throttle being too depressed and turning the switch off. There is supposed to be a vacuum check valve and reservoir in the system to compensate for this. Check to see if yo have them and any leaks.

 

you might look at the steering linkage from the pitman arm
clamps might be loose and dont drive it

 

i cant see how it could be the column... if the column was slipping then the steering wheel would just be upside down while going straight down the road... and turning would have changed... but its not... its the steering wheel it turning and the tires are staying in the same place... then it locks back down so that it stuck that way... if you disconnect the steering column from the gearbox the steering wheel is going to spin for ever... and i got the jeep stuck the other day when the 4x4 wasnt working and had to pull it out to the right but the front tires where in the ditch and kept wanting to to left... i was by myself so i just pulled it with my cummins anyway till i got it off the hill and out of the ditch... so i think thats what stripped the gear...

 

in 4th? you mean 5th? cause its going to come on in 4th wanting you to change to 5th? mine does it in 5th and works through all the gears but then wants me to change into 6th... lol... heck i dunno about all the vacuum stuff the other guy was talking about... ive got my 4x4 vacuum stuff all gutted out and capped off and did the DIY cable conversion myself...

 

ill have to look... not sure if its clamped on or pressed on... most pitman arms ive ever seen have been pressed on with a fat nut...