1. A 2 piece rear main seal set costs 16.99 plus tax. You'll need the correct size brass drift to do the job so we'll take on another 15 bucks and call it ~$35.00. I'd say it'd take a generous 4 hours for a complete rookie to get the job done.

2. Most likely a leaky windshield or clogged cowl drain. The issue will be easy to spot and repair during the next step.

3. It's not that bad. It can be time consuming but it's quite easy to accomplish. I managed to pull it out with my blue collar hands all by myself.

4. I'd say that it took me right around 4 hours to accomplish this Job the first time I did it. The second time I did it in just under 3 hours. This included dropping the column, removing the passenger side seat, pulling the dash removing the HVAC box, replacing the heater core and evap and reinstalling everything. The only thing I didn't do myself was recharge the A/C system since I can have it charged cheaper than I can purchase freon, a vacuum pump and gauges. (Though, that will be my next purchase to add to my small tool collection.)

The moral of this story is that these two jobs should take about one solid day of blue collar work, FTW!

 

For inspiration I'll leave this here.

 

oh yeah, the car is driveable. It drives really well, these are just jobs that need to be taken care of over the next few months. Anyway, update so far; a few little minor things to take care of and the Jeep has got its MOT. Thinking of takling the jobs in this order.

1 - heater core/matrix and while we are in there we are going to replace the blend doors. The air con doesn't work so we are going to see why this is. If it's a simple fix then we will go ahead and replace the AC evap while we are behind the dash if not then I can live without it.
2- rear main seal. It's not leaking too bad but it is getting worse
3 - investigate the rainwater leak. I've not had a chance to look for this yet as it is a new issue. I'm pretty sure it's not the windshield as I have had that out and put back in and resealed in the last year or so. Maybe the cowl. I park on the drive which is on an incline with the car facing down, maybe I'll park on the flat for a while or reverse down and face up lol

while we are waiting to get the heater fixed I am going to bypass it to stop coolant getting into the footwell. I'll put some posts up about how I get on.

 

Please update this thread with your progress.
And keep track of how many hours it takes you.
My guess is that it will take a weekend or two.

 

Sounds like a good plan.

Of course you do. It took you 10 hours to replace a valve cover gasket. My guess is that it would take you 240 labor hours to accomplish these tasks.

Clearly, he's going to have his blue collar mechanic fix the Jeep.

 

When I RR'ed my old MJ heater core, I worked at a shop. We had a very slow day & I replaced mine in about 6 hours. It took a while 'cause I was doing some work on customers cars during the repair.

While it's no cake walk, it sounds worse than it really was. As with most big jobs, just time consuming.

 

yes the mechanic is going to do the jobs. I can do some regular car maintenance but I don't have the skills, tools or room to tackle these kind of tasks.

 

I also had to change the starter motor on it. Normally a job I would do but on the 2.5 diesel its not so straight forward. Found a new heater core on eBay for around £100.

 

Smart move.

If people on forums say a job is "easy", that means it's actually pretty challenging, and you will get stuck only once or twice. (A stripped bolt will add several hours, which people never mention in their time estimates) Internet will say it takes 5 mins., but you know that you can't even remove a wheel in 5 mins. It will take you 2-4 hours for anything people say takes 5-45 mins. Esp. if you don't own a welder, grinder, dremel, impact wrench, and lift. When people say it takes 5 mins, they forget to say they've don'e the job 8 times in the last 20 years. First time, take all estimates and multiply by 20.

If people on forums say a job is "medium", that means it's pretty hard, and be prepared to tow the car to a pro when you hit a dead end in the middle of the job. You will barely get this done, and it will be a rollercoaster journey.

If people on forums say a job is "hard", that means you have no chance in hell of doing it, and you definitely don't own the tools for the job. It will be 10x cheaper to take it to the mechanic.

Most people on the internet say heater core is "hard".

 

I can remove all four of my wheels in 5 minutes

 

You are a special kind of pathetic.

 

5 minutes to remove a wheel? it took me 30 minutes with a floor jack to pull my old wheels and put on adapters and new wheels. that was with a socket and ratchet driver. Its all in having patience and the want to learn. You can do most repairs with a 70 dollar tool kit from wal mart and some screw drivers and pliers. Not all but a lot. Every time you do a job that requires a certain tool buy it. In the long run its cheaper. And the knowledge you gain is priceless.

 

wasn't he banned?

 

Translation: "It takes 30 mins. to replace a heater core. All you need is a screwdriver and a few beers"

If you notice, earlier in the thread, a professional mechanic said it took him 6 hours.
I saw a video of an experienced home mechanic who said his XJ core took him "an entire weekend" to get it done.
That might have been two 10 hour days. He also said it was a nightmare.

Anyone know what the shop hours for a XJ heater core replacement?
I am guessing it's around 10-15 hours?
I think my friend just paid $3000 for his heater core to be replaced.

Please post how much this job sets you back.

 

Dude you're ridiculous. You're the one who couldn't change a font shock.

Basic tools (ratchets wrenches hammers etc) and a grinder and drill are all you need for 90% of jobs on these things. I never even changed my oil til I had my xj. It's been two years since I've had it and I can do ANYTHING short of engine and transmission work. You're just something else man.