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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
Having a bear of a time getting the cross member on after replacing the trans mount. it's real tight and not going in nicely, but i'm guessing this is to be expected at 180k miles with all original mount. Everything is loose right now and i'm trying to muscle everything into place.
Is my cross member oriented properly? the two silver rivnut type things are for the t case skid. those are oriented towards the rear of the vehicle. i'd mock up the t case skip but the jack is in the way and i'm getting aligned.
the right of the image is towards the rear of the vehicle. may cross post this on NAXJA. thanks for your help.
PatHenry is correct. Additionally, the crossmember also has an indention on one end to make a little more room for the exhaust pipe to go over it without touching. That will be on the passenger side.
I don't believe it will go back on the wrong way (at least on my 95 AX15 it won't) due to the location of the transmission mount studs.
Originally Posted by jordan96xj
PatHenry is correct. Additionally, the crossmember also has an indention on one end to make a little more room for the exhaust pipe to go over it without touching. That will be on the passenger side.
One thing I have learned is that Jeep has these little fail safes in place to keep things from being put together wrong at the factory. Switches for rear defogger, rear wiper, and fog lights for instance. Theoretically you would think you can put a switch in any position. But each switch has a ridge molded on to the case that corresponds with a slot in the bezel. Would not surprise me if they did not do something like that here.
Anyway, it went back on and seems to be held in place. took some muscle and re-alignment due to old mounts i'm guessing.
I just had to repeat this job several times due to POS new trans mounts...
anyway, what makes things 10 times easier, is a tapered metal spike..shove it in the next door hole to help line the studs and Xmember holes, jack the xmember, align using spike
this can be one of those jobs..saw a sign-off line.."working on a Jeep can be like a 1st date with nympho, thinking things will be simple, end up on yr back sweating & cursing, and its got more complicated"
I just R&R'd this cross member after repairing a trans extension housing bushing. I used awg's method and a couple of floor jacks - more brains than brawn - and it all pretty much slipped together nicely. But, I also rehearsed the drill carefully to learn the alignment before I started, and cleaned everything before reassembling.
I've ripped all three mounts on one of my Jeeps. Since the engine mounts wont let things move too far I just live with it! (there is enough left to keep it from "radioing", making the body vibrate.) Two problems though; anytime I want to pull the e fan, first I need to slide the engine back an inch or so with a bar so it clears the PS pulley. Also I'm guessing it popping out of 4-Low might be because The TC is normally forward an inch so the linkage wrong, not sure there though.
Point is no way will my cross-member fit back with a new tranny mount if I don't position the whole engine/trans assembly back in about the right place! (and don't snap your tow chain to hard too meany times)
Last edited by DFlintstone; 01-16-2019 at 07:31 PM.
On a stock XJ, one or both holes on the cross member ends that fits over the frame stud is elongated (for a reason). Always start with the elongated hole (I think this is the part where some people make the job harder than it needs to be). That elongated hole should be placed over the corresponding stud, and the nut spun on by a few threads (loose fit). Then the cross member is lifted up and can rotate and slide (side to side) and generally move freely enough to get the transmission mount studs to slip into their 4 receiving holes in the cross member. Because the trans mount is rubber, there will still be some give in the position of the cross member even after the transmission mount studs are into the cross member. Then on the other end, the cross member can be levered onto the stud on the unattached side (this is the only part that may require a little muscle, but not much). Spin that nut as far as possible with your free hand, and now the bolt holes will be generally aligned as well. Inserts bolts and tighten all to spec. Then return to the unbolted transmission mount studs, and finish off with their bolts. I timed myself the last time I replaced my transmission mount, and I did the entire job in 14 minutes.
If you attach the cross member to the transmission mount studs first, then the job will definitely get much harder than it needs to be.
thanks all. I did try using the elongated stud first and then slip in the trans mount. The problem was the trans mount was slightly off 1/3 inch or so and wouldn’t fit in the holes. After bear arming it with all my 140lbs of manliness I took the trans mount of, walked away, and came back in a few hours. I figured the transmission probably moved ever so slightly with all my worn out mounts over the years (96 has never had mounts changed with 180 on the clock, and I was doing the trans without having done the motor mounts since my trans was moving so bad under load. This was likely a mistake and now I’m going to have to do the mounts in the motor too,)
Started again at the crossmember stud and with just a bit of muscle the trans mount fit in albeit a couple mm crooked. Torquing everything slowly and alternating bolts got it to line up nicely. It doesn’t really flex as much as oem since I am using a stinky fab mount. Lifting it towards the second cross member stud with a bit more muscle I began slowly torquing all four bolts alternately until everything fell into place.
01-15-2019, 08:33 PM
urgent: is my crossmember backwards
