The Jeep continues to be an excellent road trip vehicle. It's hard to remember that this time last year, this thing didn't have an engine in it.

Unfortunately, my junkyard clockspring seems to be going out, and I didn't save the original one from the red Jeep when I swapped steering columns. Has anyone had any luck with the Dorman replacements?


Makin' breakfast






In West Virginia, this qualifies as a "County Road".

 

The '97 and up cheesy tarp type kinda sucks. Works in conjunction with the spare tire cover that has D-rings on it.
Shot of mine in my '00.

For some reason my '00 has downs in the upper area of the cargo bay at all four corners.
Not wanting to give up my '98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 tire cover I made those straps.
The tire cover that is used with the cargo cover and another shot of the straps I made.

I have been toying with the idea of trying to put the retractable kind in my '00.
There are 4 mounting points for it.
So ignore the switches and pig tails on the left and the harness on the right.

So the 2 plastic pieces without the metal attached to them go on the plastic just behind the hatch.

They just screw in. Now the plastic pieces attached to the metal in that picture are located behind the back seat.

But where I am going with this is that even though there are no metal supports underneath the plastic trim for the ones behind the hatch there is for the ones in the shot above.
That is the metal you see in the shot attached to them.

Now while I am not sure about this I believe that a '96 and down that did not come with the cover won't have those supports behind the plastic.
This is what it looks like without the mounting point attached.

As you can see I have poked around about this a bit. LOL.

 

I really love those Fall shots you took on your camping trip. I think I'm going to make one my wallpaper. Thanks for sharing

 

That's high praise Joey, thank you!

Well, it's the end of the salt free season in Michigan. It's going to be time to put the Jeep up for the winter here soon, which makes me really sad. I'd love to see how it does in the snow. If only I lived somewhere out west.


Manual vs power locks mechanisms. All the lock menchanisms were cleaned and greased.


The rear doors of a base model don't have any rubber boots.


Oh look, rubber boots!


The power lock wiring splices were done here at the passenger footwell. I was pretty adamant about making this a plug and play solution, using as many factory parts as reasonably possible.

Green Arrow - Power is pulled from the junction box through the original power lock fuse. The power wire that would normally go through the door to the power lock module instead goes to the aftermarket module. I swapped the normal 25A fuse for a 15A to match what came with the kit.

Yellow Arrow - The factory power lock control wires go to factory power lock door latches. If anything fails, just get another stock part.

Blue arrow - This is a jumper harness between the aftermarket control box and the Jeep itself. It's from some part of the green Jeeps wiring harness, and the colors were almost a perfect match for the aftermarket system. This was my solution for a clean break between the Jeep and whatever cheap remote setup I bought.. This way if there is ever a failure of the power lock system, I can easily remove the jumper harness and aftermarket module, swap it, and plug it right back in without messing with anything else on the Jeep.


The module itself is tucked under a wiring harness over on the trans tunnel side of the footwell. Several wires aren't hooked up - I still need to do a manual interior switch and wire it up so the lights flash with the locks. They're tucked under the floor mat for now.


Such a good feeling to have power locks! And the range on the remote is so much better than the factory system ever was.


I also got a new LED brake light. For $15 it's hard to say no when the original is so cracked and dull I had to cut off the pigtail on the factory side, as the bulb replacement connection that came with the new one was too large for the stock bulb connector.


A new clockspring fixed my failing cruise control and airbag light. I've installed three different used ones into this Jeep. It was time to actually just buy a new one from Crown. Hopefully this lasts longer than some of their other products, such as...


...Their leaf spring bushings. I had been getting a squeak from the drivers rear suspension. I figured it was the shackles, as they were the only original part left on the suspension. The shackle bushings were fine, the new leaf spring bushings... not so much. They probably failed within 10k miles. Admittedly, the flex from off roading is hard on bushings, but I expected better. It looks like the rubber only really bonded in one spot. I'll need to research what I should buy next, but for now it's back together as is so I can get back on the road. Hopefully Moogs are cheap, I don't really want to go with poly bushings.

 

I bought the same one. Holding up much better then I thought it would considering the price.
Mine came with a "fake" bulb that you would put in were the real bulb went for power.

I didn't like that so I chopped up the third eye harness, got rid of that "fake" bulb, and soldered in the connector on the left.

 

Hey CherokeeForum, long time no update. The Jeep has been working fantastic and it continues to be my road trip vehicle of choice. It's been just about 20k miles since the rebuild, and I've only had two pretty minor hiccups since the last update.

1. Transfer case leak.
2. Knocking sound from the front end.

The transfer case leak scared me. Three days before I was supposed to drive my mom 12 hours into Canada to visit family, I found the underside of the Jeep covered in oil. After a bit of panic trying to find the source, I found the 242 cases have this tiny little plug that can fall out.



I ordered a new replacement, but it didn't arrive in time, so I went to the junkyard and grabbed two. One got RTV'd in place on the case, and the other stays with the Jeep as a spare. These plugs are basically a slip fit unless you really cram them in there, pretty poor design decision IMO.



Part #0015105. Not many left in the US if you want to buy them new. These two are from the junkyard.


As for the knocking sound, it mostly happened if I turned hard, or when the wheel was coming down from hitting a big bump. I thought it was a steering ball joint or something for a long time and was frustrated when I couldn't find the source. The biggest reason for the steering brace was trying to fix this! Recently I got tired of it and was checking out everything in the suspension, I grabbed the shock and felt it move really ridiculously easily.

I had forgotten I left the shock upper nuts very loosely installed out of laziness and thought I would get back to it later. And I did, just... 20,000 miles later.


The threads on the top of the shock were buzz sawing their way through the chassis!


Thankfully Bilstein sells replacements bushings, as these were done for. They're harder to find than I was hoping for, as any time someone wants to replace them the inevitable response on the forums is about how you should change the shocks if the bushings are worn out.


I've done a few upgrades since then as well.


The disc brake handbrake setup had never been particularly strong. I thought the extra lever arm length of the cable adapters could be part of it, so I got these aftermarket conversion cables.

Also shown is one of the $20 center console brackets that just showed up on Amazon. I'm not sure how it compares to the more expensive versions, but the fit was poor enough that I decided against installing it.


To get rid of the squat, I replaced the OME 2934 front coils meant for a V8 ZJ with the 2930 coils sold for XJs, along with a 10MM spacer.

Online I found forum posts saying the V8 springs were stiffer than the XJ springs, but the coil wire measured to be the same diameter. The main difference is the XJ springs are shorter.

Fixing the faded plastic

I was getting tired of everyone telling my how great the Jeep looked, other than the faded fenders. The heat gun trick lasted only a few months. So I finally got around to painting them!


Rustoleum was the most recommended paint I found.


To prep for paint, I removed all the plastics, and scrubbed them down with soap, water, and scotch brite, Right is before, left is after.


This is a massive improvement! I plan to get around to the metal portion of the bumper eventually.

Also shown are the new tires I got - Hankook Dynapro AT2 in 235/75R16. It comes out to right around 30". Not my first choice of tire, but there aren't many choices in this size and the price was fantastic, which is even more important when buying a set of 5. I had to remove the spare tire bracket to make the full size spare fit, but it's in there.

 

Those aren't exactly massive updates, but I have a few more projects I'm working on in the background.

First up is what I think is the best score I've ever gotten in the junkyard,


These Subaru BRZ seats were bolted into a TJ Wrangler in the junkyard.


The Jeeps previous owner had made these brackets to bolt them to the TJs standard seat rails, which share the XJs bolt pattern.


They're a tight fit, and they're taller even than the WJ seats I have, but they look great. I'll have to do some work with custom mounting brackets to lower them down. There is a height adjustment built into the seat, so I can go really low which is how I like it for on road driving, then lift myself up for better visibility off road.


I found something of a rarity in the junkyard and had to have it.


An NP242HD from a 2001 V8 WJ! These are pretty hard to come by. I'd seen one before, but I wasn't sure about the prospects of making it work in the XJ. Travis Mudrichs recent thread on his build up of one to put in his XJ came at just the right time for me to snag this. Another WJ donated its front sway bar. That's for a different project that's a lot bigger than just reducing body roll!


I also grabbed this clutch pedal out of a TJ Wrangler. It will need to be modified, but I'm starting to pile up parts for a manual swap!

 

[QUOTE=OptionXIII;3680761]

I found something of a rarity in the junkyard and had to have it.


An NP242HD from a 2001 V8 WJ! These are pretty hard to come by. I'd seen one before, but I wasn't sure about the prospects of making it work in the XJ. Travis Mudrichs recent thread on his build up of one to put in his XJ came at just the right time for me to snag this. Another WJ donated its front sway bar. That's for a different project that's a lot bigger than just reducing body roll!/QUOTE]

Thanks for the honorable mention! I'm glad I'm making a difference on here and others are saying my name. Only took two years 🤣 jkjk anyways anyone wondering what he's talking about, it can be read here:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/wj...-96-xj-265240/

Let me know if you have any questions when you start digging into it! I subscribed to your thread!

 

For the 4th of July holiday, I went on vacation to see friends still in Michigan. Time to play with cars!

To prep for the trip I did some craigslist browsing. Not too far off my planned route I saw an AX15 for sale.



There was not too much information in the ad but when I called the guy, he clearly knew about the details of the trans. 23 spline, external slave bellhousing, and somehow came out of an '87 Wrangler. The transfer case holes were clearly clocked for an XJ. He pulled it for a V8 swap. He was asking $275, and I had no problem with that price. After I got there, he knocked $50 off just because I had driven far and he was a nice guy. I didn't even try to negotiate, he volunteered it! No idea how this thing hadn't sold after being listed for 26 days.

The part number confirms it's a transmission for a '97-'99 4.0 Cherokee.


Here's the donor. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Once in Michigan we got to work. First job was making a combination front hitch and steering brace.



I documented more of the process of making this here. Now I've got no worries about stress cracking the frame or any steering play! And I can pick up a hitch mount winch.



I also went ahead and installed a driver side bumper bracket to strengthen the outside of the frame rail.



One of my buddies has a Comanche he's working to LS swap.



To get a few of the facelift '97+ parts, he bought this absolute pile of a donor for $200. Guy was selling for so cheap because it was so rusty the steering box almost literally fell off, and it is 2wd.



Here's the kicker for me though. It's a factory manual!





We pulled the engine and transmission out.



And now I have not just one, but two AX15s!

I also grabbed almost all the other parts I should need. Pedal assembly, ECU (will need to be reflashed to '99 spec), wiring harness, interior shift boot parts, etc etc.

I'll try to get the NP242HD project complete first so that I am only buying driveshafts once, and install it and the manual trans at the same time. I got a lot of work to do!

 

After a few months of simply letting it be a reliable vehicle, I'm back to working on the Jeep.

When I rebuilt the HVAC box the first time, I really screwed up on the assembly. The blend door was jammed, so both my heat and AC weren't that great. Plus, the defrost vent wasn't working well and made a massive whistling sound. I don't want to deal with that for another winter. Since I gotta pull the dash again to fix this properly, I might as well get a lot of birds stoned at once.

Let's start small.

I made a junkyard run hoping to pick up a particularly rare part, one I've never seen before in person.



I was too late to grab the almost impossible to find tweeters. And the person who did grab them managed to damage this one. Oh well. It's not really about having better sound, I just want more rare parts.


This one caught my attention as manual window late model XJs are pretty hard to find. The only other one I've seen in the yard had the doors removed within a few days of it hitting the ground. I might go back and grab these just to sell them myself.

Another thing to note here: On 2000-01 XJs, the airbag computer got moved from under the drivers seat, to on top of the transmission tunnel, behind the parking brake and under the plastic table thing that holds the center console. There's a TSB out there to move the 99 and older ones to the new location, so I went ahead and grabbed the airbag computer and bracket holding it.

Anyway, back to my own jeep.



Started the tedious process of tearing out my dash... again.



All the way back down to the firewall. Take a look at that clutch pedal!



Here they are side by side, a true XJ manual pedal set and the auto brake pedal. I took the opportunity to grease the pivot point before install. I had to adjust the brake pedal switch as well. It's easy once you know what to do, just pull the button out a long ways, put it in place, and let it self adjust the first time you let the pedal back out.



I also drilled the firewall and removed the plug in order to install the junk master cylinder. It's just a placeholder to seal the firewall, the line is cut and all fluid was removed.

I'll keep driving it as an automatic for a few more months. In the meantime the clutch pedal will be tied out of the way for now while I keep working to prep the rest of the parts for the manual swap.



I used a Heater Treater blend door to make sure I never had to deal with this again. Expensive yes, but worth it if I never have to deal with a broken blend door again.

I had to trim the foam down slightly to clear the part I'm pointing at. Otherwise it appears to be a really well built product. Not pretty, but stout and it definitely will seal well.

I sprayed silicone lube on all the plastic pivot points to hopefully ease the vacuum motors work as well.



Since I didn't have a complete 4x4 manual donor to give me the factory transfer case shift linkage, and the Azzy style linkage doesn't work with the 242 and AX15 combo, I spent the big bucks for the Novak shifter. My z bar linkage has always worked well and I never had a complaint about shifting into the high range modes - my only problem with it is that it's sort of a pain to assemble and disassemble, and it won't work with an AX15.



Install was pretty easy.



Even with the linkage set to the shortest pivot point for maximum rotation of the shift lever at the case, I was struggling to get it to shift into either 2wd or 4lo depending on how I adjusted it. Filing the low range side this small amount down fixed that.

The shifter is so low friction now, it's incredible. Shifting into the low range was something of a hassle before. No longer, every mode is easy to get into, even neutral.



I moved over the airbag computer with those junkyard parts. I'm not really worried about water damage, but I do need the space for something I want to do with those FR-S seats.



Rather than repair another plastic bracket (the TSB/200+ version is different to clear the computer), I installed a metal one that'll never have an issue.



I was getting a rattle from the exhaust for a while. This clamp was the culprit.



I grabbed a thinner band clamp style exhaust clamp to fix that for good.

 

So, as for planning the manual swap. Thankfully, there are a few good guides out there. The best I've found is this Youtube series.


If reading is more your thing (we are on a forum after all), the same info is located in this google doc he made.

My goal is to be able to get this all done in one day, so I need to have all the parts lined up in good shape, ready to install. Still on the to-do list:

• Finish the NP242HD build (documented in another thread)
• Crossmember - I'll modify the spare 2000 automatic crossmember I have to be just like a 1999 down manual. The trans mount bolt pattern is different across those years, and the manual crossmember is dropped 3/4" compared to the automatic.
• Exhaust hanger bracket and trans mount - I have the one from the donor, but it's rusty and bent. I may fabricate my own.
• Trans tunnel shift boot - I need the metal plate from a 97-02 TJ, the XJ donors boot is torn and replacements are NLA.
• Buy clutch, flywheel, and hydraulics
• Driveshafts - I am hoping to reuse an automatic front driveshaft in the rear with the NP242HD SYE. For the front, I will just buy new.
• ECU - Not sure about this. A friend of mine has HP Tuners, I may look into if I can borrow that and use it to flash my ECU on my own to the manual trans tune. If not, there are a few companies out there that should be able to help me. I have the '97 MTX ECU as a spare, but it would need a reflash too to work with my '99 sensors and wiring.

The swap is definitely not happening until after the holidays. I've got loads of work to do in the meantime!

I'm a bit worried about what I will lose with the manual - more control offroading....



...and easier/safer towing.



I'm not sure I'll want to be towing 3,000+ pounds of Miata, trailer, and gear to the track with a clutch instead of a torque converter. To be fair, I'm not sure it should be a long term plan even with an auto XJ.

Whatever reservations I have, this swap is going to happen. I can't resist the siren song.

 

Sounds like you’re getting everything planned out well. Sounds extremely ambitious but hope you can do it in a day. I watched Midas replace my clutch and that was about a 6 hour job alone.

I tow about that much with my 96 5 speed. Not all the time, but my trailer with a ton of pellets is about 3000 lbs. I towed my 3200 lb Olds wagon + whatever the dolly is home about 150 miles. To be fair, it’s nearly level and no starting on hills. But I avoid burning the clutch. I give it a bump to get it rolling, then go easy from there. Either of those situations is lot easier than the few times I towed my 2200 lb camper due to the wind resistance.

But also I have the stock diff gears for manual which is designed for economy not towing.

 

Yeah, one day will be ambitious for sure. It'll more likely be a weekend, but hopefully the right prep work will make it a straightforward swap and make it so that I'm not trying to modify parts removed from the Jeep. I find that approach helps me keep the work clean, reversible, and better executed.

Glad to hear you've had good experiences towing that much weight with a manual! The 3.55s will help for sure. If I find I'm still wanting more gearing, I have a new friend with experience setting up axle ring and pinions. Plus, those 3.73 and up Dana 30 helical diffs are really, really cheap.

 

Sounds good! BTW I had my clutch replaced not from towing and burning it up. Rather the disc kept sticking at the flywheel and wouldn’t allow it to disengage. It was super hot outside and a lot of traffic coming back from the 2017 eclipse. I always pop it in neutral rather than sit and ride the clutch but it just kept sticking and I was 13 hours from home.

 

I just read this entire build thread! Can't wait to see the manual swap completed. I beat the crap out of my ax15 that I had years ago and it never skipped a beat. Nice score on the manual pedals as well they are really going up in price.