Thanks for the support and encouragement guys!

I spent the holidays far from my Jeep, but now that I'm back in town I'm also back to work.


This is the trans mount adapter off of that rusty 2wd. I've already knocked loose some of the worst rust in this pic.


I gave electrolysis a try. I was a bit concerned about the power supply - it's a 4amp Harbor Freight battery maintainer with a Miata battery to even out the flow. It ended up working fine thankfully.


The end result of electrolytic rust removal has a lot of black oxides present on the part that wash off fairly easily.

I gave it a scrub with naval jelly and a wire brush to clean off the last bit of rust prior to paint. I also cleaned up the exhaust hanger bushing cage and will bolt it back together with the original bushing. Thankfully it's in much better shape than my current bushing which is bloated from years of being soaked in oil.


I also went ahead and purchased a THIRD shift boot tunnel plate. The XJ specific boot is no longer available, and the first TJ plate I grabbed in Michigan was just too rusty for me to want to mess with when for $25 the one on the right was shipped to my door. It's been cleaned, rust removed, and is ready for paint.

 

Looking ahead, I've decided to pare back the immediate swap goals. I am going to do the bare minimum to get this swap done instead of including the 242HD with the swap. I don't want the XJ down for a month while I try to figure out whether that noise is from a new transmission, transfer case, or SYE driveshaft.

What I still need for the bare minimum to get a running and driving, manual Jeep:

1. Rear driveshaft. If I cannot get a correct AX15/8.25 driveshaft am thinking I'll use a driveshaft for an auto/D35. It's only 1/4" shorter than an AX15/C8.25 driveshaft, which may make it an even be a better fit with my 2.5" lift and 242.
   
2. Crossmember - I looked on Car-Part and can't find a manual crossmember I trust to be correct and not a rusty POS. but I am still looking at options.
   1. Cut and weld up the 2000+ crossmember
   2. Crossmember drop spacers. Not my preference, as I'd have to remove the studs that I'd like to keep in place.

Once the transmission is proven to work well, I'll take the next steps to make it a fully polished swap.

• Manual 1999 ECU options:
  • Trade my 1997 Manual ECU for a 1999 manual ECU.
  • HPTuners reflash on my own (~$50)
  • Wranglerfix reflash (~$100)
• Front Driveshaft - shorten original or buy new.

Then I can get to work on the SYE setup for the rear axle and the NP242HD build.

 

Good work on the electrolysis... I've used a product called evaporust... Does the same thing just no electricity... Are you going to use a new Dorman driveshaft or is that just for reference ?...I know the local drivetrain shop here is very competitive with the shaft pricing when the shipping is factored in..And you get the added bonus of an exact length shaft..Anyhow, it looks like you've got a plan.. Looking forward to the swap...

 

EvapoRust is awesome for smaller stuff.
Works great and is reusable to a certain degree.
Just put the used stuff in a separate container.
Does lose its effectiveness over time and that is when you trash it.
The thing that cracks me up is how it says "Safe for your eyes" right on the container.
Considering how well it works.
LOL.

 

Smaller stuff, I saw I video where they de-rusted a tractor - in a swimming pool!

 

I've used it on small parts and it impressed me, but it's slow to work and fairly expensive for a gallon. For bigger stuff, electrolysis is much cheaper and faster, but I can see how it might be too aggressive for some parts. I've played with a bunch of different forms of rust removal and so far this is my favorite, but all have their pros and cons.

Just for reference. I'm looking for a cheap temporary solution out of the junkyard, and a D35 auto is much easier to find than a manual 4x4. Even after years of junkyard crawling, I've never seen a manual 4.0 XJ that wasn't picked clean almost immediately.

Years ago, I actually scrapped the exact driveshaft I need now - it came with the 4x4 swap parts I bought in 2019. Oh well.

Once I've got some miles on the transmission and know it won't blow up on me, I'll upgrade to an SYE setup.

 

Those who used evaporust, is there any trick? I tried soaking a handful of rusty screws in a quart jar, and even after a couple weeks it barely did anything. At least the gallon I got was bought with my store rewards points.

 

Keep it as warm as possible. It does lose effectiveness with every bit of rust it converts/removes, so it helps to remove what you can with a wire brush or something and use evaporust as a final treatment rather than the first step in rust removal.

 

I probably give stuff a quick wire brushing before I throw it in there and do go in there and hit stuff with a wire brush during the process to help it along faster but nothing crazy.
Don't have a before shot but some stuff I used it for from the used factory running boards that I bought for my '00.

 

Very curious how this plays out for you fitment wise. I have a similar problem that needs to be solved...

 

I use evaporust in my untrasonic cleaner and its amazing. They are fairly inexpensive on amazon and usually has a heater built in

 

Thanks for posting this picture! I was looking for this exact view. How did you get that Hurst shift handle on there? I have one I would like to put to use. Just drill through the lower half of the shifter?

The reason I wanted this angle was to see where the shifter actually comes through the plate. I was looking at the XJ shift boot plate from the 2WD donor and realized that it really wasn't that rusty. So, I figured I'd give it a chance in the electrolysis bath.



It came out way better than I expected.



These old dead XJ and TJ shift boots are really close in width/diameter... Hmmm.



This is how the TJ boot sits on the XJ plate.



It can also be rotated to put the notch right where the XJ console mount is. I'll test it to see what fits most naturally once the transmission is in the car, then drill holes wherever required to hold it down.



A flat piece of sheet metal to fill the gap should let the TJ boot work with the XJ plate.

I'll give both of them a shot, but for now I'm more interested in using the XJ piece. A flat plate from scrap sheet metal will be easier to cut and fit than adding a XJ center console screw bracket to the TJ plate. Plus, it will be a better solution than everyone with a 1997+ manual having to buy a TJ shift plate.

 

It's an actual reproduction Hurst short shifter from Core-Shifters: https://core-shifters.com/products/c...w-ax15-5-speed

As you can probably see from the picture I shared, it has its own boot which is also torn (years of use took their toll) but I already bought a replacement for that. The factory boot area is more of the problem as so much heat comes through that hole when it's not plugged. I like your idea of taking a XJ plate and adding an extra piece of flat steel to make up the gap of the TJ shifter boot. I might try that myself. However, it does look like the TJ plate opening might have enough clearance for the XJ shifter position. I'm definitely going to watch this one!

 

Well, unfortunately nothing more has happened with respect to getting a manual transmission in my XJ. For the past few months, it's been putting the "Utility" in "Sport Utility Vehicle". I've been driving it about once a week minimum, and most of the time that's either because I'm working on the Miata, towing the Miata to a track day, or need the cargo space for hauling landscaping supplies, scrap metal, large purchases, etc etc.

It has been working well, but sadly a few issues have cropped up.

While it was loaded up one day with landscaping blocks, I heard a metallic impact sound coming from the back end.


It was pretty easy to see that the leaf spring shackles were making contact with the unibody behind the bumper.

To me, this is pretty frustrating as Old Man Emu are supposed to be a good, well engineered brand. I would think that would include testing for contact when loaded to GVW, or flexing out the suspension.


The extended bumpstops I installed are far from making contact with the axle.


She's not even sitting that low.

Is there a fix here that doesn't involve lifting the Jeep higher with longer boomerang shackles or shackle relocation brackets? Has anyone cut out the problematic section of the unibody behind the rear bumper?



I had been getting an issue with intermittent, loud and easily felt THUNK going through the entire driveline. Sometimes it would need a long crank, but I didn't worry too much about that. The THUNKs got more common, and one day the engine died completely on the freeway. Thankfully, a few seconds later it restarted and got me home without any more issues. The CPS on the engine was one of the original ones to either the Red or Green engine.

I have had a spare NTK EH0248 Crank Position Sensor in the small spare parts pile I leave in the Jeep just in case this happens. The wires are much shorter than original, to the point where I could not clip in the connector to the factory mounting point. It was also much less magnetic than the original part - not sure if that's as designed, or due to years of the original being subjected to magnetic fields (sort of like how connecting rods can get magnetic over the years). Either way, it's disappointing trying to get good parts these days, even from legacy brands. Since NTK was the original supplier, I assumed these were the best out there and Mopar would just be a reboxed NTK unit. Has anyone handled both and can tell me if I'm off base here?

I used the long extension method from underneath the car and it wasn't too bad of a job. The hardest part was finding my keys after they fell out of my pocket in the house. It's only been a few days but I think it's safe to call this problem fixed.

Next up is replacing the blend door motor again due to the new blend door being too large and sticking to the walls of the HVAC box. I can hear the gears in the motor skipping at the extremes of the hot or cold settings. Hopefully the door foam will wear in, and I won't be regularly replacing these. I also need to recharge the AC system, which I'd been ignoring in the nice spring days when I'm not driving the XJ often.

 

There's still no progress on the manual swap. Between modifying and tracking another car that's just as old, repairing a house that was shoddily built 50 years ago, and all the other parts of life, I just don't have time to take something that's working fine and make yet another project out of it. I was hoping to get the manual swap done in time for a 1,000 mile trip to Canada later this month. It's still possible, but I think unlikely. I'd want to at least break open the transmission and take a peek at the synchros. I trust the sellers word, but he only drove it long enough to verify it went into each gear, and since it's a '97 Cherokee part number AX15 pulled out of a YJ, I'm sure it hasn't had the most easy or straightforward life. In the worst case, a bearing and synchro kit is about $180 off Rockauto. I'd like to get a big parts order in soon, then the only thing I would really need for the swap is a rear driveshaft from a wrecking yard. I'm still targeting a D35/AW4 driveshaft for the swap.

But with the heat of summer here and that trip looming, I had to finish the HVAC work I had previously done in February.

The blend door motor was failing after pushing around the tight fitting Heater Treater door. I now see that Dorman and others make a plastic replacement blend door in the same style as the much more expensive Heater Treater... oh well. The blend door motor was replaced with a cheap no name brand off Amazon. It's working fine and I think the months of being set in place in cold and heat have helped the foam fit to the box.

Even when it was working perfectly, I still had some heat leaking into the cabin air. To be sure I was getting the coldest air possible, I decided to install a heater core bypass valve.


This one was $30 or so off Amazon. Tons of "brands" selling this almost suspiciously shaped object. Anyways, it's nicely built with brass construction and a tight ball valve. Rather than just cutting off flow, it does a proper recirculation back to the water pump and just bypasses the heater core. It's sealed up well enough to actually hold pressure, so when the engine is hot you can feel the difference in the hose pressure at the core side vs the rest of the cooling system.


Here's where I put it. I used new bulk hose on the return side as I didn't think cutting the formed hose would give it a good routing.

I took the opportunity with the open cooling system to do yet another complete flush of the system. I flushed everything, and I mean everything. The heater core, the block, the radiator, all of it. Then I ran a liquid coolant flush product in the block for a week and about 100 miles. Then I flushed it with a hose, again. The radiator petcock and the block drain plug both came out to ensure every bit of rust gunk I could get to move came out.


I recharged the AC and had nothing but trouble with the Harbor Freight manifold set I had purchased years ago. I had to replace all the gaskets to get it to seal, which I learned is somewhat expected. Finding a rental vacuum pump was a total pain, people have no respect for the loaner tools at the auto parts store and treat them like garbage. Then either my technique, or the manifold, resulted in an extremely low charge rate on the second can of refrigerant and venting a lot of the pressure to atmosphere on removal. I ended up just guessing and putting all the remaining refrigerant I had in.

Next time I think I'll just pay a shop to do a drain and fill. The AC blows plenty cold but I think I'm still a bit low on refrigerant.

And the end result is a AC system that keeps me cool enough to not be set to max, even with untinted windows and the exterior temp gauge indicating anywhere from 98* to 103* during the recent heat wave we're having in NC. I'd call that a success!