DustyWagoneer

Got the cabin floor painted with POR15 today as well as painting the bottom of the patch on the passenger side.
I don't know what happened, but a few years back when I bought 4 quarts of POR15 I thought I had ordered black?
How I got Silver I have not a clue?? Probably a blonde moment I have been told?
OH well, it will keep rust from coming back no mater what the color I reckon?
Tomorrow I need to go find rubber or nylon floor panel plugs. The metal ones Jeep/Chrysler used rust......................... And I REALLY REALLY HATE RUST!
I also have not figured out what I am going to do about that rubber and foam firewall pad. I mean it needs something, but I really would like to keep as much heat out of the cabin as possible.

DustyWagoneer

So been busy with Life, and trying to get things done on poor neglected Scarlett.
I have been working on the HVAC system, and just about have that all rebuilt. (I will post more pictures on that latter)

My transmission shiftier seal was shot as well as my lower shift boot. The seal for the transmission is readily available, but the lower shift boot is not for the XJ. I spent a bunch of time on line looking for the lower boot, an the TJ lower boot looked more less the same?
So I bought one for a decent price on fleebay, and when it got in I found out that hey are in fact smaller than the XJ boot.
OK!
Now what?
I noticed that it would fit pretty good on top of the old shift boot if I just cut out the bad part of the old one, then place it on top of that.
So that's what I ended up doing to fix the worn out lower boot.
You have to form the new boot a bit to go over the curvature of the old boot.
I took some of Eastwood's Flexible Strip Caulk, and placed it around the opening of the old boot to seal any moisture or vapors from entering in to the cabin in the future. Then I just used four self tapping screws to hold it in place. If I ever find an NOS lower boot or a repop I will replace my hack, but for now it works really well.
I also took the shift boot plate off, wire wheeled it, painted it with some Eastwood Frame paint, then made a new gasket for it out of 1/4" neoprene sheet.

Today I also got the passenger side door jamb painted, so in a few days I can get the door mounted back up. Tomorrow I will get the Drivers side done. Then I just need to clearance a few tabs on the fenders because the door braces stick out a bit, and interfere with the fenders.

New trans seal on, and old Lower Boot middle cut out.
Eastwood strip caulk on top, and new TJ boot going on.
Shifter in second gear. Looks right to me?
Color on finally!

DustyWagoneer

SO while this thing is all apart, I want to find EVERY place this thing is leaking from to mitigate any more water intrusion.
There must be a hundred different places that water was coming into the cabin (OK maybe a few dozen). I have read on this forum (and many others) all the places to look for.
But I have to tell you most of the problems ALL stem from the worst offender, YOUR FIREWALL.
Now as I have stated maybe once before, I HATE RUST!

The worst offender on your firewall is where your HVAC system mounts to said firewall. The seal that the heater hoses, and AC lines goes through are the worst. Then after that is where the blower motor seals (IT BLOWS!).
I also found that there is NO seal between the wire feed trough bulkhead either?
Your hood hinges ""might"" be able to leak, but only if your HVAC system is not sealed properly. See the input duct from the cowl to the HVAC system could possibly let water leak into the system, but it would be really hard for that to happen unless your cowl is filled with debris. ( I will take pictures of this tomorrow)
The other problem I have found is that Chrysler/Jeep did a really poor job of using seam sealer on the seams behind the dash.
So that will be addressed tomorrow as well with some Eastwood brush-on seam sealer.
When I install the rebuilt HVAC unit, I will probably put some silicone on the face of the gaskets between them and the firewall to mitigate any more water intrusion.
So on to the pictures:

Firewall pad. You can see where it was leaking. The one area next to the black rubber area did not even have a hole plug in the firewall from the factory.
The worse offender in the leak department.
Also I found that water was leaking in though these shifter bolts.
solution was to buy rubber washers to help seal.
These grommets were leaking as well. Ended up sealing them with black RTV.

5-Speed

Geez dude. I am glad I didn't go as far as you haha. At least your Jeep will be like new when its all back together. Will be following the build

DustyWagoneer

Been working on the interior wiring loom the last couple of days. The PO's pretty much buggered up the HVAC wires, as well as some of the headlight switch wiring. Hence the reason I never had dash lights before today.
My little Scarlett was the base base base model from Jeep, and she did not even have AC from the factory, just heat. AT some point one of the PO's made the heat only box into an Heat/AC system. They used a control system out of a Wagoneer, as the two controllers for the XJ (84-91) was slightly different, just heat and fresh air & AC and heat. The Wagoneer controller is basicly the same as the XJ with a different vacuum port, and only has one AC setting,
The Heater box was to say the very least "Kluged together". There were some weird vacuum servos mounted to the front of the unit, and they re-wired stuff to make it work.
Hey I at least got some cool relay packs?

I found another HVAC box in the JY from a 1991, and have been working on rebuilding that as well. I will post that once I am done with it, and it is mounted in the Jeep.
Here are a few pictures of the re-wire I am working on.

Taking all the butt connectors out, and scotch locks.
Soldering splices, Then heat shrinking them. You can see where a few scotch locks were on the yellow and brown wire.
This connector is already fixed, but I noticed some corrosion in the connector contact points, so I soaked it in some white vinegar, then hit it with electronic contact cleaner/lube.


SO right now I am working on building a wire loom for my 97-01 mirrors I bought from the JY. I will be mounting the 84-96 switch in the drivers door instead on on the center console. I really don't like how the factory did that. I also have to figure out connections for the overhead console, so the compass, and temp display works, as well as the lighting. I will not be installing power door locks, nor power windows on Scarlett so I don't care about the door lock module in the OH console.

Also today we actually got the drivers side door installed.
WHAT A PITA!!!
But it is on.

DustyWagoneer

SO I finally got my passenger door sanded, primed, and painted today. So maybe in a few days once the paint has set up I can reinstall it back on to the Jeep?
The second thing I did was finish plucking all the foam from the firewall pad. Sometimes I really do hate myself.
I mean did it work before?
Maybe kinda sortof.
But I can't leave well enough alone I reckon?

So my reasoning is, I want heat not to soak in to the cabin from the engine compartment, and that foam that was there is kinda wimpy to say the least. Not to mention any liquids that might enter the cabin from the firewall just get trapped in it.
So enter Thermogaurd FR. I used this stuff on one of my little Porsche 914's, and it really made a HUGE difference. Now mind you I only used it in the engine bay, and behind the seats, because that little car was gutted for POC, NASA, Time trials.
But it helped!

I did forget however that it is a bear to cut, and fit into weird crooks, and crannies.
So I will use Supper 77 to tack it to the firewall, and then spay Super 77 on it to mount that rubber pad I just plucked all the foam from.
Once that is done I can reinstall the rebuilt HVAC system, and finish up the wiring.

I was hoping to have it all done Friday, as I have a show down in LA on Saturday night. I wanted to actually see how well my console and microphones all fit in the Cherokee.
But alas I don't think this weekend it will be done.

I bought two rolls of this stuff. The floor boards, Trans tunnel, and the firewall will have it.
Firewall rubber pad kinda looks like a leopard skin?
starting to get the Thermogaurd on.

DustyWagoneer

Got the firewall done today.
Haha I thought I was going to be able to install ONE BIG piece of that Thermogaurd to the firewall. NOPE!
Because of the shape, contours, holes, and whatnots, I had to cut different pieces to fit it all in.
I used one can of Super 77 spray glue to mount the thermogaurd to the firewall, and then also glued the rubber pad to the thermogaurd. Also be advised if you go this route. You will need a really good pair of utility sheers, as a box cutter will not work on this stuff.

Tomorrow I just need to install the HVAC system, then start on the floor pans with the Thermogaurd.

Thermogaurd on.
Rubber pad now in place over the Thermogaurd.

DustyWagoneer

So as I stated earlier my HVAC system was rather ""SHOT"".
We had to find another HVAC unit in a junk yard, as my little Cherokee only came with heat from the factory, and some idiot tried to make that an AC unit.
We found a 1991 Jeep that we were able to get the HVAC unit out of. That unit was factory sealed, so no one ever had the chance to screw it up.

However once I opened it up it needed some serious love on the inside. All the foam on the top parts of the unit were falling off and just plain dried out. So were all the blend doors too.
When I was down in LA the last time I stopped by a place in Burbank called the foam depot.
There I bought a bunch of different types (closed cell, and open cell), and thicknesses of foam and neoprene for my HVAC rebuild.
The only thing they did not have is something really good for my seals between the HVAC unit and the firewall.

One other thing I found out is it is next to impossible to find the factory AC evaporator for the 91-96 Cherokee's. You have to retrofit a 97-01 evaporator to your unit.
This creates a problem for the AC Thermistor (AKA thermostat) that cycles the compressor on ambient air.
Of course the thermistor you will have to replace as well, if you replace your evap unit. The problem is that once you try to pull the thermistor probe out of the old evap. core it will break.
I searched all over the place looking for one, and finally found the last NOS MOPAR one on fleabay.
There are a few there that are similar to the ones we use, but are just a tad different. They do have however the right connector that we use on our XJ's. The probe is just a bit longer, and the temp settings are a little off as well, but they would work in a pinch.

I also used Super 77 glue to adhere all the foam on the inside of my HVAC unit.
On the housing foam I decided to use Craftsman tool drawer liner, as it was not just foam, but closed cell, with a protective layer. I figured that would help keep mold and mildew away?
The only other place I used the Craftsman liner was on the AC blend door. That door needs to have overlap to completely seal the front of that door (you will see in a picture).

Top of unit where the housing foam deteriorated.
Craftsman drawer liner used for a couple blend doors, and housing tops.
Thin open cell foam for AC vent blend door.

DustyWagoneer

So this is the Thermistor (thermostat) that I found for my AC unit.

NOS Mopar thermostat.

Originally the factory one would mount into that hole you see open.

Since the newer type Evap. cores wont allow you to inset the probe into the coil you will have to drill a new hole in the housing, and put the probe on the side of the evap core. I ended up throwing some some AC putty on the "air intake" side of the probe to shield it from the fresh air that comes into the HVAC unit.

Not shown is the AC putty I installed to insulate the probe, but you get the idea I hope? The old evap core on the left. Notice the hole for the probe to go into. The newer type evap core on the left. No hole.

DustyWagoneer

So one of the blend doors has this wedge shaped piece of foam on it with some kind of sealer on it (kinda like rubber?). SO cut a wedge shape identical to the one that came off the door, then used the spray Rustolium rubber coating you can buy at Home Depot (Plastidip will work too) to seal it. I came up with this.
Original one in the back.
After it dried I used some brush on contact cement to adhere it to the blend door.

As I have stated a couple times "I HATE RUST".
There are a few dividers inside the HVAC unit that are made out of steel, and of course Jeep never protected them. I ended up drilling out the rivets that held them in. After that I let them (and the rusted blend doors) sit in a bucket of Must For Rust I have here for a while. After they were cleaned up, I painted them.
Instead of using rivets, I just bought some stainless screws and nylon lock nuts to put them back on.

stainless screws holding partitions in the housing.
Once installed I used the Strip Caulk from Eastwood to seal all the partitions. This is the same kinda stuff Jeep used at the factory.


Eastwood Strip Caulk.

DustyWagoneer

So I wanted something that was a little more substantial for sealing the AC & Heater core lines to the firewall, as well as the blower motor opening to the firewall. Both those seals are subject to really nasty stuff. Heat, oil, water, are always in contact with them in the engine bay, and those are your main sources for leaks into the cabin on your XJ.
I was working in my garden one day kneeling on a foam pad, and got the idea that these stupid pads are made of really good rubber foam.
So I ended up at Lowes, and found the perfect thickness for those seals.

About $9.00 a piece, and takes two.
So I bought two, and came up with this.

Original seals on the left.
Taped the ends of the pipes so no foam would intrude into my lines.

Before I installed the HVAC unit I made sure everything lined up. I did have to trim those seals a bit to fit in on the firewall.

DustyWagoneer

I also cleaned my blower fan with dish soap and a tooth brush to get all that nasty stuf off of it before installing it into the unit again.

Cleaner for sure.
So now that I had everything back together I wanted to make sure all the vacuum motors were working right, and holding vacuum. I got out my "Mighty Vac" hooked it up to the Black vacuum line in, plugged the gray (heater core water switch), and hooked up my HVAC control to the vacuum lines.

You can kinda see the HVAC control, and the Mighty Vac.
Everything worked (Thank God), but I did notice I had a little problem.
The AC blend door was falling off?
WTF!

So I had to take the top off of that part of the unit, and I noticed I did not get a little washer in the right spot. MAKE SURE YOU DON"T SCREW THIS UP!

You can see the washer on the INSIDE of the top now where it belongs. I had it on the outside at first.

DustyWagoneer

So once EVERYTHING was back together it was almost time to reinstall the HVAC unit to the firewall.

Almost!

You really should install your carpet before the HVAC however.
SO I first installed more Thermogaurd onto the floorboards. As like I said I want the cabin to be quiet, and comfortable.

Thermogaurd down first.Followed by carpet.
(note I had to cut a couple slits for the center console my Jeep never had before)




Then FINALLY, the HVAC unit.
It was a total PITA!!!!!
be careful as you really don't want to hurt that cheep plastic box.

5-Speed

Looking good!

DeadFlagBlues

Great work! I'll be following. Might have a few Waggy questions for you down the road.