1996XJSport

I have a 96 Cherokee and I HATE the interior. I plan on tearing everything out and upgrading to things like leather seats, new carpet and padding, a new suede headliner, new center counsole, and I definitely need a new dash. The question is; is it possible to swap a 97-01 XJ dash into an 84-96 XJ? Would I run into any issues with the VIN or is it attached to metal that goes to the firewall? What would I have to do to make it all happen? Let me know!

calijeep

did you ever swap out dash. cause i have a 96 and i hate my interior too. id love to hear about your project,

89Laredo

The cluster wont work. Dash should just bolt in.

Bustedback

The electrical is all different.

1996XJSport

Not yet. I have to hunt for a newer XJ at the junkyard and they're hard to come by. I always see 80s XJs in there and they're even worse interior wise lol.

PM me, I'd be happy to tell you about my Jeep man!

1996XJSport

Im going to try and modify the dash so it'll accomidate my current gauges since I've already spent $35 on them to make them "reverse glow gauges" and they look awesome at night lol.

I hope everything else just falls into place, from the looks of it, I'll definitely have to do something about the passenger airbag since I don't currently have one.

1996XJSport

I used to work for a car audio and security shop. It shouldn't be too horrible. Once you've installed remote start/security systems on dodge chargers, you've seen it all hahahahaha.

cmillan599

Hey bud did you ever swap out the dash on your XJ? I'm planning on upgrading my 1996 XJ dash to a 2000 XJ dash with steering wheel, I was wondering how I can get the cluster and climate controls to work, will I need the ECU from the newer XJ or just the connectors and wiring? I'm really hoping I can get all the functions to work properly, any tips would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!!

93XJLI

dash wont bolt in without modifying the mounts on the firewall, and you can just bolt in the new style one either. steering column wont bolt in unless you get the dash in perfect. i know a few people who have done it, and another buddy tried it and gave up bc the wiring was such a chore. best way is to completely swap the old body harness for a new body one.

good luck.

cmillan599

Ohh, well I went ahead and bought the complete dash with steering column/climate controls/OEM stereo & cluster from a 2000 or 01 XJ since I got a dirt cheap deal for a total of 700 pesos not even $60 USD XD and its in very good shape I also bought the head liner/board/roof because it has 2 speakers w/light fixture near the rear, all the cabling is all intact on everything, I've also done some reading on the ECU and they are compatible from 96-01 so I'm really planning on making it happen since anything is possible, thanks for the tips/reply, I will defiantly post before & after pics when the mad scientist & I are done, thanks again!

motorcharge

It's not a direct bolt in, you'll have to play with the mounts some. Seen it done on quite a few MJs. You'll need a new ECU for the 97+ cluster as well.

http://comancheclub.com/topic/11232-project-onyx/
http://comancheclub.com/topic/9562-p...rd-mj-is-born/

cmillan599

Okay guys, I'm recollecting all the info I can and I'm kinda stumped but for the mean time I will get the ECU from a 97+ XJ and I will get the 97+ Cluster from a TJ as well, from what I've been reading it's a huge mission but it can be done and all indicators should function properly, I still need to pick a few brains and am having a hard time finding a cluster wiring diagram for my 96 XJ to better guide this project.

Trevordickya

Did you ever end up competing the swap. I have a 96 trying to do a full 2nd Gen interior swap. So I'm buying a wrecked one. Would I have everything I need if I got a complete jeep. Thanks for any info

thejordanj

ive got an 89 2 door that i want to do a full dash swap from a 96 including the engine, any good write ups cant find any,

andrewmp6

96 is first year odb2 so youll be swapping a ton of stuff.Honestly i would just buy a newer xj you can still find them cheap enough.Or a 00-01 with a blown motor and fix it.