GGXJ is our latest member!

[4.3LXJ]

Glad you joined our group GGXJ!

Are you an old Jeeper, or new to the hobby? What brings you to our site? Do you have an off road monster, a daily driver, or something in between?

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[xj4life2]

Welcome from NOR CAL !!!!

[GGXJ]

Hi! My name is Matt and I drive the Black Box, a black, 2 door, 90 XJ. It's very mild in it's current form sporting a few minor goodies like a 2" BB lift, front/rear JCR bumpers, and Herculiner paint. I've also modified the doors to be removable whenever I wanna go doorless (and LOVE it). It's currently awaiting a transplant and will HOPEFULLY be back in action soon. It has over 200k miles on it and started leaking copious amounts of oil from the rear main. I can probably just replace the seal, but by the time I pull the tranny/transfer case and disassemble the engine enough to get the crank out, is it really worth it for a motor with that many hard miles on it?? I figured I'd just fork over the cash for a newer motor and be done with it.

This is my first Jeep and I've had it for about 5 years which is longer than any other vehicle I've owned. I LOVE my Jeep.

I live in the Omaha metro area and have fairly decent mechanical skills if anyone needs a hand doing work. Also, if you live in the area and want to help with my engine swap, I'll provide food and beer... I mean barley pop.


Sorry, I ramble sometimes. I'll shut up now.

[xj4life2]

Just as side note you dont need to pull the trans / TC to get to the rear main seal. Just pull the oil pan.remove the bearing cap and push the seal out of the block .replace that one and the one in the bearing cap. Be sure to replace the oil pump at the same time . They are know for failing at that aprox milage.

[4.3LXJ]

Hey, another two door! Alright. How did you modify the hinges?

[GGXJ]

Thanks for the tip with the rear main, but I DID try that. From what I understand, some manufacturers used a type of glue or adhesive to hold these seals in place while assembling the engines. This was evident with the difficulty I had getting the half of the seal that was in the main cap out. I had to really pry to get it out. When we tried to tap the part of the seal that was in the block out, it wouldn't budge. We tried all kinds of stuff and it wasn't moving. I tried loosening the crank and prying down on it and nothing. Unfortunately, I don't know how else to get it out other than pulling the tranny/tcase and dismantling the front of the engine to drop the crank completely out of the way so I can pry it out. Then I've disturbed the bearings, etc...

4.3... What I did is unbolt the hinge from the door and then cut the bottom half of the door side of the hinge off. Then, I used a hammer to tap that part of the hinge off of the side thats attached to the Jeep. Once I had it out, I was able to pound the pin out of the hinge. Then, I dropped a 1/4" bolt (fits perfect) down in there and tack welded the head to the top of the hinge so it won't fall out or come loose. I also used a grinder to round off the tip of the bolt so that it slides into the hinge a little easier. Just make sure you don't get bolts that are too long or your door will hit the door frame when you're trying to lift the door off. You only need about a half to a quarter inch of bolt sticking out of the bottom of the hinge.

Edit: I don't have power windows/locks/mirrors so I didn't really have any wiring to speak of. I haven't rewired my speakers, either. I'm planning to adapt a TJ sound bar to my roll cage when I get that put in. For now, I've got the two in the back providing music. Also, in lieu of making some fancy plate to keep the dome light switch pressed in with the doors off, I just unhooked the switches altogether. I don't care if my dome light comes on when I open the door. I can just turn it on myself with the switch if I want it.

[4.3LXJ]

Thanks. I see tube doors in my future someday

[GGXJ]

Tube doors would be nice. I'd like an arm rest for my left arm.

[4.3LXJ]

Half doors are nice too, but donor doors are hard to come by.