thank you all

my 90 xj was a total clunker when i picked it up, bent rods, paint looked like crud, no belt, no hitch, bad starter, lights did'nt work, and just a million other little things. in the past month, i've fixed dang near everything, and added new fogs and everything. just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone on here, lotta little problems i couldnt have fixed without yall. jeep's been on 4 hunting trips now, put like 1200 miles on it since then, and no problems.

couple more little things though. the old tires are dry-rotted as heck, looking for some 31x10.5's. anybody know of any good deals around?

also, my passenger front door doesn't open from the inside, and the handle is bent outward. i'm assuming theres just a bent rod inside. before i crack the door open, how hard are these things to fix? could i just attempt the bend it back into place?

again, thanks guys, i really appreciate yall

There isn't much too the door latch/operating rod/handle assembly...

IIRC there are a couple small screws to unhook the inside handle trim, a couple more larger ones for the armrest, then some "plunger plug" plastic thingies that secure the larger trim panel around the lower edges of the door.

The top of the trim panel hooks over the lip along the window... and ya have to fiddle with the angle/tilt of the pieces to get them apart. (Might have to undo the mirror trim too...CRS)

Once you have the interior trim out of the way, it's pretty clear...

Awesome!

Door handles are easy work - pull the three screws holding each door latch handle in (one is machine threaded, two self tappers, don't mix em up!) and the two large phillips screws holding the arm rest on. Tilt the armrest up till it's vertical, pull it away from the door. Use a putty knife to very carefully pry the trim away from the door shell, it's held on using those @#%!#$^$#ing "christmas tree" plastic fittings like woody said, and if you aren't gentle with them they'll tear out of the fiberboard door trim backing... ask me how I know. You won't have to pull the mirror trim off (in fact you can't till you get the door trim off, the screw that holds it is hidden by the door trim) - tip the liner out at the bottom and kinda seesaw it back and forth at the top a little till the top edge unseats from the window trim, then pull it back. Have fun getting it off of the door handle bezel, I haven't figured out the right way to do that yet, I just kinda mess with it gently till it comes off.

The door lining is self adhesive but if you are careful it will peel back and the adhesive will be reusable. If not, use packing tape to re-close it after.

Door mechanisms are those silly steel rods, they might be bent. If not, the return springs may have broken off the back of the handle bezel. Other than that, pull the door latch mechanisms out (they are held in by the 3 Torx screws on the door edge, as well as the 3-4 actuator rods + plastic clips) and clean them THOROUGHLY with degreaser, then regrease with white lithium or silicone lube. If the lock/unlock actuators are too stiff for comfort, replace them. discountjeepparts.com has the front mechanisms for $35+shipping each - part numbers 55000766 and 55000767.

As they say, "reassembly is the reverse of disassembly"... except you curse at different points. Good luck!

EDIT: Here's a thread with some pictures I took on how to unlock a stuck door from the inside - getting the door trim off with the door closed is no party, I ended up screwing up mine pretty badly and buying a new one from the scrapyard for five bucks. http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1003779