Replace Selector Cover in 93 XJ

[mbenonis]

The cover for my XJ's gear selector (Automatic) has a broken plastic slider "thingie" (technical term). Has anyone replaced their selector cover themselves? I know the part is inexpensive, but the auto place wants a few hundred to do it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Jeep914x4]

If I understand you right...

On my 91 I just yank up on the 'T' handle to pop it off. Be careful, I think I punched myself in the face the first time I did it.:dunce:

Then, you just lift the.. thingie up and slide it off the shifter. Snaps right off, and right back on.

[mbenonis]

I've tried pulling and turning in the past to no avail, but I'll give it another shot when I get my car back (it's in for a new fuel pump currently). Thanks!

[TheNerd]

Forget turning... just pull. It'll eventually come off... and you too will probably join the "I punched my own face working on my Jeep" club: Member #12,874

[lawsoncl]

Don't turn it. A good hard upwards yank it what you want. You might find it easier to be kneeling in the back seat. You can find used ones real cheap at the salvage yard. The pull-n-save by me charges $2. You might even find you can fix the plastic yourself.

You might also try eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Cherokee-XJ-Shifter-Cover-1984-1996_W0QQitemZ8045065890QQihZ019QQcategoryZ33695QQ ssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[mbenonis]

I gave it a try today, and sure enough it came right off. Now I just need to get the new part - I'd like a new one if I can get it fairly cheap (<$50). Does anyone think I will be able to get it from the Jeep dealership without paying an arm and a leg for a piece of plastic, or am I going to have to go on a hunting expedition?

FWIW, my mom recalls replacing this part with a new one from Jeep a number of times on our old '88 XJ (which we no longer have). But this was over 10 years ago.

[mbenonis]

Update:

So I called around, and the dealerships want $75+ for the part. I looked at the one that lawsoncl posted, but it's not quite right (this one has PRND21, and mine's PRND32-1). Any ideas on where else to look?

[lawsoncl]

What part is actually messed up? You can kinda see in the ebay picture that there is a thin plastic film that slides back-n-forth with the shift lever. It's the part sticking out at the top and bottom. It's just a thin sheet of plastic with an white stripe and orange mark. Sometimes that gets jammed and crinkled. I've never done it, but I understand it can be straightened back out with an iron on a low setting.

[mbenonis]

Two things are messed up in mine: the first is the plastic slider you describe, and the second is just cosmetic - the clear plastic part with letters/numbers is pretty dirty on the inside.

I'll try straightening out the plastic slider tonight and see if that helps at all.

UPDATE: I thoroughly washed and cleaned the plastic sliders, and it definitely works better now. However, I can see that two of the sliders have either broken or become malformed. It's definitely not such a big deal now, but I'd eventually like to fix it once and for all. Thanks for your help everyone! Now on to bigger and better things...a new RF keyless entry system, perhaps...

[90xj06]

just get one from a 90 it has the fuzzies insted of the plastic cover.

i've gotten so board as to replace all the lights with colored LEDs. my switches and shifters lights are all BLUE.

[mbenonis]

just get one from a 90 it has the fuzzies insted of the plastic cover.

i've gotten so board as to replace all the lights with colored LEDs. my switches and shifters lights are all BLUE.

That's not a bad idea...

As far as LED replacements lamps go, where does one order these? Or did you make them yourself? I'd love to colorize my dash!

[90xj06]

i made them myself you hve to put a resistor in it to keep the current down.
i think 150 Ohms but im not sure.