97 & Up XJ Questions About Conversion

Oh, another thing... is there any chance there is a decent local trade/market for XJ parts in your area? If there is, there's a chance you can sell the 92 parted out for enough to buy the parts you actually need for the 98.

Stuff you can use off the 92:
front diff (mostly, gotta swap some 98 parts on)
driveshaft(s) - what rearend does the 92 have? Since the 98 has ABS, it has a rear d35. Front will fit either way, rear driveshaft will only fit if the 92 has a d35 as well.
trans crossmember and trans mount adapter bracket
longblock - works perfectly. I have a 94 longblock in my 98 right now.
transmission (minus input bearing retainer, bellhousing if you decide to swap to an external slave)
transfer case - the 91-95 transfer case and driveshaft setup is actually less likely to cause driveshaft vibrations than the later design, so you lucked out here.
all the linkages and crap for the transfer case - they are manual specific, so you really want the ones from the 92. If you care about looks you can swap just the lever/handle assembly from a late model in and connect it to the linkages from the 92, otherwise, the 92 lever/handle assembly should fit I believe.
front seats, if it has seats you like more than the ones in the 98, bolt them onto the brackets for the 98 and they will fit perfectly. I know I like the seats in my 91 MJ way more than the ones in my 98 XJ.

Stuff you really can't use, or is a definite downgrade, or there's no reason to:
ECU, wiring harnesses, intake manifold, engine accessories (except alternator, I think that fits), steering box (good as a spare for the 98, but no improvement by swapping it), starter (same one, no upgrade, good as a spare) exterior body panels, doors, hatch, interior trim, dash, instrument cluster, steering column, fuel tank+pump, brake booster and master, header panel, AC compressor... the list goes on.

Ideal parts to do this swap on a 98 that you can't get off the 92:
external slave AX15 - same as internal slave, but with clutch fork, bellhousing, and input bearing retainer swapped. If you can find those parts, you can convert the 92 trans pretty easily.
ECU - 98 4.0/manual ECU optional, your ECU will work but the CEL will be on unless you get it reprogrammed as a manual ECU.
pedal box with clutch and brake pedals - may be able to adapt it. But I got mine for a project for $50 or so at a local scrapyard. The problem is rarity, not cost, they generally go for pretty cheap at junkyards because they don't know people want them.
master/slave cylinder set, prebled - around $120 on rockauto.com. Get one for a 98, not a 92. You can probably adapt a 98 master cylinder and part of a 98 hydraulic line to the 92's internal slave cylinder with a compression fitting of some sort if you want to, but I'd really suggest going to an external slave setup.


I think that is about all. I would see if you can sell all the stuff off the "stuff you really can't use" list that doesn't work as a spare, then use the money from that to buy the parts on the "ideal parts you can't get off the 92" list, then put it all together.

I have a pretty clean 96 4x4 auto that I plan to sell for the conversion and upgrades. You seem to know a lot about this type of conversion. Did you do one of these? any pics of the aftermath?

I did a 5 speed 4x4 conversion on my 91 MJ and I'm researching a late model + V8 + 5 speed conversion on my 88 MJ right now, already bought the parts that I know I need. Currently trying to figure out what I haven't realized I will need.

There is a Eliminator about 50mi from me. I saw it in a side yard filled with junk. Next time I see it I am going to make an offer.

My 91 is an Eliminator and my 88 is a Pioneer. Fortunately both got the awesome bucket seats, possibly the best seats I've ever had in a car.

The hardest thing to find on MJs is good clean sheetmetal from the cab back. If it's all present and in good shape, go for it, the doors/front nose sheetmetal and everything in the interior except the B pillar / cab back trim / seat mounts is 100% stuff you can rip off any 4 door XJ in the boneyard.

Just found out my clutch master cylinder is leaking. Is there a upgrade available or is this even a transferable part to the 98? I am wanting to separate the engine from the transmission in the 98 to keep the park function while I swap parts. (The 98 is parked in an outside lot and I would like the added safety of locking the wheels.) There is two bolts that attach the bell housing to the rear of the engine, but I do not have any access to fit a wrench in there. While I am at this stage of the build, what would be the key modifications that I should perform before I drop in the new drive train?





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Clutch master from a 92 won't even come close to fitting a 98 anyways, so no real loss there.

Park isn't much use without the engine installed since the trans mount only holds the transmission up, it doesn't really keep it from rotating very well. It's worth a try but don't expect much, and you'll have to use a heavy ratchet strap from frame to frame under the bellhousing to keep the trans from falling out since the front of it is supported by the engine block.

There are 4 bolts holding the engine to the transmission, the top two are an external torx size 12 and a real bastard to get at when the drivetrain is in the vehicle, the other two are 7/16-14 thread and I forget the head size. Checking some bolt head to shank size charts, it should be a 5/8 head. You'll want either a ratcheting box wrench or a socket, a ujoint, and some extensions to get at those, and the driver side one you'll need to remove the shift cable mounting bracket to get any space to work, I forget exactly what size those two bolts are but they are metric for sure.

Having a really hard time finding a pedal box for this one. Called about every major salvage yard I can think of. I might just have to make the older one work. If I can I will post pics and the how-to.

Called the local dealer. They have two pedal assy. available. part numbers are #52079254AC and #52128398AA. They cannot tell me which is which without the VIN. Any info?

kelso1 said:

Called the local dealer. They have two pedal assy. available. part numbers are #52079254AC and #52128398AA. They cannot tell me which is which without the VIN. Any info?

Click to expand...

52079254AC is for Right hand drive XJs. The second one appears to be what you need. The part number I found was 52128 075AD, which appears to have been superseded?

http://www.moparpartsoverstock.com/p/__/PEDAL-Brake-And-Clutch/6983746/52128398AA.html

I think that's just the pedal, not the box it mounts to. I have a standard late model pedal box sitting on my parts pile waiting for my conversion project to start, and an auto late model that got rolled as an interior donor, when I get a chance I'll pull the auto one and do a side by side comparison.

Will also have to check the parts catalogs and see what else changes about the parts for the pedals - I've only seen the swap done with full pedal box assemblies, not side by side comparisons or anything.

Hmm, that may be. There are part numbers for the gas pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal, and one for the brake and clutch pedals, but I didn't see anything about the mounting, other than the assortment of hardware and linkages.

Sorry for the long delay, but the conversion was a success! I converted the internal slave to external, bought a new pedal set from chrysler, replaced all transmission boots, and no major issues. I did have to take the auto shifter bezel and dremel it to accept a shift boot. I do not have a speedo until I rewire the transmission harness, but a pcm will have to be reconfigured to use with the manual anyways. All in all it worked out very well. I did install a OME / JKS lift, replaced the Dana 35 with a 8.25, swapped discs on the rear from a ZJ, and built a roof rack.