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1997+ Gas tank on pre 1997 cherokee?

pwnedbygary

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So i have a 1995 cherokee with the steel tank, and while I know there are some differences between the pumps and the overall dimensions of the tank, I am wondering if anyone has made the switch to one? I am only interested in this because I dont want the steel one to rot away and spring a leak like ive had in the past.

Thoughts?:idea:
 
I have done so. My recommendation is to not do so.

Stuff you need to swap over:
- tank
- sending unit
- fill and vent tubes (the rubber ones) to the fill neck
- fuel rail
- fuel supply line from tank to rail

The reason you will need to swap the fuel rail is that the 95 down XJ uses a vacuum FPR on the rail and supply/return lines, while the 96 up XJ uses a returnless system. So you would use a 96-01 rail. Your injectors would work fine.

The problem is, none of the resistance curves on the gauge senders are the same. So your fuel gauge will basically never work again. Further, the 97-01 sender uses a $65 combination check valve, pressure regulator, and filter mounted on top of the sender that requires dropping the tank to get access to it, and it's known for failing and causing hard starts.

Basically the plastic tank is great for not rusting but that's all it has going for it. I did it on my 96 XJ because I had no idea what I was doing at the time and figured a 97 tank would fit a 96 (it's only one year off, right?! :dunce:) and didn't want it rusting out either. It was not worth the added hassle. Sorry to poop on your idea, but having done it I'd rather save you the headache than say nothing. The factory tank lasted from '95 till now - by the time the replacement rusts out too, it'll be 2035 and the rest of the XJ will be 40 years old or rusted away to nothing!
 
I have the 97+ tank in my 96 and the fuel gauge reads 1/4 at full and -1/4 at empty. I'm eventually going to re-tack the baffle inside my 96's tank(why I swapped it, along with the reduced weight of the plastic tank)and put it back in.
 
I have done so. My recommendation is to not do so.

Stuff you need to swap over:
- tank
- sending unit
- fill and vent tubes (the rubber ones) to the fill neck
- fuel rail
- fuel supply line from tank to rail

The reason you will need to swap the fuel rail is that the 95 down XJ uses a vacuum FPR on the rail and supply/return lines, while the 96 up XJ uses a returnless system. So you would use a 96-01 rail. Your injectors would work fine.

The problem is, none of the resistance curves on the gauge senders are the same. So your fuel gauge will basically never work again. Further, the 97-01 sender uses a $65 combination check valve, pressure regulator, and filter mounted on top of the sender that requires dropping the tank to get access to it, and it's known for failing and causing hard starts.

Basically the plastic tank is great for not rusting but that's all it has going for it. I did it on my 96 XJ because I had no idea what I was doing at the time and figured a 97 tank would fit a 96 (it's only one year off, right?! :dunce:) and didn't want it rusting out either. It was not worth the added hassle. Sorry to poop on your idea, but having done it I'd rather save you the headache than say nothing. The factory tank lasted from '95 till now - by the time the replacement rusts out too, it'll be 2035 and the rest of the XJ will be 40 years old or rusted away to nothing!

Thanks this post was awesome and exactly what I was hoping for. Should I pull it, prime etch it and paint it with something durable?
 
I should weigh the 96 tank while it's out. The plastic tank is at least 10# lighter.
 
I don't know if I'll ever keep a 97+(bought, fixed, and sold a couple). I find the mirrors, side markers, 3rd brake light, and bumper extensions hideous. I've had an 88(got in 94), a 92, a 94(loved the gray metallic), and now a 96.
 
I don't know if I'll ever keep a 97+(bought, fixed, and sold a couple). I find the mirrors, side markers, 3rd brake light, and bumper extensions hideous. I've had an 88(got in 94), a 92, a 94(loved the gray metallic), and now a 96.
I too like the older body style. It also helps that the one I got is taggabke as historic in MD so cheaper tags and no inspection :-D
PNxMAlE
 
I don't know if I'll ever keep a 97+(bought, fixed, and sold a couple). I find the mirrors, side markers, 3rd brake light, and bumper extensions hideous. I've had an 88(got in 94), a 92, a 94(loved the gray metallic), and now a 96.

I like the mirrors but less about looks and more about the fact that when folded they stay in and they're quite a good deal larger. I'm a mirror driver. The little Jeep sports late model mirrors, big Jeep earlies. Makes no sense as the big Jeep is the one with the almost completely blocked rear window!
 
Info: The 96's fuel sender resistance is 1.1K ohms empty to 100 ohms full. I'll measure the 97-01's sender resistance ifever I have to drop the tank, then figure out what resistor to add in parallel to get it close to the 96's. I'm figuring the 97-01' sender scale is more like 5-10K ohms empty to 500-1K ohms full.
 
Into what year did you put a ZJ tank and have the fuel gauge read correctly?
 
Elmer Fudd voice on:

Vewwy intewesting...

EFVO.
 
1987 - 1990 XJ
Empty 1 ohm
1/2 44 ohm
Full 88 ohmSource: 1989 FSM

1991 - 1996 XJ

Empty 105 ohm
1/2 33 ohm
Full 5 ohm
Source: 1993, 1995, 1996 FSM.

1997 - 2001 XJ
Float down 270 ohm
Float up 20 ohm
Note: This may not be the actual full and empty positions. The 1997 - 2001 FSMs do not lay the resistance values out the same as the earlier ones.
Source: 1999, 2000, 2001 FSM

ZJ

The only ZJ book I have is 1993:
Empty 105 ohm
1/2 32.5 ohm
Full 5 ohm
 
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