[99avant]

I miss the heated seats and the beauty of a built WJ, but other than that it is great.

The xj drives better and gets better mpg than my wj did.. And parts are so much cheaper.

[Haleyrz]

Yesterday I received my accel cap and rotor, and my taylor wires from summit. Super fast shipping! And my starting problem is now solved. Starts right up, even in the cold cold mornings right away. Up next will be deleting the muffler until I can afford the whole exhaust system hopefully saturday, and maybe an MSD ignition coil and clarion speakers. One out of my two speakers stopped working .

Pic:

[FunkyXJ]

Haley, I too have the [mythical] moss green 97 XJ , and a quick word of advice - change that coolant temp sensor if you haven't already!!

You could see a gain in MPG immediately. Mine was running out of range and caused poor hot starts and poor cold idling... it even caused some hiccups in the transmission shifts before I finally replaced it.

If you buy from autozone you'll probably need the sensor for the 98 model year with an ac/delco type plug. The one they list for the 97 did not interface properly (my XJ was mfr'd 5/97).

Make sure you also disconnect the negative terminal on the battery for 4-5 mins to reset the computer after the install. Then idle up to temp before taking her/him for a drive the begin the ECU re-learn.

Nice build, btw!!

Disclaimer: This may or may not positively affect you MPGs

Originally Posted by Haleyrz

Yesterday I received my accel cap and rotor, and my taylor wires from summit. Super fast shipping! And my starting problem is now solved. Starts right up, even in the cold cold mornings right away. Up next will be deleting the muffler until I can afford the whole exhaust system hopefully saturday, and maybe an MSD ignition coil and clarion speakers. One out of my two speakers stopped working .

Pic:

[Heathc]

Haley, your XJ is way cooler than your boyfriends Jeep. he needs to get some decent tires and he may not have gotten stuck in that hole. your XJ is looking good though. keep up the good work!

[Haleyrz]

Hey thanks funky. I've been debating about the coolant temp sensor causing those starts, but when I found no t-stat I ruled it out. But maybe I'll look into it again. Thanks for the tip on the Autozone part. That's where I work so discount for me! I suppose it can't hurt to change it since it's fairly inexpensive. Heath, thanks man. Lol he was really jealous of my tires the day I bought them. He wishes he bought mud tres hehe. But we'll see who is jealous of who when it comes to compact snow on the road. That's where he'll beat me. And just to defend, that spot was a sink hole. And he went through the one spot that I guess got dug in from a big big truck. His back passenger side shock mount got burried.

[FunkyXJ]

Sorry, must've skipped over the 'stat fix earlier in the thread... glad its resolved

I did notice after I changed that temp sensor the range was tighter on the gauge. Before the sensor completely died, it would swing at or past 210 after reaching temp. The new sensor hangs around 200 on the gauge and fuel economy seems to have improved overall.

Will be anxious to hear how that MSD system works out for you... I've looked at the Screamin' Demon coil, but not yet pulled the trigger.

Originally Posted by Haleyrz

Hey thanks funky. I've been debating about the coolant temp sensor causing those starts, but when I found no t-stat I ruled it out. But maybe I'll look into it again. Thanks for the tip on the Autozone part. That's where I work so discount for me! I suppose it can't hurt to change it since it's fairly inexpensive. Heath, thanks man. Lol he was really jealous of my tires the day I bought them. He wishes he bought mud tres hehe. But we'll see who is jealous of who when it comes to compact snow on the road. That's where he'll beat me. And just to defend, that spot was a sink hole. And he went through the one spot that I guess got dug in from a big big truck. His back passenger side shock mount got burried.

[Haleyrz]

I wouldn't be getting the screamin demon, just the msd Chrysler coil. But coming up soon at work we get discounts on ordered items, an it's free shipping so it would just be $45 flat out. I'm waitig for that deal. I'm excited to see what happens as well. My idle flutters still. Though my manifold is cracked so I think that's O2 sensor. But regardless I'm gonna grab a coolant temp sensor after work tonight. Like you said seems like it cleared up your flutterin gauge? Mine does the same. And then the coil and I should be in business!!

[dagr8tim]

Cool XJ build. Is your XJ an SE? I've got a 97 SE, and your's is the only other one I've seen with manual windows & locks.

[Haleyrz]

Yup it's an SE! I lucked out and got regular gauges. It even has cruise but it's currently not working. On another note...I put in a new coolant temp sensor tonigt. Went for about a 20 mile drive and seems to have cleared up my idle a little more, my gauge is more dialed, no fluttering, and though it's too early to tell the mpg difference, but according my my gas gauge it really didn't move! So now I'm about to pull in the garage since I actually got the driveway tonight and see about my speaker problem.

[dagr8tim]

Originally Posted by Haleyrz

Yup it's an SE! I lucked out and got regular gauges. It even has cruise but it's currently not working. On another note...I put in a new coolant temp sensor tonigt. Went for about a 20 mile drive and seems to have cleared up my idle a little more, my gauge is more dialed, no fluttering, and though it's too early to tell the mpg difference, but according my my gas gauge it really didn't move! So now I'm about to pull in the garage since I actually got the driveway tonight and see about my speaker problem.

<thread jack>My SE had the idiot light cluster, manual windows, manual locks, power mirrors, and cruise. I've also had the same tan interior, before I replaced most of the interior.

Do you know if your XJ started out as a fleet vehicle? Mine was.</thread jack>

[Haleyrz]

I have no idea if it was or not. It does have all the skids on it, but who knows if those were added later or not. I need to email my vin to jeep and get the build sheet.

[Heathc]

your SE is equipped like mine. i have manual everything, vinyl seats...and cruise control. so wierd.

[Haleyrz]

So the last few days I was trying to fix my drivers door panel while I had it off to fix my speaker. I'm not sure why, but the PO broke the arm rest off. I thought it was to put in the power mirrors, but its all factory wiring so I guess that wasn't it. They had 9 long wood screws drilled into it holding it on. They were drilled into the metal panel as well...so it made it really inconvenient and ugly. I put in shorter screws after my attempts at gluing failed. I then used a vinyl repair kit to cover the screws. The tan is extremely hard to match! You'd think after all my art classes and interior design degree that I could match the color, but I couldnt do it. Here is the finished product. no yards in town have the panel I need....so I will continue to jeep my eyes open for a new one.

[Haleyrz]

Today I chopped off my muffler and put on a flowmaster super 44. I got it in 2.5" and clamped it on. I'll do a full welded system when I get my tailpipe, cat, and headers later on. You can see the stock muffler was leaking from the inlet cap all along the seam. Also some corrosion on the back half. I was proud of myself today as I did this project all by myself since I was home alone, sawzall and all. Video of before, no muffler, and after new muffler to follow.

[castingshade10]

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