Future Jeep Mods
Engine | Interior | ExteriorEngine mods
- Exhaust and Fuel Injectors
Since these are finally complete, they were moved to the exhaust and manifold page. - Exhaust replacement
With almost 180,000 miles on it, the original catalytic converter decided it was time to croak...right before a scheduled emissions test of course. I went with a NAPA cat, and Flowmaster Delta 50 muffler (p/n 942451) - Engine Refresh
The 4.0L engine in my Cherokee has over 180,000 miles on it, and although it's still running okay I'd say it is certainly getting toward time to rebuild or upgrade the motor. I'm currently in favor of doing a stroker motor, using a plethora of parts including a 258ci (4.2L) crankshaft to get the engine out to about 4.6L or 4.7L displacement. According to many folks who have done this, if you can manage to keep from romping on the gas all the time it can actually get better mileage than the smaller motor, apparently because it is not working as hard to move the Jeep. This is similar to the reason the 4-cyl engine isn't more efficient than the 4.0L - the smaller engine has to work harder to move the vehicle.
Inside
- Radio Relocation
This has got to be the most asinine of my projects, but I'm committed to it and one of these days it will get finished. I got tired of having CDs that were too hot to touch after playing, especially on sunny winter days where they picked up heat not only from the sun beating on the dash, but also from the HVAC unit directly under the stereo. In the stock position, the radio is right over the heater controls and picks up a LOT of heat during the winter. Even in the summer or on any of those 300+ sunny days we have in Colorado, sunshine on the dash warms the radio considerably, to the point that when I remove CDs from the receiver after playing, they are almost painful to touch and must be left out to cool down. 
Typical dash layout, 1984-1996 XJ
Until I get it complete, I've gone with the official Redneck Engineering Radio Relocation kit. The added benefit to that is that it also provides a nice shelf to put my sunglasses on:
Since my options were either to swap the radio/HVAC positions or relocate the radio, I decided to go the easier route. I made plans to move the radio into the overhead console. This full-length console includes map lights for each front and rear seat, as well as a compass/temperature display and trays for garage door opener and sunglasses. By removing the compass and the forward map lights, there is almost enough room to mount the radio but it will hang down slightly.
Intended radio relocation site in the overhead console
I've already torn the dash open to pull the radio (again) and have pulled the A-pillar molding off. The wiring harness that went to the console has been pulled out although I need to isolate the wires that send power to the overhead lights and get those reattached. The rest of the harness is for the compass/temp repeater that may find a new home in the old radio location; the unused keyless entry receiver will most likely be discarded.
I've fielded and run across quite a few questions about the overhead consoles in the Cherokees, so have tried to consolidate a good bit of that information including wiring and compatible consoles on a separate project page.
e-mail Jim
created: Oct 1, 2003