While I had the seats out I wanted to replace the broken plastic sleeves on the front seat belt buckles. Both passenger and driver side sleeves where cracked, which allows the buckle to flop over and making it difficult to click the retractable part of the seat belt into the buckle. This is a common problem on earlier Cherokees. Sleeves I found in salvage yards were in poor condition. I found a used pair of buckles with sleeves in the color I needed on ebay but for $130. I only needed the sleeves so that seemed way too much to pay for 30 year old plastic parts that probably did not have much remaining time before they cracked.

At seatbeltsplus.com I found a pair of new plastic sleeves for less than $50 including shipping. ( P/N 8496BS) These appear to be made from the same mold as the OE parts with the original manufactures name removed. The only issue is that they are only available in charcoal color. Nowhere could I find new sleeves in anything but charcoal.

I decided to give painting the plastic a try to get close to the Dark Sand interior in my XJ (trim code Q7Y6). After lots of research and not finding any specific info on an available color to match my ’91 interior I went with SEM flexible Color Coat “Santa Fe” color. Using plastic adhesion promotor first followed by SEM Color Coat it worked fine but the color was lighter than my aged original part. It is close enough and much better than charcoal. If I was to do it again I might try SEM Camel or Palomino colors. I found useful info on early MJ interior colors here, which likely apply to XJ's: https://comancheclub.com/topic/59501...spaint/page/2/

If anyone has found a good match to early 90’s Dark Sand interior color I would like to know details.

Below are the products I used
* Adhesion promoter for plastic parts: SEM XXX Adhesion Promotor aerosol #77723
* Plastic & carpet flexible coating: SEM Color Coat aerosol, #15123 Santa Fe, ordered from my local NAPA store
* prep – scrubbed all surfaces of new parts with dish soap and stiff brush, clean water rinse followed by alcohol wipe down to remove mold release and oils.

 

Looking over a XJ in a salvage yard a few months ago I came across more than $2 in dimes in an ash tray. I ended up buying a piece of moulding for $1 so I came out ahead on that trip!

 

I don't know if it's the photo quality but your original sleeve looks much darker than my 91 tan interior did.

The painted part looks still a little light though.

I never painted mine tan/sand or whatever color it's called. My interior was in general in poor shape and most parts had mildew or mold stains so I ended up painting gray to match new gray seats and door panels I found. Its much easier to colour match gray. But man, that took a lot of work and your post here I think will help a lot of people working through this.

 

During a trip to Colorado this summer I found a transfer case skid plate in a salvage yard. My Jeep did not have skid plates factory installed so there are no threaded inserts in the frame rail or transmission cross member to mount to, only holes. Factory mounting utilizes 3 M8 bolts. I wanted to mount it similar to factory installation and after much research I determined an appropriate approach. The thing that had me initially stumped is that the factory holes in the frame and cross member for this skid plate are 0.490 inch diameter. Parts list show OEM #34201575 nutsert and M8x1.25x20 bolt used. I hoped not to have to redrill holes but I could find no available nutsert/rivet nut in metric or size SAE that would fit a 0.490" hole. I bought an inexpensive rivet nut tool but the included M8 and M10 inserts have a diameter that is too small to fit. I eventually found M8 inserts in steel with a large flange head from Fastenal and McMaster-Carr that fit into a 0.531” hole. A 17/32” or 13.5mm drill bit works perfectly to slightly enlarge the existing holes. (Note: to ensure a proper fit that will not spin out the hole and OD of the insert must be very close to the same – within a few thousandths of an inch)

I got the unibody frame rail insert installed today


Transmission cross member holes for skid plate


Unibody frame hole for skid plate


Frame nutsert installed

 

Without the ability to have the Jeep on a lift installing threaded inserts is a bit difficult using a manual rivet nut tool such as I have. it is awkard to get good steady leverage on the handles required to fit the insert tightly into a hole and not break the tool mandrel by side loading it. A fair amount of force is needed to get larger steel inserts to begin to collapse and expand tightly in the hole. Working on your back doesn’t make it any easier. A broken mandrel in an insert requires a lot of work to drill it out. Proper installation is critical to obtaining an insert that will not spin when a bolt is torqued or pull out under load. I used a clamp to pull the handles together. That was easy and worked great.

 

I used a 5/16-18 rivnut when I added that skid plate to mine.
You need a 1/2" hole for that size rivnut.
I guess I did not measure as accurately as you cause I am pretty sure I measured it at 1/2".
I don't remember anything weird about the install.
Including using my rivnut tool.
But I own the Astro 1442. It is only 13" long.
Which is why I bought this particular one.
Knowing that I would be using it under the Jeep with her on the ground.
When I replaced my bump stops 1 bolt broke.
Using my rivnut tool there, again 5/6-18 cause when I knocked the broken bolt into the uni-body
it turned out the hole was 1/2", it was a little awkward but still managed to get it done.

Could you post some shots of the finished install?
To this day I am not really sure that mine is on right.
There is quite a gap between the skid and my 231 transfer case.
Since the Jeep is just a DD and I did it for a look it is not that big a deal.
But it still makes me wonder. LOL.

 

Ralph, I recall your post in another thread regarding your use of a 5/16” insert in a 0.5” hole. Thanks for that post. I started searching for that but the inserts I found required either a larger or smaller hole. Then I looked for anything else that was specified for a 0.5” or a 0.490” hole. I am sure something exists but I just could not find it in a large flange, ribbed body, steel insert. I found a non ribbed insert in size M10 requiring a 12.5mm/0.492 hole. However I think for this application a ribbed insert should be used for higher torque capability. I also found a Sherex rivet nut at Fastenal that called for a 0.5” hole but it has a hex body at the head so it would require special machining or stamping and you had to buy them by the case. The 5/16” inserts that came with my tool have a 0.428 body diameter that likely would require an 11mm drill, but too small for a proper fit into the factory holes. Others I found called for a 0.531 hole. I accumulated a lot of info on available nutserts, sources, installation details and hole diameters. The ones I looked at on the largest ecommerce site seemed to me to be of dubious quality and had minimal technical specs. I should post what I learned in a new thread if I get a chance to compile it all into a meaningful format. I got the transfer case skid plate in place today and will post photos.

 

I believe I have this transfer case skid plate located as in the factory install. Only three M8x1.25 bolts are used according to the holes that line up and the '91 to '93 parts catalog.

Note regarding hole size for rivet nuts: Rivnut, the original manufacture of this type of insert, specifies a hole tolerance range of 0.003” for a 6-32 to 0.009” for a 12-13.
.

 

Thanks for the shot. I can't tell by the angle for sure but looks like you have a quite a gap too.
And mine is on like yours so....
You did a lot of research on rivnuts. I never really did and did not realize it could get so complicated.
I am still using the rivnuts that came with the Astro 1442.
Before I bought mine my old boss at the store bought one through Napa.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7...dInput=7702875

Knowing I wanted one I was checking it out. The thing that caught my eye was the label inside.

I had the required hole sizes on it for some rivnuts. So I made a copy of it.
Here is the thing I did not realize until now. Taking a look at the Napa tool at the link I noticed that those rivnuts that come with the tool are not ribbed.
The ones that came with my tool are. And wondering if it makes a difference with the hole size.
I haven't had a problems yet and they seemed secure but it does not mean I am still doing it right.

 

Thanks Ralph for providing detailed info on that rivet nut option. Sure enough, an insert for a 0.5" hole. I had not looked in detail at the Klik Poly-Nut made by Marson as it is designed for close to flush mounting and thus has a smaller head diameter. I figured that the potential higher torque capability of a larger head and ribbed body would be the safest way to go. The Poly-Nut should be a good insert and as long as it is not highly torqued, which really is not necessary in this situation. An 8mm and 3/8" version also fits a 0.5" hole. They can be found from several sources. It is nice that the Napa kit (looks to be by Marson) provided drill size info. The cheap import rivet nuts and sets do not always provide that.

It is hard to say if the inserts that came with you kit are really Poly-Nut or a knock-off brand if the body is different, such as ribs. I would be curious what the actual body diameter is of your inserts.

 

So this is the measurements I came up with. For the 5/16-18 rivnut
Now not the best using a digital caliper and on top of that it is a Harbor Freight one.
So keep that in mind. LOL.
The diameter of the base below measures .565".

The diameter of the other part is .427".

Figured give you a better shot of the ribbing cause I know my first ones were crappy.
Can give you more measurements and/or pictures if you would like.

 

The weather has been unusually warm for December so yesterday I took the opportunity to replace the lower radiator hose while I could work outside and wash things off of any spilled antifreeze. The lower hose had been rubbing against the power steering gearbox hydraulic hose and the radiator hose was missing the protective sleeve. With the front bumper still off and the front skid plate yet to be installed this was the time to do it.

I used a NAPA 8333 hose and added an OEM protective sleeve that I picked up at a salvage yard this summer. I have not been able to find a new sleeve and it does provide abrasion protection at the gearbox. The NAPA hose seems to fit better than the non OEM hose that was on there, minimizing the interference at the gearbox. If I take the hose off again for any reason I will probably cut 3/8" or so off the engine end of the lower radiator hose to possibly provide a bit more clearance.

At least one of the heater hoses at the firewall is a Mopar hose so several of those are likely original. They will have to wait until spring


Old hose. Note how it has deformed where it was tight against the gearbox hydraulic hose. Not leaking but it was a matter of time.



New hose and sleeve installed

 

I just flushed my coolant and replaced my heater hoses today. I noticed that my upper radiator hose is at a pretty funky angle where it attaches to the t-stat housing and it looks like my lower hose is as well where it attaches to the radiator. Did you notice any weird angles or tight bends? I replaced my heater hoses after one split due to a similar bend. I'll get a picture tomorrow to show what I'm talking about.

 

Yours does not look right. There are no tight bends such that either the upper or lower radiator hoses have a sort of kink in them. It might restrict flow and the stress could lead to premature failure. Sometimes shortening the hose a bit will straighten it out. Bad engine mounts or a transmission crossmember drop can set the front of the engine at a different angle that might contribute to a hose that doesn't fit exactly right. Also some brands are reported to fit better than others. The lower hose that I replaced did not fit very well - it seemed too long. The new one is much better. My upper hose, which I have not replaced, looks like this:

 

Nice Jeep and well documented work. 👍 I'm looking forward to seeing more.