Figured it out. Turns out previous owner had cut the wires to it at some point. also found some speaker wires and such up there above the headliner. Strange.
I always appreciate the seemingly stupid questions because everyone misses them from time to time. But in this case, yes. we had the cargo lamp switch on, and tried depressing the brake pedal.
So, there is no power at all going to the plug on the lights. checked all fuses and doesnt look like there is anything wrong with the wires or the plug. Anyone know where i can find a decent wiring diagram for this damn thing?
yeah super fun, one thing i forgot to mention is the loose gravel was kind of a pain. seemed like every rig was digging holes whenever they got stuck. Granted its alot like dirt but as far as being sustainable i think possibly using some of the same rubber lattice stuff like they use at walker...
the cat would have to be severely plugged (i.e. no flow at all) to cause something like that. usually with a clogged cat you just have lack of power. With the random dieing/crank no start issue it doesnt really seem like that could be the culprit.
it looks like its either a ton of pre detonation or something got in the cyl and started to distribute itself throughout the bank but some one pulled the motor before hand. whats the crank look like? also do you have any history off the motor? as in why it got replaced?
shouldnt need wheel spacers. im not 100% on the xj's though. i know my yj doesnt need them but i believe its also narrower (actual word?).
Edit:
Depending on your location and if in the future you want to weld it, the guy in Monroe that did it for me is very cool. He's thinking of starting...