So project Mileage Master has been getting less than spectacular mileage. Its a 210K mile XJ, so things are expected to die. Recently I've been hearing a noise from under the hood, it sounded like the AC compressor clutch, but when the AC was on, it wasn't too bad.
So, I took a compressor a buddy gave and learned how to pull the clutch assembly off of it, and then spent an hour or two today figuring out how to swap those parts onto my '98 XJ. It turns out the XJ pulley was in way worse shape than I thought.
Apparently the bearing in the pulley has been bad for long enough, and not turning true for long enough to get into the solenoid pack too. So, I took the solenoid pack, the bearing, and the old retaining plate and put it all in. However, I pressed the pulley (with bearing) on too far, and think I've damaged the inner race.... it makes some noise when running, but turns freely. I guess we'll see how that works out on a test drive. Ah well, I've always thought the best way to learn how to fix something was to do it.
Special thanks to Jason Thompson from Diesel Power for helping out with the "procedure" and providing whatever tools I failed to remember.