Shoulder straps were not available in the rear seat of a Jeep Cherokee until 1991. However the engineers who designed the body must have had them in mind from the beginning.

Scott decided to add shoulder straps to the rear seat of his 1989 Jeep Cherokee. He used belts from a 1993 donor. Removing the belts from the donor involved heating the under body nuts with a torch to allow the torx headed bolts to come loose. PB Blaster just did not loosen the rust and locktite enough to get them out with the limited torque of a torx bit.

After removing the interior panels, we found that the lower mounting points are all there in the exact same place as the 1993. The reel bolted right up and even the stabilizer tab hole is punched it the right place.

The slot that the belt passes through is there as well, however, we had to open up the front of the hole to allow the bolt to pass through without rubbing and to line up with the holes in the 1993 interior panels.

The anchor points at the roof were a bit of an oddity in this Jeep. On one side, the entire anchor point was welded in place but never tapped for threads. On the other side, the hole was punched in the sheet metal and the two plug weld holes were there, but the backing plate was not mounted.

For that side I fabricated a plate from ½ inch steel and tapped the appropriate hole in it. I also added a bolt hole to bolt it in where it would have originally been plug welded.

The mounting points under the seat are in a slightly different place than the 1993 donor. However, simply bolting the shoulder belts in where the original reels were mounted worked fine.

I was amazed that we only had to fabricate one plate and tap one hole to make this update. I really don’t understand why AMC did not offer rear shoulder belts in the early Jeeps since all the mounting points are there. Just for curiosity, we checked our 1984 parts car and found that it has the mounting points in it as well. So Jeep planned for shoulder straps all along but did not actually offer them until 1991.

Scott used the interior panels from the donor Jeep which matched the color of his older panels exactly. He had to cut two holes in the head liner to allow the roof bolts to go in but that was easy to do. He now has a nice safety update to his older XJ.

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My favorite hobby is working with cars and Jeeps. I have no trouble repairing or trouble shooting automotive electronic systems. I am also a licensed electrician working with residential and commercial wiring.

In AC wiring the standard is to use the white wire for the neutral which is commonly connected to ground. The green or bare wire is the ground. You can typically touch either of these safely. The black wire is the “Hot” wire having the supply voltage above ground. You defiantly don’t want to touch that one.

In car wiring, the battery voltage is normally the red wire. Often the ignition switched “hot” wire will be blue or purple. While 12 volts will not hurt to touch it, you want to make sure it does not touch ground or you will pop a fuse or maybe burn a wire.

The ground wire in an automotive circuit is coded black. Notice that this is the exact opposite of home or commercial AC wiring. If you are an automotive mechanic making repairs to your home wiring, you need to be aware of this critical difference. The black wire is the “HOT” wire in AC.

Also with home wiring, it is never safe to assume that the white wire is always grounded. In most lighting circuits, the hot is transmitted to and from the switch using a single piece of romex. This will have both a black and white wire in it. The white wire should have a black stripe or tag at the junction but it is very often missing.

Also, if the path to ground in the white wire is interrupted, the wire can be energized through the load. Never assume the white wire is safe. And always assume the black wire is hot.

Use extra caution when switching back and forth between automotive and house wiring so that you do not confuse the two very different color coding systems.

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This summer I have had more than my fair share of injuries in the shop. It may be the heat. It may be the humidity. Louise Hay suggests that accidents and injuries are responses to anger and heat can trigger the emotion of anger.

So far this summer, I have burned my ankle with hot metal and injured my shoulder when a heavy drive shaft fell on it. In the first case, I was not wearing the proper protective equipment. In the second case I was simply not taking proper precautions.

I have read psychological reports that suggest that the summer heat has an effect on mood. In some cases the heat can cause depression. In other cases it has been links with an excessive feeling of mental fatigue. We have all observed that tempers flare more as the temperature rises.

I am sure dehydration plays a role in increasing accidents as well. I can see my own mental function start to fade and my muscle coordination also diminishes when I am dehydrated. These factors could easily contribute to accidents and injuries.

So in the summer heat my advice is to slow down, take more breaks and drink plenty of fluids. Take an extra amount of time to visualize the job process including things that could go wrong and take measures to prevent their occurrence. Wear the proper protective clothing even if it is hot.

If you fail to take proper precautions to deal with the added stress of summer heat you will then need to head my favorite safety slogan: “If you are gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough!” Have a safe summer.

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