Has anyone ever done a seat swap for more comfort? I was trying to see if it was possible to swap an XJ seat for a more long haul friendly seat. I'm not sure its even possible, but worth a shot asking.
I swapped a pair of Hyundai Tiburon seats into my XJ. I had already made the same swap in my TJ & LJ so I was pretty sure they would work. The original seats in my TJ were in rough shape. Reupholstering them would have been costly. Seat covers would have been less expensive but I didn't find anything I liked and that fit well (although some do). I wandered around a junk yard until I found something I liked and bought a pair of Tiburon seats for $100. I've since got them for as little as $70 CDN for a pair. The ones I've bought have been from cars from about 2000 to 2005 but I'm sure others would work.
They are a combination of leather and vinyl and they are VERY comfortable. I've put a lot of miles on these in 3 different Jeeps. They also come in fabric if that's what you prefer. I've only found non-power seats and that's fine with me. Seat heaters were an option but I have not found any. I have since put a set of Dorman seat heaters (Pt. # 628-040) and it was an easy job.
Here they are in my XJ.
This is from my LJ but it's basically the same as what I did in my XJ. In the XJ I used the original sliders. For some reason the Tiburon sliders fit better in the TJ & LJ. I made simple 1/4" flat bar brackets and used grade hardware (not what's shown in this pic). I could have welded them together but there really was no need to.
Here's what they look like from the rear in my TJ.
If your XJ is a 4 door you will have a lot more options. Mine is a 2 dr. so I wanted seats that folded forward. Seats from a small 2 seater worked well.