Eagle

Did you try engaging the clutch? If the truck doesn't move with the clutch disengaged and the engine running, what happens if you try to engage the clutch?

Open the garage door, shift into reverse with the engine off, then step on the clutch and turn the starter. If the truck tries to move, your clutch isn't disengaging. [Edit]Correction -- you have the nose pointing at the door. Put it in first gear and then touch the starter -- with your foot on the clutch.

So it starts, but doesn't stay running after the key is released to the RUN position. Does the '88 2.5L have a fuel pump ballast resistor? If so, try jumping the terminals.

Years ago I looked up tire data from manufacturers' literature (back when they still gave out printed literature), and tried to come up with a chart of comparative tire sizes. I didn't note which manufacturer I used for each (they weren't all the same), but what I have shows a 30x9.50-15 as being 29.3" diameter and 9.6" in width -- at the widest point of the sidewall. Tread width is less. The 235/75-15 on my list shows 28.8" diameter and 9.2" width -- again, at the widest point of the sidewall, not the tread. I ran 30s on my XJ for a long time, and I'm running 235s on my late wife's 2000 XJ now. The tread width of the 235s is noticeably narrower than the 30s. That's actually better for street driving, especially in winter, but not so great for off-road. Which is better for you will depend on your intended use. IMHO, if you really wanted 30s, go to a tire shop that knows something, because 235/75-15s are NOT as large as 30x9.50-15s. They're "close," but not the same.

There is no way for us to know what was retained from Renix and what new parts were used. It would require a close, detailed, in-person inspection to figure that out.

Your '90 should be close enough to the '88 for this to help: http://www.bteventures.com//mj1988electricalmanual.pdf

I do not wish to offend anyone so please accept with no obligation, expressed or implied, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. This is, of course, neither to suggest nor imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country; also, this is not to imply that "America," as noted herein, is the only America in the Western Hemisphere. May these heartfelt wishes be received with equal intensity regardless of distribution of individual wealth, documented carbon footprint, or perceived social privilege among the wishes addressed herein. This wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of any recipient. Ah, phooey -- MERRY CHRISTMAS. If you're offended, deal with it!

The '88 XJ is riding on 31s now, but it was on 30s when I used it as my trail vehicle. Bigger issue is axle ratio -- I still have the factory axle ratio under it. I had intended to change to 3.73s, but then I picked up the '88 MJ Chief (which a previous owner had changed to an AX-15), and I used the new gears in that, instead. Deeper axle gearing makes life easier for the transmission.

Okay, then. Front: You have a stock track bar, but aftermarket, long sway bar links. Lower control arms are aftermarket but not adjustable, so you'll have to measure the length to see if they'll work at stock height. Drag link and tie rod appear to be stock. Shocks appear to be longer than stock. BTW, you have a factory front skid plate. Rear is an add-a-leaf, so putting it back to stock height is easy -- remove the added leaf. That's the middle one, the one that doesn't have a friction pad in it. You'll probably need shorter shocks for the rear, also. The lower shock mounts in the rear have been Mickey Moused, but they can work at stock height if the factory studs were cut or broken off. And the actuating rod for the rear brake height sensing valve is missing. Did I miss anything?

My phone is a phone, and I sometimes use the calendar. For things that call for a computer, I have a tablet and a notebook, and a Verizon Jetpack portable WiFi hotspot. Playing with the compass and navigation apps is, at least for now, just playing.

My understanding is that parts for the BA 10/5 are rare, and expensive. Despite my preference for manual transmissions, if you do off-roading with oversize tires (even 31s), you're really better off with the AW4.

If you heard air coming from the valve cover, your air line was not connected to the oil pressure sender, it was connected to something/somewhere else.

^^^ What is this photo supposed to be showing? Did you swap the threaded adapter from the old engine?

What year is your MJ? The BA 10/5 would be correct for an 87 or 88. Is your truck stock? My '87 MJ and my '88 XJ both have the original BA 10/5 in them, and they shift fine. The XJ (and the tranny) has 287,000+ miles on them. How do you drive? The BA 10/5 doesn't like to be treated like a drag race transmission. If you like to slam shifts, you'll probably kill it quickly. If you drive it like the [light duty] truck transmission it is, and allow the syncronizers time to line up and do their thing between gears, the tranny will likely last forever. 2nd gear, in particular, is "notchy." Mine don't like to go into 2nd when cold. On cold winter days, in fact, I run up a bit faster in first than I usually do, and skip 2nd until things have warmed up a bit. Also, I always double clutch downshifts -- in all gears. That's just habit. I was taught to double clutch by my grandfather, and my first several card didn't have synchromesh on all gears so double clutching was mandatory. It helps even if the tranny has synchros.

As Pete wrote, what's needed to remove a lift depends entirely on what was done to create the lift. In the case of my '88 MJ Chief, when I bought it there was a 4" TrailMaster lift on it. The lift consisted of taller front coils, front control arm drop brackets, rear add-a-leaves, and longer shocks. To correct the axle offset, I had added an adjustable track bar. Putting it back to stock involved installing stock front coils, removing the drop brackets, removing the rear AALs, and installing a set of OEM replacement shocks. Then I discovered that the adjustable track bar was an interference fit and was rubbing against the diff cover at stock height, so I had to get an OEM replacement track bar. FWIW, most of us regard "stock height" as measured from the axles to the body/chassis, so even on 31s my truck was returned to "stock" height, even though the tires raised the whole enchilada about an inch farther away from the ground.

If you want a front D44, get the axle out of a TJ Wrangler Rubicon. It's a D44 differential mated to the tubes and outers of a late-model XJ. Bolt in swap.

Well, that's just wonderful. The Verizon web site clearly shows that both the J3 3rd Generation and the J7 2nd Generation do NOT have a removable battery. But the chat agent (or bot) on the web site says "No worries, the battery is removable." I just read through 182 pages of the downloaded user manual for the J7, and it doesn't mention either the battery, or the internal sensors. The cell phone industry has obviously entered the commodity stage. It's no longer considered important to tell users anything useful. 'Take what we give you, peon, be happy with it and STFU."

Good to know. Thanks. [Edit to add] As a result of this comment, I just went to the Verizon Wireless web site. The prices I was given yesterday were the same as they were a year ago -- $7/month for the J3 and $10/month for the J7. On the web site, the prices are $0/month for the J3 and $5/month for the J7. But ... apparently not the most current versions suggested by DirtyComanche.

Speaking of GPS, I had an amusing interaction this afternoon. I'm still cruising along with my Samsung Galaxy S3 cell phone, which even I admit is getting a bit long in the tooth. But it still works. A year ago I tried upgrading to a newer Samsung through Verizon -- and I sent it back within 48 hours. I HATED it. My old Galaxy S3 defaults to a restful, black background with white text for most screens. The new one was black on white, which is both more difficult to read, and more tiring on the eyes. The only option Verizon could suggest was in the accessibility options, where there's a feature to reverse the display. That got me white on black -- but it also inverted the colors for all the screen icons. So I thought I'd try again. It's now a year later, but the two Samsung phones Verizon offers that are within my budget range are still the Galaxy J3 and Galaxy J7. Both and entry-level smart phones. Aside from the screen color issue, neither includes a built-in compass or gyroscope. In the year since my aborted upgrade, I've been playing with some compass and aircraft/sailboat navigation apps, and I've learned that compass apps do strange things when installed on a device that doesn't have a built-in compass. The apps (most of the ones I've tried, anyway) can use GPS to generate a compass heading as long as you're moving, but as soon as you stop the heading defaults to North (0 degrees). That's obviously not useful when hiking if you want to stop on top of a hill and take a sight to a landmark in the distance. Or sight along a known heading and pick a landmark on which to align. I tried to explain that to the Verizon sales drone, and he just couldn't get it. His "solution" was to just download a compass app. "You don't need a compass in the phone."

Yes, a 4-cylinder with the AX-4 4-speed transmission would have a 3.55 rear axle. The good news is that all 4.0L automatics came with 3.55 (or 3.54) axles, so you can pick up a front axle out of any 4.0L XJ or MJ with an automatic transmission. The best choices will be late 90s, because they'll have larger/stronger u-joints -- but they will also have the composite front rotors that are prone to self destructing in the rust belt areas. The 2000 and 2001 XJ front axles use different (and better) rotors, but they're low pinion. That's not an issue on pavement with stock size tires, but the low pinion axle is slight weaker so not the preferred choice if you'll want to run big tires off-road.

I just pinned this thread to keep it near the top of the index. We can un-pin it when Don gets home. Tell Donald to behave himself and follow the rehab regimen. If not, we'll have to send a recently-retired U.S. Marine NCO over to straighten him out. Yes, Donald will know who I'm talking about.

You don't have to change to auto. The AX-5 is physically the same as the AX-4, and there should be 4-banger XJs around with the 5-speed tranny. Jeep made the XJ with the 4-banger right up through 1999. Look for one with the external clutch slave cylinder.

I would guess it's not a big issue if both diffs are open. Since everything I own (except one '88 MJ that I haven't started working on yet) has a limited slip, I would expect issues if flat towing.

Yes. I'm after the warranty when I go with the Auto Zone "Gold" products.