Eagle

Any progress on checking the fusible links?

The web channel run by Robby Layton may be helpful. Robbie owns a body shop. The YouTube channel covers after-hours special projects, and aside from demonstrating that Robby is a wizard with a paint gun, you can pick up a lot of tips on body work and paint prep by watching. https://www.youtube.com/c/RobbyLayton

It's easy to check if your limited slip differential i still limiting. Block the front wheels. Jack up ONE real wheel off the ground. Vehicle in neutral, parking brake off. Try to rotate the tire by hand. If it turns easily, the LSD isn't working.

Starts but dies? Bypass the fuel pump ballast resistor and get back to us.

Could have been a mouse nest in the tailpipe.

That's probably a fair guess, but in 78 years on the planet and 62 years of driving, I have never heard of parking lights being referred to as "running lights," but there was a Jeep option for daytime running lights, so I thought it better to ask so that everyone can be on the same page.

You were told incorrectly. The side markers do not blink. In fact, in the early days of NAXJA there was a wiring modification posted to make them blink. What are you referring to as "running lights"? Parking lights, or daytime running lights? The MJs did not have daytime running lights in the U.S., only in Canada.

^^^ I missed that factoid.

Factory Jeep wheels are 5.25" backspacing. Virtually all aftermarket rims are in the 4.0" to 4.5" range. 31x10.50-15s on factory Jeep wheels will just clear the fenders and flares when the front suspension compresses, but will rub slightly on the lower control arms at full steering lock. The LCA rub can be cured by using WJ LCAs. Once you go to aftermarket rims, almost any tire (and certainly anything larger than stock) will hit the fender flares when the suspension compresses. Unless you are willing to hack your wheel openings, skip the aftermarket wheels.

Brake lines absolutely have to be double flares. Otherwise the flares will crack and leak. Never heard of 37 degrees or 45 degrees. I would recommend the flaring kit that I have, but it's no longer offered so that won't help you. FWIW, spend the money to get "Cunifer" (short for the chemical abbreviations for Copper, Nickel, and Steel)) line. It's more resistant to rust and corrosion than steel line, plus it's easier to bend and much easier to flare.

No, they are not. The XJ rear flares are the same for 2-door and 4-door. MJ rear flares are both taller and wider (front-to-back).

Most auto paint stores can custom mix a small batch of paint for you and put it in an aerosol can. You'll need to have the paint code, OR take in the old cowl and they can probably scan that to get an almost perfect match for faded paint.

And, more to the point (see my signature line): Why would you take an MJ with a good bed off-road?

Your photo of the ride height in the rear was taken with the tape rule on the ground? That's meaningless -- even changing the tire pressure affects the measurement. You need to measure from the center of the wheel/axle up to the underside of the flare. Going from memory, I think a stock MJ measures 21-1/2 in the rear (plus-or-minus a bit).

You don't have an oil temp light, you have an oil pressure light. If it flickers on right turns, it probably means your oil is sloshing away from the pickup and you're losing oil pressure. Check your oil level. If that's good, get an external oil pressure gauge and check your oil pressure.

^^^ This. As of fifteen years ago, Rhode Island didn't issue new titles when vehicles more than (10? 15?) years old were sold. That's fine if both the buyer and seller happen to live in Rhode Island, but it was a major problem when I bought an MJ out of Rhode Island. I went through some complicated bureaucratic wrangling to obtain a valid title. And the process I used probably isn't available now.

That photo does not show a bench seat.

AWD is available with the Ecoboost engine, but not the base engine

The major drawback to the Ford 8.8 (IMHO) is that it's narrower than the MJ axle, meaning that you need to run wheel spacers.

Full-size Cherokee/Wagoneer were 6-bolt.

This is an XJ, not an MJ. I sold the 2.5L MJ to a fellow CC member earlier this year.

No. The inverted shackle position is caused by the combination of main leaf length and spring arch. If the main leaf is too short or there's too much arch, any time the vehicle is up on a chassis lift the rear spring shackles will flip to the inverted position when the vehicle is lowered back onto the ground.

Hissing sound = vacuum leak. Check all hoses. Try to isolate the location of the hissing sound.

Well, that's your problem. In order for the shackle angle to be correct when you put in lift springs, the main leaf HAS TO BE longer than the OEM main leaf. What you need is the eye-to-eye distance, at curb weight, to be the same. That means the main leaf length measured along the arch has to be longer.

I have an '86 XJ with a 2.5L engine and a 5-speed. The engine was rebuilt (actually, I think it was replaced with a commercial rebuilt engine) about 30,000 miles ago. It wasn't running when I bought it, and it has been sitting for years. I'm thinking about trying to get it running, if the body isn't completely toast from sitting, for use either as a winter commuter or to donate to someone. I have no problem driving a 5-speed, but the percentage of the population who can drive manual transmissions is small, and rapidly decreasing. So I'm thinking of converting it to automatic. I have a couple of XJs with AW4s behind 4.0L engines. I have a bell housing to mate an AW4 to the 2.5L. I don't think I have a 2.5L TCU. Does anyone know if the TCU is the same for a 2.5L as for a 4.0L?