Eagle

The 2.5L never came with an AW4 in the Cherokee, only in the Comanche. In a Cherokee, a 2.5L auto will have the Chrysler 904 tranny. You won't carry six people in an XJ -- unless you get a police model, the front seats are buckets, and the rear seat is realistically only big enough for two average-size adults.

I have owned Cherokees since I bought my first XJ new in 1988. A very good friend was the service manager at the dealership where I bought mine, and until he retired I hung around the shop a lot. I'm a charter member of NAXJA and an early member of this group. My '88 XJ is a 5-speed but my late wife's 2000 XJ is an automatic; it currently sits at 115,000 miles. Most of the guys in NAXJA-NAC ran AW4s in their built-up trail rigs. With that as history, I'll just say that your post is the FIRST time I have ever heard anyone claim that the AW4 is prone to overheating.

SWEEEEEET!

The Renix era sender was 0 ohms for empty and 88 ohms for full. Not perfect, but considering how inaccurate (or perhaps "imprecise") a factory fuel gauge is, I think it's something one could learn to live with. The real problem is the reversal of polarity. I've pondered ways to correct that, and the only way I can think of that would work would be to cut the two traces for the fuel gauge on the cluster printed circuit, and run wires from the cluster connector to the opposite terminals on the gauge.

Right you are -- I keep forgetting that my '88 XJ is an AMC but it's not a Rambler. I believe the dealerships had a tool that bolted to three of the lug nuts with a nut in the center -- centered on the axle -- to attach the torque wrench for this test. Yes, you could do it with a lug nut, but you would have to allow for the offset.

If you don't want to do the clutch pack unless absolutely necessary, find some way to clamp the right wheel and the axle body so they can't turn. Find the socket that fits the nut on the end of the axle on the left side. Put a torque wrench on it and see how much torque it takes to turn the hub on the left side (if it turns, you've overcome the clutches). My recollection is that 25 foot-pounds or better is in-spec.

Approaching failure of the CPS comes to mind ...

First, the XJ is shorter than the MJ, so the XJ harness isn't long enough to reach your taillights. Second, the XJ uses amber lights in the rear as dedicated turn/hazard lamps. The taillights and brake lights are completely separate from the turns and hazards. On the MJ, all functions in the rear use the same lamps, so the wiring is obviously different.

If you have a tachometer, does the tach die when the power losses occur?

I could be wrong but as I follow he just has an HO engine, but original Renix Cable cluster. not the electronic HO cluster See post #3 ... new plan

Why wouldn't the Summit Racing speed sensor work with the '96 speedo?

This sounds to me like you're talking about a tachometer rather than a speedometer.

I would get that GL5 out of the tranny as fast as possible. Why not try one of the synthetic gear oils that don't use sulpher compounds, or try Pennzoil Synchromesh?

^^^ Ditto. Also, check the routing of the cable. Be sure all bends are smooth sweeps, and as large a radius as possible. Juming speedos can be cause by kinks in the cable.

Clutch not fully disengaging? Can you shift into reverse before you start the engine? If so, when you start the engine (with the clutch peddle depressed, of course) does the truck want to move, or does it sit in place?

Ummm ... no, the lines do not line up perfectly, because the one that lines up with the rear outlet on the ZJ proportioning valve is the emergency bypass line on the MJ. The MJ line that actually supplies the rear brakes under normal operation is the line coming out of the "nose." Of course, if you toss both the old MJ lines and make up a new one from front to back, that doesn't matter.

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile. :) Glad you finally found the problem. Things like that can drive you nuts.

Always begin with simple things. When you say the hazards light up but don't flash -- do the actual rear lights light up, or are you just looking at the indicator on the dashboard? Remember, the taillight bulbs have two filaments, a lower power one for tails and a brighter one for brakes, turns, and hazards. I have seen Jeeps in which all the brake light filaments were burned out but the taillights worked. It's not common, but it is possible.

Where are you located? It's the middle of September and we're coming into Winter. The electric fan is a secondary, auxiliary fan. It wasn't even provided on vehicles that didn't have air conditioning and/or the trailer tow prep package. Unless your radiator is in pretty bad shape, I think you'll be fine, at least until the hot part of the summer. Just watch your temperature gauge (which you should be doing anyway).

correct eagle the spring and stem inside has been replaced with zj ones for correct fluid pressure for the disk brake and don't think its clogged i have fluid going to the front just not the rear might be a clogged line trying to narrow it down Look again at that photo of the cross-sectioned XJ proportioning valve. The front circuit is completely independent of the rear. The fact that you have fluid to the front doesn't tell you anything. Did you replace the rear flex hose, or is it the original 25+ year old hose?

I have tried removing the bleeder screws and even the disconnected the brake line itself from the caliper to see if it will gravity bleed itself but still nothing Did you try from the prop valve itself? might be clogged... Good point. If you look at the cut-away of the XJ proportioning valve in my photo, there's a plunger inside with a spring around it and a rubber washer or cup on the end inside the body of the valve. Some XJ guys remove that cup because it has a tendency to get clogged and causes the rear brakes to stop working. You should not remove it if used in an MJ, because removing it defeats the proportioning function, but cleaning it and ensuring that the plunger moves freely might help. However, I believe Newton posted that he's using an XJ valve body with ZJ internals. I'm not sure what tat means, but it seems to imply that the thing has been opened up and that the plunger should be clean.

The way I was taught to do it is for the helper to pump the brakes SLOWLY two or three times, then while the peddle is UP you open the bleeder and the helper depresses the peddle SLOWLY, and holds it down until you have closed the bleeder. Then repeat, until you get clear brake fluid and no bubbles from the bleeder. If the peddle is held down when you open the bleeder, then when the peddle is released it's going to suck air in through the bleeder. You're just fighting yourself. And the helper has to pump the peddle slowly, because rapid pumping just aerates the fluid.

Okay, exactly how are you bleeding the rear brakes?

No Rangers or S-10s close enough in size?

Wait a minute ... Newton, didn't you post that you replaced the MJ front distribution block with an XJ proportioning valve? The MJ unit has two lines running to the rear, one to the height sensing valve and the other to an emergency bypass circuit. The XJ proportioning valve only has one line to the rear. If you still have the height sensing valve in the rear, that's your problem. You need to run the one line from the front directly to the flex hose at the rear axle.