Eagle

2700 RPM @ 70 MPH is not overrevving it. The 2.5L engine is a development based on the AMC 199/232/258 cubic inch I-6 that dates back to 1964. That was before most cars had overdrive, so top gear was almost always 1:1 ratio. The typical gearing and tire sizes used by AMC resulted in a ratio of 24 MPH per 1000 RPM -- and I owned several of them, so I know this from my own, personal experience. If you do the math from that, 60 MPH was exactly 2500 RPM, and 3000 RPM was 72 MPH. With gearing like that, my 1966 Rambler American got 28 MPG on the highway. The engines lasted forever. The one we know the most about was my brother's 1970 Gremlin. He ran it to about 250,000 miles, then he sold it to an auto parts store that used it for delivering parts. It was well over 300,000 miles before we lost track of it.

I wonder what happened to the original poster. He hasn't been back to the forum since posting the question.

Tire size? I'm running 215/75-15's. Pretty small tires. There's a good reason the factory used 3.55 gears with the 4-speed and 4.10s with the 5-speed. I have an '88 2.5L 4-speed on stock tires, and there's no way I would describe it as "peppy." If I get energetic, I have intentions of converting it to a 5-speed and swapping the rear axle for one that's set up with 3.73 gears and a Traclok, but I regard it as an experiment. I fully expect that the 5th gear will be useless at anything slower than Interstate cruising speeds. In 5th gear on 215/75-15s, if you have stock 4.10 gears, 70 MPH should be 2700 RPM, not 3200.

Remember Morganstern's theory of relativity: "Everything is relative."

But 1 inch of steering wheel movement before the tires start to turn really isn't very much -- and I don't understand what jacking up the front does for checking the steering. It's best done with the tires firmly on the ground, with as much resistance to turning as possible. I think a lot of people today are accustomed to driving newer vehicles with rack-and-pinion steering, and they don't understand that the older, recirculating ball steering like in the MJ can never be as tight as rack-and-pinion.

At this point, since you're not even willing to join the strokers' forum, my advice would be not to throw anything away for now. About the only thing you can be certain you won't be using is the pistons.

What if you DON'T lift the front wheels off the ground? If you just park and turn the ignition key to OFF but not locked, how much free rotation is there in the steering wheel before you can see the front tires start to move?

That part probably doesn't exist. It was specific to the Comanche, not used in the Cherokees, and for that reason it's highly unlikely that any of the aftermarket body panel makers/vendors will have it. When my friend replaced the driver's floor in his MJ he used a spot weld remover to cut out and preserve the original part from his truck so he could reuse it after welding in the new floor. What happened to yours? Was it so badly deteriorated that there was nothing left, or did it get destroyed cutting out the bad floor?

J0181613

And I thought we were friends ...

Are your photos as the parts were received? ALL the photos on their web site show an assembly that's either nicely painted black, or maybe powder coated. If they sent stuff in the white (unfinished), that's false advertising.

Ditto.

True. But there are no consumer-grade scanners that can read the Renix data -- you need an old AMC/Jeep scan tool or a professional-grade Snap-On (or equal), WITH the necessary adapter to connect into the Renix system. Even most Jeep dealers don't have the equipment to read the Renix data these days. And the renix system doesn't store fault codes, so the information isn't as useful as what you get from a modern OBD2 scan. So, I'll revise my statement: For all practical purposes, there are no OBD scanners for the Renix system.

Yes, I know. No, there is not. OBD didn't exist in 1987 -- it came along several years later.

Finding one good for up to 6" of lift that still works at stock height isn't easy. I wouldn't recommend Rusty's track bar to anyone but, before I learned the hard way, I bought one for my red '88 MJ when it had the 4" lift. With the lift, it worked fine -- except that it was a piece of junk. However, when I dropped it back down to stock height, the track bar was an interference fit with the front diff cover. I had to buy an OEM track bar before I could drive it again at stock height. FWIW

Has your speedometer/odometer been corrected for the larger tires? I swapped it, but it's not perfect still. Its near exactly 10% off (reads slower/lower then actual) so please correct me if I'm wrong. But if my odo is reporting say 160 miles and I've used 10 gal I'm getting 16mpg. Now that reading is (roughly) 10% less so I really drove aprox 176 miles. While still only burning 10 gal. So my true value is closer to 18mpg. Correct. Which is, of course, why I asked if the speedometer and odometer had been corrected.

I own two 2000 XJs that were bought new and have the original windshields in them. The rubber trim gasket measures 7/8 of an inch. I think you are measuring the black contact area on the back (inside) of the glass, not the trim gasket. That black area on the inside surface is bonded to the glass at the [glass] factory to provide a better surface for the urethane adhesive to bond to. Its width could very well be different for aftermarket glass than for OEM Jeep glass.

But the rebound clips aren't anywhere near 1-3/4" wide. And it isn't like you can just take them apart every couple or few months to replace the cushions -- a few bends and they break due to metal fatigue.

Normal.

You don't have lockers, unless they were added by a previous owner. However, what transfer case do you have? (Look over the driver's side sun visor -- does it say "Command Trac" or SelecTrac"?

Not the same thing at all, but it might work. This stuff (^^^) isn't for the rebound clips -- they run across the leaf pack. This stuff is for running the full length of the proings, between the leaves. It's much thinner than the rebound clip pads.

That ... and the shape. And the fact that the early ones are chrome and the 97+ are painted. Other than the fact they're totally different, they're exactly the same.

Not the same as the bumper on an MJ. It has to be for an '84 - '96 XJ.

Has your speedometer/odometer been corrected for the larger tires?

I'd like to wish all of you a safe Memorial Day and a safe holiday weekend. Note that I didn't include "happy." Not that I don't want you to enjoy a holiday with your friends and family, but please take at least a few minutes to reflect on what Memorial Day is -- the one day in the year that the United States has set aside specifically to remember and to honor those who gave their lives to help keep the world free of tyranny and oppression. Not veterans -- we have our own day, later in the year. Memorial Day is for those who went to war, and who didn't make it home. Peace.