Eagle

Just as an example, a thread is 18.5/32" (MickeyThompson), that is 1.15", on a 35" tire it is 3.3% so if you put half worn tires on the front and brand new on the back, you will get about 1.6% diameter difference. Here I shown 0.7%, less than a half of that. That's in theory. What you are ignoring is that tire revolutions per mile aren't based on theoretical, unloaded tire dimensions. When I made up my spreadsheet for tire sizes and speeds by gear ratio, I went to various tire manufacturers' web sites and printed brochures (this was back when they still had printed brochures) and I looked up their published specs for revolutions per mile. They can be quite different from the theoretical, due to deflection of the sidewall when loaded. Example: Take a 31x10.50-15. The revolutions-per-mile I got from some manufacturer (probably BFG, but I don't remember) is 680. Theoretically, most 31x10.50s have an actual diameter (listed) closer to 30.5. That makes the circumference 30.5xpi = 95.8066", or 7.9839 feet. A mile is 5280 feet, so to travel one mile that tire would theoretically rotate 661.33 times. That's a difference of 2.8 percent between actual and theoretical. For mismatching of gear, what we can get away with is very small. Like to the second decimal place -- due to different ring gear sizes, we consider 3.54 and 3.55 to be the same, or 4.10 and 4.11. But those differences are tiny -- using 4.10, the difference is .01/4.10 = 0.24 percent. You want to run with a difference that five orders of magnitude greater. I don't think it will work. And that's ignoring the need to carry two spare tires.

I suppose it is a generational thing. It isn't the fact they shipped me a part that didn't look at all like the OEM part it was supposed to replace that upset me. Mistakes happen. What upset me was the way they blew me off after I notified them that the part wasn't correct. People of my generation don't tolerate that kind of attitude.

No, It could not be a Dana 44. It could be a Dana 35 or a Chrysler 8.25. General rule of thumb: W/o ABS ==> Chrysler 8/25 W/ ABS ==> Dana 35

Don't waste the effort. Definitely not worth any investment whatsoever. Find a 97+ Chrysler 8.25 out of a Cherokee, or a Ford 8.8, and put a eal axle under your truck. The Dana 35 is fine for street driving and light wheeling, but once you're into a lift and large tires, it won't cut it.

Yes, I knew it was made in Italy. The notion of buying a Fiat at all wasn't one I was ready to jump into. Once I realized what a Trailhawk would cost ... not gonna happen. I'd be much happier finding a 4-cylinder XJ and rebuilding that for fuel economy, and I could do it for probably a quarter of the cost of a new Renegade. Plus not be paying property taxes on a new, $30,000 vehicle.

I would go with setting the shocks to run at mid-length at normal ride height. YMMV. But what does the shock length have to do with welding on the spring perches? The spring perches should be set to give you the correct pinion angle at normal ride height.

Rear shocks are not the same, and if you will be welding your own shock mounts to the axle when you swap it to the MJ, then the only frame of reference you'll have will be your own measurements. Stock XJ rear shocks, fully extended, are about one inch too short to go into a stock-height MJ. (And, of course, the upper mounts are different -- open eye on the MJ, bar pin on the XJ.) I must have missed something -- what axle is under the XJ? Yes, I saw that it's a 1999 -- but not all 1999 XJs had Chrysler axles.

An old saying, well known to my generation: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Once is enough. Sending me an incorrect part is something I could accept as being luck of the draw. Telling me it must be correct because the maker of the part says that's the correct part number, without making ANY effort whatsoever to investigate the problem, is NOT something I'm willing to accept. That's a shoddy way to conduct a business.

If you're not going to replace the springs, then the springs don't affect how much lift you get by going SOA. It's typically about 5-1/2", but the 8.8 has larger tubes than the D35 so figure around 6" as a ballpark. How to calculate:

I'm confused. Where are you advertising it? How are you asking people to contact you in the ad? If you listed an e-mail address, and people e-mail you and you don't respond ... I'd say they figure either the truck has been sold, or YOU'RE a scammer. I know if I respond to an ad and the seller doesn't get back to me, I'm sure as hell not going to waste my time sending more messages or making more phone calls. Same for phone calls. So you listed a telephone number, trying to sell a truck most likely to someone you don't know (because if someone you already know wanted to buy it, it would be sold), but you won't answer phone calls? And I won't do a TXT MSG for something like a vehicle purchase. Too much money involved for a TXT MSG. Communication implies a two-way exchange. How can you possibly even begin to determine if someone is a scammer if you won't even respond to their contacts? I'd say you don't really want to sell you're truck, because you're doing everyrthing possible to ensure that nobody who might be interested will ever see it.

None of the factory sizes on the XJs and MJs were 70-series, they were all 75-series. And the 70 vs. 75 does make a difference. {Edit}Correction: I think the Briarwood XJ might have had 70-series tires for a year or two. And my wife's 2000 XJ Classic has 70-series 16" tires, 225/70-16 that are exactly the same size as a 225/75-15.{/edit} A 225/70-15 is nominally 27.4" in diameter. To match that, it falls between a 205/75-15 (27.10" diameter) and a 215/75-15 (27.7" diameter). But I would not expect an inspector to be that knowledgeable about tires and tire sizes. I would expect that he's going to want to see four tires of the same size, because the vehicle came from the factory with four tires of the same size. Dunno how tight money is for you. Last autumn I picked up a set of five Kumho ATs, with about 50% to 60% tread remaining, already mounted on Jeep rims, for $200 from Craigslist. You can often get really good prices on used tires from junkyards.

Basically, a very long time ago (even before Al Gore invented the Internet, and that was before he invented global warming), JC Whitney stopped linking catalog numbers to specific applications. The catalog number only gets you to a part by brand and type, and when you order they take care of matching it to your specific vehicle based on the information you provide. It made it extremely difficult to orders parts for multiple vehicles in one order. With the advent of the Internet, they likewise gave up on showing what the part you would be getting for your application looks like. Want to order a trailer hitch? They show you a picture of "A" trailer hitch. It might be the hitch for a Ford Explorer or a Chevy 1500 pickup, but that's the only photo you get to see. It's stupid, stupid system. I started buying stuff from JC Whitney when I first got my drivers license, in 1960. These days, I just can't be bothered trying to deal with them. Between Auto Zone and Advance Auto for routine stuff and Summit Racing for other things, JC Whitney just doesn't offer anything I can't live without.

There was no factory hitch for the MJs. Not listed in the Jeep parts manuals, they only show hitches for the Cherokee. And I don't think Jeep ever "approved" a Draw-Tite hitch. FWIW, every hitch I've seen for the MJ mounts to the same locations as the factory bumper brackets.

Most MJs with a manual transmission don't have this. Jeep didn't start using it until a couple of years after Chrysler took over.

I don't think you can roll start an automatic.

"MT" means Metric Ton -- it was the heavy-duty version of the MJ, and that's why it had a D44 rather than a D35. The Trac-Lok is a clutch-type limited slip. When the clutches wear out, it then acts like an open differential. You can buy rebuild kits for around $60 to $75 (I think -- used to be $50, but I haven't followed the prices). Be sure to use friction modifier in the gear lube or you'll destroy the clutches very quickly.

Most likely the starter. They do wear out.

I received no response from Rock Auto. The return was handled through their brain-dead on-line system -- that being the system that essentially told me "We don't care if the part is actually what it's supposed to be or if it really fits your vehicle. We shipped you the part number you ordered so FOAD." (No, I didn't order the wrong part number. I checked. It's just that the part corresponding to that number doesn't happen to be the same as the part it's supposed to replace.) So, no more Rock Auto for this cowboy. I'll stick with Auto Zone and Advance Auto. At least I can talk to a store manager if there's a problem. Besides -- what kind of operation would take an order for four wiper blades, and ship two from one warehouse and two from another warehouse, thereby doubling my shipping cost? Between the extra shipping costs on the wipers plus the lost shipping and the return shipping on the struts, I would have been much better off just buying from Auto Zone.

195/75-15 (not 70) was the smallest factory tire size for the '86 XJ and MJ. Will 195/75s fit on your wheels? That depends on what you have for wheels. If you have factory Jeep base wheels, which are 6 inches wide, the 195s will fit fine. If you have 7-inch rims, 195s will go on but they are not recommended for that size rim. 195s should not be mounted on 8-inch or wider rims. Keep in mind that an inspector may not give you a pass if you have mixed tire sizes on the vehicle.

I saw one on the road a couple of days ago, saw something that looked sort of "Jeep-like" about the grille,, and had to look it up and see what it was. I guess I've been out of the loop -- who knew Fiat was building "Jeeps" these days. Does anyone know anything about them? If I needed an economical commuter heap with 4WD for winter, would a Renegade be tolerable, or would a Patriot be a better choice? I can't find fuel mileage numbers for either vehicle on Jeep's web site. Are they that ashamed of the numbers?

For many years I used a Radio Shack mini, similar to the Uniden minis that are still available. It worked fine with a short, gutter-mount steel whip antenna. The only problem was that the microphone didn't screw in, it was a 6-pin DIN push-in connector (identical to the keyboard connector on the old, original IBM PCs), and after a number of years the strain of the coiled cord pulling sideways cracked the printed circuit and that killed the radio. Now I use a bigger, better (but still quite old) Radio Shack radio that's very similar to a Cobra 25. I usually look in the CB case when I'm at a truck stop, and I think if I were buying today I'd get either a Cobra 25 or a Cobra 29.

Don't worry about being new to Comanches. Most older vehicles develop wiring gremlins (check out Chevy brake lights some time!), and it's always a guessing game to isolate the problem. Basically, if you have disconnected all the lights and it still blows the fuse when you pull the switch to the parking lights position, but doesn't blow the fuse if the switch is full on, it's not the lights and it's not the wiring between the switch and the lights. So we have to ask -- what's left? I have three '88s (two Comanches and a Cherokee), and I can't think of anything that would be on with the parking lights that would NOT be on with the headlights. Yours is a Sportruck, right? With the idiot lights instead of gauges? Do you know if it has a headlight delay module? That would not have been standard on a Sportruck (I think), but might have been an option.

How much is engaging the tail shaft? I agree with the rocket -- that looks WAY short to me.

The truck has timbrens installed and the trailer will have a weight distribution setup so hopefully that will help. These? That should help.

1/4 ton? A standard MJ has a rated payload of over 1400 pounds -- that's a 3/4 ton. The Metric Ton models are rated for a full metric ton, which is 2200 pounds.