Eagle

No, that's not where the ground connection goes. That's where the positive cable attaches to the solenoid (which is mounted on the starter motor). You said it was just turning over -- how much did you crank it? A lot? Yes. I was trying to get it to start for several minutes The starter motor is the highest current draw of anything in the vehicle. That's why it has the fattest wire leading to it. You're not supposed to crank an engine for more than a few seconds, so you don't (1) run down the battery, and (2) overheat the cables and perminals. I'd say you overheated the cables and terminals. Now ... the problem is to figure out why it didn't start.

Avoiding sidewalk cracks is reputed to bring good luck (or ward off bad luck), too ...

Lift springs are made for lift and (usually) for flex, NOT for load capacity. You might need helper springs or air shocks for towing. With 32" tires, your effective axle ratio is cut back from 3.55 to 3.21. That's not much different from the stock ratio for a 5-speed. To tow that kind of weight, you need more gear. 4.10s would be about ideal. And you should add a tranny cooler and, if you don't already have one, an auxiliary fan.

No, that's not where the ground connection goes. That's where the positive cable attaches to the solenoid (which is mounted on the starter motor). You said it was just turning over -- how much did you crank it? A lot?

The pinion angle doesn't look fine. The middle portion of the coils is bowing toward the front (and the sway bar). That seems to suggest that the pinion angle is too high (too much above horizontal), resulting in the lower spring perch on the axle not being parallel to the upper perch on the body.

My bad. I thought Kano808 was looking to block off round holes for refrigerant lines. I didn't understand he wants to delete the entire fan and heater box.

Very typical, and not really that difficult to repair. But ... it does require welding to do it right.

How about electrical box knockout covers? They are available in a variety of sizes. Get 'em at Lowe's or Home Despot. Install with a bead of RTV and you should be good to go.

The only dollies I've ever seen have the front wheels of the towed vehicle strapped tightly to the dolly. There is no strain on the steering mechanism at all, because the front wheels of the towed vehicle don't (can't) turn.

Heat = friction = wear. Since the Pennzoil Synchromesh isn't recommended, I'd go with the Redline.

Are you saying you tested a stock AMC Jeep XJ/MJ coil against an aftermarket "hot" coil, or just some factory coil off whatever vehicle you happened to have a coil from? The factory Jeep ignition is an HEI system. Don't waste money trying to "improve" it.

What year Wrangler?

I thought it was time to settle this question, so I contacted the experts (HAH!) at Pennzoil to ask what to use in each of the available Jeep XJ and MJ transmissions. You all ain't a-gonna believe what they told me: In summary, they referred to obsolete information that the Jeep factory superceded many years ago. NOT helpful. Not a surprise they don't have any GL-3 products. They are, after all, gear oils. GL-3 was replaced in the marketplace by GL-4, which was in turn replaced by GL-5. So I guess the answer for the manual transmissions other than the NVG 3550 is either Redline or 10W30 motor oil (to which I would add a molybdenum disulphide additive such as Mr. Moly).

You are correct -- an XJ or MJ with the Renix ignition/injection system simply won't run with the 91+ Chrysler HO flywheel (or flex plate).

What do you mean by one-piece hub rotor assembly? The 4WD front axles always used a combination hub/bearing unit and a separate rotor -- see the parts list I posted above. The early 2WD axles used a conventional spindle that was part of the steering knuckle, and the hub and rotor were an assembly with loose, serviceable, conventional wheel bearings. Is that what you have?

Maybe this will help:

Why would you need a rear main seal to do a 4x4 conversion? The rear main seal is inside the engine and you have to drop the oil pan to replace it. Swapping the transmission doesn't in any way affect the RMS.

The Jeep ignition is already a high energy system. Buying an aftermarket coil is just a waste of money.

Here's the rundown yet again: In general, the parts to be concerned with in keeping the front brakes compatible are the steering knuckles, the hub/bearing assemblies, the rotors, and the calipers. (There is a more complete enumeration of the interrelationship of these parts in Chapter 6, Axles.) • Only two steering knuckle designs were used: 1984 through 1989, and 1990 through 2001. Left and right side knuckles are different part numbers within each group. • Three different hub/bearing units were used. The hub/bearing units are the same for both sides of the vehicle. The different years for hub/bearing assemblies were: 1984 through 1989; 1990 through mid-1999 (composite rotors); and late-1999 through 2001 (cast rotors). • Three rotor types were used: 1984 through 1989; 1990 through mid-1999 (composite); and late-1999 through 2001 (cast). • Only two caliper types were used: 1984 through 1989, and 1990 through 2001. Left and right side calipers are different part numbers within each group. Basically, you have to keep all the parts from within a compatible group of years. The hubs have different offsets from the mounting flange to the outer surface. As I note every time I post this, it's from the manuscript of my unpublished book. It is copyrighted, and by posting it here I am NOT granting anyone permission to reproduce it or redistribute it. Please respect my copyright.

IMHO you're looking at a bad idea. The MJs (even the short beds) have a longer overhang behind the rear axle than the XJ, which increases the exposure of the gas tank to getting whacked. You could, theoretically, hang an XJ tank behind the axle of an MJ, but you would lose the spare tire location, and you would have to custom fabricate hangers. Also, what are you going to do for a fill location? What brand skid do you have? The factory XJ gas tank skid didn't attach to the bumper, it attaches to the unibody frame rails.

Tire balance is the solution.

The junkyard box I put into the '01 is 3 turns lock-to-lock. The '88 XJ, the MJs, and the '00 XJs are all 3-1/2 turns. That tells me the junkyard box is 12.7:1 ratio.

Depending on what the OP is accustomed to driving, it may just be the amount of boost that's fooling him. AMC was always famous/infamous/notorious for using too much boost in their power steering, resulting in zero road feel. Chrysler eventually corrected that in the XJs, but I don't know when. I can tell you that, although my 1988 XJ and my 2000 XJ both have power steering and both have 14:1 boxes, the steering "feel" is completely different. As different as night and day.

I've given you something concrete. The factory service manuals from 1986 through 2001 ALL say fixed ratio steering box. The factory parts manuals list variable ratios only for models other than the XJ and MJ, and then mostly for export only. I don't know about you, but I'll trust the factory before I'll trust something I found on the Internet.

Variable ratio is not impossible with a tradition worm-and-sector steering box. Generous Motors had them back in the early 70s. My mother had a 1970 AMC wagon with a Saginaw variable ratio box. The theory behind it is that when the wheels are straight, X amount of lateral movement of the drag link results in Y degrees of wheel turn. However, due to geometry, as the wheels move farther off center, that same X amount of lateral movement in the drag link and tie rod doesn't generate as much angular displacement of the road wheels. So they came up with variable ration boxes as a way to (supposedly) make the steering more uniform. Personally, I hated it. The ratio varied from about 17:1 at the center to around 13:1 at full lock. It was too slow to react at highway speeds, making evasive maneuvers less effective. I much prefer fixed ratio. That's what I've been driving for 60 years, so I guess I'm sort of set in my ways. Back to the reason for this post: Not only is variable ratio possible in a standard Saginaw steering box ... they exist.