Eagle

For what it's worth, Quadratec shows three hubs: 84-89 == 53000228 99-99 (w/ 2-piece stamped rotor) == 53007449 99-01 (1-piece cast rotor) == 53007449AC As a last resort, the 84-89 hubs are rebuildable. Quadratec used to see the bearings and seals as a kit -- I don't see it on their web site, but they may still have it.

Which is different? Did you take one of your rotors to NAPA to see if it will fit over their hubs? What do you mean by "their hubs will not fit inside their rotors"? My understanding has been that the differences are in the depth, or offset -- not the diameter. Somewhere I remember seeing a photo of two XJ hubs sitting on a table or a board, flange side down, and the difference in overall height was about a quarter of an inch or more.. I've never heard of a difference in diameter. What's the outside diameter of your hubs?

Well, at least I'm consistent ...

This doesn't make sense. First (although the aux fan in the HOs seems to be an exception), the ground side normally isn't switched. Switches usually go on the "hot" (supply) side. Why/how would BOTH sides of a simple circuit be grounded, and why would they both be grounded only when the key is turned on? How did you determine that both legs of 85 & 86 are grounded? Did you find that they are also both grounded with the ignition off?

See the second bullet in my post above. '89 should be generation 1 -- IF it's still an '89 axle.

Are you the original owner? How certain are you that the front axle is the original? A few years ago I bought a pretty decent-looking 2001 XJ, used. It was all stock -- no lift, no big tires, no aftermarket wheels. It had 83,000 miles on it when I bought it. Started working on fixing up things it needed (like shocks and tie rod ends). Got underneath and found yellow grease crayon numbers on the front axle. Yep -- junkyard replacement. Most people (and many shops) aren't aware that the whole brake/hub setup changed from 1989 to 1990, so they'll toss any axle they can get under a vehicle that needs an axle.

Let's keep it very simple. First, ignore the discussions above, since they pertain to the '91 and '92 HO models. Hornbrod mentioned somewhere in there that the Renix aux fan is controlled differently. That's key information. That sensor that was supposed to thread into the tank of your radiator is nothing more than an ON-OFF switch. Below the preset temperature, the switch is open (off). When the coolant temperature in the tank reaches the preset limit, the switch closes and activates the relay, which in turn activates the fan. Since you no longer have the bung in the radiator, you don't need to maintain that sensor/switch. Don't throw it away, but remove it and set it aside. Go to Auto Zone or Advance or NAPA and buy a new connector that matches the one on that radiator sensor. Attach wires to it, plug it into the harness where you removed the radiator tank sensor, then run the two wires to a toggle switch in your cab. It doesn't matter which way you connect the wires to the toggle switch -- it's all the 12-volt power to the control ("trigger") side of the relay. Done.

From my unpublished manuscript: 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. The above is copyrighted and I am NOT granting permission to anyone to post it or disseminate it.

A friend cut the driver's floor out of the wreck of an '89 XJ I had here and used it to repair his '87 MJ. IIRC he had to fab a copy of the raised rib in the MJ because his was so far gone -- and the XJs don't have that piece.

That's pretty neat. Anybody happen to notice the setup on the load-sensing proportioning valve in that first photo? I suspect that truck has no rear brakes ...

I much prefer Marvel Mystery Oil rather than WD-40 for this purpose.

Are you sure some previous owner put those shock mounts on? Are you aware that XJ rear axles have the shock mounts welded to the axle tubes? Please post some photos. I think you bought an XJ axle.

It has been many years since I was at all involved in either drag racing or road racing, but my fuzzy recollection is that for leaf spring vehicles the forward fulcrum for the traction bars should be on the same line as the front spring eyes. The rear axle doesn't rotate around the front of the drive shaft, it pivots on the fixed, forward spring eyes.

I would put the brackets in a vise and clamp them closer to a kit. I'd leave maybe 1/16" of play, which would then be taken up when you torque down the through bolts. Don't forget to get everything in place and then allow the truck to sit on its tires, on the ground (or or ramps) before you torque the UCA and LCA bolts. Otherwise you'll build a preload into the bushings.

I don't know when the ZJ went to OBD2. The XJ was OBD1 through 1995. 1996 was a sort of transition year -- the '96 XJ was OBD2 because the law required it, but it was still the old body style so the OBD2 implementation was sort of a kludge. 1997 was when the entire chsassis harness was revised for a proper OBD2 implementation. So I share Hornbrod's question -- how did you make the OBD2 harness play nice with the OBD1 engine?

I don't recall exactly how I did it, but I know I didn't remove it from the truck. IIRC I had the air filter box out.

From the manuscript of the book I started several years ago: The above is copyrighted. Please do not distribute it beyond this forum. Basically, thecause there are different offsets to the knuckles, caliper brackets, and hubs, you can't mix and match parts. Everything needs to be from the same "year family" to work together.

But were your bumpstops in contact with the corresponding par5ts of the suspension? If the bumpstops weren't making contact, you didn't measure full compression.

It will bolt right in, but the entire ignition and injection system is different, so you're looking at replacing the whole wiring harness. I hope you got the wiring harness from the Wrangler. You DID get the wiring harness from the Wrangler, didn't you?

You don't need any lift. I have 30x9.50/15s on my '87 shortbed, at stock height. I had 31x10.50s on the '88 when I removed the lift and I left them on for about a year. The 31s are now under my original '88 Cherokee -- again, with no lift.

??? Huh? The XJ Dana 44 has historically been THE easiest and most popular rear axle swap for MJs with the Dana 35. How do you figure it's "rare"? And weaker than what? It was, after all, the factory optional heavy duty rear axle for the MJ from 1987 through to the end in 1992.

I sit corrected. There are two connectors. The one for the gauges will be on the back of the main cluster, sort of next to the speedometer head. There is another connecter way over at the left (viewed frojm the front) side that feeds that bank of indicator lights to the left of the gauges. The main harness connector is the one you're looking for.

There is only one wiring connector, where all the wires plug onto the back of the cluster. If the wires are the same colors as for 1988, you should see tan wires at terminals 15 and 17 of the connector that plugs onto the back of the cluster. 15 and 17 are jumpered together -- one feeds the actual gauge, the other controls the low fuel warning light. Tap the tan wire at 15 or 17 and run a jumper directly to the positive terminal/pst on the fuel gauge, then run a jumper from the negative terminal of the gauge to any good chassis ground. That should do it.

Rancho has an AAL set. They list the same kit for both the XJ and the MJ, so it's not quite a full-length under the MJ. It's good for about 1-1/2" in the MJ (2-1/2" in the XJ). Your other option is to roll your own using leafs from junkyard vehicles such as the older (spring under) Dakotas and S-10s.

After another try at thinking this through, I'm not sure how well a Helicoil would work in something as thin as the frame rails, where there's not nearly enough material for the coil to bottom out. How about thread-serts? https://www.nutty.com/Steel-Klik-Thread-Serts_c_270.html http://www.avdelusallc.com/products/nutsert.shtml You don't need a setting tool for one or two inserts. I used them to install thread-serts when I added a transfer case skid to my '88 XJ. You just put a nut onto a long bolt, thread the bolt into the thread-sert and put it in the hole, then use one wrench to prevent the bolt from turning while you tighten the nut down (up) against the frame. It's basically a threaded version of a pop rivet.