Eagle

For direct fit into an MJ, only an MJ, from 1987 through 1992, with 4.0L automatic and the metric ton or trailer tow package. XJs from 1987 through approximately 1992 (??), with the 4.0L and automatic, and the optional suspension and/or tow package. These will be the correct width, but you'll have to move the spring perches. There are no other vehicles with a Dana 44 axle that's both the correct width and the correct 5x4-1/2" bolt circle.

My brother agrees with you. I don't. At my brother's suggestion, I put a set of KYB Gas-Adjusts on my '88 XJ when it first needed shocks. They were horrible. No control over large bumps and dips, yet extremely harse of small bumps and pavement cracks. I threw them away after less than three months and went to Monroe. More recently, the 2001 XJ I bought (used) for my daughter had KYBs on the front. No difference -- they were about the worst shocks you could imagine. I know KYBs seem to have a following, but IMHO they suck. If you can't afford OME, just buy Monroe.

Usually what the chips do is alter the timing curve to allow more advance. The trade-off is that they require high-test gas to run. This one claims to fit the renix 4.0L but I don't believe it -- and I think you can get the same benefit by running a high-altitude CPS with high-test gas. With the high-altitude CPS, if you choose to run regular gas, the knock sensor will control the timing so you don't damage the engine. And that's why any chip for the Renix won't show any improvement unless you run high-test ... the knock sensor and CPS keep the timing as far advanced as it can go anyway, so the chip can't override it. Save your money, IMHO.

I don't know what to say. As an old song from my heyday said, "The good, they die young. ... I just turned around, and he was gone."

Agreed. The Xtravisions don't have a Eurpean light pattern, they're American, but they work. Same wattage as standard on high beam but higher than standard on low beam. I chose them over the Silverstars because of the rated lamp life -- it's more than double the Silverstars, for less money. Combine the Xtravisions with the harness upgrade and you'll have very decent lighting without breaking the bank.

??? What aftermarket intake and carb? Are you looking at a specific 3.4 that has been modified?

The video played for me but there's no audio.

There's a big difference in shocks, even from the factory. Both of my 2000 XJs (my Sport 5-speed and my late wife's Classic auto) were bought new with the Up Country suspension option. In addition to the heavier/taller springs, I'm pretty certain the Up Country option used better shocks. My wife's XJ is now at around 115,000 miles and still rides very nicely on the original, factory shocks. (The 5-speed has so few miles that it's not worth using it as an example.)

So ... back to the original post. Are you guys still considering the Tiny House concept? As an architect, the concept fascinates me but, as a pack rat, I know it's not for me. But for two people who are certain there are no kids in the future it's a great way to get into affordable housing. All the more if you're handy and can build it yourself. A lot of tiny houses are built on flatbed trailers, but they don't have to be.

I didn't know the WJ was available as a 2WD. I paid extra to get the QuadraDrive option, but I thought with the 4.7L engine the base setup was a 4WD with the 247 transfer case. I forgot to mention that on my '99 WJ electrical gremlins were heavily represented on the list of issues. I didn't have problems with the door locks or windows, but the cruise control would disengage at random. When that happened, it couldn't be re-engaged until I had stopped and shut off the engine. The WJ came standard with a security system -- no separate siren, but it honked the horn if the alarm was triggered. Mine would do that whenever it felt like it. Dealer couldn't figure it out. One day at the shop I had just gone for a ride with the shop foreman driving. We were pulled up in front of one of the service bays, having a 3-way conversation with the shop foreman, the service manager and myself. The horn started honking, and I told them that's what I was talking about. They accused me of pushing the panic button on the remote -- until I pointed out that the shop foreman was holding they keys. They never fixed that problem, either. Yes, there are two computers. The main one, of course, is the PCM (power train control module). That controls both the engine and the transmission. There's a secondary computer that controls the various functions of the overhead console. It used to drive me nuts that the elapsed mileage on the odometer didn't match the elapsed mileage on the overhead console. The dealership just attributed it to the fact they were controlled by different computers. Yeah, fine, but I only had one set of wheels on the ground. Mine was a '99, and an early one at that. 1999 was the first year for the WJ, the first year for the 4.7L engine, and the first year for whatever they called that transmission. I should have known better than to buy a prototype. I thought they had cleared up the problems by the time the 2000 models came out, but maybe not. I have a friend in Greece who had an '01 WJ Overland, and he had a bunch of problems, too.

It's fine ... if you have facebook.

I'm in a situation of possibly having too many Jeeps, and I don't know what to do about it. I currently have registered and running two 2000 XJs and a 2001 XJ. The '00s were both bought new and are in top condition. The '01 was bought used with the intention of it becoming my daughter's, but she's out of the country and never got a driver's license, so I've been driving it since my '88 became unreliable. The '01 is a 4.0L Sport, with the beginnings of some body rot, a lot of rust underneath, and it doesn't get great gas mileage. My work situation is about to change. My commute now is about 12 miles each way. Starting in about a month, I'll probably be traveling to remote construction sites two days per week, and each site is about 100 miles each way. Gas is cheaper than it was a year ago, but 400 miles a week at 15 or 16 MPG will run through some petrol. I'm wrestling with the notion of putting an '88 2.5L 4-speed MJ on the road and using that as a daily driver for awhile. But -- I don't know if I really want to rack up a lot more miles on an older MJ like that. If I were to do the MJ, I'd probably sell the '01 XJ. I just don't know if the XJ is worth enough at this point to make it worthwhile selling, or if I should just keep it and drive it. The XJ has about 120,000 miles on it; the MJ has 219,000 miles on it. What's an '01 XJ Sport worth these days? It has air, AM/FM radio with no CD, no cruise.

This one is a 2000, but be careful. I had a 1999 WJ with the then-new 4.7L engine, plus the then-new Quadra-Drive system. I owned it about nine months before Jeep bought it back from me to stop me from going lemon law with it. Out of the nine months I had it, I think it spent two (or maybe more) in the shop, and they never got the transmission or the axles straightened out. The final straw came after the buy-back had been set up. I was driving it to the supermarket, with is 4 miles from home. Got about halfway there and it died in the middle of the road. I coasted off to the side, called a wrecker, and had it towed to the dealership. They announced that they had identified the problem -- and that replacement parts to fix it were no yet in the system. Literally while we were discussing this, a transporter rolled in with the 2000 XJ Classic that I had ordered to replace the WJ, so I just handed them the keys and drove home in my new Jeep. The WJ rode and drove well if it was running, but it had more problems than any new vehicle should ever have. The problem is, if the engine isn't running you can't check the axles for noise, you can't check the drive rain for vibrations, and you can't check the transmission for various problems. It's probably worth the $400 asking price, but be prepared to part it out rather than fix it.

That's normal. The guys above reporting 45 psi at warm idle are the ones that are unusual. Factory spec for oil pressure is 13 psi minimum at warm idle, and 37 to 75 psi above 1600 RPM. Based on having driven well over half a million miles in XJs and MJs with the 4.0L engine, every new one I've had over the years has showed warm idle around 25 to 30 psi, and runs (warm) at 50 to 55 psi at highway speeds (which for me means 55 to 65 MPH).

There is a bank of three or four (depending on options) relays under the hood of the '88 MJ, but no fuse box/panel.

I'm running a '98 ZJ box in a 2001 XJ with the stock XJ pump and there are no problems. There shouldn't be any incompatibility between your pump and the steering box -- and you ran it that way for five years, which should be proof enough. If I'm remembering all the old posts correctly, you now have a new (to you) pump in there and a new (to you) steering box, and the same problem keeps happening. So let's think about what you HAVEN'T replaced. I think you mentioned saving by not buying hoses. Maybe that wasn't such a saving. We know that brake hoses can deteriorate internally and create blockages. Why would a power steering hose be any different? The makeup of the fluid going through them may be different, but both are hydraulic pressure hoses. I would look at the hoses as being the only thing left that you haven't replaced.

The throttle body injection was used only in the Renix years, '84 through '90 ('86 through '90 for the MJ). Starting in the 1991 model year Chrysler switched the 2.5L to a multi-port injection. I hope you're also aware that the electronics changed, so to stay Renix you'll need to use the old distributor, the old CPS, and you'll have to swap in the flywheel from the old engine.

The '86 2.5L uses throttle body injection, with an ignition and injection control system by Renix, so the electronics are very similar to the 4.0L. Some piossibilities to check out: * Oxygen sensor * Oxygen sensor wiring (is the ECU getting the signal from the O2 sensor?) * ECU * Temp sensor (there should be two -- the one that sends data to the ECU should be on the lower left side of the block if it's located similar to the 4.0L)

I don't think a ZJ (Grand Cherokee) column will be an easy adaptation. It certainly won't be a direct bolt-in. The reason the swap is for XJs up to 1994 is that in 1995 Chrysler changed the XJ steering column to incorporate air bags. The '94 and older are the standard Saginaw column so they can be easily swapped into a Comanche. The ZJ came out in 1993 and I believe they all used the Chrysler column with the air bag.

You can't steer without the track bar.

Fuse panel ... but that would be the driver's side. Antenna?

It isn't? :doh: As long as I hold the wheel straight it continues to go straight over bumps. Then you are not experiencing bump steer.

Taking you hands off the steering wheel is not a test of bump steer. Bump steer is when you hold the wheel straight but the vehicle changes direction when going over a bump.

Several years ago I ordered two sets of SS rear axle brake lines for an MJ Dana 44 axle. The tubes I received were beautiful -- very high quality, and fully wrapped with the outer gravel shielding. Only problem was -- they wouldn't fit an XJ or MJ Dana 44. They might have been correct for the rear of a full-size Cherokee, but mine was sold years before so I had no way of knowing. They made good on it, but I had to pay for shipping back the incorrect parts and ship them the rusty old lines off one of my axles to use as a template. Overall, I think if I had it to do over -- I wouldn't. I'd just buy a coil of coated brake line from Auto Zone and make up my own.

Either swap everything, or nothing. From my unpublished manuscript: Please note that the above is copyrighted and I am not granting permission to reproduce it.