Eagle

I like it. May I use it? 87MJTIM, yours is potentially interesting, too -- especially with the dual monitors. But the docking device isn't clear, so it doesn't illustrate the concept as well as DC's. Thanks, Gents.

Pete / Dirty - I don't want to "see" anything. I'm doing a book on setting up a home office. I would like to get a good photo of a desk with a tablet or notebook computer connected to as many peripherals as possible using a docking station. Photos need to be fairly decent, with good contrast because they'll be converted to grey scale for the book. Smokeyyank's first photo is pretty close to what I'm looking for -- except that the lighting makes it impossible to see the docking station.

I need a couple of good photos of tablet or laptop computers connected to external keyboard and mouse, external monitor, and maybe even a printed via a docking station. Does anyone use such a setup?

"Tick" is usually valve lifter-related, or exhaust leak. A bad rod bearing will be more of a "rap" or a "bang." Your oil pressures are very unusual. Even new, I've never seen a 4.0L engine with pressures that high. Have your mechanic check the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge.

It's not difficult to replace road and main bearings with the engine in place, just by dropping the oil pan. How' your oil pressure?

As previous comments have already addressed, unless the system has leaks the two things to check first are the rear brake adjustment, and bleeding. If you are young enough that all your previous vehicles have had disc brakes on all four wheels, you may not be aware that drum brakes are different. With disc brakes, there are no springs to disengage the pads from the rotors when you release the brakes. Basically, they just stop applying pressure, and then normal driving may push the pads back just a bit. In general, the pads are always in pretty close contact to the rotors, so it doesn't require much movement to start applying the brakes. With drum brakes, the shoes are held away from the drums by springs, to ensure that the lining material isn't in contact with the drum surface. The shows always retract to the same position, so as the lining material wears away the gap increases. This means more peddle travel before the brakes engage. There is an adjustment -- the star wheel, which is accessed from behind the wheels, through a slot in the backing plate. The MJ rear brakes are supposed to be self adjusting, but that doesn't work very well. IF someone hasn't messed up the self-adjuster so it won't work at all, making it work requires backing up and applying the brakes HARD, several times. I prefer to adjust manually rather than rely on the self-adjuster. - - - - - And then there's bleeding. If you just bought the vehicle, you should bleed the brakes anyway, to flush out the old (who knows HOW old?) fluid, as well as to be sure there's no air in the system. Follow Pete's link -- the MJ has an emergency bypass circuit to the rear brakes, and bleeding the brakes using the normal procedure can't purge air from the bypass circuit. You MUST follow the recommended procedure. - - - - - One other thing to check is to be sure the calipers are free to move.

Antilock brakes were not available in 1988. They were an option in 1989.

Funny how that works, sometimes. Several years ago a former girlfriend was looking for a used Cherokee. She had a budget, which was low enough that it couldn't buy a pristine example in top condition. I found one through classifieds, an '88 Laredo, that was being sold because it supposedly had thrown a rod. I went and looked at it, and I was convinced the knocking noise was a cracked flex plate, so I bought. My guess was right, so I replaced that, did some other repairs and improvements (the radio was gone, so I installed a new radio/CD player head), and drove it out to her in Montana. Turns out the original owners lived on my street, about a mile from my house. _ _ _ _ _ _ Back to the MJ: that's a beautifully pristine example of an early MJ. By all means, take care of it and keep it as original as you can.. I would love to own one that nice.

Don't forget that the XJ started in 1984. '84 thru '86 should have the same firewall -- the change was in 1987, to allow for the 4.0L inline 6-cylinder engine.

Especially in Minnesota in January ...

I've been a member here for over 16 years. I had been thinking for awhile that it would be a good idea to start a forum for Comanche owners, but I had no idea how to go about creating an Internet forum. And then one day I found that some dude named Pete M had gone and done it! Naturally, I signed up as soon as I found it. We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Pete for starting this place, and for keeping it all Comanches, all the time.

You're asking about the six-slot steel wheels? They have a Chrysler pentastar emblem on them. Chrysler didn't acquire Jeep until 1988, so they can't be from a 1987. My '88 Cherokee was delivered to the dealer in January of 1988, and all the paperwork said American Motors. Beyond that, I believe the steel wheels in 1987 were still the eight-slot -- I don't think the wagon wheels changed from 8 to 6 until 1988 or 1989.

Sat for ten years? When you installed the fuel pump, did you install a new "sock" for the fuel pickup in the tank? Ten years worth of varnished fuel accumulation might have made the sock basically impervious.

Good job on catching him out, and thank you for posting the warning.

Reported by Bleepin' Jeep himself:

The 4.0L doesn't have a PCV valve. There's a [very] small tube coming off of the top rear of the valve cover that fulfills the crankcase ventilation function, but there is no physical valve. And, yes, that scrawny little tube can get clogged over the years. Whether that could pressurize the crankcase enough to force out of the oil filter overnight is something I don't care to guess at. How's your air filter? If the element is soaked with oil, your CCV system is clogged. If your air filter element is not soaked with oil, that's not the problem.

I think you will also have to find a printed circuit board form an '88 cluster with gauges.

Yes, he does. PM me for details if interested. Location is southern Connecticut.

If you need to replace the engine, don't use another 2.8L. Go with a newer 3.1L or 3.4L -- from a Camaro or Firebird (rear wheel drive),

Mine are all 4-doors, so the white one in the second photo is what I'm after. Leaving it open to weather isn't an option where I am.

I have a couple of old XJs cluttering up the yard. They'll probably be sold for scrap, but before they go I'm toying with the notion of cutting the rear windows and back part of the roof off to make a short Cheromanche. Not the type that mounts a Comanche bed behind a Cherokee cabin -- I'm considering the type that just opens up the cargo area of a Cherokee. Has anybody done this, or seen one? If so -- what's the best way to close off the back of the cabin? Is there a way to graft in a Cherokee lift gate to make a rear wall for the cabin?

But you can also catch it -- and spread it to others -- after being vaccinated. What we're learning -- after the fact, for those of us (like me) who have been vaccinated -- is that the vaccine doesn't do much of anything. They're now claiming we need boosters every three months, and there's talk of going to EVERY month. Seriously?

Those numbers aren't too far off (for an automatic), but they're off. But the OP has a 5-speed, so stock axle gearing is 3.08, not 3.54. The problem with every on-line gear ratio/speed calculator I've seen is that they use the nominal diameter of the tire. In reality, 31" tires are typically about 30.5" in diameter, 32s are typically about 31.5", and 33s are typically about 32.5". Then you put weight on them and the sidewalls flex, so the actual rolling radius is less than half the diameter of the tire. I made up my chart to allow for this, as much as possible. Wherever I could find data, I used a manufacturer's actual published rolling diameter or published revolutions-per-mile (the best number) for doing my calculations. For the OP, 60 MPH with stock tires and stock gearing is going to be just 1676 RPM in 5th gear. Jumping to 33" tires with 4.10 gears, 60 MPH will be 1974 RPM. So the overall gearing will be a slight improvement, but only a tiny bit better than stock tires with 3.54 gears. That's not bad at all for general driving with some mild to moderate wheeling. I was able to do a lot of trails at Paragon in my '88 Cherokee on 30" tires with the stock 3.08 gears.

I have no argument with that. But that means you don't "need" a ten-slot grille, you "want" a ten-slot grille.

Why do you need a 10-slot grille? A 1989 should have an 8-slot.