Eagle

To be technical, a SOA will lift any MJ, 2WD or 4WD, about 5-1/2 inches. If a 2WD starts out 1" lower than a neighboring 4WD, after both undergo a SOA they will both be lifted by 5-1/2" (+/-) and the 2WD will still be 1" lower than the 4WD. The amount of lift from a SOA is the sum of 1x perch offset ~ 1/2" 1x axle tube diameter ~ 2-3/4" 1x perch offset ~ 1/2" 1x leaf pack thickness ~ 1-1/4" Add that up and you get 5 inches as a minimum lift.

The Peugeot BA 10/5 was the only 5-speed transmission used by Jeep behind the 4.0L engine in 1988. The change to the AX-15 was made mid-year in the 1989 model run. If your truck does not have a BA 10/5, it is not in factory configuration. With 35-inch tires, you need 4.88s.

Not possible.

Well, we may be talking about different things. I suspect you are talking about those bars that the factory offered that fit in the bed, against the back of the cab. Those aren't roll bars, those are show bars. When the OP said the previous owner had installed a roll bar, I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that he had put a structural roll bar inside the cab for protection and stiffening when doing severe off-roading.

There is a special bleeding procedure for the MJ which you should follow if your rear proportioning/height sensing valve is still being used. And remember that the proportioning valve shown in the third of those three photos above is an XJ proportioning valve. The MJ front thingie that looks sort of like that does not disassemble the same way, it does not have that front plug and spring, and it is NOT a proportioning valve.

The higher you lift it, the bigger tires you need to fill the wheel wells "appropriately." You can run 31s with no lift. You said you want to run 30s. Sounds like a plan to me.

So why not forget the idea of lifting and "building" it and keep it mostly the way your grandfather had it? There is nothing about lifting a truck that in any way helps in the "road manners" department. Basically, you seem to be going in two directions at once, meaning you are working against yourself. That's going to cost you more money, and the results will never be satisfactory. My red '88 MJ had a 4" lift when I bought it. I ran it with 31" tires. It was better than decent on the trail, the ride was horrible, and on-street handling was "meh." Plus, at 4" of lift, it wasn't high enough to really need steps or running boards (and they would have been rock magnets anyway) yet it was too high for me to get in and out without mashing down the outboard corner of the driver'[s seat. I finally took the lift out, and it was the best thing I could have done. Off road I can still go almost everywhere I could before, the ride and handling are both greatly improved, and I'm no longer destroying the sea every time I get in or out. And then there's the grandfather thing. Not everyone regards such matters the same way, of course, but I'll share my attitude toward about the only thing I have from my grandfather. I inherited his Winchester model 1903 .22 caliber carbine. It's not in perfect condition, but it's in very good condition. It takes a proprietary cartridge that had been unavailable for several decades. An ammo company recently made a run of that ammo and I bought some, so now I can shoot it. I found that my eyes aren't what they were when my grandfather was alive, so it would help a lot to install a scope. But ... it not drilled and tapped for scope bases and the receiver isn't grooved for scopes. I could have it drilled and tapped -- but I won't. I want it to be the rifle my grandfather had and used and enjoyed. If I add a scope, it won't be his rifle, and the holes can never be undrilled. Since you don't plan to wheel the truck, why do a bunch of things to it that all have negative effects on the aspects you seem to feel are important to you?

I think you answered your own question -- Roll Bar. People don't put roll bars in vehicles they drive to the Quik Mart three times a week. The previous owner probably wheeled the truck hard and the roll bar wasn't stiff enough to prevent the body from flexing. You need to get the cracks drilled at the ends and then TIG welded to prevent propagation.

Just enough to clear a 29-30" for now. You don't need ANY lift to run 30s. Many people run 31s on factory rims with no lift. You certainly don't need to go SOA (which will be a MINIMUM of a 5-1/2" lift) to run 30s. They'll look stupid under that much lift -- and since you seem to be interested in handling, remember that lifting the vehicle lifts the center of gravity and the roll center, which does not translate into improved handling. My apologies on the seat info. make that 1984 through 1994, not '96.

When Chrysler/Jeep updated the Cherokee body styling, they also changed the seat design. Seats from Cherokees from 1984 through 1996 should work. One caution: For a few years in the late 80s some models of the Cherokee came with what we call a "rocking chair" slider. That is, in addition to the adjustable rake of the seat back, there was another lever that allowed the seat bottom to move forward and back on a curved track, changing the angle. Those seats are too thick. You can mount them to the MJ pedestals, but they'll have you sitting too high. Why would you change the shackles? At 130,000 miles they're not likely to be rusted badly enough to be unsafe. Polyurethane bushing don't produce good road manners, they produce a harsh, noisy ride. They are for road racing competition, when you want ultimate precision in the way the suspension reacts. I doubt you would tear off any mounts in street driving with urethane bushings, but I think rubber will be a lot more comfortable. Again, at 130,000 miles I doubt you need new bushings. My original '88 Cherokee has 287,000 miles on it, it has been wheeled from Newe Mexico to paragon in Pennsylvania to Maine and New Hampshire. My control arms and all bushings are the originals. Find someone who knows something about XJs and MJs. The guy you are talking to obviously doesn't. There is nothing "pseudo" about the AWD function of the 242. It's full-time 4WD, and it works very well. My wife's XJ has it, and if it had been offer3ed with the 5-speed manual transmissions I would have it in everything. On paper, the 242 has a slightly lower torque rating than the 231. In reality, many of the people I used to wheel with at Paragon were running 242s and I never saw one give any problems.

What are you using for the stroker crankshaft?

Consider that the line was probably closed while it was sitting. In that case, what could be clogging it? RUST. Just buy a 25-foot coil of 3/16" brake line, some flare fittings, and a double flare tool at Auto Zone and make up all new lines. Heck, I bought a used 2001 XJ with only 83,000 miles on the clock and the entire hard line across the engine compartment to the right front wheel was completely rusted out.

I think you mean to say "drill the brackets you have to match the bumper" or something like that? The Fey brackets are supposed to fit, but tolerances may have slipped. I would take a dreaded Dremal and just egg out the non-aligning hole until it lines up. If it's a complete miss, they yeah -- drill a new hole.

The front metering block on the MJ is not a proportioning valve. Did you follow the procedure for bleeding the rear brakes on an MJ to ensure that there's no air in the rear bypass circuit?

It depends on what you mean by "fit," and how much work and fabrication you want to do. THe direct fir options are another AMC/Jeep/Chrysler 2.5L, an AMC or GM 2.8L V6 (not a good choice), or a 3.1L or 3.4L GM V-6 out of a rear-wheel drive car like a Firebird or Camaro. Beyond that, it's adapters and fabrication for the win.

I have those brackets, and I had no problems with the holes lining up. But I bought mine at least five years ago.

Did you use just the TJ shafts, or did you also try to use the TJ hubs and/or rotors? Did you use the TJ inner shafts, or also the outer stub shafts?

??? This doesn't make sense. Rotor mismatches are because of changes in the knuckles and the calipers for different years. I've never heard that TJ axle shafts are different from XJ, YJ and ZJ shafts in any way other than that some ZJs had CV joints rather than u-joints.

Kerosene

GTE -- Are you planning to change the steering column to one with a $#!& lever, or are you planning to use an XJ floor shifter?

What cable are you referring to?

The '01 has a low pinion front axle. Since you need the front axle for a 4WD conversion, get the '97.

Dimestore-Chrysler recycled many of the option codes, so if you run a build sheet on any older Jeep you'll get a lot of descriptions that are for options never offered on Jeep vehicles.

If I get back from class early enough this evening I'll see if I can find the horm circuit in the 2000 XJ FSM. No promises, though -- the electrical diagrams in that book run over 100 pages. :Yike!:

Find out what type of sealant they used. From what glass techs around here have told me, the sealant for glass installations is Butyle, which isn't compatible with silicone. (However, a friend who is a VW tech mentioned that some shops in his area now don't use butyle -- but I don't recall what he said they use.