Eagle

The front axle is the same for an XJ and an MJ. No issue there (other than recreating the original mounts!) The XJ rear is a spring-over-axle. The MJ is a spring-under axle, and the spacing between the spring perches is slightly different from the XJ to the MJ. It just means welding on a pair of new spring perches, or carefully cutting the old ones off and relocating them.

Not to beat a dead horse, the symptoms you describe are the classic symptoms of out-of-balance tires.

Have the tires balanced again. The symptoms you describe are classic for out-of-balance tires.

If you still have the height-sensing valve and the line feeding it, there's a special procedure to ensure that line also gets bled. It's been posted here several times. Try a search -- or maybe someone has it bookmarked.

Does this guy know the difference between a counter-weighted flywheel and a neutrally balanced flywheel? I have alo never heard of anyone trying to balance the flywheel with the crank when doing this swap. IMHO it's not necessary and it's an invitation to screw something up. Tell him to balance the flywheel. What will cause those vibrations he's talking about would be using the counter-weighted 2.8L flywheel on the 3.4L crank. I've been through that many years ago, in a different vehicle with a different engine combination. Some previous owner tossed in a junkyard engine of a different displacement than the original, but he used the original flywheel -- which was (like the 2.8L) counterweighted. The junkyard engine needed a neutral-balanced flywheel. Once I got the thing running it had a nasty vibration. Took a bit of detective work to figure out what had happened. Bought a used flywheel that was correct for the engine, bolted it in, and it ran as smooth as silk. Leave the crankshaft alone.

The flywheel and torque converter don't affect 2WD or 4WD. You need a transmission from a 4WD so the output shaft and housing can mate up the the 4WD transfer case.

Many of us run 235s, but the factory sizes were 195/75, 205/75, 215/75 and 225/75.

Luk is (was) the OEM supplier.

8" is too wide for stock size tires. The factory rims were all 6" or 7". And with only 4" of backspacing I would expect some interference when turning. For example, the specs for a Goodyear Wrangler SR-A in 225/75-15 call for an approved rim width of 6.0 to 7.5 inches. If I look at tires in the 205/75-15 size, the approved rim width is 5.0 to 7.0.

The seats and mounts are different. You might be able to adapt the Cherokee seats to the MJ pedestals, but it won't be a drop-in swap. The console will require modifications. I don't think the late model window motors will work in the early doors, but I'm not certain. Your MJ has a mechanical speedometer. The '97 Cherokee has an electronic speedo. Beyond that, the '97 cluster won't fit your '88 dashboard, so you would be looking at a total dashboard swap.

Of course the speedo gear won't affect the tachometer. But the tachometer only tells you the engine speed, not the road speed. Unless the speedometer reads correctly, you can't know how many RPMs the engine is turning at _X_ MPH. Any time you change tire size or gear ratio without changing the speedometer gear, you make the speedometer inaccurate.

Factory? The Custom 4x4 tow hook kit has brackets that are pretty near clones of the factory brackets --- with one exception. If you look at the ones in Jim's opening photo, there are two sets of holes. The brackets are mounted using the forward set of holes if you just want tow hooks. If you use the rear set of mounting holes, it moves the bumber out by six or eight inches to provide space for the Hidden Winch option.

There are some parts missing. From the factory parts manual:

Chrome plated -- they'll turn to rust in a year. Do they take a 3/4" socket, or do they need a 13/16" socket?

If it had tow hooks from the factory, it also had skid plates: front, transfer case, and gas tank. Not too long ago I think someone (might even have been me) post an exploded view of the front skid installation. The other two are fairly easy to figure out. This may help: http://www.olypen.com/craigh/skid.htm There is no source for factory skids -- they don't exist. If you want the factory types, you need a junkyard.

The factory lugnuts have a stainless steel cover. Use of an impact gun deforms the covers, and they fall off. That's one major reason why I never let a shop touch my lugnuts -- if I need tire work, I'll take off the wheel(s) at home, using a manual spanner, and take it/them to the shop in the back of another vehicle. To reinstall, I snug up with the spanner and then finish with a torque wrench. I've bought perfect replacements for the factory lug nuts from Pep Boys. IIRC, they cost about $3 each, so $15 for a set of five.

You can't see how it's aligned from photos. A difference of one degree or two degrees is not going to show up in a photo, nor is a difference of an eighth of an inch plus or minus on toe-in -- but those are the numbers you neeed to know what's going on. The ONLY way to figure out what's wrong with your alignment is to put it on an alignment rack and get accurate readings for caster, camber, and toe-in.

What did you do about the air bag?

Find your tire size and gear ratio here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pHFuhGgj6dQDfzyfFJH5z7NCDLW2KX3ABQgAJr3lBvM/pub?hl=en&hl=en&output=html

I don't see any issue from your photos. What is your camber?

You need to worry a lot. There's a reason why the factory put a Dana 44 under the metric ton models. Don't exceed the 1400 pounds established by the factory.

I don't know whose database you're looking at. I have the factory owner's manual for the '89 MJ open in front of me. The tire sizes it lists are: P195/75R15 P205/75R15 P215/75R15 P225/75R15 P215/65R15

As you go through the FSM to diagnose specific problems, if the problem can be diagnosed by use of a multimeter at the diagnostic port(s) it will be explained there. There is no single summary of all the tests on one page or in one chapter. If you are trying to diagnose a problem with the FSM and there's no mention of using the diagnostic port -- there's a reason.

The factory never shipped XJs or MJs with 235/75-15s. The largest factory tire was 225/75-15. 235s fit, and almost always without any rubbing on either bodywork or lower control arms. 30x9.50s and 31x10.50s when mounted on factory Jeep rims will fit in the wheel openings and won't hit the flares or sheet metal when the suspension compresses, but they will rub on the lower control arms when the steering is cranked to full lock. That can be "fixed" by shimming the steering stops on the knuckles, but you lose turning radius. Or, you can replace the lower control arms with those for a WJ Grand Cherokee. They have a bend to provide tire clearance. Especially for a 2WD, the easiest, most straightforward approach is to regard 235/75-15 as the largest tire size you can run with no issues.

Correct, the operable vent/wing windows were an option. Are you asking about swapping an 89 or 90 AX-15 with the internal slave, or are you asking about using a 94+ tranny designed for the external slave with the internal slave bell housing? Just a gauge cluster. No wiring involved. You also have to replace the temperature sender (left rear corner of the head) and the oil pressure sender.