Eagle

Horse manure. A bolt only loses clamping force if it's stretched beyond its elastic limit, into the plastic range (which is another way of describing a torque-to-yield bolt). The 2.5L and 4.0L Jeep engines do not use TTY head bolts. Nope. It's completely unfair, unrealistic, and useless to compare lubricated, undamaged threads against dry, damaged threads. That's essentially like saying it's more difficult to skate on sandpaper than it is to skate on ice. The statement is true, but it's useless and meaningless. Further, I can't recall ever seeing a factory service manual that called for lubricated threads. All I've ever seen is a requirement for clean, DRY threads. Torque specs generally tell you to reduce the specified torque by 15% to 25% (the percentage will vary depending on the size of the bolt and the thread pitch) if the threads are lubricated.

The OEM clutches were Luchs.

Do you replace your wheel studs every time (or every second time) you rotate your tires? They are 1/2" and the torque spec (depending on what year FSM you look at) is anywhere from 85 pounds to 115 pounds. By the way, the word is "wary." "Weary" means extremely tired.

Agreed. That's not a c-clip axle -- there's no groove for the c-clip.

SLOW DOWN! If it cranks, you OBVIOUSLY have power to the starter, so you don't have "no power." And if it cranks, you don't need a starter relay. Do you have fuel pressure at the fuel rail? have you checked? What pressure? Do you have spark? Do you have headlights and tail lights? DON'T just start throwing parts at it -- you'll go broke. Diagnose the problem one step at a time.

ZJ V8 coils (which are the same part number as 2000 XJ Up Country coils). Or, NAPA (and I think Carquest) sell variable rate "cargo coils" for the XJ/MJ.

One consideration -- I assume the kit calls for removing the pan from the transmission. The dipstick/fill tube is integral with the pan. It's in two pieces, so the upper part can stay in the vehicle when you drop the pan. The problem is that the rubber O-ring at the joint is probably rock hard and you won't be able to separate the two halves. And you'll probably have to destroy the upper half to get the pan out of the truck. To be safe, buy a spare upped tube and O-ring to have available if you need them. Use Vaseline on the O-ring when reassembling.

Install metric ton springs. The LWB Comanche with the metric ton package was rated to carry 2,200 pounds (which happens to be a metric ton).

That's correct. Keep dual pipes all the way, or don't bother.

Must be nice to live where it never rains or snows ... Around here, something like that would just be a portable reservoir.

Merry Christmas, y'all. Tomorrow I expect to see lots of reports of MJ toys under the tree.

I wouldn't use pipe. It's steel, but not particularly strong steel, and a 1" pipe really isn't going to offer much protection. Tubing is better, has structural properties, and can be bought in different wall thicknesses depending on how strong you want it.

I've been driving the '88 MJ with no rear proportioning valve and the MJ distribution block for several years with no issues. The XJ has more weight over the rear axle than an unloaded MJ, so I don't expect any problems there, either. And with the cup washer removed, I don't think the bare piston/plunger can restrict the brake fluid anyway, so I don't think leaving the spring in would create any bias. As I've mentioned before, I was driving for more than 20 years before I owned anything with a proportioning valve, so I'm very comfortable having good brakes when I need them.

Yes. The forward shank of the piston fits into another rubber gasket or bushing. That's open to the "nose" of the block and the forward retainer plug, which has a hole in it. Leave out the piston (plunger), and I think (I'm not certain -- haven't tried it) you'll have a quarter-inch hole for rapidly dumping your brake fluid into the engine compartment. I plan to remove the rubber cup washer from the aft end of the plunger, remove the spring, and manually shove the plunger full forward -- then I'll screw the plug into the valve body and enjoy having rear brakes again.

??? Please cite a source for this, because it is contrary to everything I have ever heard about oil filters and the Jeep engines. In fact, the Wix, Purolator, Mobil-1, and NAPA Gold filters all have reliable anti-drainback valves.

You are correct. We DO want a good anti-drainback valve, and the good filters mentioned all have one.

Very messy. Those were partial flow filters, IIRC. That last partial flow filter I saw (not the toilet paper type) was in my father's 1962 Rambler. They didn't run the entire oil circulation through the filter, only a bypass circuit. So only some of the oil was filtered as it flowed through the engine, and as the filter became obstructed by gunk less and less oil went through the filter -- at the time when the oil was dirty and it was most important to be filtering it. Dunno whoever thought that was a good idea, but he should have been shot at dawn.

So youse wanna know about erl filters, eh? Ask and ye shall receive: http://minimopar.net/oilfilters/index.html

It's the easiest car to hack: http://www.komando.com/happening-now/265593/the-top-three-most-hackable-cars-in-the-world

Removing the spring and pushing the piston permanently forward accomplishes the same thing, and you don't have to worry about the spring. Or I may remove both the spring and the rubber cup washer. Once the cup washer is gone, there's no reason I can think of to keep the spring in there.

The 4.0L was introduced in the 1987 model year, and NO 2.8L V6s were used after 1986. Something about the story behind this vehicle doesn't add up.

The MJ distribution block does not act as a proportioning valve, because the rear height-sensing valve takes care of that. BUT ... the MJ distribution block also has a by-pass circuit so that, if the front brakes fail when the rear is unloaded (and therefore getting very little braking through the rear proportioning valve), the bypass circuit sends full pressure to the rear brakes. If you eliminate the distribution block entirely and run direct from the master cylinder, you'll always have full pressure to both the front and the rear. But you won't have any warning light if there's a problem in either circuit. In an unloaded pickup, full pressure to the rear brakes may be too much, and can cause skids and spin-outs. If that's the case, you can buy the Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve and install that in the rear brake circuit. You still won't have a warning light, and if the Wilwood is adjusted for light loads, you won't automatically get increased braking when you load the bed with roof shingles.

Not Cruiser, but the stock metering block (MJ) or proportioning valve (XJ) serves a second function: It's also the actuator for the brake failure warning light. If you eliminate it, you won't have any brake warning system. The way the proportioning function works in the XJ/ZJ version, the forward part of the valve is the part that feeds the rear brake circuit. That plug you see on the front (or nose) of the block has a rubber gasket inside, and there's a brass plunger that has a sliding shank that seals against this gasket. Then there's a heavy spring, and behind the spring there's a flange and a rubber cup seal. At rest, the cup seal blocks brake fluid from going to the rear brakes, so under light braking the fronts do ALL the work. Under severe braking, the hydraulic pressure finally gets high enough to seal the cup in the bore and force the piston forward against the spring. This opens the port to the rear brakes and allows them to do some work. And that's why I don't like the system. There's no danger of spinning out under light braking. Under heavy braking, a lot of weight transfers onto the front wheels, making it harder for them to skid, and OFF the rear wheels, making it easier for them to skid. So what the XJ proportioning valve actually does is not allow the rear brakes to work EXCEPT for the conditions when you really need to limit the braking force to the rear wheels. The other problem with it is that, since the piston only moves under heavy braking (did I mention that the spring is STRONG?), if you drive sanely and never get to panic stop pressures in the system, the cup seal may not move for years. The crud in the brake fluid builds up around it and locks it in place. At that point, you have NO rear brakes -- ever. My '88 XJ hasn't had rear brakes for three or four years. I tested it in snow -- rolling at about 10 or 15 MPH, I opened the door to watch the rear wheels (in a deserted parking lot) and slammed on the brakes. The fronts locked up and skidded. The rears just kept rolling. I think when I get Old faithful back on the road I'll just pull the spring out of the proportioning valve and leave it so I always have rear brakes. I can deal with that.

Look at the two photos in Hornbrod's post #60. The upper ones are Spidertrax. Do you see that ring around the center hole, inside the lugs? That ring (or flange) is the same size and diameter as the projection of the actual hub through the drum or rotor. The center hole of the wheel fits snugly onto this flange, allowing the flange to support the vehicle's weight and the lug and lug nuts only have to hold the wheel on the hub. On the back side, the side that mates to the vehicle's axle, the center hole has a small depression milled around it to allow it to fit snugly onto the hub flange of the axle. Now look at the lower photo. Notice that the outer face is completely flat/flush, from the outer edge right in to the center opening. No flange. Nothing to key into the center hole of the wheel. Don't buy them. If you can't afford to do it right, don't do it until you save some more money.

If you have the rear proportioning valve in place and operational, use the original MJ distribution block. The XJ unit is also the proportioning valve, and I can't make myself think of any reason why it would be a good idea to have two proportioning valves in the system, fighting for supremacy. To be honest, the more I think about how the XJ proportioning valve works, the less I like it for ANY application.