Eagle

How can the a/c work if the heater core has been removed?

It's either the starter or the alternator. I would take both to the nearest Auto Zone or Advanced Auto and have them bench tested. Unfortunately, it isn't uncommon for "new" (especially rebuilt) alternators to be dead-on-arrival.

Being an Eliminator with a sliding rear window, it might be worth a bit more than $500 -- depending on how well (or if) it runs. It sure isn't worth $1800.

Maybe it should be -- but it isn't. TJ coils produce 2 to 3 inches less lift in an XJ or MJ than they do in a TJ.

You need a transmission to make the 2WD to 4WD swap, too, unless you think it's easier to tear apart your transmission and change the output shaft and tail cone for a transfer case input shaft and rear tranny housing set up to mate with the transfer case. The AW4 has a separate TCU, so going from manual to automatic doesn't require RE-wiring anything in the truck. Just add the TCU wiring harness.

You need both. For vehicle carry, I picked up a mid-size tool set from Sears on sale that includes both SAE and metric sockets and combination wrenches. I leave my full toolbox stuff at home in the toolbox. Christmas will be coming soon -- Sears will have tool sets on sale.

I agree.

Depends on the year. I don't recall specifics but some years the 2WD used a "conventional" front wheel bearing setup with the studs in the rotor. Other years the 2WD used the same hub/bearing units as the 4WD, and the studs are in the hub.

The flappers are controlled by vacuum. You have a vacuum leak. First place to check is where the vacuum hose to the reservoir behind the front bumper passes by the battery.

What's wrong with just using the factory mounts?

The factory metric ton package had the same ride height as the standard springs. It aoppears from reports that aftermarket "metric ton" springs ride 1" to 2" higher than standard ... which suggests that they are not really duplicates of the factory springs. (Not saying they aren't good springs, just that they aren't a duplicate of the factory equipment.) I've never heard of any "metric ton" spring that generated 3 inches of lift. With up to 2" of lift you can generally get away with OEM shocks. At or beyond 3" you really should be looking at different shocks. Looking at Monroe data for MJ rear shocks, one model has a total travel of 8.625" and another has a total travel of 9.750". Round it to 9" f\or discussion. Under ideal conditions, the piston normally rides at mid-height, so you have 4-1/2" of compression travel and 4-1/2" of extension travel (droop). Lift the vehicle 3" and you have used up almost all the available extension. Not the end of the world, but ... not right.

Sorry. I KNOW this is incorrect, because I wheeled both my '88 XJ and '88 MJ all over paragon and on a number of trails in the Mohawk Trail region of Massachusetts, including several stream crossings and deep fords -- no harm to hubs. In fact, the '88 XJ is on the third hub on the driver's side at 287,000+ miles -- and still on the original on the passenger side.

A factory part number won't help, since the factory doesn't make them any longer. Crown uses factory part numbers for their parts. About ten years ago I installed a Crown flex plate in an '88 XJ and it worked fine. I have heard isolated reports that they are now clocked incorrectly, but I have no first-hand information on this.

6-inch

The early XJ/MJ front hubs had NOMINALLY serviceable bearings. I wrote "nominally" because service requires a hefty hydraulic press, and by the time you buy the two bearings and associated seals the cost is about the same as buying a complete hub/bearing unit. That said, what's wrong with the hub/bearing? They typically last between 100k and 150k miles.

Negatives: Aftermarket rear bumper. Aftermarket dual exhaust. Rust showing through the lower body panels, especially the passenger door. Positives: Sliding rear window. Tow mirrors (if you like 'em). 7" wheels, not the base model 6" wheels. However, I'll guess it does NOT have the transfer case you want. The Selec-Trac for model year 1986 was not the NP/NVG242, it was the NP228 or NP229. That was a VERY different animal. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would have the cajones to ask $1000 for a vehicle they don't even know will run.

Literally. There is NO wiring necessary -- it's already there. The speedometers in both of your photos are the "old" style, which probably uses a metal clip and a screw to hold the cable to the speedometer head. The tachometers in that style don't have any way to calibrate between 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder, so if you buy one, be sure it came from a vehicle with the same number of cylinders as yours.

Yeah, that grille was on the XJ Wagoneer for a couple of years, and those were usually pretty well tricked out. Several years ago I trekked up to Rhode Island to hit a pick-n-pull junkyard for a dana 44 under an XJ. Met a friend who lives not too far from the yard and off we went. It was a cold day so we wanted to grab it and get out of Dodge. This yard has all the XJs lined up in a row. We went to the one he had told me had a D44 and started unbolting the axle, when I happened to look at the vehicle next to it. Sure enough -- an XJ Wagoneer with ... a D44. So I came home with two axles -- for $75 each.

It creates additional drag, because you're spinning the gears inside. I think you can resolve that by just removing the ring gear and reassembling. You want the pinion in there to keep the gear lube from running out, although with no gears turning in there all you're lubricating is the inner (carrier) bearings.

In addition to swapping the cluster, you will need to change the oil pressure sender and the engine temperature sender.

The XJ and MJ did not have a 7-slot grille in the early body style ... ever. Up through 1987 it was 10 slots, from 1988 through 1996 it was 8 slots.

Holy thread necromancy, Batman!

Nope. There is a bellhousing for the AW4 that fits the 2.5L, but it's VERY rare.

Are you squeezing the outer ring on the plastic piece to get it to slide over the locking groove or ridge or whatever it is that retains the cable? If your speedo cable has a white(ish) nylon/plastic retainer, you have the correct cable.

I've never seen looms like that on an XJ or MJ. I don't even like the concept -- the more you run the wires parallel, the more you create the possibility of cross-fire.