Eagle

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.

The '92 XJ still had a separate TCU, didn't it? So use that.

They now have a 60,000 mile warranty. If they wear out before that ... get 'em replaced. (I assume the warranty is prorated, like all tire life warranties.)

^^^ Agreed

YIKES! $1300, plus labor. You can manually lock the front axle disconnect for free, in about a half hour. As described in Cruiser's link. For what it's worth, this manually (and permanently) does exactly the same thing as the Posi-Lock, for no cost and without an unreliable cable actuator. Done.

http://www.car-part.com/

87s in the Base trim level had idiot lights. The Pioneer got gauges standard, with a tachometer optional. The Chief (I think) had both gauges and tachometer as standard. The instrumented cluster is a bolt in conversion -- no wiring necessary. You do have to replace the temperature sender and the oil pressure sender with the appropriate senders for gauges. The trick is that Jeep used two different clusters with the mechanical speedometer, and I believe 87 is the cross-over year. The early ones did NOT have any way to adjust the tachometer for number of cylinders, so you have to be careful to get one from a vehicle with the same engine you have. The later ones have a potentiometer on the tach that allows it to be calibrated for the number of cylinders. Also, the speedo cable attachment to the speedo head is different between the early and late styles.

You can easily run 235/75R15s on an XJ or MJ at stock height. I'm currently running one of the family XJs on 235/75s, and I ran the 87 MJ on 30x9.50R15s for years. It needs tires now, and I may replace them with another set of 30x9.50s. The "75" or "70" in the size designation refers to the aspect ratio -- which is the sidewall height as a percentage of the overall width. If the first number is the same (such as 225) and the wheel size is the same (15-inch) you lose height going to a smaller aspect ratio. Example: My 2000 XK Sport came from the factory with 225/75R15 tires. The 2000 XJ Classic came with 225/70R16 tires. (Note the difference in both aspect ratio and wheel size). They are actually the same size in rolling diameter, The 225/75R15 rolls 713 revolutions per mile. The 225/70R16 rolls 710 revolutions per mile. That's not enough to even count -- it amounts to a difference of 0.4 percent. Personally, I think the best deal going for XJ/MJ tires (for general driving) is at Wal-Mart, They have the original Goodyear Wrangler radials for $88 per tire. These were the OEM tire on the Jeeps back in the late 80s and early 90s, before "Wrangler" became en entire family of tires rather than a specific model of Goodyear. It used to be offered in both 215/75R15 and 225/75R15 -- Goodyear now offers it only in 235/75R15 ... which IMHO is the optimum tire size for the XJ and MJ.

Zero. Seriously. I have the BA 10/5 in my '88 XJ and it's still going at 287,000+ miles, but if it were to blow I wouldn't try to repair it and I certainly wouldn't spend money on another one. My 'druthers would be the 3550, but that's pricey so I would probably go with an AX-15, and look for a post-94 to get the external slace cylinder.

2500 RPMs is not burning up the engine, since the redline is about twice that ... but it's not right, and IMHO it's excessive for 5th gear with 31" tires. If that's in 5th gear, it does NOT work out to 4.27 gearing. In 5th with 31" tires, 4.88 gears only produce 2281 RPM ... and 4.88 is the deepest gearset available for an XJ or MJ with a Dana 30 front axle. Was your speedometer recalibrated when you put on the 31" tires? If not, your actual road speed is between 10 and 13 percent faster than what the speedometer reads -- meaning that when you see 55 you are actually traveling at more than 60 MPH (maybe close to 65). You really need to open up one of the differentials and read the numbers stamped on the edge of the ring gear.

4-Hi is supposed to be shift-on-the-fly up to 50 MPH.

Parts places are retarded. The other day I needed a star wheel (adjuster) for the rear brakes of a 2001 Cherokee. The ONLY brakes used on the rear of the 2001 Cherokee were the Chrysler 9"x2.5" drums. So the parts drone calls up his computer and asks me if I have 9-inch or 10-inch brakes. I couldn't be angry at him -- he can't be expected to know every part on a 13-year old vehicle. But whoever programmed the store's computer didn't have a clue.

That's not possible. Your options are 2WD-High, 4WD-High, and 4WD-Low. There is no 2WD-Low available. Are you certain the whine is from the front differential and not from the transfer case? My first thought is that you're hearing the drive chain.

I have never seen a D35 with the 10"x2.5" drums, but Bob Salemi from NAXJA, whose word I am prepared to accept, told me that he has seen them. If they do exist, they are extremely rare. But you can't just buy 2.5" shoes and drums and bolt them onto a D35. The backing plates are different. I know because I tried it, and the drums wouldn't seat deep enough for the center portion to make contact with the hub flange. If you have the matching backing plates, it's a good upgrade. Without the backing plates -- don't waste your time, effort and money.

The 207 isn't as good as the 231 and, IIRC, the low range is 2.6x:1 rather than 2.72:1, but there's no reason it won't work. Just remember that the YJ transfer case shifted with a lever mounted rirectly to the t-case. I believe you'll have to change the linkage to get it to work with an MJ frame-mounted shifter.

Dunno. If you want to try a rebuild, be sure you get O-rings made from a rubber that's resistant to brake fluid.