Eagle

They'll be "okay," but they won't be great. For reference, 3.73 gears with 31" tires is exactly the same ratio as a factory automatic with 3.54 gears on stock tires. My guess is that at highway speeds you will be cruising at well below the torque peak of the engine, and that your gas mileage will suck in 5th gear. Here: http://comancheclub.com/topic/27178-tire-size-gear-ratio-rpm/ You need to stop listening to "somebody," because "somebody" doesn't have a clue. You WANT the ratios of the two axles to match. It's when they DON'T match that you start grenading transfer cases. Finish what you already have in progress and then don't touch anything for at least six months. You call a shop that specializes in transmissions and transfer cases. But ... at the top of your post you wrote that you have a "272" transfer case. Never heard of it. What is it and what's it out of? XJs and MJs (except for 1986 and older) used either a 231 or a 242. Don't see why it won't work. My '88 MJ has a YJ Wrangler AX-15 and transfer case in it. With a slip yoke eliminator, you will need a new drive shaft with the slip joint in the shaft. You have two options for the new shaft: (a) You can have it made with the upper/forward end set up with a double Cardan joint, like the front driveshaft. If you do that, the rear pinion angle should be zero (pinion parallel to drive shaft) with the truck sitting at curb weight. If you prefer to use a single u-joint on each end (like stock), the pinion angle should be set parallel to the angle of the transfer case output shaft. All of which means you have to measure your truck. Nobody here can tell you what angle to use. How are you getting the rear tires to clear the frame? 12" tires are a problem with a Jeep axle, and the Ford is narrower. Are you running spacers, or wheels with a large offset? I'll be blunt -- if you wanted worry-free, you should have left it stock. The more you modify, the more opportunities you create for problems.

You can still buy the OEM replacements at Pep Boys -- just not the longer/deeper versions of them. I agree on chrome-plated. They're okay in places like Tucson, but here in the rust belt it only take one winter to kill them deader than last week's fish.

Nope, they are (were) not unique. I bought my '88 XJ new -- it came from the factory with standard AMC 1/2x20 lug nuts with the stainless steel, crimped-on caps. A long time ago I saw some that were the same type (crimped-on caps) but a little taller -- but they were aftermarket, at a Pep Boys. And I've been back several times hoping to find them again, because I liked them. Alas, they have disappeared. "He who hesitates is lost."

They shouldn't. MT springs are supposed to ride at the same height as standard springs, unloaded. They just have more carrying capacity. If aftermarket "metric ton" springs result in lift -- they weren't made correctly.

Using a second set of main leaves in an XJ for an AAL usually results in a lift of 1-1/2". The one time I did it, using a set of older donor leaves in a spring set that was sagged 1/2" below stock, I got a total lift of 1-1/4", resulting in a net gain of 3/4" higher than stock. I think you're on the right track.

What difference does it make? The hitch is the same for both.

Your symptoms sound like a ground problem in the lights. As far as I know, the fuse panel is the same for the 2.5L and 2.8L -- within the same year vehicle. I don't know if or how much the fuse panel changed from one year to another. But I don't think the fuse panel is your problem.

http://comancheclub.com/topic/44109-swb-hitch/

Rusty deals mostly with XJs, so unless it says the AAL is for an MJ, it's rated for an XJ. XJ springs start out nearly flat, because they are SOA from the factory. MJ springs start out with an arch. For reference: Rancho also lists the same AAL for both the XJ and the MJ. Unless they have revised their catalog, the listings claim 2-1/2 inches for the same AAL in either an XJ or an MJ. I wasn't buying that, so I called Rancho, and eventually I was connected with a product engineer. She understood my question, but she didn't know the answer. She put me on hold and went off to talk to someone else. Eventually, she came back and said that the AAL generates 2-1/2" of lift in an XJ, and about 1-1/2" in an MJ. Based on that, for Rusty's AAL I would expect to see 2" to 2-1/2" in an MJ. If you're looking for more than that, go ahead and try it with both the long and short AALs. But I wouldn't scrap the overload leaf -- it's also useful to control spring wrap.

Oh, yeah. Sign me right up to let a bunch of people I don't know wrench on my Jeep, and then keep it for four to six WEEKS doing God only knows what to it. Sounds like a great deal to me (not).

Is Rusty's AAL rated for 3-1/2" in an MJ, or in an XJ? If it's the latter, expect about an inch to an inch and a half less lift in an MJ.

The power steering doesn't change the turning radius -- that's set by the stop on the steering knuckle. Ask and ye shall receive: http://www.borgeson.com/xcart/catalog/New_OEM_Saginaw_525_Box_161-p-1732.html

By steel, do you mean rigid (hard) lines (which won't work) or are you thinking of braided stainless steel lines? The braided stainless lines are nothing more than rubber lines with a braided cover. Nice for a show vehicle, but there's no particular advantage to them on a truck that gets driven.

So????????????? Price?

Especially not when there's a (comparatively) easy work-around. One of my friends in NAXJA-NAC did it about ten years ago. On the early fenders, the "vertical" side surface doesn't roll smoothly into the "horizontal" top surface -- there's a flat bevel between them. On the 97+ fenders there is no bevel -- the upper corners of the header are round, and the transition from vertical to horizontal on the fenders is round. What Bob did was to use bondo to fill in the voids in the back up the upper corners of the header. Made it completely solid. Then, when he bolted the new header onto his old-style fenders, he just took a grinder and shaved down the corners of the header to blend with the beveled profile of the fenders. If you didn't know what he did and how he did it, you would never guess that it was a kludge.

Somewhere between zero and negative 10. 4.88 isn't even available from Dana-Spicer. It was never used by the factory; it is offered only by aftermarket gear makers. That means the only place you might find one is in a Jeep that has been heavily modified by an owner. Anything is possible, but it's rather unlikely.

AMC used to have an option for a 16:1 "Quick Ratio" manual box in the Javelin and AMX. All my Javelins and AMXs were set up with the QRM box. I liked it. The slower 20:1 box was pretty awful. The MJ FSM says the ratio for the manual box was 24:1 -- I don't think I could drive that around the block.

Could be it sat long enough for the O-rings to dry out and shrink. When they got wet again, they swelled enough to make a seal. Maybe?

It's not, but have fun trying.

There should be an adjustment screw somewhere on the radio body to tune the receiver to the antenna -- but my fuzzy recollection is that affects AM more than FM.

Okay, let's try this. Redwolf is in Virginia Beach. I'm in southern Connecticut. According to Google Maps, that's 444 miles and takes 7-1/2 hours to drive. Call it 8 hours. I have out back of my garage a complete 1986 Cherokee 2.5L 5-speed, 4WD. I bought it several years ago to build into a trail rig, then most of the places I used to go wheeling were closed down so I never proceeded with the project. The previous owner had a rebuilt engine put in it. The new engine has about 30,000 miles on it -- I found the receipt in the glovebox. I have not heard it run -- when I tried to start it after I hauled it in here, it would cough and sputter a little, but it wouldn't actually fire up. Spark is VERY weak -- might need an ignition module, might need a CPS. I've had it for sale in the Classifieds here and there's no interest. I need to clear out the yard. At this point all I want out of it is the 4.10 axles. I have other axles I can stuff under it. Redwolf, if you want it and you're willing to rent an auto hauler from U-Haul for a weekend, you can have it. That'll give you a complete donor vehicle, all the peripherals, wiring harness, ECU -- everything.

Your diagnosis is probably correct. I had my '88 Cherokee repainted by Maaco when that happened, but it was a mistake. The new paint looked good for about a year, then it started to face and chalk. Now I have rust peeking through the paint on the roof, and the finish looks like a flat rather than a gloss. What I would suggest that you try is a light sanding with wet-dry paper, trying to sand away the burned clear coat but leave the color coat -- then respray with a new clear coat. Disclaimer: I think this will work, but I have not tried it yet.

My '88 was doing the same thing before I parked it. I was thinking CPS, but now you have me worried ... I don't think your scan tool can read the Renix data. It's NOT OBD-1 compliant, it's proprietary.

You can buy a Reese universal hitch at Wal-Mart.

You know, we're all trying to help you here, but you obviously don't want to be helped. Having been told multiple times what the best/easiest/fastest drop-in swaps would be, WHY do you keep asking about inferior engines that will require MORE work, MORE time, MORE effort, and MORE money ... all to get you something that doesn't run as well as what you have now? Talk to a real junkyard, not a pick-n-pull. They talk to each other -- they can find you whatever engine you want, and then you decide whether or not you want it. If you get an engine from a pick-n-pull, there's no warranty. Most used parts (including engines) from a "real" junkyard come with a 90-day warranty. Do your own search: www.car-part.com In the time we've all wasted trying to diagnose your dead or dying 2.8L you could have had a swap completed by now. Stop fooling around -- either find one of the right engines suggested by multiple people here, or sell the MJ and buy a Ranger or S10.