Eagle

The problem is that the wiring diagram probably doesn't exist. I have an '87 with dealer-installed air. It's definitely NOT factory air -- although I believe it was made by a company named "Factory Air," which may have been an affiliate or subsidiary of AMC back then. It worked, and it looked similar to factory-installed a/c, but it was pretty much different. I'm thinking seriously about removing mine and putting in the real factory air out of an '87 XJ donor vehicle.

1. Brake dust is dust -- it ALWAYS comes off. Spray it with aerosol brake cleaner. Done. Wash the wheels with Simple Green. Done. 2. The turbine wheels are not chrome. They are aluminum alloy, with polished flats and other surfaces left rough.

What's different is that on the MJ (and XJ), the CAD housing also incorporates the tower for the upper control arm. The YJ doesn't have control arms, it's leaf sprung in the front. I don't know if the YJ CAD housing incorporates the spring perch but, whether it does or not, you're still faced with trying to add an UCA tower to a CAD housing that wasn't designed or intended to have one. Personally, I'd much rather swap the gears than try to align and weld four control arm brackets, at least one of which is going to have to be a custom design. Remember, this is the front axle, the one you steer with. If you don't get the positions and angles of all four control arm brackets located precisely and symmetrically, you'll always have squirrely handling.

Yes, the harnesses are different -- aside from the length. The XJ has dedicated amber lights for the turn signals and hazard flashers, so stepping on the brake doesn't stop the flashers from flashing, and so you still get both brake lights when the turn signal is signaling. The MJ uses the same 2-filament bulbs for taillights, stoplights, turn signals AND hazard flashers.

Yep. IMHO, what a colossal waste of time, effort, and materials. I may be in a minority, but I like those turbine wheels. What he did wasn't "refurbish" that wheel so much as bastardize it. I restore them by stripping the clear coat, polishing the flats, and applying new clear coat.

With a B8 it's a Dana 44, but it's the crappy aluminum housing "Dana 44." It may be the only axle in the known universe that's less desireable than a Dana 35 for Jeep applications. Even worse -- although it's called a "Dana 44," it doesn't take standard D44 parts. Take the brakes and adapt them to whatever axle you have in your truck. Sell the rest for scrap.

All of the above.

Really? That's not what you said a couple of posts above. Keep in mind that if you have an '86, unless you have done a power plant swap/upgrade, you have either a second generation 2.5L or a 2.8L engine. Neither is a powerhouse. They'll be working hard to push 31-inch tires. I don't think you'll be happy with 32s or anything larger.

How old is your oxygen sensor? Blue smoke means burning oil. Black smoke is carbon, and the usual cause of black smoke is a very rich mixture -- which can be the result of a dying oxygen sensor.

119.9 - 113 = 6.9 There's your answer.

I ran 31x10.50s when I had the 4" lift in my '88 MJ and I didn't feel I needed (or wanted) anything larger. Whatever floats your boat.

Then what you would do is get a 3.4L (must come from a rear-wheel drive car like a Camaro or Firebird). Use your existing Jeep intake and exhaust manifolds. Use your Jeep flywheel, but you'll have to have it re-balanced. The 2.8L was an externally-balanced engine -- meaning there's a blob of eccentric weight on one side of the flywheel. The 3.4L is internally balanced, so you have to get the blob removed and the flywheel "neutral balanced" (no eccentric weights in any one spot). The 3.4L doesn't have a place for a mechanical fuel pump, so you'll need an electric. Not a big deal -- for a carburetor, the fuel pump only pushes about 7 psi and you can find plenty of choices at a speed shop or on-line at Summit Racing. Such as this: http://www.summitracing.com/search/department/air-fuel-delivery/universal/yes/product-line/summit-racing-street-strip-electric-fuel-pumps?N=4294951509%2B4294947842%2B4294951518%2B4294948048%2B4294921162&SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending&autoview=SKU&keyword=Electric%20Fuel%20Pumps

There can also be a mechanical problem resulting in high idle. The cable from the accelerator peddle leads to a bellcrank lever that pivots on a bracket mounted on the driver's side frame ear, below the master cylinder. From there, a rod extends up to snap onto the ball stud on the throttle body. Every few years (usually after a tough winter) I've found on my '88s that the pivot point (joint) of the bellcrank gets either corroded or contaminated with enough gunk that it doesn't allow the throttle to close all the way when pressure is released from the peddle. Soaking the pivot with PB Blaster has resolved this.

Respectfully, you DON'T want to do a 4.0L conversion. Not on an '86. You want to do a GM 3.4L conversion. You won't be needing to hack and/or hammer your firewall, and the block is the same basic 60-degree V6 as the 2.8L so the engine itself is a bolt-in conversion, and will take the same transmission you already have. You would have a choice of staying with your carburetor, or keeping the GM MPFI and getting the engine room wiring harness to run it from the donor vehicle.

It's highly unlikely that anyone would get pinched for having beadlocks on the street. The potential risk is that if you are in an accident caused by a blown tire (even if the blowout wasn't caused by the beadlock), your insurance might decline to pay, and if anyone is injured you could be facing a civil liability lawsuit. Why take the chance? As PFCLeist commented above, the purpose of beadlocks (hence the name) is to retain the bead with the tire aired down to very low pressures. They are completely unnecessary at normal, street driving tire pressures.

Be thankful they're fake. Last I knew, real beadlocks were not legal for use on public roads. {Edited 9/2/2014 to correct abysmal typing skills}

That was the typical mode of failure for the 2.8L. Back when Jeep first started using the 2.8L in the 1984 Cherokee, I was good friends with the service manager at the dealership where I bought my '88 Cherokee -- and where I had bought several AMC cars previously. I hung out in the shop fairly often in those days, and it was rare to come in and NOT find at least one Cherokee 2.8L with a connecting rod poking through the side of the block.

A Renix will NOT have "HO" badges. The HO came out in 1991, when Chrysler changed to their in-house injection/ignition system.

Unless it's an '86 haha. Then it's hack, weld, and BFH affair. :rotf: True ... but the OP specifically said he has an '88 and was looking at '87 thru '90 engines. Direct fit.

I agree it's as easy as any swap could be. I still think getting it done in one weekend is impressive, but JeepcoMJ is correct -- it's pretty much a bolt-in swap all the way. After all, the vehicle was designed to take both engines -- how hard could it be?

"I love it when a plan comes together." Colonel Hannibal Smith

He pretty much didn't. He had to get it finished in time to drive it to school, and the 2.5L blew when he had less than a week left. The amazing thing is that he did a very good job of it -- no hack work, no butchery.

No, he specifically said '87 - '90 4.0L, so he would be going from a Renix 2.5L to a Renix 4.0L. The engine room harness and ECU would have to be swapped, but that's not impossible. One of the guys in NAXJA-NAC (North Atlantic Chapter) did a complete 2.5L to 4.0L swap in one weekend. He said he worked his [bleep] off, but he did it in one weekend.

Why is it that almost every time I cite the FSM somebody chimes in with "That's impossible" or "That can't be right." WTF? Do you guys think I make this stuff up? I have the FSM for the '86 - '88 MJ and for the '86 - '88 XJ. If I cite something from the FSM, that means I looked it up, because I DON'T want to be giving out incorrect information. Yes, I know small-block Chevy V8s were adjusted while running -- I've done it many times. That does not change the fact of what the FSM says is the correct way to adjust the valves on the 2.8L engine. Apparently Haynes agrees. So does Chilton. So maybe -- just maybe -- that's the right way to do it. I don't know why I waste my time trying to help people here, I really don't. People who weren't even born when I started wrenching ALL know so much more than I do I'm obviously out of my league.

Correct. I own a 2000 Cherokee -- it has the 4.0L and the AW4 transmission. The 5.2 litre was in the Grand Cherokee ZJ model, and it was the old Chrysler 318 engine. It's big and heavy and sucks gas like it owns an oil well. Not a good choice. As noted above, starting in 1999 the Grand Cherokee became the WJ series, with the all-new 4.7L V-8. I agree with Jim -- I owned a 1999 Grand Cherokee for about 8 months. The engine crapped out on me, the transmission was horrible, and the full-time transfer case acted up from time to time. NOT a good choice for a swap. And that's ignoring the fact you would need to rewire the entire truck to use the new electronic system in the WJ. Oh ... I own a 2000 Cherokee because Chrysler bought back my '99 Grand Cherokee so I wouldn't go lemon law on them. I replaced it with the 2000 XJ.