Eagle

In my opinion, yes. Dual springs are for race engines that run higher than 6,000 or 7,000 RPM. Same with stronger springs -- you need stronger springs to prevent valve float at high RPM. Valve float is caused by the momentum of the rapidly moving valve overriding the spring tension. Since the stock spriings are designed to operate within the stock RPM band, they're adequate. Keep in mind that a "big" cam isn't physically bigger. The cam lobes still have to fit through the holes in the block and the cam bearings. The lobes of a "big" cam aren't any farther away from the cam centerline than those of a stock cam. Instead, the base circle is ground smaller. Your "big" can isn't going to compress the valve springs any farther than the stock cam.

The factory clutch in my '88 XJ had 204,000 miles on it when it was replaced ... and the only reason I had to work on it was that the release bearing gave up. The clutch itself was still good and showed hardly any wear but, for all the work of replacing an internal slave, I threw in a new clutch set as a preemptive strike. There shouldn't be anything wrong with your clutch at 122k unless the previous owner abused it badly. (Which is certainly a possibility.)

I have no idea what this is talking about. Is "you Quote" an application, or an add-in for browsers?

Yes. I believe the factory cam kits for the 2.5L included new, dual springs. I would check for you, since I have one of those kits -- but I have no idea where to look for it. That said, I wouldn't look for a big increase in spring strength, just get dual springs to control coil harmonics. Standard single springs are good at least to 5,500 RPM -- I seriously doubt you'll be spending much time that high in the power band. If so -- you'd better plan on sending the whole engine out for a professional balance job.

Regarding recovery gear -- be sure you get a "recovery" strap, not a "tow" strap. They may look similar (except that tow straps usually have metal hooks on each end, recovery straps just have sewn loops), but they are NOT the same. Probably the most common strap found is a 2" rated for 20,000 pounds, but I've been seeing more and more people using 3" 30,000-pound straps. Remember that the front of the MJ is a unibody. You can't just buy a pair of hooks and bolt them to the "frame" -- they'll tear right out. Several companies offer near clones of the factory tow hook bracket kit. I like Custom 4x4.

I agree on always going with at least one other vehicle, and preferably one that's roughly equal to yours in capability. I still remember the day in my STOCK '88 XJ at paragon when NAXJA-NAC went on what was supposed to be a light trail cruise after a day of work cutting new trails. The [unprintable} female leading us took us through a trail called "The Rock Garden." Within about 50 yards I had dented my oil pan and damned near ripped out my transfer case. She had the chutzpah to say "What's your problem? Stock Liberties went through here at the Jeep Jamboree." Ain't no way any stock Liberties went through there. This [unprintable] was in a short wheelbase Wrangler with a 6-inch lift and 33-inch tires. She had no concept of what wheeling in a stock vehicle is. In retrospect, she shouldn't have been allowed to lead us, since I wasn't the only stock XJ there. Others saw me turn around and come back out, so they bailed and took an alternate route. For the record, that same XJ ran Old Florida Road in North Adams, MA (as far as the beaver pond -- had to turn back there, the enviro-weenies got upset if we disturbed the beavers, even though they built their pond right across the damned trail), and on the Ice Cream trail I was the only stock vehicle in a mixed group that included some built Wranglers from a local club we met in the Auto Zone parking lot. They couldn't believe that a stock Cherokee had just run the same trail they did. So don't discount the Jeep's abilities, but don't allow someone with a much more "built" vehicle to talk you into trying something too difficult. Unless he guarantees to fix whatever you break following his lead. Nobody has mentioned a CB radio. You can get a Cobra Classic at any truck stop for well under $100, and there's a Cobra (or Uniden?) compact that will do fine for trail rides that costs about $50. Just use a magnetic or gutter mount antenna. You're only talking to the Jeeps in your group, you're not trying to transmit from Los Angeles to Boston.

How are you pasting? If you actually got the URL of the photo copied, in the Comanche Club edit window just hit CTRL-V and the URL is pasted. If you don't get anything, then you didn't copy the URL out of Photobucket.

That doesn't look like a factory hitch to me. The mounting ears are too short. There should be four bolt holes on each side, not two. I bought a hitch from the dealer to install on my 2000 XJ, and it (the hitch) looks exactly the same as the one under an '86 XJ wreck in the yard. Does it have a Jeep part number stamped into it anywhere?

Bolted.

Those should be nutstrips that slide into the unibody frame strut. At least that's how the factory hitch was mounted on an XJ that I used to have. That's correct. Each frame rail has a metal strip inside with nuts welded onto it. The bolts go up through the hitch and into the nut strips. On my '88 there were also two (I think) torx bolts through the bumper. They went to a separate bracket that was easy to unbolt. Part #15 in the diagram is the mount for the rear exhaust hanger.

So it's NOT stock, and it's broken to the point it can't be driven. $750. $3,000 is so ridiculous it's not even worth discussing.

First, pull your drive shaft and grease the slip splines where the yoke goes into the transfer case. See if that helps. I keep reading that, But isn't that only for newer model Xj's that have the external yoke with the boot? Doesnt my tranny fluid lube my yoke? Good point. I had that clunk symptom with a '99 WJ and lubing the splines helped, but you're correct -- that was the new style, external slip yoke.

Since you have a 3" lift in the front, I would recommend the 3" lift springs for the rear. Metric tone springs should restore the back of your truck to stock height, which will look like a California rake with a 3" lift in the front.

The 87 - 90 Jeep parts book shows three valve springs for the 2.5L. One is unique to the 1987, the second refers to valves marked #15, 19, 20, 60 ... The third is part number 3300 4296, which is the same valve spring listed for the 4.0L. It is described as 2 inches long. Considering that 4.0Ls often run for 300,000 miles or longer, I don't think I'd be messing around with non-standard valve springs.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Stiffer valve springs usually call for dual springs to avoid valve bounce and spring harmonics. The inner spring acts as a damper.

Of course it is not the same thing. All MJ's ARE Comanches where as you state all Wranglers are not TJ's. You can use TJ to refers to a 2006 Wrangler but not a 1995 or 2014 Wrangler. You can use MJ & Comanche interchangeably for the entire produced took run. Conversely, All MJs are Comanches and all XJs are Cherokees. But ... not all Cherokees are XJs. Aside from the fact that we now have a new ... something ... bearing the name Cherokee, for export purposes the vehicle we know as the Liberty has always been called the Cherokee. (Yes, I've seen them with my own eyes, in my wife's native country.) However, what you wrote was He might indeed, but since all TJs are Wranglers, how could there be any confusion? On the other hand, if someone writes "Wrangler," it could be a YJ or a TJ or ...

Yes, the bypass for the height sensing valve has been discussed in detail multiple times. It may take a bit of sleuthing, but look around and you'll find multiple threads, some with photos.

??? Isn't that sort of like saying "You might be using MJ when you mean Comanche?" All TJs are Wranglers, but not all Wranglers are TJs.

First, pull your drive shaft and grease the slip splines where the yoke goes into the transfer case. See if that helps.

I agree with benji_26. The MJ is supposed to have some rake when empty in the back. Unless you measure front and rear by the factory method, you don't really know how yours compares to factory specs. Be sure to measure both sides and average the result, front and rear. If one corner is way off from the opposite side, look for a broken leaf.

Good point -- especially since the manifold is under vacuum, not pressure.

Do you have any idea of the history of the vehicle? Do you know if it has a security system? Seems to me I recall several years ago, possibly on the NAXJA forum, a discussion started by a guy in Sweden (or Iceland?) who had the same problem. I don't recall if it was ever resolved. It's not as simple as a ballast resistor for the fuel pump, is it? I have a 2000 XJ but I don't know if they use the ballast resistor. If so, there's a bypass circuit to allow full power to the pump for starting, then after the key returned to the RUN position the current is routed through the ballast resistor. If the resistor is bad, it'll start on the bypass circuit and then die on the RUN circuit.

Not sure, but I don't think bearing grease is appropriate. Vaseline is what I have always seen recommended for injector O-rings.

Too easy. Makes too much sense. Yet they killed the 4.0L engine in favor of using a universal, cross-platform V6 engine. Sheesh.. And I'm surprised to see in Hornbrod's chart that after moving the Libby to 5x5, they went back to 5x4.5 for the Patriot/Compass (but, of course, they had to use a different center hub diameter).

What do you mean by "most other Jeep models"? Jeep has used a lot of different bolt patterns over the years. The CJs had a 5-on-5-1/2 pattern, IIRC. The old Grand Wagoneers and J-trucks had a 6-bolt pattern. The XJ, MJ, YJ, TJ and the Liberty were all 5-on-4-1/2. The WJ Grand Cherokee (beginning in 1999) went to 5-on-5, I believe. I have no idea what any of the current Jeep offerings are, but I doubt they are the same as the XJ and MJ.