Eagle

I'm voting for CPS. It's a 2-wire connector, and it's located behind the intake manifold.

It hasn't been mentioned in this thread, but it has been discussed numerous times in other threads. When I used to wheel the '88 MJ with the 4-inch lift that was a normal occurrence. It didn't hurt anything, just left stripes of black rubber on the inner wheelwells when the suspension got twisted up. It wouldn't be an issue in street driving, and probably not even mild "wheeling" such as fire trails.

In this case, you are correct. The sensor in the side of the block is what provides data to the ECU in the Renix system, and relocating it to the thermostat housing might result in a difference in reading. The question is what that would affect. In the HO (Chrysler) system, the temp sender in the t'stat housing provides all the data to the ECU, and the ECU controls (among other things) the auxiliary fan. The Renix system has a stand-alone sensor to activate the auxiliary fan, so that's not a concern. As far as I know, the only things the ECU uses the temperature data for is to switch from open loop (warm-up) to closed loop (normal run) mode. That change takes place at something like 165 to 175 degrees, which is well below the normal operating temperature. If the change in mode takes place a few degrees cooler or a few degrees warmer, I doubt the driver would even notice. Interesting -- I started this post with the idea that it wouldn't work, then as I walked myself through it I came to the view that it just might work.

Even a 3" lift won't help unless you extend the bump stops to prevent the suspension from stuffing the tires into the flares and sheet metal.

Not a big deal to you, but could be a big deal to someone else (like me, for example) -- which is why I took the trouble to point it out before he has the tires mounted and then finds out he has to remove the flares and trim the sheet metal. If that's not a problem for him, at least he'll know what to expect. If it IS a problem for him ... at least he'll know what to expect.

Whereas '97 and newer Cherokees have the latch located at a different height, requiring alterations to the latch position on the door posts.

What rims? How much backspacing? 15x8 MB Razors. I'll have to check with Discount Tire for the backspacing, but they do stick out past the flares some. Then you will have a problem. 31x10.50s on factory rims fit inside the flares and sheet metal, and rub on the lower control arms. No aftermarket rims have as much backspacing as Jeep factory rims. That means your tires may not rub the lower control arms (which we can live with), but WILL probably smash into the flares and maybe the sheet metal when you turn. In addition, on those rims the tires almost certainly won't tuck up into the fender when the suspension compresses, they'll hit the flares. There's a reason why I have a shed full of factory Jeep rims ...

Dear God! What a mess. Whoever did that should never be allowed to pick up a wrench ... If at all possible, I think you should try to get someone with a '95 XJ to park next to you so you can see how/where all those wires and tubes are supposed to run, and start cleaning up that rat's nest.

What rims? How much backspacing?

Pushing the clutch peddle to the floor doesn't engage the clutch, it DISengages it. You're saying the truck runs with the clutch engaged, and stalls when it's DISengaged?

From the site: This says to me they are selling 2-door XJ flares for the MJ. Looks like they can work, but probably require some fitting and adaptation.

??? If the block was replaced at 151k, then are you saying it has gone 180k since the replacement, or are you saying that the engine really only has 29k on it?

If the ECU and injection system is still the '88 Renix system, use the O2 sensor for an '88. If you swapped in the newer Chrysler ECU and injection when you swapped the motor, then use the O2 sensor for the year of the vehicle from which you took the wiring harness.

31s on factory rims will rub the lower control arms on sharp turns. The cure is to use LCAs from the WJ Grand Cherokee.

You can't patch it. The tank is pressurized. Anything you try to stick onto it will be blown off the first time the engine gets up to temperature.

The timing chain looks fine to me. You may not realize that the 2.5L uses the same timing chain and gear set as the 4.0L, but in the 2.5L the spacing between the two gears is slightly less. So the chain will always be slack. That's why they use the tensioner. (The same timing set in the 4.0L does not use a tensioner). A failing CPS could cause all the starting and running symptoms you describe, except the ticking.

Many people have encountered this problem, and you can find some discussions of it, either in this discussion area or the Projects discussion area. Dainternet guy is correct that they are intended to be installed over the original rocker panels ... but they don't fit even if you do that.

Wally World is about the only place now where you can buy the same, original Wrangler Radial (without any alphabet soup following) tires. Problem is, the originals were 215/75-15 for the early years, and 225/75-15 for newer years. Goodyear now makes that tire only in 235/75-15. That's actually a very good tire size for an XJ or MJ, and I'm running a set on my daughter's 2001 XJ right now. They look the same from even a short distance, but technically they aren't the correct size.

I don't think any model of the MJ ever came from the factory with a donut spare. As I posted above, I am all in favor of matching originality. Using a limited duty spare would NOT be original. It's easy to tell yourself you'll never use the spare, but what happens if you get a flat on the way to one of your shows?

The only way to know for certain is to remove the diff cover and look. With the factory type LSD, the clutches could have worn out, so jacking up one wheel and seeing if will turn will only tell you if you have a functioning LSD, it won't show a LSD with the clutches worn out. And the gear type LSD (such as the TrueTrac) won't react to the "spin one wheel" test like the clutch types will.

I believe it was the Wranglers (base models, with steel wheels) that came with a full-size, limited duty spare. Since it was never available on the XJ or MJ, since you want to keep your truck stock (which, BTW, I applaud) it doesn't make sense to install one of these abominations. The MJ always had a full-size spare matching the tires that came on the truck. Those light-duty spares, FWIW, are the same construction as the donuts, and are limited to 50 miles maximum at no more than 50 MPH. I wouldn't want one of those as my spare even for a trip to the supermarket.

Nope. Bubba-made.

Find a post by Cruiser and follow his advice to check all connections. Unless your wiring harness has been totally butchered by a previous owner, it's highly unlikely that you need to replace the entire harness. However, connections get corroded, and that can cause all kinds of intermittent problems.

You were told wrong. These engines are derived from the old AMC I-6 that dates to 1964, which was long before overdrives became standard. The typical AMC "back in the day" was a three-speed manual tranny and geared to approximately 24 MPH per 1000 RPM. That meant 60 MPH was 2500 RPM, 72 MPH was 3000 RPM. The engines easily lasted 200,000 miles -- my brother's 1970 Gremlin went over 300,000 and he autocrossed it regularly. 2250 is a good cruise RPM for the 4.0L but it's well below the torque peak for the 2.5L. Cruising at 3000 RPM won't hurt the engine at all, and it's hardly "screaming."

Thanks to Frank the Dog, I found my own post. And the link still seems to work: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?hl=en&hl=en&key=0AvuGamS7bzt-dHJxYy1QajhuVUFUbUVDUWdiZnVFbmc&output=html When the spreadsheet was copied into Google Docs, it truncated fields in which the text is wider than the column width. Where each set of data says "Revs per M", that refers to the box just to the right, and it's not RPM, it's Revolutions-per-Mile for the tire. Within a particular tire size that number will vary slightly depending on the make and model of tire. In general, I used an actual manufacturers number for a tire suitable for use on an XJ or MJ, typically a name brand all-terrain tire.