Eagle

Why are you so fixated on removing an EFI system, that ALWAYS operates at the optimum air-fuel ratio, and replacing it with a carburetor that struggles to deliver an optimum air-fuel mixture and can really be optimized for doing so only under one or two load/RPM conditions? WAAAAAY back in time, when Jack Clifford was alive and running Clifford Performance & Research, my friend and fellow Hudson collector ran a Hudson Hornet-powered stock car that was set up with a Clifford triple Weber setup. The track where we ran was located immediately next to the Connecticut River. Typically, we had to run one set of jets for practice, then re-jet for the qualifying heats, and then re-jet again for the main event ... all due to falling temperature and rising humidity. That's how sensitive those things are. EFI would have taken care of that automatically, and far more accurately. Quite simply, IMHO you are heading in the wrong direction. Carburetors cannot do a better job of fuel management than modern EFI. Period.

If neither is working, the speedometer cable is probably either broken, or disconnected. Check to be sure it is connected to the speedometer in the dashboard, and to the transmission or transfer case down under.

The triple Weber setup was created as an upgrade for the carburetted AMC 4.2L engines, which used a monumentally horrible, semi-computer controlled carburetor. ALL the XJ and MJ 4.0L engines have electronic, multi-port fuel injection and you cannot possibly achieve better results than the EFI provides by going backwards to a mechanical carburetor setup.

Common misconception. Front axle OR rear axle, once both wheels on the same axle are on slippery stuff, there is no difference between a limited slip and a locker. There isn't enough traction for either wheel to overcome the clutches in a limited slip, so it performs exactly the same as a locker. I've been doing this for fifty years, I have a better than basic understanding of how it works.

What do you think a bastard pack is? It's a stock spring set with one, two or three add-a-leaves. You can build up a custom leaf pack with as many leaves as you want -- or as many as you need to get where you're going. My Javelin autocrosser originally had three leaves from the factory -- I spliced in a second set of Javelin springs and ended up with either five or six leaves on each side (don't remember which). It still rode okay -- a lot firmer than stock, but I prefer that -- and handled great. Many years ago I had a 1947 Hudson 1-ton pickup. I have no idea how many leaves were in the springs, but it was at least twice as many as the other two Hudson pickups I owned. They were so stiff that it didn't have shock absorbers -- and didn't need them, because [a] the springs didn't deflect, and that many leaves generated enough friction that they were self-damping.

You are correct that the axle devices were called Vari-Lok, but they (as well as the transfer case) were operated by a gerotor pump. Hmmm ... I wasn't aware that the Vari-Lok axles used different shafts. That could be a deal-breaker right there. Might have to reconsider the old tried-n-true lunchbox locker, or TrueTrac.

The camber is not adjustable, and the caster is not easily adjustable. (Well, it's not rocket science, but you need special shims and they aren't available through the parts chains.) The only adjustment most alignment shops actually change on XJs and MJs is the toe-in, and you can do that in your driveway with a tape measure. http://gojeep.willyshotrod.com/HowtoAlignment.htm

Recent snow followed by icy rain has gotten me thinking about traction again. Since I drive my XJs and MJs primarily on the street, I find a rear limited slip to be more than adequate for my needs. However, other than my brief sojourn with the ill-fated 1999 Grand Cherokee, I've never had any front traction devices. About the only good aspect to that '99 WJ was the Quadra-Drive system. And not even the whole thing. The transfer case had problems, but the gerotor axle devices worked great. Which has always left me wondering why people aren't using that in the front axles of XJ and MJs. For those not familiar with the original Quadra-Drive system, the axles worked kind of like the opposite of a Trac-Lok. With Trac-Lok, the clutches are engaged, until there's enough difference in torque on the two wheels to make the clutches slip (such as going around a corner on dry pavement). With the Quadra-Drive axles, the clutches are normally NOT engaged. There's a mechanical/hydraulic pump mechanism built into the differential. When one wheel starts to spin faster than the opposite wheel, this causes the pump to start pushing the clutches together, generating increasing lockup. Ignoring the brakes and hubs at the outer ends, is the dana 35 differential used in the '99 and '00 WJs any different from the XJ and MJ Dana 35s? Is there any reason why an MJ front axle couldn't be set up with one of these gerotor traction devices? Does anyone know if these things are available through aftermarket channels?

What wouldn't "look" right? Personally, I think the MJ setup is idiotic. The 4-way flashers completely disable both the turn signals AND the brake lights. Now that's just plain dumb -- and Jeep obviously knew how to do it differently since they managed to keep the 4-ways separate from the brakes in the XJ. I think it's much safer to have the hazards and brake lights separate.

For starters ... is this a 4-cylinder or 6-cylinder MJ? And how many cylinders did the donor vehicle have?

Fine, but that's not death wobble.

It's NOT death wobble if you can drive it long enough to accelerate through it. In fact, I don't think it is possible to accelerate death wobble away. You have tire shimmy, which is caused by poor tire balance. One does NOT accelerate when death wobble strikes. One holds on for dear life, hits the brakes, and prays.

Okay, I guess the OP is looking for both a window unit and a weatherstrip gasket. The originals are tough. I have one that needs one side pane and the center piece. I was going to have a friend who owns a glass shop make them up ... until I looked at it closely and realized that the glass is NOT flat. That complicates matters tremendously. I'm not sure how the rubber trim gasket relates to the window unit, but the gasket is not what holds the window into the body. It's glued in with urethane adhesive.

But he's looking for the gasket (which is actually just trim, since it doesn't provide the weather seal), and this replacement window specifies that it does NOT come with the weatherstrip. In passing, I also think it's sort of disingenuous (as in "a lie") for them to call this a direct replacement when it isn't even close. The original has three panels; this has four. The original used curved glass, and I'll bet this uses flat glass. It might work sort of okay and it might be sort of half decent but -- direct replacement? I think not.

They aren't plentiful. Two, maybe three years ago I would see two or three fairly nice looking late model XJs on every independent used car lot I drove by. I haven't seen one in almost a year. There's a small used car emporium a couple of towns over that used to specialize in Cherokees. I looked at his web site the other day. Several Grand Cherokees, a bunch of other stuff, and two unspectacular Cherokees. Get 'em while you can. I'm going to keep my fleet running just as long as humanly possible.

But ... but ... but ... It has a 7-slot grille, what's yer problem? That's what makes it a Jeep, right? Right? RIGHT?

It's an inch-pound torque wrench. Rather than hold the yoke and tighten the nut on the shaft, you let the yoke rotate and measure how much torque is needed (in INCH-pounds, not foot pounds) to make the pinion shaft rotate.

Yeppers. That'll do it ...

So what was the problem? Share, Mate -- that's how we all learn.

I used the be a Dallas Cowboys fan, back when I cared just a smidge about professional football. I read an article about the Cowboys recently and my first reaction was, "Tony WHO? And he's been their 'star' quarter back for HOW many years?"

Agreed. Most likely a freeze plug. If it's not that, then maybe head gasket, but those usually leak between cylinders and dump coolant into the combustion chambers, resulting in steam out the tailpipe. But ... not always.

I believe the seatbelt bolts are special. The threaded portion is smaller in diameter than the smooth portion of the shank, so when the shoulder of the bolt bottoms out the belt can rotate around the shaank. I don't think you'll find them in a Sears hardware store. Try a junkyard, or Comanche Club member.

Jim, what's your operating system? My desktop is still on Windows XP. In that, I open the Start menu, go to "All Programs," and find the program I want. Right click on the program, and you get a pop-up menu. One of the choices is "Create Shortcut." Click that and it puts a shortcut in the menu, right where you are. Simply click-and-drag that shortcut to the desktop and you're done. If you want to get fancy, you can then right click the shortcut on the desktop to rename it and/or to change the icon. There should be a similar procedure in Vista and Windows 7. Dunno anything about Windoze 8.

I don't think there are any drive-in theaters left in Connecticut. All the ones I went to as a kid have long-since disappeared.

What does it look like? For an '87 2.5L, I believe there should be only two gaskets in the exhaust system. The first is the round "donut" gasket where the down pipe meets the header/exhaust manifold outlet, and the other is a rectangular gasket with four bolt holes surrounding the center hole -- that one is for where the down pipe outlet mates to the inlet side of the catalytic converter.