Eagle

Even a bad unit bearing can't make a tire stick out "noticeably." Do you have a lift? If so, do you have an adjustable track bar? By all means, jack it up and check the hub/bearing unit, but I suspect something else is going on. And please post whether or not you have a lift, an adjustable track bar, what tire size you are running and what wheels you are running.

Sheesh. I would have voted for Taupe.

Nope. Either they lied to you, or they don't have a clue how to work on a Jeep. Camber is basically not adjustable -- if it's out of spec, it has to be corrected by installed offset ball joints. Caster, however, IS adjustable. Caster is set by loosening the rear bolt on the lower control arms and sliding the control arms forward or back. There are special shims that fit into the frame pocket, between the rear wall of the pocket and the adjusting clevis. Then the two studs in the clevis are tightened to hold the shims in place (and maintain the caster setting). Look under your vehicle from about the driver's door. Find the lower control arm frame pocket, and you should see two studs sticking out of it, pointing straight back.

I agree -- almost. I do agree on setting 2 inches as the maximum lift. But don't forget that part of the plan here is to increase load capacity, which coil spacers and shackles will NOT do. But the front can be lifted 2" (or 1/3/4") by a combination of ZJ V8 coils with 3/4" spacers. In the rear, it's easy to get a 2" lift and added capacity with a bastard spring pack. Using a second set of MJ main leaves would likely be perfect, but that may be difficult to find. But there should be a (ahem) metric ton of older S-10s and Dakotas with spring-under rear suspensions, so using the leaf packs out of any of those would be a good source of donor materials. Even springs from a YJ Wrangler could be used.

I was thinking about trying this, as a matter of fact.

Sure -- for big bucks. I'm looking for do-it-yourself methods.

Double AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! Got the brakes all replaced over the weekend, but tanks to errands and "stuff" justy didn't have time to bleed them. So I did that today. System seemed to bleed okay, had good peddle, so I then progressed to doing a series of forward-the-reverse stops to let the brakes make their own final adjustment. Naturally, the steel line to the rear axle popped when I was doing this. Everything that came out looked good and was dry, so I'm pretty sure the rusted steel line was the problem all along. The mystery is why I didn't see any wetness underneath. But, knowing my wife, she was probably driving it with no rear brakes for weeks. The real mystery is why the brake warning light never came on ... it DID come on when the line popped as I was adjusting things. So ... another unscheduled repair task to look forward to.

The ECU is under the dashboard, and there are more wires going from the C101 to the 6-cylinder ECU than there are for the 4-cylinder, so you will have to swap the under-dash part of the harness with the ECU.

For those of us who still have drum brakes on the rear, I'm sure you all know that drums are a lot more expensive than rotors, and drums for a Dana 44 are almost impossible to find. For the most part, when doing a brake job I've found that the working part of the drums don't need anything, but there's a lip of rust at the open edge that screws things up. It's also difficult to find a shop with a brake lathe these days, it's expensive when you do find one, and they don't listen when you tell them to ONLY cut that rust ridge down to fluch with the rest of the drum, not to cut the actual braking surface. So ... for the dedicated do-it-yourselfers who don't happen to own a brake lathe or a machine shop ... does anyone have any good ideas as to how to remove that ridge when doing a brake job?

AMC changed from using Borg-Warner automatic transmissions to Chrysler in 1970. It was my understanding that they changed the bellhousing bolt pattern when they made that change. What I know for a fact is that my friend bolted a junkyard AX-15 to a brand-new AMC crate motor for his Hudson. So, regardless of what the bolt pattern is or where it came from, the XJ/MJ transmissions will bolt up to any AMC engine newer than 1970. I don't know about the 68 and 69 engines.

In the MJs (and XJs), another benefit is that it isn't corrosive, so if the master cylinder leaks and fluid bleeds onto the fuse panel, the panel isn't trashed. I think the silicone is also kinder to the rubber in the seals, as well.

I think part of the answer with the after-market clutch hydraulics is to ignore the "experts" who say it can't be done, and use DOT-5 silicone brake fluid instead of clutch fluid. I've been running the '88 XJ with silicone in the brakes for over twenty years and in the clutch for about twelve years. No problems yet ...

The prevailing wisdom used to be to buy from a Jeep dealer, and nowhere else. It is my understanding that the factory no longer offers clutch cylinders for the XJs and MJs, so I have no idea what's a good brand or source now.

Timing? Clogged catalytic converter?

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! I HATE those 9" Chrysler brakes. So far, the left side was dry when I took the drum off, but I had already bought new wheel cylinders and new shoes, so with 100,000 on the clock I decided to just do a preemptive strike. What a friggin' mistake that was. Took me the better part of an afternoon to do ONE side -- and that doesn't include bleeding. In the time I spent fighting that one 9" brake, I could have done all four wheels on my '88 XJ or MJ and had time left over for a Big Mac attack at Mickey D's. I'll deal with the right side tomorrow. For those contemplating swapping an XJ proportioning valve into an MJ, here's proof of why it's a bad idea. The way it's set up, the rear brakes don't do any work. My wife wore the front pads down to metal-on-metal two or three years ago, and we're probably getting close to needing new front pads again. The rear drums had never been off the vehicle, and I would estimate that there's probably 75% or more lining material left. If I were fixing up a used Jeep to sell, I wouldn't hesitate to throw these shoes in, and I wouldn't feel even a little guilty about it.

The vibration issue is basically tailshaft "whip" resulting from too much u-joint angle and load. The problem carried over to the Libertine, too, and Chrysler still didn't just do a short shaft transfer case with the slip joint in the driveshaft. On the Libertine, they hung a heavy, concentric weight on the driveshaft to dampen the vibration, neatly addressing the symptom rather than the cause.

The issue isn't wear, but an odd sensation that's difficult to describe unless you've felt it. I first encountered it in my ill-fated 1999 WJ, and I now have it in the 2001 XJ Sport (which does NOT (yet) have Up Country suspension). As you slow to a complete stop, the vehicle seems to stop normally and then, just as the wheels come to a complete stop, there's a sudden lurch almost like a car came up behind and gently tapped your bumper. It seems to be caused by the splines in the slip yoke binding as the suspension moves, then releasing abruptly when motion has stopped and the suspension settles. With the '99 WJ the dealership (and then the factory rep) told me that using a new, special grease on the slip splines would cure it. It didn't. With the XJ, the rear springs are noticeably sagged, and I expect that when I add a second main leaf to bring the ride height back up to where it should be that the stiffer rear springs will reduce spring wrap under braking and hopefully eliminate the issue.

Nope, the vibration is a result of u-joint angle combined with unsupported length of tailshaft. It affected ALL XJs with the Up Country suspension. I know -- I own two of them. I discussed it with the service manager at the dealership where I bought them, and he admitted that his wife's '99 XJ had the same problem. The factory did offer a "fix." Not a short shaft conversion, which would have been a real fix. No, the factory wanted to just install a transfer case drop to change the u-joint angle. The vibration isn't too bad on my wife's 2000 with the 242 transfer case, so I'm not worried about that one. My 2000 5-speed has a severe vibration, so I baby it when driving, and I have a short-shaft conversion sitting in the garage waiting for the day (week) when I can find the time to install it. The output shaft lubrication issue causes a different phenomenon -- a short of "lurch/bump" feeling coming from the drive train just as forward motion stops when driving and then stopping (such as a t traffic lights). I get that a lot more in the 2001 than in either of the 2000s.

There is no "electronic speedo t-case." The transfer case is the same. What changed is the output -- the "thingie" that gets inserted into the transfer case with the plastic gear on it.. The output for a mechanical speedometer is a cable. The output for an electronic speedometer is a wire. 97+ (or 96+) transfer cases are less desirable because Chysler changed the output to a long, unsupported shaft that's prone to vibrations. It has the advantage of being sealed, so if you remove the rear driveshaft the fluid doesn't run out -- but that's the ONLY good thing about it.

Yep. I'm hoping that's what it is, although looking underneath at night with a flashlight I didn't see evidence of massive fluid loss. However, I don't know how long she's been driving it like this. The last time we had a brake problem, she trashed the front rotors by driving when the pads were down to metal-on-metal. I drove it ten feet and heard the noise. I asked her about it and she said she though Jeeps always made noises like that. Mind you, she had driven it for 50,000 miles withOUT noises "like that," but ... Oh, well.

Story of my life. I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time under Jeeps replacing rear brake lines.

Renix has two coolant temp sensors (or three). The one at the left rear of the head is for the dashboard. It can be a switch (for idiot lights) or it can be a sensor (for gauges). They look about the same externally. The Renix engines have a second temp sensor on the driver's side of the block. This is the one that feeds data to the ECU, and the engine will NOT run properly without it. If you have an auxiliary fan, there's a third sensor in the driver's side radiator tank. That one ONLY controls the aux fan.

Is anybody familiar with the new style master cylinders, with the plastic reservoir? If so -- which chamber feeds the front brakes and which feeds the rear? Drove the wife's 2000 XJ this evening. Even before starting the engine I thought the brakes didn't feel right. Low pedal, soft pedal, and took a looooooooong time to slow down and stop. Mentioned it to the wife and she said, "Oh, I noticed it seems a bit soft but it's not a problem because I don't drive fast." :banghead: Turns out, it IS a problem. When we got home I checked the master cylinder, and the forward chamber was empty. Too dark to be bleeding brakes in the driveway at night, so I just topped it off and I'll delve into it on Saturday. It would help me start looking in the right direction if someone can tell me if, on the new style master cylinder, the forward chamber serves the front brakes or the rear. TIA

I think it would be good for a J20 but much too heavy for an MJ.

Did you read his opening post?