Eagle

When I was crewing on short-track stock cars, several drivers ran in the 'Sportsman's" class with in-line sixes. The only engines we ever saw in that class were the AMC I-6 and a GM I-6 truck engine (and my friend's Hudson Hornet). The ONLY street-derived I-6 to have ever been run in the Indianapolis 500 was Barney Navarro's AMC-powered car. The Mopar slant six was a good engine, but IMHO anyone who claims it was in any way superior to the AMC I-6 is on some kind of mind-altering chemical substance.

Based on another thread currently running -- grab the parking brake peddle assembly, too. Might as well grab the ECU if it's not already gone.

Buy it cheap, take it to a good local welder shop, tell him to use it as a pattern and make one just like it.

1/16 is 1/16. But it should be toe-IN, not toe-out. You probably don't want to know how many thousands of miles I've driven on a tape measure toe-in alignment.

It's not a poor design. Reducing the amount of braking force on the rear wheels when the weight shifts OFF the rear wheels is the best way to avoid spin-outs. It is, in fact, not just a good thing but a VERY good thing. A number of other small and midsize pickups also use similar proportioning valves. Chrysler killed the Comanche because the Comanche was a better truck that could do everything the Dakota could do, in a smaller package. Chrysler didn't want to have the Comanche competing against the Dakota and they weren't about to kill the Dakota ... so they killed the Comanche.

6,000 pounds is a tow strap, not a recovery strap. A 2" x 20' recovery strap is rated at 20,000 pounds. A 3" recovery strap is rated for 30,000 pounds.

Everything is fixed? The parking brake fixed itself since you posted this morning that it releases itself? You've popped the cover off the differential and changed the gear lube? You've drained the transmission and replaced the lubricant in that? You've flushed the cooling system and put in new anti-freeze? You've inspected the rubber flex hoses in the braking system to see if they're cracked? You have a 25-year old vehicle. You can't just hop into a 25-year old vehicle and drive it as if it were a new car you just drove off the dealer's lot.

Or it could mean that the mechanism needs to be cleaned and lubricated.

Another vote for a second strap. Keep in mind that there is a difference between "recovery" and "towing." Recovery often (usually) involves applying hard, jerking forces -- the rescue vehicle takes a running start, which applies a dynamic force to the recovery gear when the slack is taken up. That's why we use only nylon straps -- they are slightly elastic, so they stretch just a bit under that dynamic load. Then they want to recover the amount they stretched, and that helps to yank the stuck vehicle forward. For the same reason, we DON'T prefer to use recovery straps for towing. You DON'T want a tow line to stretch. Chain is good for towing because it doesn't stretch. Chain is also a LOT heavier than a 2" or even 3" strap, and takes up a lot more space. Add a shackle to a receiver hitch? Simple: http://www.discountjeepparts.com/product_info.php/products_id/433

Grab the headliner anyway. If the backer board is in good shape, it can always be recovered. JoAnne Fabrics stores sell headliner meaterial. So does Pep Boy', but the material at JoAnne Fabrics is better quality. Even if you break off the studs on the flare backer plates, they can be drilled out and new studs installed. The rear flares ONLY fit the MJ, so any time you can get a pair ... get 'em.

The only hitch from a junkyard that will fit an MJ will be off an MJ. Anything else will have to be modified. With all due respect, you have more important things to be fixing on your MJ before you start worrying about a tow hitch. As the teacher said to Cain in that old TV series ("Kung Fu") about the Chinese martial arts guy, "Make haste slowly, Grasshopper."

I don't know how difficult it is because I've never dared attempt it. That truck looks almost too nice to be in a scrap yard. You should also grab the rear flares (and backing strips) and the taillights. How's the tailgate?

Nope. You are correct. And, aside from the fact that the lower control arms limit how far the front wheels can turn, the steering stops are set pretty much at the same point as the internal limits on the steering box. If you can't make the front wheels turn any sharper, the only option is to shorten the wheelbase.

After searching around for photos of Eliminators, it appears they didn't use the same wheels in all years. Looks like some of them did have the faux beadlock rivets.

that is just the part number for the diff cover, nothing to do with gear ratio. now that you've posted a picture ... go look at your axle again. See that little metal flap on the upper lefthand bolt? spray that with WD40 and get yer fingers dirty, rub it in and clear the rust and grime ... some numbers and letters will appear. Post those and we can tell you the gear ratio. Now that you mention that little flap -- notice that it has two holes in it. From the factory, both holes had a cover bolt through them. Someone has had the cover off your differential at least once. It's probably a small miracle that they bothered to put the tag back at all.

You want the 195. They are correct that 195 is the OEM rating.

Could be. Still not the Eliminator rim.

The 10-hole Eliminator rims didn't have "rivets."

You need ONE turbine rim? I have one I'll send you if you pay the shipping. It came on one of the XJs or MJs I picked up, and had been painted, and then painted again over the paint. As an experiment, I had a guy remove the paint using baking soda blasting. The aluminum is now pristine, but slightly "frosty." What it needs to look near perfect is a bit of time with some VERY FINE emery cloth or wet/dry sandpaper, polishing the faces of the spokes and the outer flat at the wheel weight rim. Hit me with a PM if you're interested.

So you have about 3" of lift, which should settle down to around 2". That's right where you want to be with 2" lift springs in the front. I wouldn't change anything until you see how the new rear springs settle in.

Note the key part of what Don wrote. MJs are supposed to have some rake from the factory. Yours looks very obvious because of the tires. What size are they? Several years ago, I did a home-brew add-a-leaf on an '88 XJ for an ex-GF. The height from the hub center to the flare in the rear of an MJ is supposed to be 17" even. Before starting, hers measured 16-1/2". I used cut-off main leaves from another XJ pack. If everything is fresh, that usually generates an inch and a half of lift. In her case, it went up 1-1/4" from what is was before I started, but where I started was sagged. So I netted 3/4" of lift ... which was perfect for that vehicle. I have a 2001 XJ in the driveway right now that looks low in the back. I kept telling myself it looked a bit low because I put new Up Country springs in the front, but today I measured. YIKES! 16" even, on both sides. That means even if I do an extra main leaf on each side, I won't even be able to get the 1" that Up Country provides -- the BEST I can hope for will be 1/2" higher than stock. (Unless I add two leaves -- or just replace the springs.) What we're saying is, if your old springs were sagged, a new spring that brings it back to a bit above the factory stock height may look like a big lift ... but it isn't. Take those measurements from the axle tubes, and that's going to be a miuch more accurate gauge of how much lift you actually got. Don, thanks for finding that old post. I remembered posting those dimensions previously, but I wouldn't have known where to look for them.

Looks like 23-3/4" to me, and that's NOT a 4" to 4-1/2" lift. IIRC, stock is about 21-1/2. To be double-extra certain, measure from the top of the axle tube straight up to the bottom of the frame rail where the bump stop is located. Post that measurement, and I'll look up the factory spec in the FSM.

I have those moldings on my '88 XJ, which I bought new in 1988. I GUARANTEE that they do NOTHING to protect your doors from other people's carelessness. They do, however, trap dirt and moisture. Leave 'em off.

Yes, definitely original.

I don't know, but considering that the distance between the frame rails is different on the MJ and the XJ, I doubt very much that it could possibly be as easy as you seem to think it would be.