Eagle

You can use the floor shifter out of any XJ with the AW4 tranny. And the tranny control unit (TCU) for the XJ is the same as for the MJ. If you can't score a TCU right away, you can shift manually.. You'll lose second gear, and the torque converter won't lock. But that can be overcome with a simple toggle switch.

I havent touched the worm gear. I'm glad you said something because I planned on doing it today before work. I'll look into how to burp the system. When I installed it I just rotated the wheel lock to lock 40ish times. Did it when the vehicle was running so I think I'll try to jack the front end up and repeat it with it shut off. I'll double check the steering box placement too. If it helps me stay in a lane or not smash into something a little better than I'll spend the extra 20 min double checking no prob. I'm not a fan of this durango upgrade at all. The lose in turning radius isn't really worth the benefits especially when you drive it every day. I'll probably drop an XJ box into it soon unless I can find something with a similar turn. mvusse I'm not sure what steering setup he put in there before I bought it. The bar is thicker than I've seen. I'll see if I can find a pic. Kind of an older pic but gives a pretty good idea of the mess down there. Yeah, it's a mess, alright. Not XJ, MJ, or ZJ steering. Some kind of cross-over steering, with a very Mickey Mouse looking bracket for the steering stabilizer. One of your problems is that the pitman arm is lower than the frame end of the track bar. I'm guess you must have some serious bump steer.

Every time the spring flexes, even a little bit, the eye bolt slides along those two narrow surfaces and takes off a little more material. IMHO sliders are an absolutely horrible idea for a daily driver, and may not even be legal for use on the street. I'm sure you won't cut an eye bolt all the way through in three weeks, but how long do you expect it to last if you drive it every day?

:???:

If the tranny you're looking at has a transfer case, why would you be looking for another transfer case? Keep in mind that the transfers case linkage in the YJs attached directly to the transfer case, whereas in the XJ and MJ it attaches to the floor. To use the transfer case shifter that will be in the YJ you will have to butcher the floor (transmission tunnel) of your MJ, PLUS cut off the top of the transfer case shift lever to avoid interference with the dashboard. To use a YJ trans/xfer case combo in an XJ or MJ you still need an XJ/MJ transfer case shifter mechanism to do the job halfway right and neatly.

For what year?

5 to 7 quarts just to refill the tranny pan? That sounds VERY excessive.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a manual transmission kind of guy. But ... my wife's 2000 XJ is an automatic. I want to do a partial fluid change -- I'm not going to get into dropping the tranny pan, I just want to pull the drain plug, let it drip out, then refill. I'll rinse and repeat in 20,000 miles or so. Does anyone know approximately how much fluid comes out from a simple pan drain operation? How many quarts of Dexron will I need to top it off after draining?

Oops! I didn't. Sorry. :doh:

The easiest way to get **about** two inches in front is coil spacers. They are generally referred to as 2" but I have never seen any that were a true 2 inches. They ones I see are always 1-3/4" -- which is close enough. The ZJ springs to look for would be from any 1993 through 1998 ZJ with a V8. Those springs will lift a 6-cylinder XJ or MJ exactly 1", so they should lift a 4-banger closer to 2". IMHO they will also ride pretty harsh under a 4-banger. I'd go the coil spacer route if it were my truck. (Actually, I probably wouldn't lift it at all.)

It's usually the hinge area on the driver's door that cracks. I've never seen the patch post break like that. Welding is the only proper way to fix something like that, IMHO.

You don't have to remove either the bed or the tank. Above the gas tank is where they always break. I've repaired two of them that broke there and I didn't remove the bed or drop the tank either time.

It could also be that the cable between the foot peddle and the equalizer is corroded and frozen. There is no point in trying to adjust the equalizer nut unless you know the cable is moving freely.

Once Chrysler started using the 8-1/4 axle in the XJs, for some reason the Chrysler 8-1/4 was the default for vehicles without ABS, and the Dana 35 was used with ABS. And within the 8-1/4 series, they increased the shaft size in 1997 (and newer). The 97+ Chrysler axles would be pretty decent axles if they had used the 10" x 2-1/4" rear brakes from the D44, but they used crappy Mopar 9" drums. I hate those brakes. Compared to the older AMC brakes, the 9" drums are a royal PITA to work on.

What is your rear axle now? Dana 35?

Tire balance ... tire balance ... tire balance. The shake starting at 55 MPH is the clue. That's when tire balance always kicks in.

You don't remove the rubber from the cups -- you unscrew the cups from the tower.

Sorry I was half asleep when I posted last night. I have a dana 44 with LSD. The limited slip is pretty much gone since it doesnt have the correct spider gears. I'm not entirely sure how it works but when my buddy took out the mini spool he told me some of the clutch plates were cracked and the retaining clip one side was broken. Then when we dropped in the gears they didnt fit snug since they were made for an open diff. Same thing with the mini spool. The gap in size is causing the rear end to clank and pop. I was mixing up stock "Trac Lok" with the Detriot "TrueTrak". My carrier as far as I was told is fine. The reason I'm so interested in this is for one I would like to have a half decent locker in that I can use for a daily driver and the detriot is what most people suggested. Getting another Dana 44 is damn near impossible here since Hawaii has $#!&e for junk yards and everything here is gutted for Toyotas. I was thinking about stepping it up to a ford 8.8 but I have the alloy shaft upgrade in my rear end. But if dropping in a detroit is going to cause me to have to regear and what not then its not worth it. don't have the money or the time to do that since I'm getting stationed back in the mainland soon. Just sucks I'm going to have to drop almost as much cash getting new spider gears and clutch plate as I would for a locker. Damn sorry I linked the wrong detriot : http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetrain-Differentials/Dana-44-Detroit-Locker.aspx?t_c=12&t_s=237&t_pt=101501&t_pn=EAT187SL16D You don't HAVE to use new gears when installing a locker. Some people do, but in general I've only seen it done when the owner is changing the gear ratio. The TrueTrac in my '88 MJ was installed with new gears because I went from a 3.07 ratio to 3.73, but when the factory TracLok wore out in my '88 XJ I replaced it with a new TracLok and used the original gears. That was over 100,000 miles ago, and there have been no problems. If you don't replace the ring and pinion, all you have to do is set the ring gear backlash to match what it was and you should be good to go. However, in your case that's not possible because your diff has been apart twice. So in your case you would use gear marking compound and look to duplicate the wear pattern that's on the ring gear teeth. I have no idea why you need a locker in Hawaii. Lockers are not street friendly. A limited slip seems to me to be a far better solution in a truck that's going to be regularly driven on the street. It'll be quieter, and your tires will last longer. I happen to like the factory TracLok limited slips. If you needed only the clutch pack, I'd say to go for that and call it good. However, the cost for the clutch pack is now approaching $100. You also need a complete spider gear package, and I have no idea what the cost for that would be, or how easily available it is. IMHO the best and most cost-effective solution for you would be a TrueTrac. It has its own internal gears so you won't have to replace the D44 spiders, and it's quiet on the street. Under other circumstances I would have suggested just buying a complete new TracLok unit, which would be cheaper than a TrueTrac, but that would require buying new spider gears, so the final cost in your case might not be any different (or might even be more).

That e-Bay listing says it's for a Dana 44 and a Chrysler 9-1/4" axle. I don't know if both of those differentials use the same rebuild kits. I suppose it's possible, but I sort of doubt it. I'd suggest shopping at a place that knows Jeeps, such as Quadratec. If your Dana 44 carrier housing isn't broken, I don't see why you can't rebuild it. The Jeep parts manual confirms that the spider gear set for a TracLoc is different from the spiders for an open diff, but the right parts should just drop right in. The other point is that your entire post is confusing. You don't have a TrueTrac. You have (or had) a TracLok, which was the factory limited slip differential. A TrueTrac is a gear-driven limited slip differential made by the Detroit Locker people, but it's not as noticeable driving on the street. It does not use clutches, so it doesn't require additives for the gear lube. Your second listing is not a "Detroit Locker for a TrueTrac," it is a listing for a TrueTrac differential. It's a great choice for street-driven vehicles that don't see hard-core off-road use, but it isn't a locker -- it's a limited slip. I have one in my '88 MJ and for my use and driving style it's ideal. But prices have gone up a lot. I paid around $350 for mine. It's now nearly $500, and on top of that you'll need an "install kit" (shims and bearings), and you'll have to pay someone to install it since you apparently don't know how to set up a differential. Overall, I think it would be worthwhile trying a rebuild on your Dana 44 TracLok unit before doing anything else.

Do you have warning lights for oil pressure, voltage and coolant temperature, or do you have actual gauges? If you have lights, those are "idiot lights." If you have actual gauges, that's a full cluster. The clusters with gauges may or may not also include a tachometer. If you have idiot lights, the lights should be lit when you first turn on the ignition, before starting the engine. If they aren't, check the bulbs. If they light up when you turn on the ignition, the sender may be bad. (Or they may be working properly and you don't have a problem.)

Actually, the 4.0L was based off the 4.2L, and the 2.5L was the 4.2L with two cylinders removed. Yes, I know the 4.0L didn't come out until three years after the 2.5L. The engine family that ended with the 4.0L Jeep engine started in 1964 with the AMC 232 c.i.d. in-line six. A couple of years later they added a 199 c.i.d. version. In the mid-70s they stroked it some more and came out with the 258 (4.2L). That stayed with us until the early 90s in the Wrangler. They are all the same basic block. The block has seven main bearings for six cylinders, which means every crank throw is fully supported. There is no flex in the crank, which is why the engines are basically indestructible. The 4.0L version is the first one where they reduced the stroke and enlarged the bore. ALL the other versions used the same pistons, with different cranks and different length connecting rods.

Don't fool with the power steering hoses. If the high pressure hose bursts, it'll spray power steering fluid (which is essentially ATF) on the exhaust manifold, where it will start an engine room fire. Not fun.

^^^ This. Back when these were the current offering in Cherokees and Comanches, a very good friend and racing buddy was the service manager at the dealership where I bought my '88 Cherokee. I stopped by often just to say hello. It was very rare NOT to find a 2.8L Cherokee with a rod or two sticking out the side of the block.

Save your money. An ignition upgrade on a 2.8L would be a complete waste of resources.

ES2222L has a left-hand thread and goes on the pitman arm, at the upper end of the drag link. ES2221L (left-hand thread) and ES2223R (right-hand thread) are the two on the actual tie rod. If you keep the long adjusting sleeve (the tie rod) oriented the way it's in the vehicle now, you can't put one on the "wrong" end because it won't thread in. If you pull the entire tie rod assembly, it doesn't really matter which goes where because the studs are the same -- the only difference is that one has a left-hand thread.