Eagle

All doors from 4-door XJs will fit. Sort of. The issue is that the early years, including all years of the MJ, use a single post on the door jamb as the strike. Somewhere around 1994 or 1995 they changed over to a squared loop strike. I think those remained at the same vertical position through 1996 (not sure on that) but when the updated body style was introduced in 1997 the vertical position of the strike moved. This affects ALL years with the full window (1997 through 2001). They can (and have) been made to work, but you have to Mickey Mouse the strike attachment to the body. Personally, I would look for good XJ doors withOUT the operable vents (the fixed triangular lites), and go with that. In the event of an accident I want my doors to stay shut, so messing around with makeshift strike arrangements is not something I would suggest. Even if you think you can do a good job (and even if you're right), consider that in the event of an accident if you have a passenger who is injured and the door popped open, somebody is going to get a big payout and it's possible your insurance company won't want to know who you are because you altered the factory door latches.

If it were mine, I would seal it permanently with RTV and forget that it's supposed to be operable.

Since you say you checked the axle and it's not bent, obviously the problem has to be either the mounts on the axle, or the drop brackets ... unless your control arms aren't the same length. How are the drop brackets installed? Is the caster adjustment made at the lower end, where the lower control arms mount, or at the upper end where the drop brackets mount into the original LCA mounting pockets? Are you certain both drop brackets were installed in exactly the same fore-to-aft position?

Auto Zone has them listed as accessories rather than as replacement parts, and they offer several different resistance ratings (ohms). Does anyone know what the factory ones are rated for?

Interesting, but incorrect. Several years ago, when they were still called New Process, NVG had a chart on their company web site showing the torque rating for most of their transfer cases. (It didn't include some of the older "legacy" cases like the 228 and 229). The 242 was rated by the manufacturer as weaker than the 231. It wasn't a lot weaker, but it was weaker. I wonder if the info you found is perhaps referring to the 242HD such as used in (IIRC) Dodge pickups? From Novak Adapters: Also from Novak (for the 231): FWIW, some of the guys in NAXJA-NAC had pretty well-built XJs with stock 242 cases and nobody ever broke one, even when doing serious rock crawling at Paragon on very large tires. If I were doing a 4x4 conversion I would very much prefer the 242 ... but don't fool yourself that it's stronger than the 231. It isn't ... unless you modify it internally.

I've never seen a dolly with brakes. For a 2500 pound vehicle going 20 miles, I think that's overkill. I've towed an XJ on a VERY oversized 4-wheel car trailer behind a shortbed MJ, and I've also towed a complete longbed MJ on a dolly behind the shortbed MJ. The dolly was no problem at all -- without dolly brakes. The XJ on the car hauler was, because it was raining and the trailer kept trying to push the MJ under braking. (The trailer had brakes, but it was borrowed and the electrical connector didn't match my vehicle.) Don't forget that a longbed MJ with the Metric Ton package is rated to carry 2200 pounds of payload in the vehicle. I don't think another 300 pounds makes a lot of difference.

You're not sorry at all Jim. :D And for the life of me I can't think of a decent comeback. Bur seriously, they have never leaked H2O or wind whistle when latched shut. I've had lots of other cars with similar vents that did though. I think you're lucky. The problem is that the steel channel only runs along the bottom edge of the glass. There's a step from the steel channel to the glass, and at the window corners the rubber can't quite seal that step. That's where mine leaked, and that's where every one I've seen with the operable wing windows leaks. The Sil-Glyde fills that gap with silicone, and that keeps the water out. There was never a problem with wind noise -- the gap wasn't large enough to whistle -- but in anything heavier than a drizzle (heavy fog) that corner always weeped water into the cab.

New rubber will not solve the problem. The problem is a defective design. When I bought my '88 Cherokee new in January of 1988, I paid extra to get the operable vent windows. (They were not standard at the Pioneer trim level.) They leaked from the first time it rained. I took it back to the dealership, they brought in the Chrysler factory "service" rep, and he cheerfully informed me that there was a fix. Cool. What's the fix? Remove the operable vents and replace them with the fixed windows. Naturally, that didn't include refunding the money I had paid to get the operable vents, so I declined. I solved it myself -- sort of. NAPA sells a silicone grease under the name Sil-Glyde. I opened the vents, smeared Sil-Glyde on the rubber seals, and closed the windows on the Sil-Glyde. It worked perfectly, as long as I didn't open the windows. If you actually use the vents, you need to renew the Sil-Glyde every couple or three months. Otherwise, it's good for several years at a time. Having gone through that, I realized that I don't actually use the vents, so I just keep them closed. My MJs have the fixed windows, and I have no intention of "upgrading" them to the factory optional leak generators.

If you don't move the control switch to one of the a/c settings, the a/c won't turn on anyway. The a/c has never worked in my '88 MJ and the compressor just sits there.

Dropbox is a private, file sharing service. You need to have photos on a public, always-accessible-to-everyone photo hosting site such as Photobucket, Tinypics, etc.

Are you trying third and overdrive on the road, at legal speeds, or from a standstill in the driveway? Don't forget, if you're trying to test it while parked in the driveway it's the same as trying to start up a vehicle with a manual transmission in fifth gear. Not recommended. One of the troubleshooting routines for the AW4 is to remove the fuse and drive it by shifting manually. That should work -- except there's no second gear. If you can drive it like that, you may need a transmission control box.

I hope by revealing that insider information I am not contributing to the wholesale destruction of a bunch of MJ steering boxes. The box in my '88 MJ had an incredible amount of slop in it when I bought it. When I investigated to see if it could be adjusted out, I found that the adjusting screw was already TIGHTLY bottomed out -- which meant the idiot kid who had gotten the truck from his grandfather (the original purchaser) had tried to make it as tight as a rack-and-pinion steering gear and, instead, ruined it. I had to replace the box. The fact is, they rarely need to be adjusted. My '88 Cherokee has gone 287,000+ miles and the steering box is still tight. DON'T GO CRAZY.

Yes it is. ALL Comanches used GM Saginaw steering boxes, and they ALL adjust like that.

The valve cover.

Did you check the U-joints while you had the drive shaft out?

You don't have an AX-15, you have an AX-5 -- you know that, right? All AMC engines 1970 and newer will accept the Jeep 4.0L bell housing and AX-15 transmission. They are all the same basic block, and a friend bolted one behind a 390 in a street rod, so I know it works.

That video is good for showing you what to adjust and where, but lousy for explaining the actual process. He does mention that overtightening can ruin the box, but he doesn't offer any advice as to how to avoid overtightening. The first thing is, especially for you young guys who grew up driving foreign cars with rack-and-pinion steering, is that the Jeep steering is NOT rack-and-pinion, and you can NEVER make it as tight or as precise as rack-and-pinion. If that's what you're aiming for -- you WILL ruin your steering box. That "stud" (as he calls it, which isn't a stud but a screw with a locknut) is the "over-center lash adjustment screw." The Jeep steering box is what is called a "worm and ball" steering box. There has to be a certain (very small) amount of backlash or free play to allow the parts to work without undue wear -- exactly as the differential requires a small amount of backlash between the ring gear and the pinion gear. In the steering box, the geometry of the gears and threaded input shaft are such that the backlash is least when the steering box (and road wheels) are stright ahead, and there's more lash when the steering is off-center. So ... first thing, ONLY adjust the over-center screw when the steering wheel is centered in the straight ahead position. Next -- how to know when to STOP adjusting. Basically, by feel. Set the steering wheel straight, then leave the key in the UNlocked position so you can turn the steering wheel with the engine off. Stand outside the vehicle so you can visually align a fender or flare edge with a point on the tire tread or shoulder. Now, reach in and wiggle the steering wheel back and forth. Don't try to turn the tire, just see how far left and right you can move the wheel before you can see ANY movement whatsoever at the tire. That's your over-center lash, or free play. The goal is to adjust almost all of that free play out, but leave just a tiny bit so the steering doesn't bind up across the center. As I said above, I do it by feel. Once you have the locknut loosened and the Allen (hex) key in the adjusting screw, lean down and grab the collar where the steering shaft connects to the steering box input shft with your right hand, and the Allen wrench with your left hand. GENTLY wiggle the steering shaft back and forth. You should be able to feel if there's a range through which it rotates freely before encountering resistance. While you wiggle the shaft, turn the Allen wrench slowly. You'll feel the range of free play decreasing. Keep going until the free play seems to just about reach zero, then back off perhaps 1/8 of a turn. Use the Allen wrench to hold the adjusting screw at that position while you tighten the lock nut. Double check to verify that you still have a very small amount of free play (lash). If not, loosen the lcoknut and back off the adjusting screw another 1/8 of a turn.

28 to 30 is good.

I have had the same thing on damp mornings, but I don't attribute it to "flash rust" -- whatever that is. I think it's because the lining material absorbs moisture and swells up. This makes the brakes, particularly the rears which have a self-applying "servo-assist" feature, highly sensitive until a couple of stops dries out the moisture.

Ya know, I thought my wife's was a 4-row, but looking at Don's photo ... I'll bet hers is the exact same unit. But SHEESH! $250?

It's big! I looked at a trans cooler that Auto Zone in my area keeps in stock, and it was tiny -- about 2-1/2 inches high and I'd guess not more than 6 inches long. It's a 2-row, and smaller than OEM. The OEM cooler in my wife's XJ is a 4-row (yours is a 6-row), about 4 or maybe 5 inches high and 15 inches long. I don't see much need to go bigger than that, considering that 90% or more of the XJs and MJs ever built with automatics had NO external tranny cooler.

How old is the CPS?

I guess it's time for a radiator. The old one doesn't owe you anything -- my '88 XJ is on its third radiator.

No, the distributor will NOT work. You'll have to use the '88 distributor. Setting both engines at TDC is the ONLY way to make this work. And don't forget these are 4-stroke engines -- each cylinder hits TDC twice for a complete intake-compression-power-exhaust cycle. Both engines have to be at TDC in the compression stroke.

Correct. Now ... if the problem is pinging, and it's a Renix vehicle, the problem could be a broken knock sensor.