Eagle

I've seen an old-school body man fix worse than that with just a hammer and dolly. NO BONDO. The key apparently is patience ... you don't try to beat out each dimple in one whack, you just keep going with light taps until it smooths out.

Your '86 was built by AMC, not by Chrysler. It's not in the Chrysler system. There was usually a copy of the build sheet either in the seat (typically between the zig-zig spring and the padding of the seat bottom), or in the drivers side door between the trim panel and the waterproof barrier.

I don't know about "most" full-time transfer cases, but the Jeep 242 full-time transfer case does NOT have any limited slip mechanism in it. And the 242 wasn't available in the MJ anyway -- anybody who has one installed it him/herself.

I'm in New England. Until last winter, we had snow in the winter. The MJ I drove regularly as a street/trail truck is equipped with a TrueTrac limited slip in the rear and an open diff in the front. I almost never had to use 4WD, even when the hill leading to my house hadn't been plowed. But, the MJ is a lot lighter over the rear axle than an XJ and it doesn't do quite as well in snow as the XJ because of that. Keep in mind that the D35 is a weak axle. You have two, conflicting issues to face: The least expensive traction device you can get for a D35 is a "lunchbox" locker, but it's not a good idea to put a locker in a D35. If I were in your situation, I would put in a Trac-Lok (which is what the factory used for a limited slip). There are those who advocate locking the front axle before doing anything to the rear axle. There is some logic to that, but I don't agree with it for a vehicle used primarily on the street. A locker doesn't provide any locking if it isn't powered, which means you would have to use 4WD to get any improvement in traction even in mildly slippery conditions. A limited slip in the rear, on the other hand, is there all the time and it's always working.

How old is the CPS (crankshaft position sensor)?

:rotf:

You can use an axle from a ZJ (1993 - 1998) Grand and it will bolt right in. The difference is that the XJ/MJ Dana 30s are high pinion, reverse cut, and the ZJ (and TJ, and 2000/2001 XJ) Dana 30s are low pinion, straight cut.

The older transfer cases do not disconnect the two driveshafts from each other when the transfer case is in the neutral position. The front and rear driveshafts are locked together, but disconnected from the engine and transmission. If you try to flat two, the rear wheels will try to turn the front wheels, which are strapped down to the dolly. This was changed some time in the mid-1990s, but I don't remember what year the transfer case started to have a true neutral. A 1996 ZJ is probably okay. Just pull the rear drive shaft to be sure.

Does Rock Auto have stores in El Salvador?

Absolutely not. Get an XJ -- stock, not lifted. The ZJ was originally intended to be the next generation of the XJ, so it really doesn't offer much more interior space or better anything. Overall, it's inferior to the XJ in any way you can think of.

No. I posted a picture of what I was talking about. Let's try again:

Skip the Amsoil. Use DOT-5 silicone and stop worrying. It's non-corrosive and non-hygroscopic. And IF the master cylinder ever leaks, it won't eat up the fuse panel if it drips on it.

That may be counter-productive. When I crewed on a stock car, everyone cut down the impellers on their water pumps to flow LESS water, so the water had more "dwell time" in the radiator to allow the heat to transfer. If the water was pushed through too fast, the rate of transfer wasn't sufficient to remove enough heat.

The same thing happened to one of our NAXJA-NAC members at a NACFest event at Paragon a few years ago. Got back to the campground mid-afternoon on Saturday and he and another guy made an emergency run into town, getting to the NAPA about 10 minutes before they closed. So they loaded up on steel brake line and various fittings and adapters, and then spent the evening making an all-steel line to replace the plastic. It took a couple of adapters, but they made it up without too much work. The key is to remember that the engine moves relative to the chassis, and if there's no way to allow for that -- the steel line will fatigue and crack. Best way around that is to make the line extra long, and on at least one end (both is better, if you can do it) carefully coil the line around something like a screwdriver handle about three to five times to make a spring-like section that distributes the movement through the entire coil.

Doesn't matter, in my case. I'm not changing ratios, just replacing the open carrier with a limited slip carrier. The pinion won't be touched, and I just have to set the ring gear backlash as close to where it is now as possible.

That's what I referred to as the "tuning fork." I have that covered, thanks.

I've never worked on the 8-1/4 Chrysler axle. I have one that I want to put a Trac-Lok in -- it's now an open diff. From what I've picked up by osmosis, the backlash on the 8-1/4 is adjusted with a tuning fork rather than by shimming the bearings. So is all I need to buy just the Trac-Lok unit and a set of carrier bearings? No shims?

You don't attach the motor to the bellhousing, you attach the bellhousing to the motor. The threaded holes are in the block, so unless you plan on carrying an engine block to Home depot, you aren't going to match 'em up that way.

You can do it, but it;'s not a great idea. The front is more of a problem that the rear. I looked up shock technical info on the Monroe web site. (Monroe is the same company that makes Rancho, BTW.) Depending on which shock you choose, the full travel for the front ranges from 7-3/8" to 7-1/2". In the rear, full travel ranges from 8-5/8" to 9-3/4". There's no way to know for sure, but for theory let's assume that at stock height your stock shocks have the pistol at the exact mid-point of travel. Adding lift uses up shock up-travel. The fronts have (theoretically) about 3-1/2" of up-travel ... total. If you have a 3" lift, your shocks are just about topped out. The rear isn't as bad, because you have less lift and the shocks have more travel. Up-travel for the rear will be around 4-1/2". If your lift isn't any more than 2" you won't be topped out, you'll still have a couple of inches to go. I think you're okay in the back. For the front, if you can't afford new shocks, somebody makes 1-1/2" shock stud extenders that would bring the pistons back closer to the midpoint of the travel. If you go that route, be careful about slamming into bumps, because the extenders will make it easy to bottom out the shocks unless you extend your bump stops.

The resistors only control the slower speeds. If the resistor pack is bad, the fan will still run at full speed when the control is placed in that position. If you have NOTHING, the fan is probably bad. It's easy to test -- three screws from the engine side of the firewall remove it, and you can jumper the two terminals on the connector directly to the battery to see if it runs. My '88 XJ is on its third fan, and that one's on the way out.

And you can't mix R-12 and R-134 in the same system. They are not compatible.

I would SOOOOOOOOO love to have one of those speedometers ...

43 and 14 are the tooth counts for the ring gear and the pinion gear. Divide 43 by 14 and you get 3.0714. Easy-"ish" upgrade would be any XJ axle that's a Chrysler 8-1/4. An XJ or MJ Dana 44 would be ideal, of course, but VERY unlikely to find. The Chrysler axles are much more common. 1990-1996 the Chrysler axle has the same shaft diameter and spline count as the Dana 35 but the housing and tubes are stronger. 1997-2001 the Chrysler axle got larger shafts with a higher spline count and are virtually equal to the Dana 44 in strength. All that's needed to install an XJ axle in an MJ is to cut off the spring perches and re-weld them in the correct location for an MJ. Doing a spring-over conversion won't gain you a "couple" of inches. It will be 5-1/2 inches minimum, possibly 6. To match that in the front you should be looking at: [*:3auzvas8]Lift springs [*:3auzvas8]Adjustable upper and lower control arms, or long arms [*:3auzvas8]Sway bar disconnects [*:3auzvas8]Much longer shocks (front and rear [*:3auzvas8]Adjustable track bar [*:3auzvas8]Steering box brace If what you really want is a couple of inches, do an add-aleaf in the rear springs and 2" lift spacers in the front.

The MJ has always had an accessory position. To turn it on, start with the key in the locked position. Push the key IN toward the steering column, then turn counterclockwise (top toward the driver).

It's the ignition and injection system. They work together. You can change a Renix engine to the newer Chrysler system. In fact, Jeep used to sell a kit to convert the older carbureted 4.2L Wranglers to Chrysler EFI, so there's no reason you couldn't do the same thing on a Renix engine. But you'll have a lot of adapting to do. For example, the throttle bodies are different so you would either have to change the intake manifold, or adapt a Chrysler throttle body to the Renix manifold, or adapt the Chrysler sensors to the Renix throttle body. The tooth pattern on the flywheel is different because the CPS is different, so you would have to put a newer Chrysler flywheel/flex plate on your Renix engine and use the newer style CPS. Anything can be done if you're prepared to throw enough time, money and effort at it ...