Eagle

Does anyone know what a 242 transfer case weighs? I need to pull one and I have to decide if I think I can bench press it or if I should track down the friend I lent my tranny jack to -- three years ago.

The late model XJ boxes are also much better for road feel than the early ones.

I can't even begin to put a fair price on it. I wouldn't buy it for any price, so I'm not the right person to ask. My view is -- it's too far gone to be returned to original configuration, so it has zero value and zero appeal (to me).

Did you read the previous posts? The ZJ box is exactly the same box as the XJ/MJ box. The only difference is the ratio.

Very interesting. And encouraging. Thanks.

That truck is too nice to build. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Having had a lifted MJ and wheeled it, hating the lift every time I got into the truck, and then wheeled it some more after returning it to stock height, I can attest that it wheeled just as well on 31-inch tires at stock height as it did with a 4-inch lift. As for value, perhaps I'm in a minority but, having gone down the lifted truck road once, I have vowed never to do it again. If I were to look for an MJ to buy, I wouldn't even look at one that's lifted or modified. I might look at one that only has a late-model front clip on it, but a lift, off-road bumpers, non-Jeep axles, and of that stuff takes it right off the table. For me it's not even whether the mods add or reduce the value. To me, a modified MJ has zero value. Period. If you want to build an off-road truck, find a beater and modify that.

I know exactly what you mean. Because my school switched me from Spanish (7th and 8th grades) to French (high school, three years), once I got back to trying again to re-learn Spanish after 40 years they kind of ran together. The little Spanish I learned was probably sort of "Sprench." And I, too, made lots of embarrassing mistakes. Like when my wife and I went to Quebec. In Quebec, if any of you aren't aware, they speak predominately French. I know I made a lot of mistakes on that trip but the one I instantly remember was when we went into a restaurant and asked for a seat by the "ventana." "Ventana" is Spanish for window. The French word is "fenetre." Oh, well. The laugh of the day during that trip was when we were in a small street that's pedestrians only, chock full of tourist shops. We were in one and I was attempting to translate between my wife and a saleswoman. When the woman heard me talking to my wife in Spanish, she just took over. Turns out she was from some South American country and Spanish was her native language. My work was done -- the ladies didn't need me any more.

So you have the Phase III version. I know mine isn't that one. Irrespective of what caused the changes, how much change did you get? Does it still feel like the typical, anemic Jeep 2.5L, or does it now approach something you could possibly call "performance"?

I have the 2000 and 2002 editions of the (printed) Mopar Performance Catalog. Both have a separate section for the Jeep engines, and they list three performance cam grinds for both engines. The cam specs for each stage are the same, whether it's for the 2.5L or the 4.0L. I have either a Phase I or Phase II cam kit for the 2.5L. The question is -- what kind of changes in performance would the cam give? Also, the kit includes the cam and lifters, but no springs. It's a significant increase in lift -- from .255/.259 lift to either .430 or .440. Don't know if the stock springs will handle that without binding.

Is there anyone who has installed a Mopar Performance Phase I or Phase II cam in a Jeep 4-cylinder? Or does anyone have links to any articles or videos that can offer any information on what kind of power and torque increases the cam generates? Only asking about the 4-cylinder. I know the cam specs are the same for the 4-cylinder and the 6-cylinder, but the two engines start out with very different power curves, so results for the 4.0L won't be helpful.

WHOA! You ain't just a'hummin', Pardner. I wouldn't buy one from the rust belt, so I just check Autotrader for Arizona. Only found three -- the cheapest was (IIRC) $16,900, and the fancy red one was almost $32,000! Somebody call 9-1-1 ... I'm suffering an extreme case of sticker shock. Plus -- they were all automatics. Didn't they make the LJ with a 5-speed?

The rear axles has been modified to put the leaf springs on top of the axle. The factory setup is spring-under. From the photo, it looks like the factory spring pads have been removed from the underside of the axle tubes, so going back to a stock setup will require either welding on new pads, or re-re-locating the ones that are there now. (Or swapping in a stock axle.) Here's your dilemma: Once you add up the numbers of axle tube diameter, spring perch height and offset, and spring pack thickness, the MINIMUM amount of lift from a spring-over conversion is about 5-1/2 inches. So if you want to get to 4-1/2 inches, w you WILL have to undo the spring-over conversion.

Good -- a wider range than I thought. Excellent. I had an interesting day today. I have a friend across town who has a TJ (not the Unlimited) with a snow plow. The last couple of storms he has taken pity on me and plowed my driveway so I don't have to do the whole thing (100 yards worth) with the snow blower. Well, he blew out his back a few days ago and can hardly make it from his chair to the bathroom. Aside from my place, he plows his place, his mother's house, and the lot of the building that used to be his father's service station. His middle daughter (20 years old) managed to scrape a path out of their driveway, but I volunteered to do his mother's place and the shop. It took me about an hour and a half to clear my driveway with the snowblower, then I went off to make my appointed rounds with the snow plow. I haven't done any plowing since I sold my old full-size Cherokee, almost twenty years ago. It wasn't hard to get back in the swing, but his up-down/left-right control is a hand-held box on an umbilical cord. Mine was permanently mounted to the dashboard, and I think I like that better. Plus, his TJ is a 4-banger, 5-speed, on 32" or 33" tires. WOW! Talk about under-powered. My old beast was a 360 cubic inch V8 with Quadratrac. But -- aside from the lack of power, I really enjoyed spending an afternoon in a TJ. It rekindled my lust for a TJ Unlimited. I'm about to do some surfing and see what they sell for. I'm sure I can't afford one, but ... a guy has to have dreams, right?

Good grief! That dude's head bobs around so much, he must have a chiropractor on retainer. What an annoying twit.

What's required depends on what was done. I have an '88 MJ that had a 4" Trailmaster lift on it when I bought it. It rode like crap and I hated it, so I put it back to stock and I don't think I sacrificed any off-road capability by going back to stock height. In front, I removed the control arm drop brackets, put in stock height coil springs, and stock length shocks. Replaced the Rusty's (crappy) track bar with an OEM track bar. The rear was lifted with AALs, so I removed those and replaced the shocks with stock length shocks.

What years did the make the original TJ (2-door) Wrangler Unlimited?

UGLY!

Back around 1980, I was in a bind and I needed cheap transportation. I paid all of $50 for a clapped out 1968 AMC Javelin with a 232 c.i.d. 6-cylinder engine and a 3-speed manual shifter (on the steering column -- the proverbial "three on a tree"). It had been parked for a couple of years because the head gasket had blown. I pulled the head, gave it a quick check with a straightedge and it looked okay-ish, so I didn't even bother with a machine shop. I pulled the valves, cleaned them up a bit, and re-lapped them by hand with a suction cup and a small jar of lapping compound. The cylinders had had water/coolant sitting in them for two years, so they were nasty. I used a ridge reamer to cut out the carbon rings at the top of each cylinder, rotated the crank so I could clean out each bore with the piston at the bottom, then I used a cylinder hone to clean up the walls while each piston was at the bottom. I didn't even replace the rings. I slapped a new head gasket in it, torqued it down, and drove it for two years. I mention this because the AMC 232 is the same basic engine as the Jeep 4.0L. Pete said they are tough. He wasn't kidding. They are TOUGH.

The '88 track bar part number was superseded by the late model track bar. The early ones didn't have a grease fitting -- the later ones do.

Except in Venezuela ...

Probably not, but you never know. A 33-year old truck with a blown engine? IMHO it's worth maybe 2/3 of what you paid for the wheels and tires. To anyone who knows Jeeps, a Rusty's suspension kit doesn't add any value, and may reduce the value. Why don't you just put a head gasket in it?

So you haven't done the second drain and refill? I wouldn't do anything else until you have done that. As I posted above, the torque converter holds a significant amount of joy juice, so just draining the pan (even if you drop the pan) doesn't get all the old, burned fluid out. I think you need to do at least one more drain and refill cycle, maybe two more. If that doesn't solve the problem, then you can start looking for other issues.

What I needed was to explain to my step-grandson in Chile why I can't get the transfer case skid plate off my late wife's 2000 XJ because the bolts are seized up in the riv-nuts and the riv-nuts just spin when I try to unfasten them. Grandson can't understand why I don't just use a longer breaker bar. Omega Rugal gave me something to send him. If that doesn't convey the idea, I'll ask you guys for more help. Thanks.

I envy people who can speak multiple languages. My late wife's cousin speaks six languages, all fluently. DISGUSTING!

Thanks, Gents. Omega Rugal has returned from parts unknown, so the translation has been accomplished.