Eagle

Then why are you asking for a measurement to the flare? I'm saying to measure to the flare, too -- but from a reference point that relates directly to the chassis.

The '96 was Jeep's first year with OBD-2, and from everything I have read it was very much a kludge. They knew they had to do OBD-2 because it was a law, but they also knew there was a revised body style coming the next year so they didn't design a complete new wiring harness for old body style and dashboard, they just patched it to come up with a minimal OBD-2 implementation. By '98 they were in the second year of the new body style and firmly on the way with OBD-2. I would leave the '96 XJ alone and swap from the wrecked '98 directly to the MJ.

Bad headlight ground. The headlights are trying to ground through the blinker sockets. Or -- bad turn/parking light ground and they are trying to ground through the headlight circuit.

Height from the ground doesn't tell you anything, because just changing the tire size changes that measurement. Measure from the center of the axle/hub to the underside of the flare. Stock: Front: 17-1/2" Rear: +/- 20-1/2"

What it means is that you need to find a machine shop that knows what they're doing. That one obviously does not. Here's the deal: The 2.8L V6 was a crappy engine. One of the problems was that the design was not sophisticated enough to be inherently balanced, so in order to make the complete rotating assembly balanced GM had to add a chunk of metal at one point on the perimeter of the flywheel. This is referred to as a "bobweight," and engines that require this type of flywheel are called "externally balanced." The old AMC 390 V8 also required an eccentrically balanced flywheel. The 3.4L V6, being a newer and more advanced design, does not have the same balance issues and is internally balanced. So the flywheel doesn't need a chunk of metal at one point on the perimeter -- it needs to be "neutral" balanced, which is just saying it needs to be in complete balance all the way around -- just like we hope our tires and wheels will be. All the machine shop has to do with the 2.8L flywheel is grind off the bobweight and balance the flywheel. They don't need to know the weight of the bobweight, because you're paying them to remove it.

I can't answer as to whether it was there officially, but several years ago a friend in Greece found an MJ abandoned on the street in Athens and salvaged a bunch of parts off it for his '84 XJ.

If you can lay your hands on another set of MJ rear springs, or a set from an older Dakota (one with springs under the axle) or (I think) a Ford Explorer (???), cut the eyes off the main leaves and use those plus the second leaves as AALs. Just the mains should give you about 1-1/2" to 2" -- using two additional leaves should get you to where you want to be.

If the axle was centered front-to-rear, you would need a shackle 2" longer to get 1" of lift. This doesn't calculate out exactly when the axle isn't centered, but it's probably close enough for approximating. 2:1 -- so if you want 3 inches of lift, you need shackles 6 inches longer than factory. (Not a good idea.)

Climate often isn't the problem. many MJs and XJs have wet floors due to leaks at the windshield or around the fuse panel.

They should fit regardless of year. Guys with Renix strokers often run injectors from HO XJs or various years of ZJ. And a preferred replacement for the Renix injectors is the injectors for a 5-litre Mustang.

Agreed. My '88 XJ is sneaking up on 300,000 miles on the original engine. Bearings are all original and there's no unusual noise, and the oil pressure is the same as it has always been as far back as I can remember. In fact, until I saw this thread I had never heard of unplugging anything to "prime" the engine when changing the oil. And I beat flint's 45 years by a decade.

Are you SURE it's rubbing the inner fender, and not the lower control arm? Because if it's rubbing the lower control arm, not even a 4-inch lift will help. In fact, if it's rubbing the inner fender when turning a lift won't help anyway. A lift only helps if the top of the tire is hitting the flare or sheet metal.

I'm going to guess that the degreasing operation hosed a sensor. I know one of the sensors near the throttle body isn't supposed to get wet. Might be the TPS -- which would affect the transmission.

Toggle switch. Use it in the mud.

Just to be contrarian -- you do NOT have to lift a Comanche to run 31x10.50-15s if you use Jeep rims. Now that you know you don't "need" to lift your truck, how much do you "want" to lift it? Especially since it's a daily driver and will see limited use off-road, I would suggest you not go more than a 2" budget boost ... and I was much happier with my '88 MJ after I removed the 4" lift it had when I bought it, and set it back to stock height.

Never gets above 212? That's below normal for an MJ. What did you mean when your original post said Overheating is when the needle on the gauge is constantly in the red zone, which is around 240 degrees and up. Are you overheating, or not?

Nope. THAT sensor sends input to the ECU, but it controls whether the ECU is in open-loop or closed-loop mode. That sensor has nothing to do with the aux fan.

Leaking injector and/or bad oxygen sensor.

You were told wrong. That IS the relay for the aux fan. The ECU in the Renix-era MJs does not have any control over the aux fan -- that came in with the Chrysler system in 1991. However, the relay may not be bad. Which wires are you jumping to actuate it? For pure temperature, the relay is triggered by a sensor in the driver's side radiator tank. If that sensor is bad or there's a break in the wires between the sensor and the relay ... the relay won't get triggered. As a work-around while you diagnose the problem, you can wire a toggle switch to the relay control terminals and control the fan manually. But ... where are you located? It's January -- winter. Not all MJs even had an auxiliary fan. If you are experiencing overheating in January, your radiator is probably due to be replaced, or else the fan clutch on the mechanical fan is bad. The primary fan should be all you need this time of year.

If it's backfiring, it is virtually 100 percent certain that the timing can't be good. Check it again. Be sure #1 is at top dead center ON THE COMPRESSION STROKE, then check the distributor to see if the rotor is pointing at the #1 terminal in the cap.

The simple test would be for anyone who has an XJ or MJ box out of the vehicle to just turn the input shaft all the way to full lock (stop) in one direction, then count the number of turns to go to full lock at the opposite extreme. In the vehicles this is 3-1/2 turns for the 14:1 box, but in the vehicle there's a stop on the steering knuckle. I expect that out of the vehicle it's going to be closer to 4 full turns, but I don't know. And the only steering box I have out of a vehicle is an old one that I believe has the 18:1 ratio from the early AMC off-road option package. Once we find out how many turns for a stock 14:1 box, anything less for a box on the counter at the parts store would indicate a 12.7:1 box. Or you could buy directly from Borgerson and be sure you're getting the 12.7:1 box. http://www.borgeson.com/xcart/catalog/S ... -1384.html

If you're going to sell it, why would you even consider doing all the work necessary to convert it to 4WD? The 3.07 axle will be fine behind a 4.0L and automatic. In fact, in my not-so-humble opinion if Jeep had needed to use 3.07 gears on something, they should have been mated to the automatic rather than the 5-speed.

Ummm ... WHAT wiring harness is not right? First you're looking for parts, then you have ... something ... that doesn't match. What did you get a harness from, an XJ? What year?

For sure they don't Eagle. I tried to get a rebuilt box at a couple of the parts chain houses, and they let me try several "ZJ" boxes by turning it lock-to-lock. They were all the same number turns as my 14.1:1 ratio box. I ended up using a low mileage ZJ box from a 1996 model. That's what I was afraid of. Do you by any chance remember how many turns, lock-to-lock, for either the 14:1 or the 12.7:1 ratio box? I know the 14:1 box is 3-1/2 turns in the vehicle, but the travel is limited by the stops on the steering knuckles. Out of the vehicle, is the bare 14:1 box maybe 4 turns? I'd go dig up the one I took out an MJ several years ago, but fuzzy memory is that it was a boogered up variable ratio or 18:1 ratio box anyway, so without knowing its origins for certain I wouldn't want to use it as the basis for providing guidance on how to check a bare box for ratio.

Shackles don't add any capacity to the springs, and by allowing the springs to flex through a wider range they contribute to early spring fatigue.