Eagle

Lower control arm.

Yes. You can't check anything with the tires off the ground, unless the parts are falling aapart. Tires ON the ground, steering straight ahead. You need an assistant. Turn the key to unlock. Don't start the engine, just unlock the steering column. Now -- have your assistant turn the steering wheel back and forth through the range that ALMOST turns the tires, but not quite. The idea is to not actually move the tread patch on the ground, but to load the various tie rod ends, pitman arm, track bar, etc. While your helper wiggles the steering wheel back and forth, you crawl underneath and put your hand on each fitting in turn. Wear nitrile exam gloves. You can FEEL a tie rod end flexing against the part it fits into even if your eye can't see the movement. Check tie rod ends (inner and outer), upper and lower end of the track bar, the TRE end of the pitman arm, and also feel for lateral flex of the steering box output shaft (the spline that the pitman arm attaches to). You can use the same method to check (visually, this time) for excess over center free play in the steering box. Again, move the steering wheel back and forth while standing outside the vehicle and watching the left front tire. Do NOT actually turn the tire -- just turn the wheel through the pre-move-the-tire range. There should be almost zero actual "free" (as in loosey goosey) play across center. It should transition from slight resistance left to slight resistance right almost instantly.

The new Wranglers have, I believe, 6-speed trannies. If the 231 will bolt up, a 242 should bolt up. Although there are factors such as input shaft length and spline count to be investigated.

If it's the 6 speed from the TJ, it's not a double overdrive trans. It's got a grannied first, 5th is 1:1 and 6th is overdrive. Yeah, but then if you run tall gears (like 3.08) then it becomes the equivalent. Don't get stuck focusing just on the transmission -- what counts is the overall final drive ratio. Say you run a 5-speed with 4.11 gears. 4th gear final ratio is 4.11, and 5th gear is 4.11x.75 = 3.08 So if you run a 6-speed with a 1:1 5th, run 3.08 axles and 5th gear is the equivalent of what your OD is now, and the 6th gear becomes a second overdrive.

The problem most people report from using either aftermarket clutch hydraulics or rebuild kits is that they start to leak after six months or less. The originals in my '88 Cherokee lasted from January 1988 to somewhere around 1999 or 2000 ... a modest 204,000 miles, with no leakage. Finally did the clutch at 204,000 because the release bearing part of the slave assembly started growling. I asked my retired Jeep service manager friend what he recommended for parts, and he said, "How long did the factory parts last you again?" I may not be the brightest bulb in the string, but I can take a hint when you whack me over the head with it. Trouble is, the old XJs and MJs have been out of production so long that aftermarket now seems to be the only choice. That's why I favor using DOT-5 silicone brake fluid in the clutch (as well as the brakes). It isn't corrosive, and it isn't hygroscopic. It costs more than regular brake or clutch fluid, but who wants to drop a tranny and transfer case every six months to replace another leaky slave cylinder?

Seriously, always run fog (and/or driving or off-road) lights through a relay as well as a fuse. On my '88 MJ that once had factory fogs (but not when I got it), the relay is on the left radiator support, right next to the driver's side radiator tank.

Whatever you're drinking, I'll try one.

The nut has full thread engagement. Why does it need to go farther?

I don't know. I bought genuine Jeep parts from my parts guru at the dealership, so I just plugged it in.

What clutch "cable"? You should have a master cylinder, a combination throw bearing & slave cylinder, and a tube/hose to connect them. The connector should have metal tubing on both ends and a length of flex hose in the middle. Definitely replace all three. I skipped the flex hose on my XJ when I did the clutch, and halfway from home to a trail ride in Maine the hose blew at a toll station on the Massachusetts Turnpike. I had to drive 100 miles back to home with no clutch. Possible, but not fun. I'll also suggest using DOT-5 silicone brake fluid instead of regular brake or clutch fluid. It seems the aftermarket and rebuilt clutch hydraulics don't typically last very long, and if the master cylinder leaks it'll likely ruin your fuse panel. IMHO the silicone is not as likely to leak, and if it does it won't corrode the electrical connections. The safe approach is to replace the flywheel. If it looks good and doesn't show any heat spots or cracks, you could probably re-use it. Problem is, you won't know until you have it out. I didn't replace it on my XJ, but I bought that new and I'm the only driver, so I knew I had never slipped it or overheated it. For my 87 MJ, I bought that used and the clutch was funky from the day I got it, so I'll put a new flywheel on that when I do the clutch as insurance. Whatever you do, DO NOT resurface the old flywheel. The factory service manual specifically says not to, and many who have tried it anyway have regretted it.

^^^ :agree: In fact, take the nuts back off and apply anti-seize now. It'll save a lot of headaches down the road.

It can also be the plug wires themselves. If the outer insulation jacket is wet/damp and the inner insulation is aged or deteriorated, the wires will cross-fire. Looks pretty spectacular if you pop the hood on it at night ...

Stock tire size on a 2.5L MJ was either a 195/75-15 or maybe a 205/75-15. That's a 26-1/2" to 27" tire that about 8" wide. A 245/75-16 is 30-1/2" in diameter and 9.6" wide. That's not even close to stock -- it's actually almost a 31x10.50, but slightly narrower. Depending on the wheel backspacing they'll fit, but they'll probably interfere with the wheel wells in front on sharp turns. And IMHO they'll kill your gas mileage. Overdrive will be useless.

And as far as I know they use the same shocks.

Some people are just idjits. Many years ago, I finally decided to sell the last of my pony cars, a 1968 Javelin that I bought new while I was in Vietnam so it would be waiting for me when I came home. I had just put a fresh engine in it, but I was married and looking for a more practical vehicle so the Javelin had to go. My then-wife's mother lived right on a major road in the town where she grew up, and we lived in a condo off a side street, so we parked it in front of the mother-in-law's house with a 'For sale" sign and phone number in the window. Several days later I got a call from a guy who had seen the car and just HAD to have it. We arranged for me to meet him at the MIL's house at 6:00 p.m. the next evening, after I got off work. (Mind you, this was a 45 minute drive -- each way -- from where I lived.) So I was there at 5:45. 6:00 came and went -- no buyer. 6:30 came and went -- no buyer. Around 6:45 I called the number he had given me. His father answered, and told me his son had gone out drinking with some of his buddies. I explained who I was and what was supposed to be going down, gave him the MIL's phone number (this was LONG before cell phones), and asked him to have his son call if he heard from him. At 7:30 there was a knock on the door. MIL answered. It was a really nice looking, clean-cut kid and his girlfriend. They were driving by, saw the car, and wondered if it was still for sale. I told him it was. We went for a test drive, he loved the car, we settled on a price close to what I was asking, and he gave me a $100 cash down payment. Done. By the time he left, it was probably 8:30. Around 8:45 the phone rang. It was the original buyer, calling to say he was on his way. I told him not to bother, that the car was sold. Holy hand grenade, Batman -- the guy went ballistic. He started ranting and raving that that was HIS car and I had NO RIGHT to sell HIS car after he had said he wanted it (which he hadn't, we were meeting so he could decide IF he wanted it), he was going to sue me, he was going to track me down and f*** me over, yada yada. I finally broke in, told him to shut the f*** up, reminded him that we had an appointment for 6:00 and it was now 9:00, so he only himself to blame ... and I reminded him that I was a Vietnam combat veteran so if he wanted to come f*** me over he'd better bring several large friends. Never heard from him again. But they're out there.

The fuse for the aux fan in the 2000 XJ (the new style fan) is a 40-amp fuse. Not surprising you're popping fuses like Chinese lady crackers on the 4th of July if you're trying to spin that baby through a 20-amp fuse.

WHY would you do this to a daily driver, especially since you already ruined one truck? Yes, that's too much tire for a 2.5L with stock gearing. By definition, daily drivers see a lot of pavement. Serious rail rigs are NOT suitable for daily driver use, and often aren't safe for daily driver use. And you might be surprised just how capable an MJ is running on 31s with a budget boost.

Isn't the '99 WJ head a 1-1/2 DIN size? Or maybe double DIN? The XJ/MJ is single size. I don't think the WJ head will fit the space available for it in the MJ.

Well, you didn't mention in your post that you want to convert from the old trim to the new trim. The new gasket is trim -- the windshield itself is the same part -- but you do have to remove the glass to install the new style gasket.

Who "asserted" spinning it near redline? I wrote that maximum efficiency is when you cruise at the torque peak ... nobody said anything about the horsepower peak. For the Renix 4.0L, the torque peak was at 2400 RPM and the horsepower peak was at 4750 RPM. Highway cruise at around 2400 to 2600 RPM is, as I wrote, right in the "fat" part of the torque curve for the engine. Basically, yes it does. In fact, the working definition of torque is "horsepower per revolution," so the torque peak IS, by definition, the RPM at which the engine itself is operating at maximum efficiency. As has been noted, exponential increases in various drag factors as a function of vehicle speed enter into it and cannot be ignored, but the simple fact is that a highway cruise that's almost 1000 RPM below the torque peak (like the way the 5-speeds came from the factory) cannot deliver optimum fuel economy in the real world. As proven by the fact that my '88 Cherokee gets as good mileage in 4th gear on the highway as it does in 5th.

There is no gasket. The windshield is held in and sealed with glass sealant. Used to be a butyl, but I think now they use a polyurethane formulation.

Forget what those charts say -- they're wrong. I bought my '88 Cherokee new. 4.0L 5-speed, so it came with (and still has) 3.07 gears. Original tire size was 205/75-15s, but I've been on 225s or 235s (depends on what set I have handy) for many years. I'm in Connecticut, so we don't have long stretches of 65 to 70 MPH highway. Typical highway cruise is about 60. And at that speed I get better gas mileage staying in 4th than when I use 5th. Years ago, I determined that I'd be better off running 3.73s. But then I got the '88 MJ, with 31" tires and 3.07 gears, so the new gears went into the MJ and the XJ stayed stock. You gents are forgetting two things: First, both the XJ and the MJ are "boxes on wheels." Aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed. The fact you get worse mileage at 70 than at 60 is not due to engine RPM, it's due to increased drag and there's not a damn thing you can do about that other than drive slower. I had the same thing with the 1999 Grand Cherokee I owned. That was with the newly-designed 4.7L V8. On a trip from CT to wstern PA (about 500 miles) I logged about 19 MPG on the way out, cruising at 70. On the way back, I had plenty of time so I set the cruise for 60 and I got 22 MPG. The other thing you forget is that the base engine on which the 4.0L is built was originally designed by AMC back in 1963, first appearing in the 1964 Rambler. Overdrive was extremely rare back then, and a standard transmission was a 3-speed. AMC was noted for building economy cars. Standard gearing was 3.08, with small tires. The typical gearing resulted in 2500 RPM at 60 MPH. That meant that a 72 MPH cruise speed ran the engine at 3000 RPM. Toady, you lads consider those engine speeds as excessive, but that's what the engines were designed for, and they would last 300,000 miles as long as you changed the oil. My old Rambler American used to routinely deliver 28 MPG set up like that. Of course, it was lighter in weight than an MJ, and we didn't have gasoline diluted with ethanol. But that's the engine speed range that's going to deliver the best economy. 3.07 in today's XJs and MJs was not selected because it's best for any real world purpose. They used that ratio because it generated good results on the unrealistic Federal mileage tests. Seriously. With stock tires in 5th gear and running 3.07 axles, 70 MPH is 1960 RPM. That's several hundred RPM below the engine's torque peak -- and several THOUSAND RPM below the torque peak for the HO engine. You can't deliver optimum economy running well under the torque peak.

Run the 215s until they wear out, then move up to 235/75s. The 235s are almost exactly the same diameter as 30x9.50s. With 235s behind an AW4 you'll be turning about 2200 RPM at 60 MPH and 2580 RPM at 70. That puts your cruising RPM right in the "fat" part of the torque curve, and that's where you want to be for maximum efficiency.

Looks pretty much Olive Drab to me.

Your links don't work for me, but if that's the Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve, it does NOT replace the stock distribution block in the front. The Wilwood is plumbed into the single line from the front block to the rear axle, downstream from the front distribution block.