Eagle

Yep. DON'T buy Rusty's, or the same thing may happen.

Ideally you want parts from an 87 to 90 XJ. Jeep stayed with the R12 Freon through '93, I think, but I believe the underhood (and probably under-dash) layout was different for the HO engine vehicles. Conversely, using parts from a 94 - 96 XJ would get you a system that's already set up for and compatible with the RC134 refrigerant. What I'm uncertain about is whether the under-dash controls are compatible ... but I'm sure it could be made to work.

If I remember correctly, a Scout was a lot narrower than an MJ. And I don't recall what the wheel bolt circle was. Probably not a good choice.

Did anyone replace the line/hose between the master and slave cylinders? It's a steel tube on each end, but the middle portion is a rubber flex line, like the brake system flex lines at each axle. If that's the 20+ year old original, it may have gotten soft and be swelling up under pressure rather than transferring full pressure to the slave.

I eliminate it, and I remove the rear proportioning valve. The one in my '88 MJ exploded when I made a panic stop. That one obviously had to go, but they are all about the same age, and you can't buy replacements. If that one blew up, I expect all of them to act the same. I prefer to have brakes when I need them. There are several threads on this site explaining exactly how to eliminate the proportioning valve ... safeely.

Yep. The curved blades are the late-model XJ aux fan. It takes (in a 2000 XJ) a 40amp fuse. You NEED to run that off a heavy-duty relay. The 1988 factory setup us a standard relay for the fan mounted on the driver's side inner fender, near the rear of the air filter box.

Sounds like it's the front diff out of a '99 or newer Grand with QuadraDrive. In the full QuadraDrive system, the transfer case is a full-time case, and the front and rear diffs are "gerotor" actuated units. They have clutches, but they work sort of the opposite of the older Jeep TracLok system. With TracLok, the clutches are engaged and held by spring pressure. When the two wheels on the same axle need to rotate at different speeds (like around a corner), if both tires have traction, the tires develop enough torque to cause the clutches to slip. With QuadraDrive, the clutches are normally UNlocked. When the two wheels on the same axle turn at different speeds, the mechanism actuates a hydraulic "gerotor" pump inside the diff that pushes the clutches into engagement, locking up the axle. It's a great system, and I always wondered if it could be retrofitted to an XJ or MJ Dana 30. But ... I saw the price for one of the units and quickly lost interest in trying it.

There is no single thing to point at for death wobble. Personally, I always look first at tire balance, because death wobble does not and cannot occur unless at least one tire starts ... well, wobbling. And steering boxes, track bars, drag links, tie rods, and shock absorbers cannot cause a tire to start wobbling. But ... death wobble is different from "wheel shimmy" in that when one front tire starts to bounce around, it gets transferred to the opposite side and they then engage in a dance of harmonic reinforcement -- each feeding the other until the vehicle tries to jump off the road. I've had true death wobble twice, in two different vehicles. One was my '88 MJ. Tires were out of balance. I had driven it for two or three years, with no issues. I swapped on a different set of tires, and BAM! Took 'em off, and never had another problem. The other instance was in a 6-month old, box stock 1999 Grand Cherokee and it happened on a smooth state highway after I had driven about 150 miles. I touched the brakes to stay close to the speed limit on a long down grade, and HOLY WHEEL HOP, BATMAN! Nothing was loose, and the tires had no shimmy. But ... the front rotors on the '99 Grands liked to warp, and mine were warped. That's all it took. Also, I had the off-road ("Up Country") suspension, and I subsequently read that Jeep had to change the spring rates and the durometer on some rubber bushings with the "export" suspension because of death wobble. So I suspect that the U.S. Up Country suspension probably was about the same as the export suspension. All those other things people have mentioned become possible culprits if a tire starts wobbling, because they allow for more wobble to be transferred across to the opposite wheel. But start by checking the tires for balance.

Correction ... it should be tempered. ONLY tempered. Laminated is for windshields only. Yes, I know tempered glass cannot be cut. A good glass shop can cut the glass to shape, then have it tempered. I have discussed this with friends who run a glass shop.

FYI, when the vehicle is moving the clutch is engaged. To be able to stop and idle with the tranny in gear, you have to DISengage the clutch. Stepping on the peddle is what should cause the clutch to disengage. There's a third component to check, too. The flex hose between the clutch master and slave cylinders. I had one let go at a toll booth 100 miles from home (and 300 miles from where I was supposed to be going. Needless to say I turned around, but that trip home was a very interesting 100 miles.

This is correct. An optional rear axle was offered for the '86, and a gas station down the road used to have an '86 4-banger for plowing his driveway that had it. But the heavy duty axle for the '86 model year was the AMC Model 20.

Close. On the '88 XJ the operable vent windows were a fairly expensive option. I paid extra to get them, and they leaked from the day I bought the vehicle. After two complaints to the dealer, they had me come in when the zone rep was there. He said they all leaked, and the factory had a recommended fix. "What's the fix?" I asked. "Replace them with non-operable windows," was the answer. But ... they wouldn't refund the money I had paid to get the operable windows, so I told him to put his fix where the sun doesn't shine. I went home, opened the vents, and glopped up the gaskets with NAPA Sil-Glyde silicone paste lube.

The high sulpher gear oil is a known problem for the AX-15, so it is reasonable to conclude that it's probably also a problem for the AX-5. Red Line or Amsoil full synthtic gear oil are safe for the AX-15. I'd suggest one of those.

Backspacing is not the same as offset. Backspacing is the dimension from the wheel mounting surface to the inner flange of the rim. Stock for an XJ or MJ with 15x7 OEM rims is 5-1/4". Backspacing does not take into account rim width or centerline. If you have a 15x10 rim and a 15x8 rim, and they both have 4" of backspacing, the 15x10 rim will extend OUT by 2 more inches. They will both be the same distance from the control arms. That's for the rim. If the inner flange is in the same position for both but the 15x10 has the outer flange 2" farther outboard, then obviously the centerline of the 15x10 must be 1" farther outboard than a 15x8. So now if you mount a 12.5" tire on each rim, the centerline of the tire will be 1" farther out with the 15x10 ... or the centerline of the tire will be 1" closer to the control arms with the 15x8, even though the inboard flange is in the same position.

What's the deal with putting dry ice on a ding? Does it work? Has anyone tried it?

I'm sure we have a few members who are professional auto body workers. I need some advice/instruction. We have a 2000 XJ Classic, that I managed to keep completely pristine and unmarked for several years. Then I remarried, and turned it over to my wife. She doesn't really care about cars, and she doesn't like to walk, so she refuses to park any farther away from a store entrance than she possibly can. The result is a bunch of door dings, and it makes me ill just looking at the poor XJ. I can't afford to hire Dent Wizard to smooth them all out. I'm hoping somebody can clue me in as to the general procedure involved. I assume the drill is the remove the inner door panel and tap out the dents. Do I put a dolly on the OUTside and tap from inside with a long-nose body hammer? Or do I hold the dolly on the inside and tap from the outside? Whichever goes on the outside, what's used to protect the paint? Cloth? Thin sheet or rubber or plastic? What's the secret to the wizard's wizardry?

I may have to retract the above statement. I was about to type "I've never seen one like that," but if they were used in the late 90s on XJs, it might be more accurate to say "I never noticed one like that." It actually makes sense, considering that the majority of XJs never went off-road. I've had to repair or replace a number of the folding mirrors because the outer part of the notch into which the retainer rods fit broke off in cold weather, and the spring subsequently became too weak to hold the mirror in position at speeds faster than about 40 or 45 MPH.

Interesting. Cheap copies. Jeep never made a mirror like that.

Vacuum and all the rest of that does not affect the clutch or the transmission. What affects the clutch and transmission is the clutch and the transmission. If you can't shift the transmission with the engine running, but it will shift with the engine turned off, the clutch is not disengaging. First thing is to try bleeding it again/more, as already suggested. The other possibility you aren't going to like -- are you certain you installed the clutch disk with the correct side facing the flywheel?

Words are never adequate at times like this. Jeff, my condolences. At least you were blessed to be able to spend time with your mother before she departed. I was away on a trip when my mother died. I went to her house when I got home and found her ...

Hook up a fan.

In my state nobody has to "do" anything. If I ever sell the vehicle, I just state on the title that the odometer mileage shown is not correct because the odometer was replaced. However ... the odometer can be adjusted, and I'm pretty certain there are instructions on this forum somewhere. Dunno if it's legal to do it yourself -- probably depends on your state's laws.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27191

If you mean the pressure plate for an AX-15 and a 4.0L engine, I think the pressure plate will be too big to fit in the smaller 2.5L bell housing. Dumb question: Since the bell housing to make this work is from a Dakota that mates the AX-15 to the 2.5L engine -- why not use the Dakota clutch that goes with that engine and tranny combination?

What makes you think that? Think about what's happening when you turn the front wheels. If you're stopped and try to turn the wheels, the inside tire actually has to rotate backwards while the outside tire has to rotate forwards. If the axle is effectively a solid axle (locked), that ain't gonna work. Even if you're moving, the difference between the inner and outer tires is significant even in a gentle turn. I'd say you have identified your problem.