Eagle

Are you bragging or complaining?

If it's a '94 Wrangler, it'll be set up with the Chrysler MPFI rather than the TBI found in the '86 through '90 MJ. The base engine is the same, but the injection, manifold, and electronics are all different. What year MJ?

That's why I like my old favorites.

Newer vehicles can do this because they have a viscous coupling or a mechanical differential in the transfer case -- like the Jeep NVG 242 transfer case (SelecTrac) used on some up-scale Cherokees, and the 6-cylinder Grand Cherokees. The NVG231 t-case used in the MJ and base model XJs does not have any differential in it, so the front and rear drive shafts are always locked in 4WD and MUST spin at the same speed. You can use 4WD-Hi on roads that are VERY wet and slippery, but don't use it unless you know for certain that the tires can slip a little. Every time you go around a corner the front wheels travel a little farther than the rear wheels. Since the axles are locked together, that results in stress and if the tires can't slip to release it -- something's going to break. The best answer is to not use 4WD on pavement at all, but it's your truck. And I agree with others -- if it's slippery enough to be using 4WD, you should not be going anywhere near 70 MPH. It's that kind of thinking that explains why I see so many Explorers in ditches every time we get a heavy rain or a light snow.

Y'all know I'm older than dirt. Among the other attributes of thks condition, I don't like plastic gas cans ... and without spending a year's salary for one of the new, explosion-proof steel cans, that's all you can buy these days. Awhile back, I found a 5-gallon steel gas can in the trash at the local transfer station. To my surprise, the bottom was solid, so I grabbed it. The fill spout has no gasket, but I can make a gasket. The biggest problem is that the little yellow vent cap is completely gone. Years ago, any True Value hardware store had kits that included a new pour spout and a new vent. But -- since they don't sell the cans anymore, they also don't sell the parts. So I have to improvise. Looks like the vent on the plastic oil drain pans is the same thing. If all else failts, I'll drop $10 at Auto Zone for a new drain pan, and cannibalize my old one for the vent. Before I do that, though -- if any of you has an old oil drain pan (or anything similar, like a gas or kerosene can with the bottom rotted out) that isn't being used but hasn'e yet been discarded ... I'd really appreciate getting the vent fitting. It's the little yellow thingie on this oil drain pan, next to the carry handle, opposite the pour spout: TIA

"Scarry." That would be ... with scars? Two fans, rotating in opposing directions to cancel each other out? Tack is saddles and bridles and stuff you put on horses. What else can we say? "Oxymoron," perhaps? (Or maybe just "moron.")

Do you have a multimeter? The oil pressure sensor has an ohm range of 0 to 88 ohms. 0 ohms is for 0 oil pressure, and 88 ohms is 80 psi. Start your engine, let it warm up, then unplug the pigtail from the oil pressure sensor and connect the multimeter between the terminal on the sensor and the engine block. If it reads 88 ohms, the sensor is bad. If it reads significantly less than 88 ohms, the problem is the gauge rather than the sensor.

Not the Jeep FSM. The spec is 13 psi minimum at idle, and 37 to 75 psi above 1600 RPM. In practice, most Jeep engines (other than those with real problems) typically idle at around 25 to 30 psi (warm engine) and run between 45 and 55 psi at highway speed. I've logged probably a million miles on just these engines, and I have never (that's NEVER) seen one that followed that "10 psi per 1000 RPM" rule.

That was the original question. Dirt eater brought up replacing the entire axle -- which IMHO would not be a good move.

Nope. Not hard at all.

Why would he replace an AMC 20 that has 4.10 gears? It's a good ratio, and the AMC 20 is a brute. In many ways it's a better axle than a Dana 44 -- but it has worse ground clearance.

Oh ... my ... Gawd.

The screen that link takes me to is HORRIBLE! It's FAR too busy and distracting. Which means a key question aside from 'Does it provide better protection?" has to be "How customizable is it?" There are probably more forums running vBulletin than all other forum software combined, and there's a reason. But -- as noted, it's more money. Unless they've changed, they offer two options: You can "rent" the software, which means an annual fee ($$$) but you get support and you always have the latest version. Or you can buy it outright, which I believe includes one year of support, and no upgrades. So after the first year you're on your own, and if you decide you want a newer release -- you start over.

But he has an '87. The '87 is a Renix, with a knock sensor. Running high test retards knock, which allows the computer to run the engine with more advance, more of the time. When my '88 XJ was new, I ran it on high test. I got as high as 28 MPG on the highway with that setup. But the newer gasolines with ethanol won't do that, so I'm now back to running regular. On the newer Jeeps with the Chrysler computer, there's no knock sensor so you won't see much (if any) improvement from running a higher octane than what's needed to avoid ping.

The plates from the XJ wouldn't have the studs for the lower shock mount built in.

Thought that may be the case. In light of that, should spacers only be put on the rear instead of all four corners, would it not screw with he geometry of the suspension? Is it better to have all four corners done at once as opposed to just the rear?... or would it be the same idea as a dually pick up- wider rear with a more narrow front (but without the extra set of tires and the drastic difference in rear width)? Rear only. Remember, the spacers are being used to compensate for the fact that the Ford 8.8 rear axle is narrower than the stock MJ axle. Overall, you're really not changing the rear track by enough to make any difference (except that with the spacers your tires are no longer an interference fit with the springs and chassis, which is the problem when you slap in an 8.8).

Our member, Brent, set up a deal to get injectors at a discount just by mentioning Comanche Club. Now if I could just remember what he used for a screen name so I could point you at the thread ... Anybody still have the name of the company and the super-secret code word for the discount?

SIX types? Dana 35, Dana 44, or Chrysler 8-1/4 (did the 8-1/4 ever come in the late MJs?). That's it. Unless they count each axle ratio as a "type. An eliminator has to be a 4.0L. If it's a 5-speed your axle ratio is 3.07, if it's an automatic you have 3.55 gears. But 3.07s are a pig, and since you have 2WD this would be a perfect opportunity to change to 3.55s. Which will be easier to find since there are probably more automatics out there than 5-speeds.

I used to wheel with a guy in Rhode Island that had a small block Chevy in an XJ. Nice rig, and the conversion was fairly well done. But ... it was painful to wheel with him, because at least every 45 minutes or hour he'd have to stop and let it cool down for 20 minutes. He's not alone -- many people doing V8 conversions in the XJ or MJ find that there just isn't enough radiator to cool the beast.

Brandon - Motion Offroad is a professional in the 4x4 business. When he says spacers are not something to mess around with, he's not kidding. Unless your guy is selling one of the two brands recommended, in all seriousness ... DO NOT BUY THEM. Those two brands are the only two brands you will see consistently recommended by Jeep people who know what's good for Jeeps. Personally, I would NEVER trust my life to something made up by "some guy in Tampa, Florida." Spacers are made of aluminum. Aluminum is funny stuff ... it likes to fall apart. That's why Spidertrax and AlloyUSA spacers are anodized -- to resist corrosion. Fortunately, I've been spared watching any wheel spacers self destruct, but a few years ago at a NAXJA-NAC event at Paragon, one of the guys had a Cherokee that used aluminum blocks as lift spacers. He took it on one of the more difficult trails, and the stress turned BOTH spacers into a mix of small chunks and aluminum powder. This is what you need: http://www.spidertrax.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.18/.f

Measurements of ride height are based on no load in the bed. I wouldn't expect a rear axle assembly to completely compress the shocks ... but the shocks may not be correctly sized for your (empty) ride height, so it's possible. Get it home, take ALL the weight out of the back, and then measure. Keep in mind that the 8.8 has a larger axle tube than the Dana 35. If you are still spring-under, that means the spring is farther down from the axle centerline, so by itself the 8.8 actually lowers the ride height slightly.

No, the older XJs do not have smaller tubing. I have an '87 MJ and an '88 XJ, both 4.0L. The down pipe is 2-1/2", the catalytic converter is 2-1/2", and the outlet of the cat necks down to 2-1/4" where it enters the muffler. It was the early 4-cylinder models that had some funky pipe size variations.

Interesting. The Blackjack says the primary pipes are 1-1/2" (no problem there) and the collector is 2". But the down pipe for a standard 4.0L is a 2-1/2", and the catalytic converter is a 2-1/2" inlet and tube, that necks down to 2-1/4" between the cat and the muffler. So how does the Blackjack mate up with the cat? Or do you have to use a completely custom exhaust system?

The ECM in your Jeep is set up to (partially) control a dumb carburetor. I seriously doubt that it can do anything with the Holley aftermarket injection. Does the kit include an ECM? You'll need (I assume) an oxygen sensor, and a computer to read the O2 sensor and control the injection.