Eagle

Measure the center-to-center spacing on the holes, and look on the HELP! pegboard display. IIRC, there's a u-bolt kit for some Ford vehicle that's also correct for the Jeep yokes.

If the rear of your truck is 4 inches higher than stock, how do you figure that a 4-inch lift in the front won't level it? Try this: Measure the height of your front end as it sits. The method is in the same post that told you how to do the rear. Or, the simple method: wheel/axle center to bottom of flare. Stock height should be 17-1/2 inches. I'm betting yours is sitting lower than that -- which would mean that a 4-inch lift based on stock height would give you more than 4 inches of lift.

This is by far the easiest fix, and stronger than the OEM bolts.

The older 8-slot grilles used the older header and headlight trim. The chrome trim strip across the top was three separate pieces, one for the center and two curved pieces over the headlights. In 1990 (I think) Chrysler revised/simplified it so the upper trim band was an integral part of the grille and the headlight bezels. The newer style takes a different header panel, but from ten feet away they look the same.

Keystone had the export lights? Hm, never heard that before. I can't get to the Keystone web site -- I don't have an account. Here's another source: http://www.jeep4x4center.com/jeep-light ... -xj.htm#13 Scroll down. The Euro tail lights are below the U.S. versions.

10-4. Pete isn't kidding on this.

The '86 had a 1-3/4" or 2" exhaust, didn't it? You can mellow it out a lot by using a 2-1/4" muffler and tailpipe for a 4.0L, but be advised that you'll sacrifice some low-end torque (which is sort of an oxymoron with the '86 anyway). Once you have the 2-1/4" tailpipe, you can run a Soundmaster or Dynomax muffler of your choice. 4-bangers are tough, though. It's hard to not make 'em sound like a ricer. It'll NEVER be mistaken for a big block V8.

Whatcha' gonna do for wheel adapters? (6-bolt hubs)

S ... s ... s ... sell? What language is that word from? It is not recognized.

"I love it when a plan comes together."

I've thought about just buying a smaller car, but I am currently looking out the window at approximately 3 feet of snow, coated with sleet and ice. The major storm was a week ago, followed by two minor ones, and the roads all over this area are still a mess. I definitely want her to have something with full-time 4WD. That's why my first preference would be to buy a used XJ with SelecTrac. Converting an older XJ or MJ is the fall-back plan.

UUUUGGGGLLLYYYY! Kill it with fire! You should still be able to get export tailights for the XJ from Keystone. They ARE different from the U.S. taillights, although I don't know why they did that.

Background: For those who may have noticed that I've been pretty much in absentia for the past couple of months (well, also for those who didn't notice), the absence was because I was in Chile, battling the bureaucracy to complete the adoption of my wife's granddaughter. We finally made it through and got her here. My now-daughter turned 16 today, and she's already talking about wanting to learn to drive. (This is a big deal for her -- in Chile you can't get a license until 21.) I can stall for awhile, because she has to learn English well enough to take the mandatory drivers' ed class, but sooner or later she's going to be a driver ... and then she's going to want/need wheels. If possible, I'll try to find a decent 97+ XJ that has dual airbags. However, decent new-style XJs aren't growing on trees around here, so I'm also looking at "the fleet" and wondering what I have that might be suitable. I'm giving some consideration to either an '88 MJ 4-banger, or an '86 XJ 4-banger. But I would really like to have her behind an airbag. So ... .. has anyone swapped a 95+ XJ steering column, with functional airbag, into an early XJ or MJ? Can it be done? It would involve dimmer wiring and windshield wiper wiring, as well as the steering column itself and swapping in an airbag control module. If anyone has done this, I'd appreciate a synopsis of what I'd be facing if I decide to go that route.

How's your heat? Not "temp" ... "heat." The temp gauge in my '88 XJ has been reading consistently at the first hash mark from the left for at least 5 or 7 years. I've gone through several thermostats and three temp senders ... doesn't make any difference. Then I realized that my volt meter also reads low, and that's been verified by checking the voltage at the battery. As for the temp -- I have excellent heat, even with the outside temperature below 20 degrees, and if the coolant temperature was really what the gauge says, I'd be shivering while driving. I suspect your gauge may be off. I also suspect ... but I've been too lazy to check into this ... that the erratic gauge readings may be due to a bad ground between the gauge cluster and the chassis.

So you have about a 4" lift compared to a stock 4WD MJ. Did you meausure your front and compare that against the factory method? That would give you a better indication of what you need for springs. If your truck started out as a 4-cylinder and had a 4.0L swapped in, the 4.0L is a LOT heavier, and perhaps the person who did the swap didn't bother to swap the front coils. Which would mean your front is probably well BELOW stock height.

I don't think you can "properly" fix it. The taillight is all one piece -- housing, reflector and lens. What part are you calling the "cover"? The lens?

Don't measure from the ground. Measure from the center of the axle/hub to the bottem edge of the flare. Stock height for an MJ runs approximately 21-1/2" so with a spring-over I would expect you're at somewhere around 27 inches. looks like 25" from the bottom of the factory flare to the center of the axle shaft So you're only talking about approximately a 3-1/2" lift. That's not much for a spring-over conversion. Too bad you didn't take "before" measurements, but ... too late now. Who else has done a spring-over and kept the stock springs? What are your measurements?

Other than myself, there are only three people I trust to touch my Jeeps: An old friend who is a retired AMC/Jeep service manager; my friend Erich, who also owns an MJ and is a VW shop foreman; and a friend from NAXJA who lives in PA (which means he's too far away for us to swap labor, but if he were closer I would trust him). I don't even trust my brother. Not since the time 35 years ago when he "helped" me finish the brakes on my then-fiancee's car, and then driving it over the mountains in PA to her grandparents' house the rear brakes failed because he didn't put the push rods back in the cups properly. When the '88 XJ was new he gave me a set of fog lights for Christmas, so I let him "help" install them. He pinched the wires where they go through the grille, and a month later the lights shorted out. As for shops? You can't trust them even if you stand there and watch them.

Don't measure from the ground. Measure from the center of the axle/hub to the bottem edge of the flare. Stock height for an MJ runs approximately 21-1/2" so with a spring-over I would expect you're at somewhere around 27 inches.

This is for the Renix models. Doesn't apply to the '92. Starting with the coolant tep sensor. On the '92 it isn't on the side of the block, it's in the t-stat housing.

The key is to let the acetone soften the adhesive.

Don't tell my Cherokee. I've been running 31x10.50s on stock Jeep rims for years. I also had them on the '88 MJ. There is slight rubbing of the tires against the front lower control arms at full steering lock. WJ LCAs would take care of that, but I don't have any problem just remembering not to turn the steering wheel to full lock.

Back to the original question: What can you replace with that requires NO modifications? The only answer is an axle from another Comanche, specifically a Comanche with the 4.0L engine and 5-speed transmission. Comanches with automatics, or with the 4-cylinder, had different gear ratios. As has been mentioned, mechanically the axles from a Cherokee (XJ) are the same, but Cherokees had the rear springs over the axle and Comanches have the rewar springs under the axle, so to use a Cherokee axle DOES require modification -- you have to move the spring perches.

So who has the BEST, animated :banghead: smiley? I've seen several versions, and some of them are so lame it's hard to even see that it represents banging your head against a wall.

For the win: