Eagle

Your friends ... let me guess, they ride bicycles, right? They obviously don't know jack about trucks.

Darren? I find that VERY hard to believe ...

If you are referring to the "difference" between 3.54 and 3.55, or 4.10 and 4.11, that's not considered a different ratio. That's just the end result of differentials with different size ring gears. Dunno what you mean by the reference to two-wheel drives. Obviously, they don't have a front differential.

For two miles I don't think it's necessary to remove the rear driveshaft. Just put it on the dolly and go.

Gearing is the same for 2WD and 4WD.

Looks like JeepcoMJ and I are on the same wavelength ...

If it worked for an hour and now it doesn't work, it has air in the lines. Either that, or the flex hose between the master and slave is cracked and leaking.

Dealer is probably the ONLY source for those bolts.

Cite the law, Pat. I know there are laws that protect consumers, but I seriously doubt there is a law in any state that requires an insurance company to pay whatever value a vehicle owner decides to assign to his wrecked vehicle. And remember, unless RustyBucket lives in your state, anything your state's law says is irrelevant.

Bleed the clutch ... again.

Where is that written in the law? Maybe in your state. Definitely not in Connecticut. And I doubt either of us knows about California. It used to be that Kelly was always higher than NADA, which is why dealers used NADA to figure your trade-in value but the tax assessors always used Kelly. I haven't followed used vehicle prices for several years, so it wouldn't surprise me if things have changed.

First, why are you assuming that the insurance company is going to try to "trick" you? Most of them are honest. They aren't out to "trick" anybody. They aren't in the business of giving money away, though. You found a book that says a 1987 Comanche might be worth $7,000? I doubt that very much. Especially not for a 2WD. And if the body has some rust, then the truck is NOT perfect ... it's rusty. Sorry to be a Dutch uncle, but you have to be realistic in your expectations. If you think they are low-balling you, you can decline their settlement offer and get a second appraisal. What do you think the truck is (was) worth? And how do you justify that valuation?

That has nothing to do with death wobble. Death wobble is elusive precisely because it is a harmonic. A loose track bar neither contributes to the harmonic nor takes away from it. There is no such thing as a track bar that is "too loose" to result in death wobble. The early 1999 Grand Cherokees (the WJs) had a DW problem ... with the export suspension only. I think the Up Country suspension was the same, because I had a totally stock '99 WJ go into death wobble cruising on a state highway in New Hampshire. The vehicle was totally stock and had less than 10,000 miles on it. DW can be cured by changing to different rate front springs. That's what Jeep did with the WJs. It may be cured by changing to harder (or softer) rubber bushings. It may be cured by changing to different shock absorbers. It may be cured by rotating the tires. The key point is that it is a harmonic. In order for death wobble to occur, one front wheel starts to wobble or bounce, and then the other front wheel starts to wobble at the same frequency. Once that cycle starts, they feed on each other and it escalates. That's why the only way to stop it is to slow the vehicle virtually to a stop. But the harmonic takes place as a result of a number of factors being "just right." Change any one of the factors, and the death wobble is eliminated. On my '88 MJ, at one time it would go into DW when going around sweeping right hand curves, but not when going around sweeping left hand curves. Go figure. That said -- the wheels/tires of any motor vehicle are individual gyroscopes. If you can remember playing with a gyroscope as a kid, when spinning they do NOT like to be moved out of their plane of rotation. So a vehicle tire/wheel inherently resists wobble, and there has to be something seriously wrong to allow the first wheel to wobble enough for death wobble to be initiated. And that's why I remain of the opinion that the primary cause is wheel balance. I just put new tires on my wife's (all stock) Cherokee. The tires were mounted and balanced by a friend, using a "road force" balancer. There is a shimmy at exactly 55 MPH. Fortunately, it doesn't escalate into death wobble, so I won't ask him to rebalance the tires. It's only a small shimmy. But ... the balance was done by a guy who cared (he knew these were for my wife's Jeep), using the very latest and best equipment ... and the balance is off. If you think you can have the high school drop outs at Pep Boys balance oversize off-road tires and have them done right, you are only fooling yourself. Rotate your tires and see if the death wobble goes away, or changes the speed at which it starts.

:agree: You'll replace the actuator, and then find out that what was really bad wasn't the "actuator" at all, but the vacuum harness that activates it. I don't even know if that's still available. When it was, it sold for about $25. Then you'll change that, and discover that the problem really wasn't the actuator OR the vacuum harness, but a busted shift fork inside the disconnect. Just slide it over manually, shim it in place, and forget it. There are write-ups on exactly how to do it in the DIY area here.

The factory sometimes cut the rod and/or main bearings .010 smaller than spec and installed bearings to match. There are codes stamped into the passenger side of the engine block to indicate what size bearings should be used.

Four what? Four inches, or four shackles? The ZJ springs are going to give you ONE inch in front, so you need ONE inch in the rear. Look for shackles 2 inches longer than stock.

I have never heard of anything called a 4WD "actuator" and I find myself wondering just what the heck this used car shyster is talking about. I suspect it may be the transfer case.

You don't have a Cherokee any more. The MJ rear springs are under the axle -- blocks will lower it, not raise it. Those ZJ V8 springs are good for about 1 inch in the front. You can get about the same in the rear using extended shackles. Just remember that you need shackles 2 inches longer than stock to get 1 inch of lift.

:agree: Shop around. IIRC it can be pricey.

Or your headlight switch may be getting tired. There is no fuse for the headlights. The switch has a circuit breaker built into it, and the circuit breakers can get weak. If that turns out to be the problem, what will happen is the length of "run" time with headlights will get progressively shorter. The fix is just to replace the headlight switch.

The two throttle bodies are completely different. I believe a few people have been able to adapt, but your existing throttle body will not directly bolt to the newer intake manifold. And the old intake manifold will not bolt to the new head without modifications.

Which temp sensor did you disconnect, the one at the back corner of the head or the one in the thermostsat housing?

^^^ Very possible. Good thinking.

Yes ... and those parts in my post immediately above yours are the parts to rebuild that hub.

Oxygen sensor? It may have been running lean, and then the O2 sensor finally failed and dumped the ECU into "limp home" mode -- which for the Renix I believe is the same as warm-up, open loop mode and defaults to a rich fuel mix.