Eagle

I try ... but people keep reminding me. Mine lasted 8 months and 14,000 miles before the engine crapped out and it had to be flat-bedded to the dealership, where they determined that it could not be repaired. By that time it had spent more than a month out of the 8 months I owned it in the shop, and Chrysler had agreed to buy it back (to prevenbt me from going lemon law with it). As luck would have it, the day the WJ died was the same day the 2000 XJ Classic to replace it arrived at the dealership. The Classic has been as good as the WJ was bad. It isn't just me. About a year ago a good friend paid far too much money (IMHO) for a used 2001 (I think) WJ with the 4.7L HO. I advised him not to buy it, but he liked it. He e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago that the engine blew -- he's facing either a complete long block replacement, or a VERY expensive rebuild with a new crank and rods. Tell me again how great the WJ is ... I need to hear it, 'cause there isn't enough humor in the news these days.

No, an '86 2.5L 5-speed would have had 4.10s. A 4-speed almost certainly had 3.55s. As noted, the '86 axles will bolt right in, but the front hubs, rotors, knuckles and calipers are ALL different between '86 and '92, so you will need to remember that anything you buy for the front axle will have to be bought for an '86. In the rear, the '86 is probably a non c-clip Dana 35 and the 92 is probably a c-clip Dana 35. The '86 will have 1-3/4 x 10" brakes, and the '92 should have 2" x 9" brakes. Again, not a problem (I think the old brakes work bettter and are easier to work on), but you can't mix and match parts between the years/axles.

If you had read some of the previous discussions on this, you would have discovered that this swap is generally NOT recommended. You don't have to cut any fenders, but you do have to replace the complete inner front radiator support section to accommodate the wider 4..0L radiator. In addition, many people report that the firewall has to be cut or hammered to fit the 4.0L engine into the engine bay. (This part is not 100% -- it may be that late '86s were built using the same firewall that came on the 87 and newer vehicles.) This is why the usual advice when someone asks about replacing a 2.8L is to drop in a Chevy 3.4L. Don't know what you mean by "major fabbing." You need to swap the radiator support structure. That's a nuisance, but it's a straightforward swap and does not require any custom fabrication.

They say ask the man who owns owned one. As a former owner of a 1999 Grand Cherokee Laredo, I can knowledgeably state that the only problem with the 4.7L engine is that it isn't the 4.0L engine. My 4.7L was horribly unreliable. It also isn't a "Jeep" engine. It has lousy low-end torque, and doesn't start to make power until around 3500 RPM and up. It would be fine for a passenger car engine (if it were reliable), but for a Jeep? NAH! Mine was a Laredo and I don't recall lots of black cladding ... but I've been doing my best to forget the entire sorrowful experience for 11 years now, so my recollection is imperfect. The Laredo had cloth. I don't remember if a seat warmer was an option. If so, I didn't order it. The Limited had the dual controls. The Laredo had single controls. The Selec-Trac was available only with the 4.0L engine. The base drive system behind the 4.7L was Quadra-Trac, and the optional system was Quadra-Drive.

I didn't say you did, Amigo. But that ad in the Craigs List link said Trac-Lok, and I ain't buyin' that for a nanosecond. AFAIK Dana doesn't even make a Trac-Lok for the D30

Are you sure you have a Peugeot? The Peugeot splits lengthwise. Sounds to me like you have an AX-15.

Not sure if a dealer would still be able to get that part for you or not, but I would NOT install a tranny without it. Auto or manual, I can foresee all sorts of long-term problems that could grow out of a slight misalignment. Remember, Detroit counts pennies. They do NOT put anything into a motor vehicle that they don't think is absolutely necessary.

I briefly had a '99 WJ with the 4.7. When the engine died, the problem was a failed cam (NOT crank, I do know the difference) position sensor.

The 2000 WJ never had Trac-Lok as an option for the front axle. But the WJ Grand Cherokee had an option for Quadra-Drive. That had a traction device in the front -- but it wasn't a Trac-Lok. In fact, it worked the opposite (when it worked at all) -- it was unlocked until one wheel started spinning faster than the other by some programmed amount, at which point the differential speed actuated a "gerotor" pump that applied pressure to engage the clutches and "lock" the axles together. It was a great system -- in theory. As we know, however, practice doesn't always follow theory and I believe after only two or three years Jeep abandoned the gerotor scheme in favor of electric lockers in the front and rear for the Quadra-Drive system It was never offered in the Cherokee or Comanche, or the TJ Wrangler. I don't think you'll find it in any front axle that could fairly be considered a bolt-in for the Comanche.

No, that would not be nice. That truck is rough but it appears to be complete. It should be restored, not butchered.

If LS means "limited slip," where are you going to find a Cherokee front axle with a limited slip? It wasn't a factory option, and there aren't a lot of aftermarket limited slips for the Dana 30.

I have not tried it ... but it sounds like a great way to ruin a radiator.

When you're going shopping for a gift for you're wife after she asks for something that goes from 0 to 200 in 3 seconds.... and you come back with a bathroom scale. PERFECT!

So how do you account for the fact that my friend in Greece was able to use a tach from a 1989 4.0L MJ in his 1984 2.5L XJ? Yes, he used the potentiometer to adjust for the 4-banger, but the reading when he first fired it up was consistent with what it should have been if his engine had been a 6-cylinder. A tachometer only reads pulses, and counts them. If it did anything else, we would not be able to walk into Auto Zone, buy a Sun Super Tach, and just flip to switch to 4 or 6 cylinders and hook up the wires.

So, like ... where does "chutzpah" fit into that hierarchy of death-defying idiocy?

That one should do the job for you.

Are you certain the tank is leaking? Seems more often the leaks are where the two metal lines go through the fuel pump mounting flange.

I apologize up front, but this bugs me. Those gauges have numbers so the actual oil pressure can be read and discussed. What's the point of saying "mid-point" when there's a mark at the mid-point and the number 40? Halfway from the mid-point to pegged is 60 psi -- which isn't exceptionally high considering that most XJs and MJs (other than those with problems) typically run about 55 psi at highway speed. Why not just report the number? Curiously, I've noticed that people on this board routinely report temperature readings as actual numbers, when there is no way on this Earth they could get those numbers from the temp gauge. The oil pressure gauge is calibrated linearly. The temp gauge is not. And the temp gauge only has three numbers on it. On the temp gauge, it WOULD be appropriate to report "halfway between 100 and 210," because I don't think anyone knows what actual temperature that position on the dial represents. Why are we ignoring numbers that mean something, but reporting numbers that can't possibly be accurate or correct? I don't get it.

Simple test. Jack up the right front wheel. See if you can turn it by hand. If so, the disconnect isn't locked. If the transfer case shifts into low range (meaning the crawl speed is appropriate for low range), then adjustment of the linkage is not the problem.

What does yours look like? I have the hulk of an '86 XJ here that's about to be cut up for scrap value. I don't feel any deep emotional attachment to the steering column shaft.

Well, I reckon that's what we all figured. So obviously there would be no point in replacing with another idiot light cluster. From mid-87 thru 90 the full gauge cluster with tachometer was standard in the Laredo and Limited levels, and the tach was optional in the Pioneer and Chief levels (they had the gauges, but no tach). Jeep sold a LOT of Cherokees in those years, mostly in the higher trim levels, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding one.

Any glass shop can put the new style rubber trim on when installing a replacement windshield. But ... it is NOT a seal. The seal is still the fat bead of sealant that the glass gets pressed into. The rubber trim is just that ... trim.

I wouldn't worry. If the oil pressure was high (i.e. good) before, going to a heavier oil would logically result in higher pressures. Since the factory spec used to be 10W30, you can probably assume that's what was in it. So a quality 15W40 should be expected to be a bit higher across the board. FWIW, the factory oil pressure spec is 13 psi minimum (no maximum stated) at idle, and 37 to 75 psi above 1600 RPM. Most of the XJ/MJ engines produced around 66 psi at highway speed on 10W30 oil when new. 40 weight would produce more. But engines have tolerances, and it's possible you have a nice, tight one that doesn't suffer oil pressure problems.

Absolutely. Grind off the rust. Coat with POR-15. Hire a professional to install the new windshield.

To repeat: It's tough to give useful advice in a vacuum. You haven't given us any information to work with.