Eagle

Once you get it, detailed photos and dimensions of the mounting plate(s) would be much appreciated. I had found a diagram about 5 or 6 years ago, but that was several computer crashes ago and I no longer have it.

Google turns up conflicting info. Some sources say the MJ with auto and 4.0L engine could tow 5,000 pounds, one source says 4,000, and several others say 3,500. I know the XJ was rated to tow 5,000 with a Class II hitch and automatic, but my recollection is the MJ was only rated to tow 3,500. And that was with the tow package, which included the Dana 44 axle. I have towed a transporter with an XJ on it behind an MJ. The MJ had a 5-speed, 4.0L, and 3.73 gears. It was NOT pretty. It was a one-time deal to bring home a partially stripped XJ that had to be moved or get scrapped, so I moved it. Never again. There was not enough weight over the rear axle, even with the weight on the trailer located to put about the right weight on the hitch. The trailer pushed the truck around all the way home. This was an aluminum transporter trailer, and the XJ was pretty well stripped so it didn't weigh nearly full advertised curb weight. I'll guess I was pulling about 4,000 pounds, total.

My brother owned an SC/Rambler for awhile, and I used it as a daily driver during my last year in graduate school. The thing was awesome fast, and we had put on a standard (non-scoop) Rambler American hood so it was a total sleeper. I came home one weekend and stopped by to watch the end of one of our Javelin/AMX club autocrosses. After the competition was over, they allowed spectators to run their cars through the course. The SC/Rambler was on cheap, skinny highway tires, not at all prepped for autocross ... and I ran a time that would have gotten me third place for the day. With the scoop, it ran a 13.6 second quarter mile in stock trim. In many ways I'm sorry I didn't buy it from him when he sold it, but I didn't have the cash at the time so ...

And a Dana 44 rear axle. Realistically, for the truck described I would consider the maximum towing capacity to be 2,500 pounds.

Go to a Pep Boys, Auto Zone, Kragans, Shucks, Advance Auto or whatever and buy a generic round shifter boot for $5.

Consider using Loctite on the threads of the new bolts. Squirt some brake cleaner into the holes in the head to degrease the threads. Put Loctite on the bolt threads and let it partially set up, then tighten. Don't use red -- that's permanent. Blue would be okay (medium hold), or probably even purple (light hold/small fastener).

Then you want stainless steel. Grade 8 is not stainless, and will rust.

But only on one circuit -- the front OR the back. That's what the warning light warns you of. It has nothing to do with fluid level.

Mate, you HAVE to start takin' pics without the flash. I'm sure she's adorable in real life, but that photo with the red eyes looks like spawn of Chuckie.

V.C.? Vacuum canister?

Yeah, he's probably talking about the C101 connector. It's the big box that the main harness runs into and out of, high on the firewall directly in front of the driver. There was a factory TSB about cutting it out and splicing all the wires together, and by mid-1989 the factory had eliminated the C101 connector. I don't think that's likely to be the problem in this case. If it were the C101. the engine wouldn't start at all. My money is on the ballast resistor.

That's the outer shift boot. I think the question is about the one on the floor, under the console -- the one we don't see.

No, that won't take the slop out of it. He reported that the inside opening dimension is 2-3/16". That's more than 2-1/8" almost 2-1/4", when it should be approximately 2-1/32" . The ONLY way that could happen is if they used thinner wall tubing to make up the receiver. I originally guessed maybe 3/16" wall instead of 1/4", but when you run the numbers, it seems like they would have had to use 1/8" wall tubing, and that's just not right. The lighting isn't good in those photos, but if you look closely and compare against the photo of the Grand Cherokee hitch, you can see that the wall on the MJ bumper receiver tube looks pretty thin. There's a photo where you can see it up against the ruler, and it does look like 1/8" tubing -- with a reinforcing collar around it. But my XJ factory hitches are 1/4" tubing with a 1/4" collar around it, so they measure a full 1/2" on each side of the opening.

Dare I ask if you have checked the bulbs to see if they are burned out? The instrument lights are delicate little things. They don't even have normal screw-in bases, like most light bulbs. They just have a blown glass base with two wires sticking out that are folded over to make contact when the bulb is pressed into the socket. If the bulb looks dark instead of clear when you look at it -- it's dead.

I'm sorry, but this is incorrect. The sensor in the front distribution block (which is NOT a proportioning valve in the MJ, although it is in the XJ) does not in any way sense fluid level. All it does is move if you completely lose pressure to the front of the rear brake circuit. That only happens if you have a serious leak of some kind, such as a ruptured hard line or hose. As long as both the front and rear circuits have any brake fluid at all and can generate braking force, the sensor will not warn you of low fluid level.

What the original post describes is what happens when the ballast resistor for the fuel pump goes bad. The ballast resistor is that grey/white ceramic thingie on the inside of the driver's front fender, next to the air box. Normally, power to the fuel pump goes through this resistor, which drops the voltage to around 9 volts (IIRC) to reduce noise and make the pump last longer. During starting, the ballast resistor is bypassed so the fuel pump gets the full 12 volts. So when the key is in the START position, there's 12 volts going to the fuel pump through the bypass circuit. When the key is released to the RUN psition, the bypass circuit goes away and power goes through the ballast resistor. If it's broken -- the fuel pump stops when you release the key, and the engine dies. Simple test -- find the ballast resister, and jumper across the two terminals. If the engine keeps running -- there's your problem.

Calling the Machine a Mopar is an insult to AMC. The article also had some inaccuracies that I caught, and probably some I overlooked. [*:26yhehru]AMC got into Trans-Am racing in 1968, two years before they signed Penske as the lead team. The first two years the program was run by Ronnie Kaplan Racing, and they did ... nothing much. [*:26yhehru]I don't remember about the Machine, but the 1969 and earlier AMCs used Carter AFB carburetors, in 1970 they changed over to Autolites. If the Machine still used a Carter, it was unique in the product line. [*:26yhehru]The Hornet wasn't in design in 1970, it was introduced in 1970. The Rebel Machine did not replace the Hurst SC/Rambler (American), the SC/Rambler was replaced by the SC/360 Hornet.

Isn't Jeeps Unlimited still in Providence? They should be able to fix you up with a used stock UCA for not a lot of money until your WJ arms arrive. Or head up to Henry's u-pull in Blackstone on Saturday morning. They usually have a lot of XJs.

I did a bit of Googling about and found that square steel tubing in the 2", 2-1/4" and 2-1/2" sizes is only available in a few wall thicknesses. Actual wall thickness varies from nominal. 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 5/16 = 0.291 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1/4 = 0.233 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 3/16 = 0.174 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1/8 = 0.116 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/4 = 0.233 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 3/16 = 0.174 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 1/8 = 0.116 2 x 2 x 1/4 = 0.233 2 x 2 x 3/16 = 0.174 2 x 2 x 1/8 = 0.116 A 2-1/2" square tube with 1/4" walls would leave 2.034" inside opening. A 2-1/2" tube with 3/16" walls would leave 2.152" clear opening, which is approximately 5/32" (just over 1/8") larger than a 2" drawbar. If they used 1/8" wall tubing, the inside dimension would be 2.268", or slightly more than 1/4" bigger than a 2" drawbar.

Obviously, they used the wrong tubing to build the receiver. Square structural steel tubing, unlike pipe, is specified by the outside dimension, not the inside dimension. The hitch adapter itself is made using 2" tubing, and it should measure pretty close to exactly 2". The receiver has to be some larger size, and then the inside clear dimension is arrived at by subtracting the wall thickness (times two) from the nominal outside dimension. I just measured the factory Mopar hitches on two of my Cherokees. The receiver tube is a nominal 2-1/2" with 1/4" wall thickness, which results in a pretty close fit with a 2" hitch adapter. The people who made your bumper must have used 3/16" wall tubing instead of 1/4" to save some bucks. Not good, IMHO.

I disagree. If the warning lights in the array on the left work, the panel has a ground. Have you tried rotating the headlight switch? It's a rheostat dimmer -- there's a contact that scrapes along a coiled (spring-like) resistant wire that controls the brightness of the instrument lights. One extreme is OFF. As the headlight switch gets old, the resistance wire often develops dead spots. On my '88 XJ, I can't run the lights at full brightness because there's a dead spot there. If I turn the switch slightly toward dim, they come on.

"But now it's happenin' now." Ohhhh, yeah. BAN LAWN SPRINKLERS!. (It's for the children.)

CW is correct. This is why 4.56 is the lowest ratio you can get for the D30 from Dana. All 4.88 gearsets are aftermarket.

Actually, 5.somethings would be better for 35s, but since 4.88 is as deep as you can get for the Dana 30, that'll have to do. With 35" tires and 4.88 gears, your highway RPMs in overdive will be approximately 2190 at 60 MPH and 2558 at 70 MPH.

Ring and pinion sets do not have a spline count. The splined ends of the axle shafts go into the spider gears. [EDIT]Left out a word. BIG "oops"