Eagle

I wish we weren't on opposite ends of the continent, because I'm pretty certain I have a 3.07 MJ rear axle out in the pile. In fact, that may be the one that put me in the hospital four years ago when the pile shifted and mashed my ankle. Unfortunately, axles are heavy and shipping from CT to OR would be "pricey." Anyhoo, I'm glad we have zeroed in on some important information and helped you focus your search in the appropriate direction. By the way, if all else fails you could regear the existing housing. Setting up gears requires a bit of patience and double-checking, but it can be done in the back yard. If the truck is a beater and won't see lots of high speed highway miles, you and your son could learn a LOT about how a differential works by slapping a set of new (or even used) gears in the existing housing. Does anyone remember where the carrier break is for the D35? Would a new/different carrier be required going from 3.55 to 3.07? Last but not least, check www.car-part.com for used axles. You can limit the search to a region, or just to your state.

Why should he look for a 3.55 axle when the front axle (unless it has been changed) is a 3.07? He has a 4.0L with a 5-speed transmission. Those did not "usually" have 3.07 gears ... they ALWAYS had 3.07 gears. The tow package with 3.73 gearing was only available with the AW4 automatic transmission. Jeep didn't want people towing more than 2000 pounds with the 5-speed. Before doing anything here, it will be essential to determine what the front axle ratio is. The ratio of the replacement rear axle has to match the front axle.

It occurs to me that if the front axle ratio doesn't match the rear axle ratio, that could go a long way toward explaining why the axle broke. If the front axle ratio doesn't match the rear and the vehicle is driven in 4WD, you get some funny reactions in sand and mud but when you hit rocks or pavement ... something's gotta give. My experience has been that it's rare to find a ratio tag on rear axles, but they are usually present on front axles. Check the front differential and report any tags/codes you can find there.

Now THAT's redneck engineering.

All MJ Dana 35s are 35C. The 'C' indicates "Customer," meaning that Dana shipped the axles to AMC (or Chrysler, later) for final assembly. Your '89 has the non c-clip version ... but the 'C' in the axle nomenclature did NOT indicate the c-clip. You have a 4.0L 5-speed, the ratio is 3.07. 3.54 would be a better all-around ratio, but then you'd have to replace the front axle to have it match. Stay with the 3.07.

Actually, it can be argued that ground clearance is a side benefit. Ring gears are cut on a bias -- look at one from the edge and you see that one vertical side of each gear is almost vertical and the other side is slanted. The cut of the gears is optimized for strength when a rear axle is driving a vehicle forward -- which is what rear axles do probably 98% of the time, if not more. Take a rear axle and flip it around to use in the front, and now when the axle is driving forward the gears are engaged as they would be when driving in reverse in a rear axle. They are weaker when run this way. So for maximum strength a front axle can use special gears. We use the term "reverse cut" but the more correct term is "reverse bevel."

There's a vent hose on the filler. It's a separate, smaller hose than the actual filler hose. That's a prime candidate for leaking and fumes.

New seals won't help. They leaked when new. Leaking vent windows was one of my warranty complaints when I bought the '88 Cherokee new in 1988. The factory "fix" was to replace the vents with the fixed windows. I opened the vents, applied a coating of NAPA "Sil-Glyde" silicone grease to the rubber, and shut the windows on the grease. Works fine, and you can still open the windows when needed. If you actually use the vents, you'll need to reapply the grease periodically.

Normally, questions about ZJ (and all other Jeeps other than XJs and MJs) should be posted in the Pub. This area is only for XJ/MJ technical discussions. Unless Pete decides otherwise, I'll leave this post here because the ZJ front axle is a Dana 30 that could be a drop-in conversion for an XJ or an MJ (albeit the ZJ front axles are low pinion, so don't get confused -- the same lockers that fit MJs may not fit ZJs).

But do you still have the OEM distribution block in place? Do you still have the two lines to the rear, and the rear height-sensing valve? And is the Wilwood proportioning valve in the front circuit or the rear? If it's in the rear, which line runs to it?

Here you go: "Good evening. A few days ago we found a group on the site Yahoo "Jeep Club [???]" and we would like to make contact. Regards, Paty" I don't find "catu" in my Portuguese/English dictionary. But it doesn't seem essential to get the gist of the message. He found your old Yahoo group and (says) he wants to make contact. Let me know by PM what you want to say back to him and I'll put it into a semblance of Portuguese for you.

I hope you can wait a couple/few days. It's POURING rain out there and I don't have access to a garage with a lift, so this weekend does not look good for pix. If I see anything promising in the FSM for the 2000 I'll try to get a photo of the page and post that.

I have a 2000 XJ with the NVG3550. What do you want to know, exactly? Whether the under-floor linkage is the same as for the BA/10-5 and AX-15?

So they replace the originals directly with no modifications -- but they have an extra "city light" built in that you have to figure out how to wire. I'd start by giving the seller a "FAIL" for English language skills. And you get TWO for $12.99? Gotta be junk. Go to Advance Auto and buy a pair of Silverstars.

I don't like to belabor the point, but we see this mistake too often to let it slide: YOU DON'T HAVE DEATH WOBBLE You have wheel shimmy, caused by an imbalanced tire. If you can drive through it ... it isn't death wobble. With death wobble, you CANNOT keep driving, and you have to slow down to almost a complete stop before the shaking goes away. There is no such thing as a "little" death wobble. It's called "death wobble" for a reason. When it occurs, you think you're going to die ... instantly.

The 2.8 liter Jeep engine is a GM engine. Jeep bought them from Generous Motors. The GM 3.1L and 3.4L V6s are built on the same block, so they are almost bolt-in replacements ... and much better engines. You will have to use the Jeep manifolds and accessory brackets. And the 2.8L is externally balanced, which means there's an eccentric heavy spot on the flywheel. By the time GM developed the 3.1L and 3.4L they had figured out how to balance the engines internally, so you'll need to have the flywheel "neutral balanced."

The clutch master cylinder is one of those parts you REALLY REALLY need to buy from a dealer, regardless of the price. Aftermarket clutch hydraulic components seem to have a life expentancy of about 6 months.

Death wobble from 50 to 55? Meaning you can speed up to 60 and it goes away? That is NOT death wobble, that's tire shimmy caused by poor balance on the front tires.

Their's say short add a leaf. Who offers a long add a leaf? Rancho. It's full-length in an XJ, and "almost" full-length in an MJ. Or, as has been suggested in other posts, get a pair of junkyard main leaves, chop off the eyes, and use them as AALs.

Rancho (the same folks who make shocks) has an AAL that's listed for the XJ and MJ. It gives about 2-1/2" in the XJ and about 1-1/2" in the MJ. It sells for probably around $65 these days -- I've had two sets of them and I paid $50 or $55 a few years ago. Combine that with a set of 2" coil spacers in the front (around $30) and there's your lift, for about $100.

There is no consensus on this. Those who believe that AALs weaken the springs will never believe otherwise, and those who believe extended shackles are anathema likewise will never change their minds. Personally, I am of the opinion that extended shackles are very bad, and that full-length AALs are very good. A full-length AAL adds 25% to the bending strength of the spring. How anyone can argue that adding strength weakens the spring IMHO defies comprehension. But I've only been doing this for about 52 years, so I guess I have a lot to learn from the 6-month experts.

Stop worrying about articulation, and run OEM rims that hold the tires farther inboard so they clear the flares. On your rims, the tires sit far enough out that they look a lot bigger than 31s.

It's fair. Your tires are too big for your wheel wells.

Sure you can. On OEM Jeep rims, the only rub is against the lower control arms, and a lift won't eliminate that anyway. WJ control arms will fix it, or you just don't turn the steering to full lock.

You can run 31" tires on a stock MJ with NO lift. I'm currently running 31s on a stock XJ with no lift. An MJ with a 2" lift on 31s will go a lot of places that drivers of lesser vehicles simply won't believe. Pay attention to those who advise not going more than 2" if you're tight on money. The cost of lifting increases exponentially in relation to the height. A 2" lift is called a "budget boost" for good reason. Anything beyond that starts to require replacing a lot more parts, and the costs go up very fast.