Eagle

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.

What transmission inspection cover? The AW4 has an inspection plate. The BA10/5 doesn't.

The high-altitude Renix models just used a different CPS -- it mounts in the same place. I'm running a high-altitude CPS in the '88 XJ. It allows more advance when the engine isn't under load, which in theory should help gas mileage.

The real reason is the thickness of the axle tubes. Dana 35s typically fail when they've been "articulated" severely, putting a slight bend in the tube where it enters the center section housing. Once the tube is bent, the axle shaft no longer runs concentric to the assembly, putting asymmetrical stress on the gears and bearings.

Lowe's sells sheets of plain steel. They have two gauges, and I used the heavier -- 18 gauge, I think, but maybe 16. They are 4 numbers apart, so it's either 22 and 18, or 20 and 16. They have a couple of sizes that are perfect for MJ floor patches (not a complete replacement), and it's not galvanized so there's no problem welding it.

'86 was different. I don't remember if it changed in '87 or '88.

I have a couple that are looking for homes. Where are you located?

The original front u-joints on my '88 XJ lasted approximately 275,000 miles, and that includes wheeling at Paragon in PA, the Mohawk Trail region of MA, a secret trail (now closed) in RI, and some puttering around on fire roads and such in New Mexico.

Oops - I misread the post. I've been working on the XJs recently and was in XJ mode. I am not aware of any factory rear tow hook setup for the MJ. Sorry for the confusion.

The factory tow hook package included two hooks in front and one in the rear. There was a multi-piece bracket set that attached it -- the hook itself was not bolted directly to the unibody.

They are not for drainage. The drain holes are at the bery front of the box, where the front wall meets the floor. Look closely and you'll see three crimped sections that form scuppers to allow water to drain out toward the cab.

If you do any wheeling and droop the axle, they will fall out. Those things are made for gypsy shops to stick in the sagged out springs of older cars whose owners can't afford to buy new springs. For the 30 bucks they cost you, you probably could have bought a set of real coil spacers.

Go after the column if you must, but I had the dash turn indicators on with the headlights in the '88 MJ. New sockets for the front turn signals fixed it.

There are no shortcuts. Remember, the XJ is a unibody chassis. The roof and the window pillars are part of the structure. When you remove half of that, you weaken the structure considerably. In addition the needing to find a way to make a working tailgate AND a closure for behind the driver, you also need to consider how (and how much) you're going to reinforce the "frame" so your new toy doesn't fold in half when you're driving to the local Quik Stop some evening.

I vote for the old stand-by: Marvel Mystery Oil.

When the turn indicators on the gauge cluster are stuck on, it usually means the sockets don't have a ground and they are backfeeding through the circuit to find a ground through the dashboard. Trying to use the turns interrupts that cycle. I would start by checking the front parking light sockets, and the front ground to the chassis.