Eagle

My friend, the retired AMC/Jeep service manager, has a sign in his garage at home: LABOR RATES ------------- Labor = $50 per hour If you watch = $75 per hour If you help = $100 per hour If you tried to fix it first = $250 per hour

The speedo can be recalibrated by replacing the drive gear in the transmission. Your truck feels peppy because the tires on it are smaller than stock. The 70 series tires are about an inch smaller than the stock 75 series. For example, a 2000 XJ Sport comes with 225/75R15 tires and a 2000 XJ Classic comes with 225/70R16 tires. They are the same size (diameter). I have an '88 MJ 2.5L 4-speed. It gets from point A to point B, but there's no way I would ever describe it as "peppy."

The built-in circuit breaker can just get tired. It's rare -- I have multiple 20+ year old XJs and MJs that don't have any problem, but my 1978 full-size Cherokee had the light switch go bad when it was only about 12 years old. First it would only trip when I had the brights on. Then even the low beams would trip it, so I had to replace it.

You asked what the stock size should be. Don't get uppety because I told you. They make snow tires in those sizes. You can run 235s. Just be aware that they are oversized, the 2.5L 4-speed is a dog to begin with, so it'll be even doggier with those bigger tires on it. Don't go any larger than 235/75-15 or you'll have clearance problems in the front.

Bad move. NEVER connect anything to a plug if you don't know what it does. You may have wired into a plug for the optional fog lights. The headlights have a circuit breaker built into the switch, so it sounds to me like something about your CB install created either an overload or, more likely, a short that's tripping the circuit breaker. Unplug the radio from that connector and see if things go back to normal.

MJ rear shocks are longer. I took the cross pins out of a set of almost-new XJ rear shocks and tried to put them into a stock MJ. With the shocks fully extended, they were 1/2" too short to even go onto the mounting studs.

10k for a clutch is brand new. The original clutch in my '88 XJ was replaced at 204,000 miles. The slave cylinder failed, so I replaced everything while the tranny was out -- but the old clutch didn't look any worse than the new one. AFAIK the cross member is the same.

All the same, XJ and MJ, both engines. But it's not really an "engine" skid -- it's more to protect the steering linkage. The skid plate ends about where the oil pan starts. Not a tranny skid, it's a transfer case skid. They are the same for the XJ and MJ. I believe the skid for the 242 transfer case hangs a bit lower than the one for the 231, because the 242 is bigger. I'm running a skid from a 242-equipped XJ on my '88 XJ and it seems to be perfectly fine. If you have a 231 transfer case, grab any one you can get. No interchange anywhere. XJ gas tanks (and skids) are totally different from the MJ.

:???: Are you aware that the mounting for rear shocks, XJ or MJ, is completely different than the front shock mounting? You can't use rear shocks of any length from an XJ or MJ in the front.

The 2.5L 4-speeds came with 3.55 gears. The stock tire size was probably either 195/75-15 or 205/75R15. Those sources you listed are wrong. The XJs and MJs all came with P-metric size tires, right from the first XJ in late 1983, so the letter-series tires are flat out incorrect. And the largest tire the factory ever put on an XJ or MJ was a 225/75-15 -- and that was only with the 4.0L engine.

I doubt there is a consensus. Personally, because I plan to keep my XJs and MJs for a long time, I buy the Auto Zone store brand with the lifetime warranty. That way, I only buy one muffler per truck -- ever.

Sorry. You are extrapolating, presumably based on YOUR state's laws. In some states, it IS a "concealed weapons" permit. Since there is no universal reciprocity, I have permits from four states, and that makes me legal to carry in about 36 states. One state just calls it a "permit to carry pistol or handgun" and it allows either concealed or open carry. Florida calls it a "Concealed Weapon or Firearm License." Another state calls it a "Pistol/revolver License." I can carry either open or concealed in that state. The fourth just calls it a "License to carry firearms." Doesn't require that they be concealed. Further, there is nothing in the 2nd Amendment that limits "arms" to "firearms." Your statement that "In fact the only weapon you are allowed to carry by right and conceal , is a firearm" may be correct for your state, but it is not correct for most states. The laws, and terminology, of each state are different. Please don't fall into the trap of providing specific advice based on the law in your state to people in other states. It isn't helping, because it may very well be incorrect. (In fact, it will almost certainly be incorrect.)

That's PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation), not PVC (PolyVinyl Chloride) -- but the 4.0L engine does not have a PCV valve. The system is called CCV (Controlled Crankcase Ventilation) and it uses a small tube from the back of the valve cover. The intake air is the larger tube to the front of the valve cover from the air cleaner box. What happens is the small tube gets clogged, there's no suction, and piston blow-by then pushes oil-soaked air back out through the intake tube, where it drips onto and soaks the air cleaner. From there it can get sucked into the throttle body.

Flying the U.S. flag upside down is supposed to be a call for immediate assistance for a genuine crisis situation. It should NEVER be used to make a political statement.

Warning shots are very bad advice. First -- they have to go somewhere. Out on the street, what goes up ... eventually comes down. In your home, playing around with warning shots wastes your ammunition, and it alerts the bad guy(s) to where you are. I don't know what the law is on home invasions in Canada. I know in England the homeowner goes to prison and the assailant gets a medal, but we don't do that in the U.S. Every state recognizes the inside of your home as your "castle." Once someone breaks into your house, they are considered a threat and the use of lethal force is justified. Most experts recommend having a plan -- the family retreats to a pre-arranged location (such as one of the upstairs bedrooms) and somebody calls 9-1-1 while someone else covers the door (and hopefully the stairs) with a gun. Doesn't hurt to call out "I'm armed and we have called the police," but don't show yourself and don't play around with warning shots. If the bad guy(s) persist in coming up the stairs (or down the hall, depending on where your safe room is) ... fire when ready. And no nonsense about "shooting to wound," either. You are employing lethal force. Make it lethal. The idea is to STOP the threat. Under stress, it's hard enough to hit center of mass (the torso). Trying to shoot an arm or a leg is a great way to guarantee that you'll miss. It's really very simple: "Stop, or I'll shoot." Step. BANG!

Maybe, maybe not. Revolvers are easier for new shooters because they are less likely to malfunction, but they only hold 5 or 6 shots and take more time to reload. One nice thing about a .357 Magnum is that it can be down-loaded with .38 Special ammo for practice, or even all the time for someone who doesn't like the muzzle blast and recoil of a .357. Worth considering, but my point was simply that a petite female can shoot even a .357 Magnum well. My friend's wife has gone shooting with us when I've visited, and I can attest that she DOES shoot it well.

Don't let the "petite" part ruin your day. My good friend's wife carries a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver in her purse, and she knows how to use it. He told an amusing story of when she went to the range with him one day and they were on separate lanes. Some hot-shot saw this attractive chick with a .357 and immediately went up to her and started offering her advice. When he got to the part about sight picture and how to pull the trigger, she said "Like this?" as she blasted out six shots, all in the nine ring. Mr. hot-shot slunk off with his tail between his legs. The key element, which you must discuss with your wife, is her willingness to use a gun against an intruder. One of Ayoob's "Lethal Force Institute" classes would be ideal, or any of a number of other training venues. (Sorry, I cannot endorse Front Sight. IMHO it's a Ponzi scheme with guns as the magnet.) But, with or without a class, she has to decide whether or not she would be willing to actually shoot -- because if the situation arises, she won't have time to think about it then. If she really wants to learn to shoot, then by all means starting with a .22 is a good start. I've seen a lot of women turned off unnecessarily because their macho significant other insisted they start off with something like a .357 Magnum and they got scared. Shooting is a fun hobby and it's something that any family can participate in -- together. But there's a big difference between making holes in paper and actually shooting at an assailant in real life. I don't know what your religion is, but if your wife has ethical/moral reservations about shooting an assailant, I would encourage her to fire up the computer and Google "Catholic catechism self defense." I suspect she may be surprised what the Catechism says on the subject. But the mindset has to be there in advance. Very, very true. It takes more distance than you're going to find inside the average house for a bunch of shot to spread out enough to call it a "pattern." A shotgun at close range is certainly a powerful and formidable weapon -- but it's not a magic wand and it's not a ray gun. It requires aiming (or at least reasonably accurate pointing) to hit anything. Ya know, a couple of years ago a family in the town next to where my brother lives (and not far from the apartment he once rented) was wiped out by a couple of punks who walked in through the front door at 3:00 a.m. The house had an alarm system, but the family figured it was a "safe" neighborhood so they didn't use it -- or lock the doors. They beat the husband senseless and threw him down the basement stairs (he subsequently escaped and lived). They took the mother and two teenage daughters hostage. When the banks opened in the morning one took the mother to the bank and made her withdraw a chunk of cash, while the other one held the daughters. Somewhere along the way they raped the mother and at least one of the daughters. Then they killed the mother, tied the girls to their beds, and burned the house down with them in it. Google "Petit cheshire home invasion." I don't even go upstairs for a protracted period without setting the alarm. But I don't expect any miracles. When I accidentally trip it, the delay before the alarm company calls is usually between one and two minutes. If it were a real alarm, I don't know how much longer it would take them to realize it and call the police. I live in a rural suburb, so the average police response time is anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes, depending on time of day, other calls, and where the nearest unit happens to be. The neighborhood is accustomed to alarms going off, so nobody else is going to call if it trips. The ONLY thing an alarm that's not connected to a monitoring service is good for is letting you know that there is someone in your house. So when it goes off, you know. The issue then is whether or not you are prepared ... and willing ... to deal with it. Calling the police is not the answer unless you live on the same block as a police station.

umm. he hasn't thrown any parts at it yet... No, but in one post he was going to rush out and buy a clutch master cylinder without knowing if the master cylinder is the problem, then in another post he was going to rush out and buy a brake master cylinder for what is probably a brake vacuum booster problem. That's not the way to approach diagnosing a problem.

Yep - skip the .22 and get her a 9mm. A .22 beats a sharp stick, but not by much. If she had to use it against a large-ish guy who is pumped up on drugs, multiple hits from a .22 is likely to just make him angry. Get a 9mm in a pistol that's comfortable for her to hold and heavy enough that the (negligible) recoil of a 9mm doesn't bother her, and encourage her to learn to shoot it. Load it up with a decent hollow-point, personal defense ammo and stick with that. Also, for both of you -- if you come home to signs that the house has been entered, DO NOT go into the house. Stay in the car with the doors locked, on the street, call 9-1-1, and wait for the police. Even if you are armed, you are not trained to clear a house, you have no idea of who might be inside, how many of them there might be, and whether or not they might be armed. If they are armed, I think you can safely bet the farm they will NOT be carrying a .22.

Agree with Pat... at least on my TJ, I had all 4 off the ground (substantially if you believe the witnesses), bent the front axle tube pretty well, looked about like Pat's pic above, drove it home 180+ miles with bowed wheels... My tie-rod (heavy duty Currie) needed to be pressed straight again, I replaced the front axle assembly and other than some tweaked front fenders (from where the tires were shoved when when the bumpstops "failed") but nothing else structurally wrong with the rig. Wade It would appear that neither you nor Pat hit hard enough to bend a bump stop. I'm betting the OP's unibody is bent.

The master cylinder does not hiss, the vacuum booster hisses. You are throwing parts at the truck without understanding what you're trying to fix.

You are having a problem with the clutch. Why would you consider changing the brake master cylinder? I know you want to get your truck fixed, and I sympathize. But you're not thinking. You're just going to go out and throw a part at it, hoping you change the right part. If you don't, you'll just end up changing one unnecessary part after another, spend a lot of money, and maybe you'll eventually get it fixed. Slow down, take a deep breath, and figure out what's wrong before you start throwing parts at it.

I can't speak for "most" of the other members, but I'm a charter member of NAXJA as well as this place and a local club here in CT, I've been on a great many trail rides and such over the years, and I have never seen anyone get all four wheels off the ground. If you hit hard enough to bend a bump stop, you were going FAR beyond the capability of the vehicle. Maybe you aren't aware that the vehicles you see in the movies and those desert racing trucks are specially built to withstand "big air" jumps. Photos would help, but my opinion is that you can't safely straighten a bump stop pillar. And if you bent that, there's probably a lot bent besides that. I am sorry to say that I think you trashed your truck.

Try rotating the knob of the headlight switch. The dimmer is a rheostat, and over time the connection gets dirty or burned and you get dead spots. It might be that you have a dead spot and stepping on the brake pedal causes enough vibration or movement to change where the rotator touches the resistor coil. It's an outside chance, but it doesn't hurt to check anything you can.

Then you must have noticed that your radiator has the tanks on the ends, and it's a horizontal flow radiator. The one in the photo you posted has the tanks on the top and bottom, and it's a vertical flow radiator. Forget about manual or automatic tranny, that radiator isn't for a Cherokee or Comanche. Period.