Eagle

If it's the one-piece (as shown in the photo in the link I provided), the spindle nut isn't torqued on. It has to be tightened and then backed off slightly to allow the bearings to operate properly. As someone already posted, you should be able to remove that nut with a Channel-Lock plier. Did you remove the cotter pin through it? After the nut is correctly set, there's a sheet metal castle-nut retainer that fits over it and is locked in position by a cotter pin. Maybe you already know this, but I mention it because on this here Internet we have no way of knowing your level of experience.

I've bought complete trucks in equal or better condition for $200. What are you going to haul wood in? As noted, you'll need a box. Good luck finding one. About the only good thing there is that clearance for big tires won't be a problem in the rear. I wouldn't even consider this one, but I like to keep MJs as complete and original as possible. If you would be chopping it up anyway, then by all means chop on this one.

:agree: Not certain, but I think even the fuel pump operates at a different pressure.

No. There is no "supposedly" about it. That is what the second line does. What you're missing is that the front junction block also has the slider switch that controls the brake system failure warning light. I don't know for certain, but I suspect it's probably against both Federal and state law to remove or disable that. Why do you think you need to replace it with tees to use an adjustable proportioning valve? Leave the OEM distribution block in place. Plug the outlet for the rear bypass line, and put your adjustable valve in the one line you run to the back. Done.

Some of the 2WD XJs and MJs used a standard, passenger car type front spindle and a one-piece hub/rotor. Other years (and I still haven't taken the time to figure out which years) the 2WD vehicles used the same hub/bearing unit as the 4WD and have a stub shaft going through to hold everything together. Sounds like that's what this vehicle is. The socket should be a 36mm. BUT ... the hub doesn't hold the rotor on. If this truck has the 4WD style hub/rotor, the rotor is a separate piece that should pop right off once the caliper has been moved out of the way. The axle nut only holds the hub in place, not the rotor. Reference: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19601

What's the reference in your signature (and in at least one of your posts) to "DGB 4 speed A/T (AW-4)"? The MJ automatic used behind the 4.0L engine is an Aisin-Warner ... which is what the "AW" in AW-4 stands for. Who or what is DGB?

I also gravity bleed the load sensing valve at the feed and bypass line by cracking the fittings at the valve. And I do it for about two hours, keeping the master cylinder front and rear tanks full. SOP for gravity bleeding is all wheel calipers and any additional biasing valves. Should have mentioned that..... Thanks for your correction Eagle. No need for CAPS........ But the bypass inlet at the front metering block is closed by the shuttle valve unless the front brakes have failed and the slider has moved to open that inlet. I don't think your gravity bleed is actually flowing brake fluid through the bypass line, I think it's back-feeding from the primary line.

Rear lock-up is a potential problem when the load-sensing valve is removed, but IMHO swapping in a Cherokee proportioning valve is not the answer. I've been running the '88 MJ with no load-sensing valve ... I had no choice, it blew out in a panic stop. I had the rear wheels lock up once, when I was approaching a stop sign going down a fairly steep hill and there was sand on the pavement. Aside from that, it just feels like I have better brakes than any other XJ or MJ I've ever driven. Why isn't the XJ proportioning valve the solution? I have a couple of reasons. The first is that the XJ proportioning valve is prone to gum up, resulting in NO rear brakes. That's the sutuation with my '8 XJ right now, but I have other things on it that have to get fixed first (like heat). The second is the way I think the XJ valve works. If you open one up, there's a plunger, a cup washer (which most people refer to as an O-ring, but it isn't), and a spring. The spring tends to hold the cup washer toward the rear of the bore, such that NO fluid can pass to the rear brakes. Only when the pressure is high enough to compress the spring does the cup washer and plunger move out of the way to allow brake fluid into the rear brake circuit. At least, that seems to be the only way it can operate, based on the way it's constructed. What does that mean in operation? If I am correct, it means that under most normal conditions you are stopping only with the front brakes. You get rear brakes only under heavy/hard braking. BUT ... that's exactly when the vehicle weight is shifted onto the front wheels and the rear brakes are most likely to lock up prematurely, so in reality that exactly when you DON'T want full braking to the rear. I'm happy with the MJ metering block and no proportioning valve. I know I can't drive like a maniac when the pavement is slippery ... so I don't. I don't think the tire size makes much difference. With larger tires you have a bigger contact patch, but you also have the same weight on the contact patch, so the pressure of the tire on the pavement is lower in psi. In fact, if it works like driving in snow, you'd probably do better with smaller/narrower tires.

A gravity bleed CANNOT bleed the bypass line. Your brakes may work fine under normal conditions, but if you lose the front brakes and there's air in the bypass line -- you won't have any rear brakes, either.

My '88 Cherokee still has the original Peugeot tranny, with 287,000+ miles on it. No problems except, as noted above, it doesn't like to shift into 2nd gear when cold. Guess what? Neither does the AX-15, and neither does the NVG3550 in my 2000 XJ. Also as noted above: DO NOT resurface the flywheel. That's a no-no. :no:

To compare to stock specs, measure from the center of the wheel/axle/hub straight up to the lower edge of the flares. In the front, "stock" height should be 17-1/2". In the rear, it should be about 20 to 20-1/2".

The muffler might have been new, but it may have had tenants. Many years ago, I had a similar problem with my Hudson pickup. (Yes, Hudson used to make pickups. 1947 was the last year, and I had one). I had done an engine swap, had it running nicely, put a new exhaust on it, then parked it for the winter. Next spring I started it up at it ran HORRIBLY. Sputtered, stuttered, and kept wanting to die ... and did. Finally, I got thoroughly frustrated. I started it one more time, and as soon as it caught I floored it. POW! Flames shot out the tailpipe, and all of a sudden it was purring like a kitten. Mice had bult a nest in the tailpipe (or muffler), and the nest was building up sufficient back pressure that it was like the proverbial potato in the tailpipe. It took flooring it to build up enough Moxie to blow the nest out. If yours was parked for awhile, it could have been the same problem.

Harbor Freight sells a manual tire changer station for around 50 bucks. That kit in your link, for $440, doesn't look like it does much more than my Stanley Wonder Bar (which I have used successfully to dismount and mount stock size tires, but I don't think I'd care to use it for 31s).

From that thread in the link: Seriously, with an engine geared to cruise at around 2,000 to 2,500 RPM, who CARES if the valves float at 4,200 RPM? I have 287,000+ miles on my '88 Cherokee, plus probably another 100,000 to 150,000 on various other XJs and MJs, and I am 100 percent certain that NONE of them have ever seen 4,000 RPM. The "sweet spot" for shifting with a stock engine is around 2200 RPM for the Renix and 2500 to 2700 for the second generation HO. With a stroker producing gobs MORE torque, there's simply no need or reason (unless you're racing) to be running the engine up to 4,000+ RPM.

Check the left spring for a broken leaf.

Yep -- the rubbing is because aftermarket rims sit farther out than OEM Jeep rims. Sorry -- I though you had written that you were on Jeep rims, but I guess I made that up. The only way lift will eliminate the rubbing is if you also extend the bump stops to prevent the suspension from working. It'll be a LOT cheaper to pick up a set of used Jeep rims than any lift kit. They can come off any Comanche, Cherokee, YJ or TJ Wrangler, or ZJ (93-98) Grand Cherokee.

How does running 31s in any way limit suspension travel? The tires fit inside the stock fenders and flares, and you don't have to extend the bump stops. I can't think of any way it COULD limit suspension travel. I ran 31s on my MJ after I took off the lift, and I'm currently running the 31s on my '88 Cherokee, which has smaller rear wheel arches than the MJ. There is no reduction in suspension travel. BTW -- friends don't let friends buy Rusty's junk.

Neither a cooler plug nor a larger radiator will prevent detonation. A colder plug might help a little, the radiator will do nothing. IMHO you need to use a different cam, with enough overlap to bleed off some of the compression pressure.

That's quite a haul. Good job.

The Up Country suspension rides 1" (25mm) higher than standard. I have a 2000 Cherokee with Up Country. I pulled the codes off the coil springs and took them to the dealer. They are the exact same springs as a ZJ (Grand Cherokee) V8, so you can easily source them from a junkyard. FYI, if you have OEM Jeep rims you can run 31x10.50-15 tires with NO lift. So in reality, more than likely all you need is enough to raise the front enough to compensate for the weight of the plow frame. The ZJ front coils will probably do that, possibly with the addition of 3/4-inch (not 2-inch) spacers if the V8 springs alone aren't enough.

150 psi usually. Compression spec for the 2.5L 4-cyl is 155 to 185 psi. Compression spec for the 4.0L 6-cyl is 120 to 150 psi Both allow up to 30 psi variation between cylinders.

That sounds a lot like what I encounter every time I go to the VA hospital for "health care." My sympathies. My wife fell a few weeks ago and broke her wrist. We've been to a hospital emergency room and three appointments with an orthopedic practice, and she hasn't been seen by a DOCTOR yet. She was seen by a PA (Physician's Assistant) at the ER. She was examined by a PA at the "doctor's" office, the PA set the wrist and casted it, and the PA reviewed the follow-up x-rays. And, as far as we know, the PA will be the guy who removes the cast the week after Thanksgiving. I think it's pretty sad when you go to a doctor's office and you can't even see a doctor. At least a resident is a doctor.

What do you mean by a "conventional y block"? A Cherokee proportioning valve? IMHO that's just exchanging one problem for another. The Cherokee proportioning valve is known for gumming up and causing you to have no rear brakes. All I did when I eliminated my height-sensing valve was to plug the bypass outlet on the MJ front metering block and run a single hard line to the rear flex hose. Simple. Rear brakes are a good thing. Especially when you haven't had any for awhile.

He was trying to say that he didn't know Toyota uses a height-sensing proportioning valve.

Seems to be normal for the longbeds, but the opposite for the shortbeds. I can't explain why. Doesn't make any sense whatsoever.