Eagle

I didn't say anything about your rig isn't functional. I don't know anything about your truck other than what you posted in this thread. I do know that you have asked for mutually exclusive criteria. I already explained why you cannot do a 5" lift for not a lot of money. But this is the Internet -- my advice is worth every cent you paid for it. Do as you wish.

No, more on the front is NOT better. You have to be sure not to exceed the tongue weight on the hitch. You want enough weight on the hitch that it won't pop off the ball, but you don't want anything more than that. 20 percent of 3,300 pounds is 660 pounds -- that may exceed the rating on your hitch right there. (Although pulling on four wheels with a tow bar that wouldn't be a consideration.)

Heh, heh -- Mine too, in fact. I had a base model 1968 Javelin that I set up first for autocross, then modified for road racing and hill climbs. I took a second set of stock Javelin springs, chopped the ends off all the leaves so they'd fall midway between the lengths of the original leaves, and put the two sets back together. Surprisingly, after all that I only needed a 3/4" lowering block to bring it back to stock height (or at least close enough to pass tech inspection for stock class). And it rode very acceptably on the street, too -- firm, but not "harsh." Couldn't find any passenger car shocks that would control the rear, though. I got hold of a Gabriel catalog and found a Gabriel adjust-o-matic for something like a 3/4-ton or 1-ton pickup that was the right length and had the right fittings on both ends. The shocks were HUGE, but on the soft setting they were perfect. Nice Javelin you have there. I agree with your son -- take it "cruizin'"

It's not polite to gloat.

Do you have the original, plastic valve cover, or do you have metal?

That's normal. The clunk you hear may be a lower control arm. Or a ball joint.

The wider offset (less backspacing) of aftermarket rims eliminates the rubbing on the lower control arms, but then 31x10.50 tires won't stuff inside the flares so you either have to trim or greatly extend the bump stops (which eliminates almost all suspension travel). The tires are also very likely to hit the lower trailing corner of the wheel well openings on sharp turns with less backspacing than factory rims. IMHO stock rims are the way to go, and if you can't tolerate the LCA rubbing then replace them with the WJ LCAs.

Yeah. I towed an XJ hulk (partially stripped) on an aluminum car hauler trailer from southern Massachusetts to southern Connecticut. Distance was maybe 50 or 60 miles by the route I took. The tow vehicle was my '88 MJ, 4.0L 5-speed with 3.73 gears. I believe I had the 31" tires on it at the time. BAD MOVE! Going up even gentle inclines meant I was holding up traffic. Anything more than a very gentle upgrade required dropping down to third and even second gear. Going DOWNhill was rather exciting, since the wiring on the trailer brakes didn't match up to my truck harness (I borrowed the trailer). In the space of about 2 miles from where I started I ran three red lights because I couldn't get the rig stopped. And then it started to rain. First time I touched the brakes, I jack-knifed it, because the MJ stopped, and the trailer just kept on pushing. And, of course, there was no weight on the rear wheels of the MJ ... I don't think the rig I was towing weighed 3,300 pounds, but it might have been close. 500 miles? I wouldn't do it.

If you want to go for a small budget, you don't want a 5" lift. Once you get that high, you're into the territory where you NEED adjustable upper and lower control arms, adjustable track bar, extended bump stops, sway bar drop kit and extended links, ... And that's just in the front. I respectfully think you need to define your priorities. IMHO, the goal should always be to lift as LITTLE as necessary to accomplish what you need to accomplish. Doing a 5" lift because it "looks kewl" doesn't strike me as a good approach to anything except throwing money at it ... which you apparently don't have a lot of to throw.

Well done, Sir! Good save. And you got a title! The one I saved from the crusher doesn't have a title. :grrrr:

Wanna bet? Many years ago, my mother's Hornet AMX lost a front fender to a hit-n-run. The only new replacement fender we could find at the time was a fiberglass unit. It was THICK, it weighed probably 50 percent more than the steel fender it replaced, and it didn't fit very well at all. But it never rusted again.

I had to use a pipe wrench when I took the lift out of my '88 MJ. The sleeve was rusted pretty solidly in place. Apply liberal quantities of PB Blaster daily for a week before you attempt to adjust. (And remember to loosen the clamps ... :doh:)

You can't block it off. The crankcase is a closed system, and it needs ventilation. The PCV is an outlet valve -- crankcase fumes are sucked up through the PCV and into the intake manifold, from where they go to the engine and get burned. The "makeup air" has to come from somewhere, and that's what the line you are referring to is -- the intake. It draws air through the air filter so you're not sucking dirt and dust into the crankcase.

:agree: The conversion makes sense if you have a 4.2L engine, because you need the manifolds to bolt up to the older head design. For anyone with a 4.0L engine, buying this kit doesn't make a lot of sense.

Ouch. Gotta watch them thar "adult beverages." I wish you a speedy recovery. (My wife's arm is in a cast, so I'm sure she can sympathize as well.)

Start by opening the top on the master cylinder. There are two chambers. See if one of them is empty. The big chamber feeds the front brakes, the smaller chamber feeds the rear brakes. Once you figure out which end lost brakes, start tracing lines until you find where one popped.

31x10.50-15 ... on stock Jeep rims. 31s will still tuck up inside the sheet metal. There will be slight rubbing on the lower control arms when the steering wheel is cranked all the way to lock, but that's something that you quickly learn to avoid ... or you can shim the steering stops to block it. Install WJ LCAs, and they have an offset bend that cures this completely.

I see that it has a CCV Correct. And the CCV system is a pair of open tubes. "PCV" typically implies a PCV valve -- which you won't find on a Jeep 4.0L engine. (I'm not convinced that was a good design decision, but it is what it is.)

Your eyes deceive you. It is commonly assumed that Eagle's sense of humor was surgically removed by his second wife. The truth is, that's a scurrilous lie. I was born during WW2 and there was a severe shortage of senses of humor at Bryan Army Air Station. I wasn't issued one at birth, and my parents moved me off post before supplies became available.

Not so fast, there, Speedy Gonzalez. Don't forget that the C101 connector on the firewall disappeared mid-1989. And the 87s didn't have a ballast resistor. Nonetheless, there are certainly a LOT of photos already posted of most parts of various MJs.

Yeah, they appreciate a little TLC from time to time.

Ideally, you should use engine paint. The coolant runs at over 200 degrees. I don't know what the oil gets up to, but I'm pretty sure it's quite a bit hotter than 200.

Whatever happened to "pound them out and replace with new studs from the dealer"? I know we're all Jeepers and Jeepers love to do everything on the cheap, but every once in awhile it just makes so much sense to do a job right, so you don't make life harder on yourself down the road, that I just wonder at the masochistic "Let's find the absolute best way to make life as annoying as possible" approach I sometimes see people recommending to other people. How much could two new studs POSSIBLY cost? :wall: :wall: :wall:

You must have had a very sick puppy of an engine, because 31" tires with 4.56 gears would equate to 2233 RPM in 5th gear at 60 MPH.

For testing, use conventional bulbs. LEDs don't draw enough current to make a standard flasher flash. Once you get things working normally, you'll have to use an electronic flasher that's NOT load sensitive (i.e. the type you use with a towing package).