Eagle

If you already have gauges, the upgrade to the cluster with the tach is literally plug-n-play. The tach wiring is already there, and since most 88-90 clusters with tach are from vehicles with the 6-cylinder engine, you don't have to worry about recalibrating a tach from 4-cyl to 6-cyl. No need to replace senders if you already have gauges. And if you want your odometer to read correctly, since you already have the trip meter you can just swap speedos in the cluster, or perhaps swap odometers between the two clusters if the font style is different between the two speedos.

That's what I get for typing when I'm tired and unwell. I meant the parking brake peddle assembly. The regular brake peddle is the same as the Cherokee and there will probably be enough in the junkyards to fulfill reasonable needs for the foreseeable future. The parking brake assembly, however, is unique to the MJ and cannot be sourced from wrecked XJs. I would also love to see it made again -- with the 97+ XJ nose and sheet metal, the HO 4.0L engine and NVG3550 transmission, and an extended cab. The only reason I bought a new XJ in 1988 rather than an MJ was the fact that the MJ had no extended cab option.

Which pipe, and which engine? The pipe size of the 4.0L has stayed the same, but the pipe size for the 2.5L depends on the year. For the 4.0L, the exhaust pipe (the one from the manifold to the catalytic converter) is 2-1/2", and the tailpipe (from the muffler back) is 2-1/4". On the 2.5L, I don't know what size the exhaust pipe is, but I do know that some years the tailpipe was 2" and other years it was 2-1/4"

I hope it doesn't come to this, at least for awhile, but I will mention that: Whoever said real men don't cry ... lied. Any man who can't or won't cry when he loses a loyal buddy isn't much of a man in my book.

DID YOU GET A TITLE? Please tell me you got a title ...

As you might guess from my signature, I am more concerned with restoring MJs than I am with modifying them. I would also like to see cab corners, but there are no taillights in the cab. And I'm not interested in armor. I'm thinking of replacement sheet metal for repairing the lower, rear corners of the cab (behind the doors) when they rust out. Also: * Reproductions of the factory rear bumper (in both black and chrome) * OEM repro rear bumper brackets * Quarter panels (long bed and short bed) * Gas tank skid plates (OEM configuration) (Long bed and short bed) * Foot brake peddle assemblies * Tailgates (or repair panels for same) * Tailgate bumper pads (the wedge shaped thingies that interlock when you close the gate) * Decal sets

"Muscular look"? ROFLMAO What those sail panels DO is make the vestigial bed of the stupid vehicle inaccessible to anyone shorter than 7'-6" tall. Don't automotive designers understand that we don't always open the tailgate when what we really want to do is drop a 5-gallon bucket or an old tire up at the front of the bed area? The Ridgeline is just a station wagon from which they omitted the rear section of the roof. What do you do if you want to bring home a bunch of 10-foot and 12-foot 2x4s from Home Depot -- and it's pouring rain?

Back to ground zero, Grasshopper. The size hex wrench (or socket) that fits on the head of a bolt is NOT the size of the bolt. The bolt size is the diameter of the bolt shank ... the outside diameter of the threaded portion, or the diameter of the smooth portion if there is one (which there will be for a head bolt). Just take one of your old head bolts to the store and let them match it.

Dunno what to say. Been there more than once, and it gets harder -- not easier -- every time. God speed.

10-4 Chrysler blew it. What they should have done was add the extended "Super Cherokee" body from Beijing Jeep to the Cherokee lineup, and introduce the XJ with the common rail diesel from Europe. (While keeping the 4.0L engine as the gasoline offering). I'm like you. I currently have four Cherokees that could be driveable (three are), and five MJs in similar condition. That's not counting "parts" heaps. I'm also 65 years old. If Chrysler thinks I'm going to buy one of their new junks because they discontinued the real Jeeps, they are sadly mistaken. Unless I find something that I WANT to buy, I doubt that I'll need to buy a new vehicle before I get too old to drive. My wife will no doubt want something other than her XJ within the next year or three, but I don't think it'll be a Jeep (or any Chrysler product).

I don't understand your question. The ONLY bolt size you can use is the bolt size that screws into your block. And if the only two options are 7/16" and 1/2", and 1/2" is too big -- how did we get to 5/8" being "just right"?

First things first: How far are you filling the coolant bottle, and did you get the system fully bled when you installed the new bottle? The bottle on the closed system is an expansion/surge tank. With the system cold, it should be filled halfway ... NOT full. You have to allow for expansion of the coolant when it gets hot. If you have any residual air trapped in the system, there will be hot pockets where the coolant doesn't remove heat and that can cause overheating. Lastly, if the system was properly "burped" and the bottle is only half filled when cold -- a bad fan clutch causes overheating at idle. The symptom is overheating when stopped, but as soon as the vehicle starts moving the temperature goes back to normal (because the vehicle motion pushes more air through the radiator).

Oh, goody. More weight to help rip the upper hinge off the door post. Sign me up!

No, the solenoid is mounted on the starter motor. The relay is up near the battery.

The bellhousing needs to come from a 2.5L 4-cylinder Dakota. Dunno on the flywheel. I was going to say it definitely wouldn't work, then I remembered that the 2.8L doesn't use a CPS. So ... maybe.

There was NO light when you grounded the wire to the block? Was the ignition turned on? If you have no light, you have a broken circuit. The idiot light should shine brightly when you ground the wire directly to the block. (I think. If anyone out there has an XJ or MJ with idiot lights, can you confirm?)

Are we talking the front parking lights, or all four? Do the 4-way hazard flasjers work? My guess is that the parking light sockets aren't getting a ground. You confirmed that you have power, so the only part left to complete the circuit (other than a known-good bulb) is a ground.

The only thing to watch out for is that the 2.8L wasn't a well-balanced engine, so the flywheel has an eccentric balance weight on one side. When they came out with the 3.4L they did a better job balancing the engine internally, so the flywheel didn't need to be externally balanced. So you can use your flywheel but you'll need to send it to a machine shop to have it neutral balanced.

Go factory or go home.

I can verify that. The front eye (and bushing) is much larger in diameter than the rear eye (and bushing).

Are you sure the thermostat didn't slip and you tightened it down with the flange under the thick part of the housing rather than it the recess?

The fact thatit's dim suggests it may be a wiring problem. The "sender" for the idiot light is an ON-OFF switch ... there's no setting for "dim." The light should either be off, or bright. Try unplugging the wire from the sender, start the engine, and see what the light does. If it's off, then have someone ground the wire directly to the block and see what happens.

Tighten it another eighth of a turn.

Then you're not shifting it to 2WD.

Rancho's AAL supposedly fits both the XJ and MJ and their catalog says (or used to say) it gives 2-1/2" in both. I called and questioned that, and after much checking around the engineer came back and said it's 1" to 1-1/2" in the MJ. So figuring about half as much as in an XJ is probably a good rule of thumb.