Eagle

You did the math right. 31" tires are about 10% larger (in terms of distance per revolution) than stock tires (assuming that stock was 215s or 225s), so 133 + 10% would be around 147.

Wow! Pricey, but VERY nice. For something a little less expensive (but also not as potentially useful), most of the auto body parts places sell the brackets that go with the Fey/Westin universal step bumpers as a separate kit. The bumper is the same for all the small pickups, and you buy the brackets to mount the universal bumper to your truck. As far as I know, the MJ brackets are still available. http://www.discountbodyparts.com/catalo ... to%20Parts)&Ntt=bumper $52.96 / pair

The low-range ratio in the 207 is a couple of hundredths less than that of the 231. Not a huge difference. IIRC, the 207 low range was 2.61 and the 231 was 2.72. The real difference is that the 231 has better oiling. As to noise, the pitch on the gears for the 231 changed, which might account for a newer one in a TJ being quieter. A couple of people on NAXJA encountered problems some years ago trying to mix and match input gears between 231 boxes. I can't think of any reason to change the gear pitch without changing the ratio unless they were trying to make it run quieter.

As noted, it's the "brick on wheels" factor. Aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed. During my brief sojourn with the '99 Grand Cherokee, I took a 500 miles (each way) trip and used the opportunity to conduct an experiment. Going from CT to Pittsburgh (western PA, for those who don't know) I ran with the cruise control set at 70 (speed limit on I-84 is 65). For grins & giggles, I had plenty of time on the return so I set the cruise control at 55. IIRC my gas mileage on the return was either 3 or 4 MPG better than it was on the first leg of the trip. And a '99 Grand Cherokee is a slipperier brick than an MJ, by a substantial bit.

Fan clutch. Classic symptoms. Half full when cold. It's a surge tank. The coolant expands when it gets hot. You NEED that air space for the expansion. If you fill it full when cold, you'll blow up the new tank.

I don't have a clue what the problem is. My wife and I are in the Yoo Ess of Ay, and the friend is in northern Chile. The friend doesn't use the same mechanic my wife used to use when she lived there. The lady knows exactly what part she's looking for, so we assume someone has verified the need for it, but I'm not going to start second guessing her mechanic by remote control from several thousand miles away. The part sems to be unavailable in Iquique, so we'll help her get the part. Beyond that ... she's an adult, she can deal with the mechanic.

My Jeep dealer stocks both inners and outers, and Auto Zone has listings for both. Curiously, the Auto Zone web site indicates that my nearest store has the inners in stock, but the outers are special order. Go figure. This is for a 2003 with the 3.3 engine, if it matters. I don't doubt that Chrysler wants to have you just R&R the rack. It's probably faster, and at today's shop prices it may even be cheaper for the customer. Plus Chrysler makes more money that way than just selling the tie rods. But that's just evidence of our throw-away society. In most South American countries, they still prefer to repair things rather than throw them away.

We got it, folks. Tie rod. Of course, it's for rack & pinion, so there's an inner and an outer on each side and the friend didn't say which she needs, but we're closing in on it. FWIW, the bi-lingual dude at the Auto Zone store I called thought it meant "brakes." Epic fail. Brakes is "frenos."

So how did you lot know I had a crush on Princess Summerfallwinterspring when I was a lad?

A 231 is noisier in 4WD than in 2WD, too.

The axle disconnect is vacuum actuated, so you can use a vacuum switch like that to control it. But you have to look for an 86 or earlier with Select-Trac, and that may not be easy to find. A Posi-Lock used a cable like a throttle or choke cable and converts the disconnect to mechanical operation. Both methods work ... take your pick.

Well, you have to remember that the Marines don't need as many non-combat related skills as other branches. For building stuff, they have the Seabees (Navy). For medics, they have corpsmen (Navy). Where the motto of the engineering battalion in my area of operations in Vietnam was "The difficult we do overnight; the impossible takes a bit longer" ... the motto of the USMC is "When it absolutely positively must be destroyed immediately." Seabees and engineers build things (and occasionally blow them up). Marines just ... break things. Seriously, I think the Marines would also welcome a mature individual with a good educational background. I don't know what MOS they could offer him, but I think they'd welcome him. If he's not totally turned off by the Marines, I think he should find a different recruiting station and chat them up. However, unless he's given up all interest in architecture, I think the Navy Seabees or the Army Engineers would be a better fit for him.

The AW4 was used in the Grand Cherokee only in the 1993 model year. It is possible that you have a torque converter that doesn't match your transmission. On another note, getting back to basics, are you certain the torque converter is actually bolted to the flex plate? I ask this only because I happen to ... ahem ... know a certain person (who shall forever remain unnamed) who replaced a flex plate. A friend came over one night to help put everything back together. Once everything was snugged up, they (yeah, "they") started the engine, put the tranny in gear .. and the rear wheels didn't move. After exhausting all possible problems, the ... unnamed person ... asked his friend if he had tightened the bolts holding the torque converter to the flex plate. "No, I thought you did that." Oops.

I'm not really sure what you think you have in mind, but that console in your photo does not show a Cherokee/Comanche with a 242 transfer case. That's an old 84-86 model with a 228/229 -- the 2/4 switch is a vacuum switch, not a mechanical lever. It has been used as an axle disconnect control, but a Posi-Lock is a mechanical device, not vacuum actuated.

Thanks for trying, guys. Dang ... the word isn't even in the Oxford English-Spanish dictionary. If it isn't in there, it MUST be specialized. Anybody else? IIRC the van is around 2002. If the part has something to do with steering, and a generic translation is "rod," my best guess is tie rod end. The Chrysler mini-vans have rack & pinion steering, so it can't be a drag link or something like that. But the gal said it's available only through Chrysler. Are mini-van tie rod ends proprietary? Oh, oh. Sway bar? Now THAT would be proprietary.

Spanish to English. My wife's friend in Chile needs a part for a Chrysler mini-van, but she only knows the name of the part in Spanish, and all my wife knows is that it has "something to do with the steering." The word is "vieletas." Chrysler mini-vans in the 90s were already using rackety pinion steering, were they not? So I'm guessing it's either a rack & pinion unit, or a tie rod end. But the gal in Chile insists it is available only from Chrysler, so that's making me think it must be a steering box. Anybody fluent in automotive Espanol?

Yikes! The case is aluminum. I don't think a torch is a good idea.

Clean = Not Dirty :cheers:

Sounds to me like a VERY good price.

It means that your oil filter was clogged up with gunk and resisting the flow of oil, resulting in high pressure.

:agree:

So pull a spark plug, and (using some insulated pliers) hold the electrode or base against the block somewhere and have your helper crank the engine over. There should be a nice, fat spark at the sparkplug electrode. Did I mention to use insulated pliers? USE INSULATED PLIERS.

Blue smoke from the tailpipe when you let off the gas usually suggests valve seals/guides. When you close the throttle, the engine is sucking hard and making a lot of vacuum, so it'll try to pull in anything it can from anywhere it can. There's oil in the rocker arm chamber, so if it sucks air around the valve stems, it sucks oil with it.

Ideally you'd be checking at the #1 cylinder, but either way -- it's a 4-stroke engine. Each piston comes up twice for each cycle, once for compression (and firing) and then again for exhaust. Did you have the distributor out? Are you sure the piston wasn't at TDC on the exhaust stroke when the distributor was pointing at it? Are you certain you have the wires in the correct order? I've messed tat up a few times. 1-5-3-6-2-4 I believe is the correct order.

Ayuh. That'll do 'er.