Eagle

Right in his second post:

I never see one on the freeway, but they are around. A few days ago I stopped at the bank to cash a check, when I walked out there was an MJ parked next to my XJ.

For ten bucks I would do the same thing. Good call.

Hint: 87MJeff (I think that's his screen name)

I'm wondering why you seem to think you need 4" of lift to run 31" tires when I'm running 31x10.50s on an '88 XJ with the original suspension that has 283,000 miles on it. The MJ has more clearance in the rear than the XJ so 31s should be no problem whatsoever. Especially if you tow, lift seems to me to be a rather bad idea.

We also need a better description of the behavior. A true locker should lock when power is being applied, and unlock when there is no power (coasting). Your friend needs to try going around corners both ways with power being applied, and again both ways coasting. Let us know if the popping is consistent under all circumstances.

Oh, I have no problem with doing a full service (changing the screen) on an AW4. It's the right way to do it. It's just a royal PITA job, and you're almost guaranteed to destroy the upper dip stick tube extension and that's not an easy part to find if you're in a hurry. It's the power flushing that I don't trust.

The real question is why he does NOT hear a popping noise when he turns left.

The AW4 came on-line in 1987, along with the 4.0L engine. It doesn't have a filter that's easy to change, like when you change the engine oil. The "filter" is a screen in the bottom of the tranny. Replacing it requires dropping the tranny pan, which often results in destroying the dip stick tube (which is in two pieces, that don't like to come apart). I replaced the filter/screen in an '88 XJ that I was fixing up for my ex-GF, and once I got it open I was VERY sorry ... there was nothing in the screen that needed to be cleaned or replaced. I'm not convinced about power flushing. I'm old-fashioned. I'd rather just dump the pan and refill on a more frequent basis.

What a coincidence. So they won't have to fix any of them under warranty, but they'll generate a lot more work for their "5-Star" dealers' shops. Machiavellian. Unprintable sons of unwed mothers.

Dave, I have NEVER heard Chrysler recommend ATF4 for the AW4 tranny. That's what they use in all the Chrysler transmissions, but not the AW4. The two types are not at all interchangeable.

Dexron/Mercon

I hope the Neon had insurance. You are having your truck repaired with all new parts, right? A new Comanche leaf spring probably sells for about $400.

To change the hubs you must: * Remove the caliper * Remove the rotor * Remove the nut holding the axle and hub together * Remove the three bolts holding the hub unit in the knuckle * Beat the old hub unit out of the knuckle. This can take 5 minutes, but more offten it's closer to 5 hours (per side) To pack the old-style bearings you must: * Remove the caliper * Remove the cotter key locking the axle nut * Remove the axle nut * The outer bearing now falls out into your hand * Remove the hub/rotor, pop the seal on the back, and the inner bearing falls out * Pack some grease into the bearings * Install rear bearing in hub, tap a new seal in place * Reassemble 15 to 20 minutes per side would be working slowly.

No. The bleeder for the clutch extends out of the bellhousing. You'll see it -- it looks like a bleeder screw on a brake caliper or wheel cylinder. There is nothing in the transmission to bleed.

Having fought a few XJ/MJ unit bearing assemblies and having repacked conventional front wheel bearings countless times from my gearhead racing/autocross days -- there's no way on God's green earth you can replace a hub bearing unit faster than you can pop the bearings and repack. Not even close.

yea well its just until we get adjustable ones and it will only be on the road not beaten on so they might last long enough And if they don't? Sorry to be a dork, but it's one thing if the only possible thing that can happen is you kill yourself. That's your decision. But driving a hacked-together vehicle that has steering/suspension parts that could fail at any time could easily result in your taking out another vehicle ... or several vehicles. How many people are you prepared to possibly kill because you can't afford a set of control arms? The advice given above is good advice: If you can't afford to lift it right ... don't lift it. The MJ is a very capable off-road vehicle in stock configuration. There is simply no excuse for engaging in "redneck engineering" because you "can't afford" to do it right.

Do not put gear oil in the crankcase. Definitely sounds like the rear main seal. I had one blow out in an XJ on I-80 about halfway across PA on my way to Montana. I stopped at a Wal-Mart, bought a case of their house brand oil in the heaviest weight I could find, and just added a quart about ever 150 or 200 miles. The entire undercarriage was coated and it was sucking back up and putting an oily haze on the rear bumper, hatch, and hatch glass. Still ran fine. Once it's blown it's blown, but you can reduce the amount of oil that gets pushed out somewhat by keeping your speed down.

IIRC, there are three bolts higher up on the pump bracket accessed from the front (radiator side) of the assembly, and three more lower down that are accessed from beneath and behind (firewall side). The actual adjuster point toward the air box. As far as I'm concerned, the ONLY way to adjust it is to remove the air box for access. It is possible to do it with the air box in place, but it takes twice as long and you'll get four times as dirty.

Long arms? The best: http://claytonoffroad.com/index.php?cPath=18_66

This site may help. The listing has links to drawings if each transmission type. http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_catalog ... ation.html

No, it's better to leave it in "Power" mode. On the belt squeal, check the harmonic damper on the front of the crankshaft. If the outer weight ring starts to "walk" it affects belt alignment and can result in squealing. And if not addressed, it can chew up the front timing chain cover, making a routine replacement into a considerably more expensive repair job.

Yes.

Yeah, with no tach it'll work. You will need to replace the oil pressure sender and the coolant temperature sender (the one on the left rear corner of the head, NOT the one on the side of the block) with the corresponding parts for gauges.

The 84 thru 86 (or maybe thru the first half of the 87 model run) do NOT have an adjustable potentiometer. From 87 thru 90 the tach has a potentiometer and the speedo uses a different cable than the 84 thru 86 models. 91+ should have the potentiometer but also uses an electronic speedometer so the 91+ cluster can't be used in a pre-91 vehicle.