Eagle

Technically, the factory bolt is metric, so "Grade 8" would not apply. Much of the problem arises because many of the aftermarket manufacturers don't take the trouble to make their parts in metric sizes to match the application. So you either use a bolt that's too small for the hole in the track bar (leading to slop), or you drill out the hole in the frame -- thereby making it forever impossible to revert to a correctly-sized, metric part. Many of the control arms offered on the aftermarket have the same problem, as did the Trailmaster brackets that were on my '88 MJ when I bought it.

I think I can agree to that.

Maybe to tell the stupid upshift light when there aren't any more gears to shift up to?

The crankshaft position sensor is in the bellhousing, not the transmission, and it's on the driver's side not the passenger side.. And it has wires hanging off it, it isn't a "connector." And the speedometer is a mechanical cable, so it's not a connector, either. And it's also on the driver's side. I have no idea what the other thing might be.

How about asking him if he'd be interested in working with the CC to offer them here, so our members get first shot? We're the people most likely to be preserving Comanche history (some of us, anyway), so I think it makes sense.

The AX5 is a manual transmission and it does not have any sensors. Might you be looking at the switch for the backup lights?

Considering that the XJ was introduced in 1983 as a 1984 model and the MJ didn't come out until 1985 as a 1986 model, it's a bit counter-intuitive to refer to the XJ combination valve as "newer." With that: True, the XJ valve has the rear brake outlet on the bottom, which on the MJ is the emergency bypass outlet. There is no "nose" outlet on the XJ block. But if you're replacing both old lines to the rear with one new one, I don't see any advantage to having the outlet on the bottom, where it's harder to see and access, rather than on the front. The XJ combination valve does provide a proportioning function. I have slit one and examined it (same as the photo of the MJ valve above in this thread), and I still can't figure out how it works. Based on the position of the spring and O-rings, it looks like what it does is prevent any braking from getting to the rear except in very hard braking. IMHO that is exactly contrary to what a proportioning valve is supposed to do, which is to prevent premature rear wheel lock-up under heavy braking. Also, the XJ valve is susceptible to gumming up, so that you don't have ANY rear brakes. I have posted elesewhere that in my '88 XJ, if I stomp on the brakes in a snowy parking lot, the front brakes lock up and rear wheels keep turning. Cool -- I'll never spin out, but I'll also never stop. If I were going to install an XJ combination valve in an MJ, I would open it up and gut it. Which, of course, eliminates the primary reason for swapping it in the first place, which would be to get some proportioning. Which, in turn, explains why I have a box with five or six XJ combination valves in it that will probably never be used.

The AX4 and the AX5 are exactly the same, except that the rear section on the AX5 has a fifth gear unit and on the AX4 the rear section is empty. You should be able to remove the AX4 and bolt the AX5 right up in its place. But ... The '86 will have an external slave cylinder. Depending on what year MJ you buy, the truck may have an internal slave. You can get around that by either: (a) Using the '86 as-is and converting to the external slave; or (B) swapping the tranny to the other bellhousing and keeping the truck with the original setup.

There is a 'T' in the system now, but if you deactivate the height sensing valve and run a single line from the front (which is what we are discussing in this thread) you don't use that 'T.' The new hard line goes direct from the nose of the front distribution block to the upper (frame) end of the rear flex hose.

What are we looking at? WBBKrazy mentioned the stock air box, but it looks to me like this vehicle doesn't have a stock air box. Is there an arrow in that photo that I'm not seeing?

Possibly condesation? On a hot, muggy day, does your air conditioner leave puddles on the pavement when you park? It should. If it doesn't, the drain line is clogged and the condesate is backing up in the pelnum ... until it overflows.

Give my regards to Murphy. He and I are old friends ...

The 'T' is on the axle and is the lower end of the flex hose. You run a single line from the front distribution block to the frame in the rear, where the height sensing valve is currently located, and connect that to a new flex hose. (Yes, you can use the existing flex hose -- but it's 20 years old.) The hard line to each wheel cylinder splits off the block where the flex hose bolts onto the axle tube.

You remove the XJ bucket seats from the XJ base pedestals and bolt them to the MJ base pedestals. Just don't get early XJ buckets with the "rocking chair" tilt adjuster, or they'll be too high for use in an MJ unless you are VERY short.

No. One of those lines is a bypass line. It is normally not used; it comes into service only if/when the front brakes fail. Do NOT interconnect those two lines by removing the height sensing valve. The better approach, if you wish to remove the height sensing valve, is to remove the bypass line entirely. It's the line that comes off the front/bottom outlet on the metering block below the master cylinder. The line that normally provides your braking (through the height sensing valve) is the line that comes out the "nose" of the front metering block. Keep that one, plug the other outlet, run a new, single line from the nose directly to the flex hose at the rear axle, and you're done. BTW -- your terminology is mixed up. In the MJ, the rear, height sensing valve is the proportioning valve. The "thingie" in the front is a distribution block with an emergency bypass circuit. It is NOT a proportioning valve and provides NO proportioning function whatsoever.

Incorrect. I beg to differ. A few years ago at the NAXJA NACFest in PA, one of the guys had the plastic line in his 94 XJ melt due to the heat generated by towing another disabled Jeep out of the woods on a warm day. We went into town and bought an old, original style clutch hose with metal ends. I don't recall if he also bought an old-style master cylinder. In any event, we also bought a few miscellaneous adapter fittings, went back to the campground, and made up a conversion in the parking lot. (The parts store was about to close, so we bought more than was needed just to be reasonably sure we'd have what we might need.) The adaptation itself was easy, but getting it bled was a bear.

My '88 leaks on the driver's side and I am about 98.73% certain it has to be the fuse panel connector. I have plugged, sealed, or otherwise isolated just about every other possible source of entry and it still leaks heavily when it rains.

I don't think there is a notch for the full-time position.

How's your oxygen sensor and catalytic converter?

NoOx is not a replacement for the gasket. NoOx is one of several brands for a mineral oil-based grease or goo that's used on electocal contacts to prevent (TADA!) ... oxidation.

Fascinating ... But you have to have been partaking of hallucinogenic mushrooms to label that an SUV. The 'U' stands for "Utility," after all.

Has your hand recovered yet?

Personally, I go to Auto Zone and buy an OEM replacement from Walker. The muffler has a lifetime warranty so the one I bought six years ago is the last one I'll ever buy.

The 4-cylinder uses a 1-piece rear main seal, and requires pulling the tranny and flywheel. The 4.0L (6-cylinder) does not.

If you saw it in a Cherokee (not a GRAND Cherokee), it was swapped in. The 5.2L (nor any V8) was ever offered in the Cherokee or Comanche.