Eagle

Where did you see rust on the bed? There were no pictures of the bed, and it seemed to have a bed liner. Did you mean the upper part of the quarter panel?

My guess is that the radiator isn't doing anything.

Jeff, I switched the '88 XJ from 10W40 dino oil to 20W50 synthetic at about 180,000 miles for the same reason. Mine wasn't quite as low as yours when warm, but when new it ran 50+ psi at highway cruise, so the decline was obvious. The change to 20W50 brought it back up to 40-45 psi highway, and it has stayed there for several years and over 100,000 miles. (I'm now at 282,000). But we get pretty cold nights here in winter, so when I discovered that Castrol has a 5W50 full synthetic, and that VW and BMW were using Castrol synthetic as their OEM oil and recommending a 15,000 mile change interval, I switched to 5W50 Castrol and that's what I've been running in the old heaps. I use the same oil in the new Cherokee, but for that one I use the factory-recommended 5W30.

The aux tranny cooler came with the tow package or the off-road package. It was not standard, and I don't think it was offered as a stand-alone option. Maybe in some years as part of a heavy-duty cooling package? Or a fleet package (like for police departments, etc.)

Crutchfield sells (or used to sell) the correct speakers for that location, which are 4" round speakers on a 4" x 6" rectangular plate. I bought a set a couple or three years ago. Havn't looked recently to see if they still have them, but it's easy to make your own. In general, round speakers work and sound better than ovals (IMHO).

There is usually a tag on the front differential. There usually was NOT a tag on the rear differential. Everyone's idea of the "ideal" gear ratio is different. And a lot depends on how you plan to use the vehicle. If you plan on a lot of high-speed highway cruising, you might want a ratio that'll keep the RPMs down somewhat and yield (maybe) better gas mileage. If the truck is a weekend warrior and won't see a lot of highway use, more gear makes it more driveable at lower speeds. For comparison, based on 235/75R15 tires, here are the RPMs in 5th gear for 65 MPH with different gear ratios: 3.08 ==> 1724 3.54 ==> 1988 3.73 ==> 2095 4.10 ==> 2303 To put that in perspective, my 1966 Rambler American with a 3-speed manual tranny, 3.08 gears and small-ish tires ran 2500 RPM at 60 MPH, and 3000 RPM at 72 MPH. And it would cruise happily at 72 MPH all day. You can easily run 4.10s with the 235s and not be concerned that you're "burning up the engine."

Just to keep us all on the same page -- is this in regard to the 86 MJ listed in your signature? So it actually has a radiator cap and catch bottle, not the pressurized bottle found on the 87 - 90 4.0L models? 2.5L or 2.8L? How old is the radiator?

The reason modern automotive cooling systems have pressure caps is to raise the temperature at which the coolant boils. Leaving the cap off, or running a cap that doesn't provide a positive seal, is just about guaranteed to boil off the coolant.

Ah, so. Yeah, that should work.

You still haven't mentioned the width of your factory rims. For a 4-cyliner 4-speed, I expect you have the steel rims with 9 rectangular holes around the outer portion of the web. That rim is a 15x6. All other Jeep rims for the XJ and MJ were 15x7. You can run 31x10.50s on the factory 7" rimes, but they are too wide for the 6" rims. And you wouldn't want to run 31s with a 4-cylinder 4-speed anyway. Frankly, I think you are about as big as you would be happy with right where you are. Tires with a larger diameter would only reduce your final drive ratio still more, and the 4-cyl 4-speeds weren't rocket ships in stock trim. One option would be to look at 60-series tires. Keep your outside diameter but get a wider tire. Just be careful that the wider tire doesn't rub the inside of the rear wheel wells.

Fixed it for ya. Last I knew, differential gears were steel, and steel is a ferrous metal ... GOTCHA!

I agree. MUCH too big to be an FC-150

By pulling the shafts out, popping the backing plates off and leaving them attached to the truck. You mean leaving the wheel cylinders attached? Won't work. They aren't the same part number for the 9" and the 10" brakes. Plus, if you leave the hose attached to the wheel cylinder, there's no way to remove the 9" backing plate and install the 10".

If you're not set up to do the work yourself, and you don't plan to go larger than 235/75R15 for tires, I'd suggest you leave the axles alone. I have over 280,000 miles on a stock 1988 Cherokee with the 3.08 axles. I have moved up in tire size since it was new. It has seen a lot of miles with 235/75s, and when I was using it off-road I ran it with 30x9.50s. That was far from ideal on the trail, especially rock crawling, but it was quite livable on the street. At the moment, while I'm getting some other tires mounted, the XJ is wearing a set of 31x10.50s from my MJ. Sure, more gear would be better, but 235s aren't enough bigger than stock tires to make it absolutely necessary to change gearing. To do the swap, any way you might approach it, you're looking at several hundred dollars. IMHO it doesn't make economic sense for your situation.

Yes, bent fingers are a concern. And I don't think you can bend them back. You have to remember that the clutch is under a tremendous amount of pressure. There are a LOT of little coil springs inside there, and they are all pretty strong. I would be very concerned that fingers that had been bent and then straightened would be weakened and could fail in operation. I would not want any part of a clutch coming unglued at 3,000 RPM -- that's right next to my feet, and I'me grown rather fond of having my feet in one piece.

How do you plan to swap the 10" brakes onto the "new" axle without bleeding the brakes? Off the top of my head, I'd say it can't be done.

If you have 3.08s you must have a 5-speed. The 4.0L automatics came with 3.54 gearing, and for street use with 235s that's probably a good choice of ratio. You can get a front axle in that ratio out of any wrecked Cherokee or Comanche with an automatic and 4.0L. However, although any year front axle will bolt into your truck, there are differences in hubs, rotors, calipers and knuckles from year to year so it will be important to know what you're getting and make certain that ALL of those parts are compatible. Also, later model front axles and any from a Cherokee with Selec-Trac won't have the front axle disconnect. That's actually an advantage (one less thing to fail), but you'll have to plug the unused vacuum port. And you'll probably have to bite the bullet and buy new gears for the rear axle, since Dana 44s are getting hard to find. If you think you might move up to 30x9.50 tires, I would suggest 3.73 gears. However, it's unlikely you'll find that ratio in a junkyard Cherokee or Comanche.

They are only closing seven dealerships in Connecticut and, thankfully, my dealer made the cut. Most of the ones nearby that are being closed are Dodge dealerships, so my Chrysler-Jeep dealer may soon be a Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep dealer.

One other thing about cable. If you have a lot of excess cable, it's my understanding that you should NOT neatly coil it up under the seat, because the coils create impedence (or feedback, or interference). I don't know the right term, but I remember reading that when I was putting a CB in my XJ a number of years ago. Ideally, don't use an antenna cable longer than you need. Not because of loss strictly due to length, but due to the interference generated when you try to stow the excess.

Dunno, but IMHO it's worth a try.

And, unlike a Cherokee or Comanche, with a Suburban you actually have to drop the tank to replace the fuel pump. Or so I have been told.

I agree. I'm doing my part. 87 MJ, 88 MJ, 88 XJ -- the "new" car in the family is my wife's 2000 XJ. But even the Renix-era Jeeps are throw-away engineering. My first car was a 1950 Hudson. If the starter or generator went bad, you replaced the bushings and/or brushes (or the "Bendix" drive on the starter), and kept on truckin'. You can't repair alternators or starters today -- you use it as a core to buy a replacement. Brake cylinder rebuild kits? Try to find one. Chinese wheel cylinders today cost less than the rebuild kits cost when I was a teen-ager. Doesn't make economic sense to rebuild a wheel cylinder -- not that you could find the tools even if you could find the kit.

Kindly contact me by PM with the name of your attorney. My solicitor needs to know whom to contact regarding the initiation of a claim for libel. My reputation has been sullied, and you shall pay dearly!

No, It's kind of English -- and Canadian. My grandparents spoke (and wrote) "English" as opposed to American. I still find myself using "colour" and "humour" on occasion, and the grandparents have been gone for many years.

IMHO you will never be able to tighten a through bolt without a sleeve. Why do you think the factory used weld nuts?