Eagle

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?

:huh???: But, like ... how do you drive while you're doin' that?

If you do that, you'll destroy the backing plate. I suggest you take another try at turning the star adjuster all the way in. Even if there's a lip from wear, the drum had to go on over the shoes. I've never seen a lip so bad that the drum won't come right off once the star wheel is cranked all the way in. Are there parking brake cables attached to this axle? If so, cut them off as close to the baclkng plate as you cen get. They could be frozen in the extended position and that could be what's holding the shoes out against the drum.

I thought the whole point of text messaging was that NOTHING uses more than four letters. If u cnt say it in 4 ltrs it dsnt cnt.

Are the 9" Chrysler drums cast iron? If so, hit the outer shoulder of the drum HARD with a sledge hammer. It should shatter into 7,347 pieces. (Count 'em if you don't believe me.)

Fuel pump. My NAXJA friend in PA has done two in his wife's 'Burban

The fault lies with our "education" system. Schools now value the students' self-esteem more than they value actually teaching anything, so teachers rarely (if ever) correct writing such as this when they see it on assignments. Young people today graduate high school as functional illiterates. Those who go on to college don't get any better there, because the professors' view (rightly, in most respects, but also wrongly since it perpetuates the problem) is that it isn't their job to be teaching high school grammar and punctuation ... so they don't. Which means that most college graduates are also functionally illiterate. Ask my brother some time what he thinks of the University of Connecticut mens' basketball team. Then spend some time on any Internet forum. Even this one. How many posts have we seen asking how to bleed the breaks on a Comanche, or asking if running 33" tires will brake a Dana 35 axle? Whatever vestiges of the English language the high school English teachers haven't destroyed, Hooked on Phonics has finished off with the final coup de grace. Personally, I am much more afraid that morons like this are being elected to positions in which they write the laws we are expected to follow. How the blazes can you write a law that makes any sense if you can't spell your own name correctly?

hold on eagle, are you sure on the 55? because i don't think the BelAir model had window posts 55 or 56. The 57 had the taller, skinnier fins on the back. Maybe not a BelAir? Definitely a Chebbie, though. Can't believe I missed the Lincoln, though. :doh:

The stock track bar bolt is metric, that may be your problem.

Push the drums back on. Turn each drum in the reverse direction while pulling out. Are you certain the star wheels won't turn at all? How did you try screwing them in?

On the 91 and 92 MJ (and 91+ XJ) the ECU is on the inside of the driver's side fender, next to the airbox. I believe the transmission controller is still under the dashboard on the passenger side, like on the Renix years, but I'm not certain on that. Since this is going into a non-Jeep vehicle, it's impossible to know what wiring you'll need. Best suggestion, IMHO, would be to take the entire harness, and then use the parts you need.