Eagle

OEM Jeep 15x7 steel "wagon wheels." However, I'm so pleased with the ride and handling that I think I'll swap these tires onto a set of Jeep alloys. Gotta be stock rims. Aftermarket rims push the tires too far outboard, and then you start whacking the flares.

:agree: Do it yourself. The prices you're getting are probably fair in terms of hours involved, but the job isn't difficult. However, I'm having trouble understanding why you had to limp home on the parking brake. The rear brakes only do about 20% to 30% of the work in an MJ -- the front brakes do most of the stopping. I've driven both an XJ and an MJ around with a blown line to the rear. The peddle feels a bit lower and spongier, but the actual stopping is virtually unaffected. If you had no brakes because you blew a line to the rear, then you already had a serious problem and didn't recognize it.

Any spring shop can get or make you new stock springs. Lift springs are more of a specialty item. Are you looking for stock springs or lifted?

Looks like I will be getting a TJ tank and cluster now! Yeah, they are directly interchangeable, which is why I'm so surprised the senders have different values. The idea was to have the cluster be cross-platform applicable. The guy I know who did it, several years ago, was Rich Pearson from PA. I'd say you have two ways to go. I gather you're upgrading to the new XJ interior, since the sender values for the actual XJ/MJ are far different than either of the ranges you're discussing. You can use the XJ cluster and just find a TJ gas guage, or you can use a TJ cluster and, if you already have the speedo running for your MJ, swap the XJ speedo into the TJ cluster.

Are you certain that larger injectors will mess up the overhead display? I assume you mean the MPG function. How is that calculated, and why would larger injectors make it less accurate than it already is?

No, the 8.8 would NOT be the easiest swap. The absolute easiest, obviously, would be an MJ Dana 44. Since they are becoming scarce, next up would be an XJ Dana 44 or an XJ Chrysler 8-1/4. Both of those will need the spring perches relocated ... even if you plan on a 6" lift and spring-over (SOA) conversion, the spacing is different for the MJ than the XJ so they'll still need to be moved. With the 8.8, in addition to the perches you also have to deal with changing the pinion yoke to fit the MJ driveshaft, and the fact that the 8.8 is significantly narrower than the MJ axles. To run 32s or 33s with an 8.8 you would absolutely need either aftermarket rims with a LOT less backspacing than factory (which would result in other problems if you run matching rims up front), or spacers for the rear. Using an XJ axle is a lot cleaner and easier. And the 8-1/4, if you get the 29-spline version from a '97 or newer XJ, is nearly as strong as a Dana 44.

dumb question, whats onboard air? It's a compressor mounted in the truck for airing up the tires after you've done an off-road excursion and have to drive home on pavement. Many Jeepers adapt the a/c compressor for this job rather than buy an aftermarket electric compressor.

The previous owner probably tossed in the lift and didn't buy new shocks, which would leave them pretty well maxed out. The ideal solution would obviously be to buy new shocks. If money is tight, you can buy extensions for the upper studs that add maybe 1-1/2" or 2". Whether you get new shocks or use the extenders, you should also extend your bump stops. You don't want the suspension to mash the shock when a wheel moves UP in the wheel well. The shock should not be asked to serve as a bump stop.

It appears you are correct. If the gauge you have requires 270 ohms to register empty, and the sender you use only goes up to 220 ohms, the gauge can't ever indicate empty. It will stop at whatever point on the dial corresponds to 220 ohms. Are you certain that the TJ sender is different? I have a 2000 XJ FSM and that confirms the 270 ohms. But I know a guy in NAXJA who put a 98 or 99 TJ cluster into a 97 XJ and he didn't encounter any problems (that he seemed to be aware of). I have always thought the 97+ XJ and TJ clusters were completely interchangeable, and that would seem to require that the sender values would also have to be the same. Of course, we used a TJ cluster with an XJ sender, so maybe his just registers empty before he runs out of gas, so he'd never notice.

I'd like to go back to the original post for a moment or three: WHY would stroking your 4.0L engine in any way deactivate your overhead console display?

The Wrangler used a carbureted 4.2L through 1990, and then went to the injected 4.0L in 1991 through 1994. Carbs use a maximum of 7 psi, whereas injection needs around 40. I'd say there's NO way that one listing fits all those vehicles. Correction: It only lists the Wrangler from 1991 and newer.

As already noted, for aluminum you need TIG, not MIG. I have a 110-volt flux-core welder. It's suitable only for very light-duty work, and only if you don't really care what the welds look like. I wish I had bought one that takes gas. And if you have 240 volts available in your garage, don't even slow down when you walk past the 110-volt welders. With gas, floor pans -- yes. Bumpers -- maybe, depending on how they are detailed, but probably requiring pre-heating and multiple passes. SOA lift? Not if I'm on the same road with you.

Before I jump to page 2 and see other responses, here are my guesses: Ford PU (+/- 50) 55 Chevrolet BelAir ?? ?? 52 Buick 53 Plymouth 57 Ford Fairlane Ford (mid-60s) Packard (mid-50s) ?? 50 Ford 47 Packard

I know you can run 31x10.50 tires on an MJ with no lift, but many years ago Ed Stevens over on NAXJA wrote that you can do so on an XJ with no lift. Well, I've had two sets of "normal" size street tires (225/75-15 and 235/75-15) buy the farm in short order, so to be mobile while I save pennies for new shoes, I dragged out the 31s I used to run on the 88 MJ and slapped them on Old Faithful. I may never take 'em off. They are big enough that inflating them to 30 psi would mean running only on the center rib of the tread, so for now I have them at a (hopefully) conservative 27 psi. With a 5-speed and 3.07 gears it feels a lot like driving a 4-cylinder, but the ride is incredible. I always carry a few tools, spare parts and "consumables" (oil and coolant) in the back, and it doesn't seem bothered by the weight at all. There is no rubbing in the rear, and only a bit of the standard LCA interference in the front at full steering lock.

My friend who restores old Hudsons deals with an old-time radiator shop that refurbishes and lines gas tanks. For a vehicle for which you can't buy a replacement tank, it makes sense. A new tank for a SWB MJ cost me $150 (approximately) two years ago. The cost to have them open up, clean, and reline the old tank would have been about twice that amount.

JC Whitney sells a glass polishing compound. Depending on how bad it is, white automotive polishing compund (not the red "rubbing" compound) followed by (believe it or not) a good brand of whitening toothpaste may be all you need. Use a felt polishing wheel in an electric drill. If you want to try the polishing compound, get a piece of scrap window glass somewhere and test it on that first, before attacking the truck window.

Will a short bed tank fit a long bed? Not without modifying something. The tank for the SWB chassis was designed to fit the SWB chassis. It is a different size than the tank for the LWB chassis.

The 2.5L was available with a 5-speed, the AX5. Your 4-speed is the AX4. They are identical except that the 5-speed adds a fifth, overdrive, gear. 3.73 isn't enough gear for a 5-speed 2.5L. The factory used 4.10s, and for primarily off-road 4.56 or 4.88 would be better. Changing to an AX5 will not get you a granny first gear. The first four gears are all the same ratio you have now.

All Jeep 4.0L engines were EFI. However, the 4.0L is a direct descendent of the AMC 232/258/4.2L, which was carbureted. If you want a carburetor, pick a nice 2-bbl (or 4-bbl) carb (not the one they used from the factory), get a distributor from a 258 or 4.2L, and go to it.

The 2.5L is all cast iron, and you did specify fully dressed. I'll guess 400 pounds, based on how much trouble I had moving one around the yard.

You can order new ones through the parts chains or any radiator shop. Should cost you around $150. The longbed had two capacities -- you might as well get the large one, since the price will be the same.

My guess is that Mr. Wonderful suddenly decided he isn't happy because he suddenly realized that he may soon be responsible for yet another mouth to feed. And that another child in the house means there will be less attention directed to/at/on him. On the bright side, maybe he'll decide he's REALLY unhappy, and do your sister a favor and bail out. It might seem rough on your sister in the short term, but in the long term it might be much better to unload the baggage now rather than down the road.

As CW wrote, "Remember ... it's a Jeep." Not certain, but my understanding is that they stayed with the 21-spline several years longer with the 2.5L than they did with the 4.0L. With the 4.0L I believe the spline count changed when they went from the BA 10/5 to the AX15, and that was a mid-year 1989 change. There's also an issue, I believe, of two different input shaft lengths. Bottom line is ... it's best to open it up and do a physical comparison.

Keep in mind that the front grommet (and line) is the intake line. If you have oil being pushed out the front and into the air cleaner (or all over the engine), that's an indication that the rear line is clogged and not functioning, or that the engine has excessive blow-by.

So true, so true. Who the heck thinks up the names of some of these (alleged) colors, anyway?