Eagle

Start by testing the wiring. On the early XJs and MJs, the sender has an ohm range of 0 - 88 ohms. Zero ohms is empty, 88 ohms is full. So -- gauge reading empty could be a short circuit (zero resistance). The official test procedure from the 1988 FSM is: 1. Disconnect C139 -- Needle should go to Full. If the ground to G197 is okay. replace sender. If not ==> 2. Connect C139. Test C203 terminal 15. Reading should be between 0 and 88 ohms. If okay, replace gauge. If not okay, repair open to sender. The simplified version of that is, unplug the 3-wire connector outside the fuel tank. That gives you an open circuit on the sender (infinite resistance). The gauge should read Full with the connector unplugged. If so, jumper the small wire (violet?) to black on the chassis side of the connector (zero resistance). The gauge should swing to empty. If that doesn't work, try jumping the violet directly to the chassis (making certain you get a good ground). On the tank side of that same connector, put an ohmmeter on the violet and black wires. That's the circuit through the sending unit. The reading should be somewhere between zero and 88 ohms. (I don't think the scale is linear, though, so don't assume that a half tank will read exactly 44 ohms.)

HOW?!? My turn to rely on all you lads for advice. I'm a 5-speed guy, but due to my own stupdity I have to drop the pan on an AW4. I've got all the bolts out, but the pan appears to be RTVed in place. I can't find any way to get a knife or anything in there to start prying it off. What's the secret? Do I have to drop the front drive shaft?

The original XJ/MJ blades were ANCO, and there's a small recess on the top, next to the mounting pin, that has in it a little wire thingie that you lift up with a small screwdriver to release the blade from the post. There is no star washer, or anything similar. There is no latch beneath the blade. It sounds a lot like some of you have various aftermarket blades and don't know it. On the other hand, the guy asking the question also probably has aftermarket blades and doesn't know it. Yes, I know that my description is for the originals because I bought my XJ new in 1988 and I have made absolutely certain that I retained the original blades and arms. In fact, I just put a pair of aftermarket (ANCO replacement) blades on about half an hour ago because I haven't been able to find refills for the originals, so I am absolutely certain about how the originals come off.

Read, gentlemen. Max range for a properly-tuned legal 5-watt CB is probably 12 to 15 miles in flat terrain. When he's talking about reaching other continents, he's not talking direct, line-of-sight transmission he's talking about "skip" transmission (bouncing the signal off the bottom of the ionosphere), which typically works only at night and under perfect atmospheric conditions. Even with an (illegal) amplifier, you can't boost a CB to transmit 100 miles or more under all conditions. CBs are intended for short range communication. If you want to reliably reach out farther than 10 miles, get a short wave and a license.

Lifters "tick." Rod bearings "knock."

What's rounded off, the bolt heads or the nuts? Nut splitters work great on nuts, but they don't (and can't) do anything for you on bolt heads. Are you sure you're using the correct socket? The control arm bolts are metric, not SAE.

The knock could be one of three things: rod bearings; wrist pins; auto tranny flex plate. The flex plate always quiets down when there's load on the tranny and comes back when idling in neutral, so that's probably not the problem with yours. Bad wrist pins are unusual in the 4.0L engine, so the likely culprit is the rod bearings. Those are not expensive and can be changed with the engine in the vehicle, just by dropping the oil pan. It's a good idea to do the main bearings and the rear main seal while the pan is off. Do that and you're probably good for another 100,000 miles.

The deal with Fiat can't possibly be any worse than AMC's deal with Renault, and Fiat cars aren't any worse than Renaults were. As I understand it, the initial deal will give Fiat a 40% stake in Chrysler. That's not a controlling interest, so it's not the end of the universe. Hopefully, sane minds will prevail and somebody will remember what a Jeep is and why people used to want to buy a Jeep -- as opposed to a "Jeep."

Which DMV office do you go to? If you're in Cheshire, you're midway between Waterbury and Hamden. Stay away from Hamden. Go to the Waterbury office and ask them yourself if there's a lien. The last MJ made was in 1992. I find it incredible (in the literal sense of the word) that Chrysler corporation would still have a lien on a vehicle that's at LEAST 17 years old. In other words -- I don't believe the story. Let me know what they say in Waterbury.

Yep. It's a function of today's "instant gratification" society, unfortunately. It's another aspect of the same personality type that posts an obscure question at 3:47 a.m., and if they don't have 15 on-the-money responses by 7:00 a.m. they're posting stuff like, "Well, doesn't anybody here know ANYTHING?" How many times have we seen posts from newbies that start off with something like, "I know I could just use the search, but I'm in a hurry so I figured I'd just ask." Right -- so because you're in a hurry, *I* should use the search to find the link you're too lazy to look for yourself. Not. Some days it's a real struggle to remain civil. Some days I lose the struggle.

:agree: Yep. If you can't compress the springs, jack the chassis up of the springs to allow them to straighten out. Just fer Gawd's sake be careful. If the springs are bowed enough that the pinion is pointed straight up (or nearly so), they are essentially out of control, and an out-of-control automotive coil spring is NOT something to fool around with. If it goes the wrong way when you start jacking and pops loose, it WILL ruin your day.

I'm a moderator on another forum. We have a minimum participation before you can post classifieds -- ten posts/30 days. It isn't a lot, and it doesn't seem to discourage the types we would like to keep out but the owner of the forum isn't inclined to beef up the prerequisites, so we live with it. But we do require that any item being offered for sale have a price attached to it. We do not allow our forum to be used as an auction site, and we also do not allow items to be advertised on our forum if they are listed elsewhere on a forum. We've had a few people try to sneak that by us -- if a sharp-eyed member spots an intem that's in our Classifieds on an auction site, we remove the ad from our site and ban the person, permanently. It's not that we're opposed to someone making a buck. Our view is that, if someone has something one of our members wants or needs, it helps the membership to have it be advertised. What we will not tolerate is the kind of gamesmanship described above, wherein the seller lies and tries to play one buyer off against another. That's definitely unkewl.

Who cares if it's a repair title? A title is a title -- it's legal on the street. Nice job -- VERY nice job.

I believe the key can be removed only with the lock in the OFF-LOCKED position. Not in RUN, not in OFF-UNLOCKED, and not in ACCESSORY. With the lock/switch in the proper position, is there enough key visible to grab it with needle-nose pliers and pull it out? If so, once it's out you can have a new key made at any locksmith. The door key on the 86 was shared with the glovebox, and is different from the ignition. You cannot have the door and the ignition keyed alike on the older ones. The reason is that, although you can get one of the keys to fit both keyways (I don't remember which way that goes), the ignition is a 6-tumbler lock and the doors are 5-tumbler locks, so it's simply not possible to make one key that works both. I was certain for the longest time that I'd be able to make that work, until I spent an hour talking it over with a professional locksmith who showed me the error of my ways.

The Ford 8.8 is also a C-clip axle, so that's a wash. The Mopar axle will be the correct width, so that's a plus. Shock mounts don't matter because the MJ shock mounts are on the spring plates. Personally, I'd choose the Mopar over the Ford just to avoid having to use spacers. Gotta be worth a couple of hundred if it has the right gears.

This would mean your front springs must be bowed forward, correct? If so, you could try CAREFULLY putting a spring compressor on the front side of each spring and using that to rotate the axle back. But be CAREFUL -- unless you've had one get away (which happened to my father a long time ago in our garage, you have NO idea how much energy is stored in those springs.

:agree: Axle u-joint.

If you mean "Who sells a full-length brake line already bent to fit a Comanche" -- it doesn't exist. Not even a dealer can do that for you. If you can get the original off intact, you can send it to Classic Tubing and they can duplicate it for you. It'll take time, and it'll cost big bux.

How? Why? Please explain.

I think you have to re-think the pinion angle. A double cardan has two u-joints in it, so it is self-cancelling for phase. The other end of the shaft is a third u-joint, which has to run at essentially zero angle to avoid out-of-phase vibrations and harmonics.

The latch relay has something to do with shutting down the injectors when you power down. It isn't the main power center for the vehicle -- the 2.5L Renix models don't even have a latch relay. That's about all I can tell you. Maybe one of the electrical/electronic genius types like Hornbrod can provide more/better info.

Ya know, the ECU uses that input for more than just controlling the auxiliary fan. Put the stock sensor back in and hook it up, and find another place for the mechanical gauge sensor. Without the stock sensor, your ECU is "flying blind" and you probably aren't getting out of open loop mode operation.

Rear = Oxygen Sensor Heater Relay Middle = Fuel Pump Relay Front = Power Latch Relay

Vapor lock can occur only with the old, mechanical "puller" style fuel pumps mounted on the engine. If the fuel in the line vaporizes due to heat between the tank and the pump, the pump loses prime and can't pull fuel from the tank. This is not possible with the pump mounted in the tank -- the fuel is under positive pressure at all times. Your bother's problem is something else.

Not if you buy a one-row radiator with plastic tanks. Just a longer way to spell J-U-N-K in my opinion.