Eagle

: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.

For the past few days I have felt an odd wobbling in the '88 XJ. Not very noticeable at highway speeds, but at very slow speeds it definitely felt like the Jeep was "limping." I couldn't see anything wrong looking at it when parked, so today I jacked it up, pulled all four tires, and put on the set of BFG ATs I ws running a couple of years ago. On inspection, I found a huge blister in the TREAD area of the left rear tire -- and the blistered portion was already worn completely through the tread and chewing up the cords. I'm exceedingly glad I did this today, because when I drive to work tomorrow it's a 60+ mile round trip, with about half of it highway. I seriously doubt that tire would have survived. The moral of the story is -- if something feels or sounds different or "wrong," pay attention and check it out. It may be nothing, or it may be ... something.

You should still consider replacing the flex hoses. The insides deteriorate over time and they begin to act like check valves -- they allow fluid to flow into the caliper, but not back out.

Another possibility is that the harmonic balancer on the front of the crankshaft is starting to fail.

Pete, have you gone over to the dark side? Timing "belt"? In an MJ? The 2.5L uses the same silent roller timing "chain" that the 4.0L does.

Actually, I think the XJ stayed with the high pinion through 1999, and went to low pinion beginning in 2000.

There was no 2.8L in 87 or 88. Someone's feeding you bogus input.

I generally put a box end wrench on the nut, then reach under the fender and turn the shock. If your shocks don't have a metal dust cover on top, though, that's not a viable approach.

The cut-off is '93 or '94. Seats from a '96 XJ will definitely be the newer type.

Here's a repeat of the "Official" way to measure ride height, from the MJ FSM (Factory Service Manual). Actually, not in the FSM but in a book of IS bulletins that came with it: Front: Measure from top of axle tube to underside of frame rail, inboard of the coil spring. Do NOT measure from the diff housing or shift motor housing. 2WD models should be 6-3/4" plus or minus 1/2". 4WD models should be 7-3/4" plus or minus 1/2". Rear: Measure the vertical distance between the top of the axle tube and the underside of the frame rail inboard of the jounce bumper. 2WD models should be 8.2" plus or minus 1/2". 4WD models should be 9.2 inchws plus or minus 1/2".

Heck, some days I don't know my own middle name. No, I don't know everything and don't make any claims to. I've just been around Jeeps, especially XJs and MJs, for awhile longer than most of you.