Eagle

I don't see how that could be a great resource for WJ wheels, since the WJ has a 5-on-5 bolt circle and the wheels shown are pretty much all 5-on-4 1/2.

I posted a quote from the FSM on measuring height awhile back. Try a search. If you can't find it I'll dig it out again, but I'm too tired to go looking tonight.

The 6-slot steelie listed as the base wheel for the XJ & TJ is correct only for late-model XJs. That's a 15x7 rim that was introduced in the 1988 model year as an option. The base rim through at least 1990 was a 15x6 rim with 9 rectangular slots around the perimeter of the center section.

I didn't know you could reprogram for yourself. Is that covered in the FSM? I have a leftover remote from the '99 WJ lemon that Chrysler boiught back from me. I also have a 2000 XJ that replaced the {99 WJ. If I have both original remotes from the XJ, can I add the WJ as a third remote that will work on that vehicle? I was under the impression that all reprogramming had to be done with the dealer's scan tool.

For all the rhetoric about the Yoo Ess of Ay being a capitalist, free market economy -- it's a myth. This country has had artificial price supports for years for things like milk and dairy products, soy products, etc. And we manipulate other agricultural markets by paying "farmers" not to grow certain crops. I don't know what the answer is for the economy, but one thing I am fairly sure of ... it ain't gonna get better in an hurry, no mater what they try in Washington,. And the more they meddle with it, the longer the recovery will take.

Nope. It's not a variable resistor, like the sender for the gauges. It's an ON-OFF switch. The only way to test it is to connect a small battery and test light to it, and suspend the sensor tip in a pan of water on the stove. Use a candy thermometor to monitor the water temp and see when the light comes on.

Look, Mate. Sarcasm is not appreciated when we are trying to help you with YOUR problem. If you don't want help, stay off the computer and figure it out by yourself. If the engine / cooling system was hot enough to turn on the light, or even hot enough to be at normal operating temperature, removing the radiator cap WOULD have resulted in a geyser, the radiator cap being launched, and your father getting scalded. The temperature of the system runs around 210 degrees or so. Human skin gets scalded at temperatures over about 110 or 120 degrees. If it didn't blow up when your father removed the cap, it wasn't up to temperature, and thus definitely should not have been blinking the light on and off. If your radiator was full but not getting hot, is it possible it was frozen? What was the air temperature, and what temperature is your anti-freeze good for? Also, is it possible that your water pump isn't pumping? Or that your thermostat is stuck, either closed or partially closed?

Don't count the factory MJ overload leaf. It normally doesn't make contact with the rest of the spring pack. You want to fit the AAL into the rest of the pack wherever it goes so the lengths go progressively from shortest on the bottom to longest just beneath the main leaf.

If I were going to swap in a V8, it would be an AMC 401.

There is no way your father, any other mortal human, or even Superman could open a radiator cap of a vehicle at operating temperature and properly filled, and not have a LOT of very hot coolant come spewing out. My guess is that your coolant level was so low that the coolant was overheated, but because of the amount of coolant (not) in the system, there was an air pocket in the head where the sensor is and it was "seeing" coolant only sporadically. What year MJ and what engine? It would help to know what kind of cooling system your truck has.

Define "easy." A SBC engine does not just "drop in" to an MJ engine bay. It's a tight fit, and it requires a bunch of adapters. And after you get all that worked out -- you can't fit a radiator big enough to cool it effectively. Everyone seems to think a SBC is the answer to all situations, but it's not. Even with the sheet metal changes needed for an '86, a 4.0L swap is a lot easier and more practical, and better suited to the way most people drive/use an MJ. For an '86 with the 2.8L, the simplest, most cost-effective swap is a GM 3.4L V6.

It has to be the switch, or the wiring harness. The MJ headlights don't use relays -- the switch has a circuit breaker built in and that's the only protection for the headlight circuit.

Command-Trac referred to the 207 t-case up through 1986, and to the 231 after that. The 242 (and from 84 thru 86 the 228/229) was called Selec-Trac. Command-Trac was the base 4WD, and Selec-Trac was the option with full-time 4WD available.

The MJ does not have locking hubs, the stub axles are always engaged. What it has is a central axle disconnect on the right side axle shaft, just like on the YJ. The disconnect is vacuum actuated, and if the light is blinking on and off my guuess is that you have a vacuum leak and it is disengaging itself at random times. There's a vacuum harness that plugs onto the vacuum fittings on the shift motor. That happens to be directly beneath the oil filter, and years of oil changes may have dripped enough oil on it to soften the boots to where they won't make a good seal. If that's the case, you have two choices: Buy a new vacuum harness for about $20; or manually engage the axle, shim it to stay that way, and forget it.

The FSM does indeed say not to resurface the flywheel, and friends of mine from NAXJA who have unwittingly allowed shops to do so ended up having to later have the flywheel replaced anyway because the new clutch wouldn't work right. I have heard some people say they had the flywheel resurfaced and didn't experience problems, but IMHO it's a huge risk to take, because the cost of a new flywheel is small compared to the labor for doing the job twice. Do NOT use the slave cylinder that comes in the clutch kit. Use only factory slave and master cylinders, or you'll be replacing them within about six months.

You are correct.

^^^ That's also my understanding. "Selec-Trac" does not necessarily mean a 242 transfer case. The 242 was not used in 1986 ... which was the only year Selec-Trac was offered in the MJ.

The V6 also won't have a crank position sensor (or a place for it on the bellhousing). The 87 2.5L needs a CPS. I believe the bellhousing is a separate part and can be swapped.

Does your 3" lift include bump stop extenders for the front? 31x10.50s on stock Jeep rims will stuff inside the stock sheet metal and flares. However, when the rear axle articulates, the inside shoulder of the high side tire will rub in the rear. If you run rims with less backspacing, then the front tires will NOT clear the sheet metal, and you'll have to either remove the flares and hack the fenders, or extend the bump stops and give up a lot of articulation. If you run spacers just on the rear, with Jeep rims, you solve the rubbing in the rear without creating problems in the front. You will not be happy trying to run serious mud with 31s and a 4-cylinder. Mud needs enough horsepower to keep the wheels turning, and the 4-banger will just get bogged down with those tires. 4.10s are the right ratio for 31s with the 4.0L engine, but not with the 2.5L.

What are you trying to accomplish? You can run 30x9.50-15 or 31x10.50-15 tires on a Comanche with NO lift. With a 2.5L engine and standard 4.10 gears, I would advise not going larger than 30" tires. I wheeled even a Cherokee (which has less rear wheel well clearance than an MJ) quite happily for several years on 30" tires with no lift. If you go with 30s and maybe a 2" lift, you'll be in good shape. The important thing is to figure out what you want to accomplish, and then choose your setup to achieve that result. Don't start by deciding you "need" 'X' amount of lift and 'Y' size tires, and then asking IF that's going to work for you.

Fill it up, step on the peddle, and see where the juice squirts out. I have yet to see a master cylinder do a sudden, catastrophic fail. There's nothing in the master to blow out like that. The hose has a rubber section that can blow. Been there and done that (125 miles with no clutch!). The slave has a bellows that can blow. Been there and done that, too. (25 miles with no clutch.) The master, though, usually fails gradually and quietly, taking out the fuse panel in the process.

The TJ could be had with a D44 as an option. But that's set up for coil springs, so you'd still have to weld on perches.

Gents, I share your confusion. There seems to be a step missing here ...

JC Whitney used to carry them. Don't worry if they don't lift the MJ -- they list them for the YJ Wrangler, and as long as they are for the same rectangular headlights, they'll fit.

To do it as a drop-in, you basically have to strip the 3.4 and use the Jeep manifolds and carburetor. You get a nicer, more powerful and more economical engine if you retain the GM fuel injection, but that means some work in getting it all hooked up. Either way, you have to use the Jeep flywheel and have it neutral balanced to work with the 3.4 engine.