Eagle

It's impossible to know everything, and I am frequently amused by people who like to think that they do. To survive (if not succeed) in this world, what's more important is knowing where to look for information, so that you DON'T have to rely on fallible, human memory.

He didn't say he couldn't write ...

First step -- pull the fuse and see if you can shift manually.

Pete - you've got mail

I can't lock up the brakes on my '88 XJ now, either. But it's on 31" tires. I bought it new, so I know I could lock 'em up when it was new. It doesn't apply to the MJ, but much of the bad rap the XJ brakes get is due to the proportioning valve getting gummed up and not allowing the brakes to get full (or any) pressure to the rear circuit. The corollary in the MJ is when people work on the rear brakes and then don't bleed the rear circuit properly. When (if) I get the old XJ back on the road, a high priority will be to open up the proportioning valve and clean out the gunk.

I have the hulk of an '86 XJ in the yard. It has a 2.8L V6, auto, and 3.73 gears. I haven't seen many '86 MJs, so I can't say that I've ever seen an MJ with 3,73s. Looks like for '86 the choices in the MJ were 3.31, 3.55, or 4.11

Like JustEmptyEveryPocket, I also disagree with this statement. I don't regard the change to the later booster as being at all mandatory. It's an option if you want to run larger tires, but IMHO completely unnecessary with any stock size tires. The original brake system on the older XJs and the MJ was completely capable of locking up all four wheels, and that's all the braking you need.

THe clutch peddle is supposed to go to the floor -- the brake peddle isn't. So your brake peddle is NOT bottoming out, it's building pressure like it should. You said the previous owner replaced the brake lines. My first guess is that he screwed up the two lines to the rear (one primary, one emergency bypass) and you have no rear brakes.

What do you mean "almost no peddle movement before it bottoms out"? That's impossible, unless your peddle starts out sitting much too close to the floor. What you are describing is NOT normal. On stock tires, you should be able to lock up the tires easily on dirt, and probably on pavement. It sounds to me like you aren't getting braking on all four wheels.

Carburetors are basically pretty simple devices. The problems arise when you take a simple device that has been working just fine for decades, and try to overlay computer controls on it. There used to be a guy here in Connectucut who went by the name of Mr. Carburetor. He did carb work for many of the stock car teams who used to race at the old Riverside Park speedway in Agawam, Massachusetts. I once took him a carb from an XJ 2.6. He got it running, but he advised me that the best thing I could do would be to discard that thing and buy a "real" carburetor.

Photos?

Yes, you can overfill a cooling system. The OP has an '89, according to his signature. The '89 has the closed cooling system. The coolant bottle on the firewall is an expansion tank. It is supposed to be filled halfway when cold -- there a tab sticking up in the middle of it that's the full indicator. Coolant expands as it heats up. With the closed system, you need the air space in that bottle to allow for expansion. If you overfill it, the pressure of expansion will cause something to let go. Usually that's the cap on the bottle, but I suppose if could be a hose. Good call by yxmj, too. It's very possible that your new water pump doesn't have the correct impeller.

Maybe the 97+ XJ taillights. I can't recall ever seeing '84-'96 XJ taillights adapted to an MJ, and I can't imagine how it would even be possible (other than as a complete, total hack job).

How badly broken is yours? I wouldn't view this as a permanent solution, but to avoid another ticket? Hell, yeah. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPZ8HF2?tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FS887A?tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

So which terminal on the gauge goes where?

The sensor isn't on the engine, so there's no pressure. How are you getting it to read 40 psi? Looking at your setup, shouldn't it be reading 0?

You're right -- my bad. The above is copyrighted. Please do not reproduce.

XJs are spring over, so the springs are arched so they sit basically flat at curb weight. MJ springs gave more arch. Rancho lists the same AAL kit for both the XJ and the MJ. IIRC, they claim it provides a 2-1/2" lift for both. I figured that was impossible so one day I called Rancho and managed to get through to a product engineer. I explained what I thought was wrong with their listing. The gal listened, put me on hold for about five minutes, then came back and told me I was right -- she said in an MJ the AAL kit should be good for about 1" to 1-1/2" of lift. So there's your basis for comparison. In an XJ, another XJ main lift is good for 1-1/4" to 1-1/2". My guess is that another #2 leaf would give you maybe 1". I think an MJ main or #2 leaf would probably be good for 2" to 3".

Yeah, that's not an MJ, that's a "Cheromanche" -- an XJ with a bobbed roof. Like this bad boy:

Yeah, use the complete pack, with the eyes cut off the main leaves, and it will fix the sag problem.

Bastard pack is the way to go. Which leaf broke, #2? Here's the deal -- using a main leaf from another XJ, with the eyes cut off as an add-a-leaf generates 1-1/4" to 1/1-2" lift -- with new springs. On the 2001 XJ that I bought for my daughter, the #2 leaf on the right side was broken. I had a pair of springs from a '92 or '93 that a guy gave me as my reward for helping him install his lift. So I cut the eyes off, dropped all the original leaves out of the '01, and put the complete '92 spring packs in along with leaving my original main leaves in place. I ended up with a ride height 3/4" taller than stock, and I evened that out with 3/4" lift spacers on the front coils. Ride was very comfortable. Nobody would ever complain that it was "too harsh." The guy who bought it when I sold it loved it.

My late wife was from Chile. I used to see a LOT of XJs and a fair number of MJs in and around Santiago.

Pins? On a CPS? What pins?

What year is your cluster out of?

Yes, just swap the axles. Down the road, though, remember that you will have to buy front brake parts for a '92 rather than for a '90.