Eagle

See -- you youngsters never listen to the old men. What the hell does a certified olde pharte know about treachery and deception? Good job on the rebound, though, lads. Sorry I've been away from the computer this evening, but I'm home now and will endeavor to hold up my end of the stick.

I envy you. Maine is my favorite state for vacations. Take pics, please. Maybe when you get back we can connect, I can look at your pics, and we can talk about Jeeps (and ... other stuff of mutual interest).

The Jeep rims in the photo you linked are 15x6 -- the only factory XJ/MJ rim that wasn't 15x7 (or 16x7 for a couple of the last years of the XJ). The 31" tires you seem to be looking at are 31x11.5 -- that's too wide for 6" rims. The only way you'll ever be able to keep the tread flat on the pavement is to run the pressure so low it'll be unsafe. The rule of thumb is that tire width should not exceed rim width by more than 4 inches. 6-inch rims ==> maximum tire width 10". You can cheat on that by a bit for dedicated off-road tires that stay aired down and run at low speeds, but for a daily driver tire you need to be sure you get even tread wear at a pressure that's high enough to prevent overheating the rubber. For those rims I would suggest that you either stay with 235/75s or look at 30x9.50s. Interco doesn't offer a 30x9.50 in the tire you have in mind, so I guess your best choice in that tire would be the 29x10.50.

Are you sure on those factory calibrations? My understanding was that the 84-90 vehicles had the temp sender for the gauge rated at 0 to 88 ohms, and the one for 91 and newer was rated at 104 - 0 ohms. Are you sure those numbers you have aren't the ratings for the temp sender on the side of the block that inputs to the ECU?

Okay, you slackers, get back to work. I have managed to boost Steph's lead back up to 200 points, but that's not a comfortable margin IMHO. I'm signing off for the night, so I hope some of you west coast keyboard jockeys will pick up the slack. I anto to see a 300-point spread when I log tomorrow, got it? HOO-rah!

First, it's important to consider not only tires, but rims. Stock Jeep rims have 5-1/4" backspacing. There are NO aftermarket rims with that backspacing. The largest tire that fits a stock XJ or MJ on OEM Jeep rims with no rubbing is 235/75R15. Put those tires on rims with less backspacing and they may rub the flares when the suspension compresses. On OEM Jeep rims you can run 30x9.50s and even 31x10.50s. They will -- on stock OEM Jeep rims -- tuck inside the flares and fenders when the suspension compresses. They will, however, rub slightly on the lower control arms. However, they will still rub on the lower control arms even if you run 4 inches of lift. Switching to rims with less backspacing will solve the problem of rubbing the lower control arms -- but then you have the problem of the tire crashing into the flares and sheet metal when the suspension compresses. IMHO the optimum tire size for an UNlifted MJ is 30x9.50. I have run mine with the 31s after I took out the lift and it was okay, but it just didn't look right. The tires looked like they had been stuffed in there.

Is that the one with the disc brakes? There are a few ZJ's at the yard. I wonder, nah too much hassle to spring The 8.25 as used in the XJ did not have disc brakes. Dunno if they ever used the 8.25 in the ZJ. I believe the ZJs all got either the Dana 35 or the crappy aluminum "Dana 44"

You aren't talking to Jeep people. The rear main seal in my '88 XJ was changed in the vehicle -- no lift. I know several people from NAXJA who have done it ... including a few who also replaced all the rod bearings ... with the engine in the vehicle. Yes, it can be done.

"Coolant overfill"? What year is your MJ? Do you have the old style system with the plastic pressure bottle, or do you have the new style with a regular radiator cap?

Actually, there can be excessive "slop" that you can feel as vagueness in the steering when the movement is so slight you can't see it. I prefer to grap the bar and let part of my hand overlap the bracket (this works on both ends). Have your asistant turn the steering wheel and you feel for movement. If you can feel the bar moving relative to the bracket, the track bar is on its way south.

I have a $79 Actron from Auto Zone and a $39 one from Harbor Freight. They both work. The sequence and menu access is different, so if I go back and forth I have to read the instructions, but they both read the codes and clear the fault indication just fine. Skip the Harbor Freight one that looks like nothing but a digital read-out. That's all it is. It flashes the codes, three times I think, then AUTOMATICALLY erases them unless you abort by unplugging the scanner. Since they now sell the "real" ones with buttons for the same price, the other one is worse than useless.

You don't have to remove the engine to replace the rear main seal. It's a 2-piece seal. You can drop the oil pan, remove the rear bearing cap, punch out (carefully) the old upper half and snake the new piece in there with the engine in the vehicle. It's a MUCH easier job if you use the one-piece oil pan gasket for the new (95+ engines rather than the old three-piece set. Don't worry if they tell you it won't fit -- it does.

Ditto

They were still available from the dealer a couple of years ago. Doesn't matter if it's a Renix -- the factory one replaces a freeze plug in the block.

If you can determine which terminal on the gauge is negative, try running a separate, dedicated ground wire from that terminal to a known-good ground somewhere on the chassis.

Yes

Zero ohms should put the gauge to zero psi. 88 ohms or more would peg the needle. Obviously, because he didn't know what was wrong or how to fix it, so an aftermarket gauge was the easiest way to know if he had oil pressure. I've bought used MJs with the same "solution."

Do Internet Exploder, Firefox, and Netscape all share cookies? Could we open all three browsers and vote through each independently of the others?

I just used one this past week to wire up the relay for my off-road lights. here's what I did: (1) Top = To Relay for Lights (2) Mid = To +12v power source (3) Bot = Empty For some reason it worked like that... not sure why it didn't need a ground at least to get the the light to work, but it worked just fine as above. - Ben It's a SPST switch. It only needs two contacts to complete the switched circuit. The third is only a ground for the internal pilot light. Whatever you're controlling doesn't need that.

Sibling rivalry is never a good thing. Been there, done that. Don't get me started on the Iraq "shock & awe" boondoggle. I don't think this forum is the right venue for getting into politics. Better we stick to Jeeps ... and "wimmin."

Don't recall, but I think you can just use a multi-meter or even a test light to find two terminals that are switched. You should use a relay on the fan anyway, or tap the switch into the fan relay circuit, so it won't be carrying much current. Obviously, there's one contact for power in and one for power out. The third is the ground contact for the switch pilot light.

Length aside, I think you're going to find that a front shaft is too small for use as the rear, primary drive shaft. I would only use a front shaft back there in an emergency.

Mechanical or electric?

No, man, you obviously don't understand psyops. The idea is to hit it SO hard up front that any other potential entries are totally and completely demoralized, to the point they don't even bother. From that pojnt forward it's a walk in the park. FUDD: Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt and Dread Doncha' know nuttin'?

AAARG Eagle. I sat there waiting for 999 to clear, then slammed my vote home. Little did I know it was you mate! :cheers: No problem. I'll just have to be more attentive when we get to #2000. When does this madness end, again? We gotta do this fer a freakin' MONTH?