Eagle

Don't lower it by cutting any stock parts if you're going to convert to 4WD down the road. If you go 4WD you will have to UN-lower it. Otherwise the oil pan will be banging on the front differential. You can't lower a 4WD MJ by more than about an inch without having problems.

he said that it comes with fluid too.. is that so?? Yes, that's correct. It's because they're such a nuisance to bleed, this saves the shop techs a lot of wasted time. Just be VERY careful to route the line as far away from the exhaust manifold as you possibly can, because it's plastic and it can (and does) melt. The results are not pretty.

'87 and '89 are both Renix years, so you're looking at a straight swap. No adapters needed. The AX-15 will bolt right up to either engine with no problems. The wiring harness under the hood does the same thing, but unless your '89 is a very early production vehicle (made in late 1988), it will NOT have the C101 connector high on the firewall, in front of the driver. The '87 will have the C101 connector. But if you're just swapping engines, there would be no reason for you to change the wiring -- just label everything when you disconnect it, and then put everything back where it came from. The serpentine belt routing for the a/c versus non-a/c I think stays the same. IIRC there's an idler pulley on the non-a/c engine that sits where the compressor would sit.

It should shift when you control it manually. There's no 2nd gear when you do it that way, but you should be able to get 3rd and 4th. Pull that fuse and try it manually. The FSM diagnostic tree says to remove the fuse when you shift manually. That deactivates the TCU.

Will it shift manually if you use the shift lever to select OD, 3, or 1-2? Did you check the fluid level? Did you check the fuse for the TCU?

Be sure you have the composite rotors. '90 should be the first year, so you'd want the hubs that fit '90 thru mid-'99 -- but if yours is an early production '90 with cast rotors, you'll need the old style hubs.

F150 coils are too stiff even when used at full length. Cutting coil springs makes them stiffer -- not a good route. Find a set of 4-cylinder XJ springs and cut them, perhaps, or use TJ (Wrangler) springs -- I know TJ lift springs don't provide as much lift in an XJ as they do in a TJ, so a stock TJ spring should lower an XJ or MJ about two inches (I think). Simplest way in back is blocks. But be careful with aluminum blocks. One of the guys in NAXJA had used them for a budget lift in his XJ. We were out at Paragon for NACFest, and his blocks literally disintegrated. The ones you can buy these days are mostly aluminum, which doesn't get along well with road salt in the winter. The salt/snow mix just turned them into powder. A better way, I think, would be to get a set of XJ rear springs and substitute the XJ leaves for all except the main leaf in the MJ. XJ springs are designed to sit flat rather than arched. Disclaimer: I have not done this one. I am certain it will produce some reduction in ride height, but I have no idea how much.

Why not ask the young lady what she would like?

If it came out of a 4.0L it is not an AX-5. If it is an AX-5, it will not bolt up to a 4.0L, and if you could make it do so you'd likely explode it within a week. The AX-5 was used with the 2.5L and 2.8L engines. http://www.jeeptech.com/trans/

Hey, Pete -- THOSE are the 15x6 steel rims.

Dang, the cap alone is worth $300. What model is it supposed to be? I never saw one with bucket seats, sport steering wheel, "hockey stick" armrests ... and idiot lights. Great deal!

Guys, the same company that made the system in my '87 seems to still be in business. http://www.facair.com/search.cfm?drill= ... yearz=1988 Cheaper than the other place, and I believe this system uses the stock ducts and outlets. It's worth a phone call to see what their systems include

Kludge

We need to know the year. Things changed.

Pete -- the rims in ALL FOUR of your pics are 15x7. The ONLY 6" steel wheel used on the XJ and MJ was the one with nine rectangular slots around the outer portion of the web. Take a close look at the rims, right by the valve stem. The size should be stamped into the steel.

It depends. In stock trim, assuming the springs haven't sagged, both the XJ and the MJ have some forward rake built in. The MJ has more, since it's designed to carry more weight. If you park on a level surface, make certain that all four tires are the same size and same pressure, and measure from the floor to the rocker panel, you should find that the front is lower than the rear. I think a 3/4" spacer in the front will just bring it closer to level.

Hey, Brent -- you work in a dealer parts department. The parts room at my dealership used to have an "official" factory list of all the recommended fluids. I haven't seen a recent update. Can you check to confirm whether or not the factory is now calling for motor oil in the AX-15 (and AX-5?) tranny? Last I knew the factory was still calling for 80W90 GL5 for the BA10/5 -- is that still current also? And what about the NV3550 that's in the new TJs and XJs? I think that tranny can use the new Pennzoil "Synchormesh" gear juice. Pennzoil told me that's the tranny it was developed for. True?

There's PLENTY of clearance in the back to run up to 31x10.50R15 tires with no lift at all. Actually, you can in the front, too, but it looks a bit cramped. I wouldn't even bother to lift the back. Front coil spacers basically come in 3/4" and 1-3/4" heights (often rounded up to 1" and 2"). I've seen the 3/4" spacers for as low as $18/pair. Personally, I'd leave the rear alone and just thriw a set of 3/4" spacers in the front. Run 30x9.50s on a set of rims with a bit less backspacing than stock and you'll have the "aggressive" look without fear of altitude sickness.

Yeah. Like THAT'll happen. Don't hold your breath ...

The compressor is the same -- it's the brackets and pulleys that might be different. You don't really WANT to mount the compressor where it "should" go on an early 2.5L. I'm not sure where it belongs on the TBI models, but on the '84 XJ the a/c compressor was mounted along the side of the engine so that the only way (and I ain't kiddin') to replace the #1 spark plug was to unbolt the compressor and swing it out of the way.

Bolt? Speedo cable? What year MJ are we talking about? I don't recall any bolts holding the speedo cable to the cluster.

Oh, yeah. We've all been there. At least a radiator is external. In my racing days I had just finished a new engine for my hillclimb and autocrosser. AMC V8. Buttoned everything up, had it all in the car, fired it up for the first time ... and heard about the most God-awful sreeching I think I've ever heard. Followed in short order by coolant peeing all over the garage floor. Took me awhile to figure out what I had done (or NOT done). I forgot to torque down the bolt in the end of the cam that holds the drive gear on. So when I installed the front cover (which in an AMC V8 houses the oil pump and is also the back of the water pump), the bolt head was out far enough that it cracked the aluminum housing and drove it forward so it was an interference fit with the water pump impeller. That one was both costly AND embarrassing. The episode with the Cherokee was only embarrassing. I was fixing up an '88 XJ for my ex-girlfriend. Goy one cheap because the previous owner's father was certain it had a blown engine. What it actually had was a cracked flex plate. Simple fix -- if you're not a bonehead. My Jeep pal Erich was up helping me the night I was putting everything back together. We got it all buttoned up. It was up in the air on four jackstands, so I fired it up and the engine started right away. That's always a good sign. I blipped the throttle a couple of times and it felt REALLY peppy. Super throttle response, which I didn't expect from a Renix engine with 165,000 miles on it. Then I put it in gear to see if the 4-wheel drive worked. Hmmm ... no wheels turning. Tried again, figured maybe we didn't get the tranny linkage quite right. No joy. Much muttering and scratching of heads. Finally, a small light bulb lit in the dim recesses of my reptilean brain: "Hey, Erich -- you bolted the torque converter to the flex plate before we mounted the bellhousing to the block, right?" "No, I thought you did that." Oops.

Owner's Manual? Factory Service Manual?

I'm still curious about how you got a 2.8L in a shortbed. What year does the title say it is? Welcome, BTW

There is no way you can avoid taking out the dashboard. The evaporator goes in the same box as the heater core and the dash has to come out to access that. Once you're there, it would be foolish NOT to replace the heater core at the same time. With the dash out, it's also fairly straightforward to install an HVAC control unit out of an XJ that had air, so you can control the system. I see no advantage at all to buying this kit as opposed to getting a system from a junkyard XJ.