Eagle

??? The holes also vary depending on what engine, transmission, and transfer case combination you have. The difference in location is 4 inches, not 2-1/2 inches, so that's not the complete answer. Each tranny and transfer case combination used a different tranny mount, even though the cross members were all the same. If you're not using the correct mount for the tranny and transfer case that you now have in the truck ... that's the problem.

(1) Swapping in a used O2 sensor is a total waste of time and energy, because the used one you swap in may be as bad as or worse than the one you're replacing. (2) A cracked exhaust manifold allows air to get into the exhaust stream. This makes the O2 sensor see a much leaner exhaust than what the engine is really putting out, so it richens the mix to compensate. I'd say that's your problem, right there.

Don't forget the bumper and flares.

Ever have your mind wander while you're driving? I had a random thought pop into my head while driving home from work this evening. I got to wondering if there's any correlation between intelligence and driving ability. How about it? Think about the best drivers you know -- the only ones you feel completely safe with when they're driving. Then think of the ones you're literally afraid to be in a car with when they drive. Any correlation between driving ability and intelligence? Personally, I'm a chicken. There are only maybe two people in the country that I'm comfortable with when they're driving. And (unfortunately) neither of them is a member of my family ... immediate or extended. My maternal grandfather was a really excellent driver. He was also one of the smartest people I've ever known. My father, on the other hand, was quite possibly the worst driver I have ever encountered. He was so bad in his later years that my mother simply refused to ride with him. If they were going to a party -- they went in separate cars (because my father didn't think it was proper for a MAN to be driven anywhere by a woman). My father wasn't stupid. He was also intelligent -- but in a much more mundane and methodical way than my grandfather. What are your theories? Is there any way to predict or to know who is going to be a good driver before you've actually ridden with them?

CW, how far are you from Meriden? There's a GOOD old-time radiator shop in Meriden. If your rad has copper tanks he could probably recore it cheaper than what you're paying. He might beat that price on a new radiator, too. If it's not too late, I can find out the name. A friend of mine has all his custom radiator and gas tank work done there.

I bought my '88 XJ with it. It's a Dana Trac-Lok. It's a clutch type limited slip, and it works just fine. The only people who complain are those who expect a limited slip to be a locker, which it ain't. My original lasted 175,000 miles. I'm now about 100,000 miles into the second one. Both my new Cherokees also have it, and the '87 MJ has a Dana 44 with the factory Trac-Lok.

No it isn't. The Chrysler system has no knock sensor, so it cannot run at the maximum possible advance. It has to run on a pre-mapped curve that is less than optimum in order to avoid ping. That's why HOs typically get about 2MPG worse gas mileage than Renix vehicles.

One of my NAXJA friends could never figure out why his torque converter wasn't locking up. He finally just wired a toggle switch to the solenoid. He leaves it unlocked around town, and uses the switch to lock it on the highway.

Sorry, but that won't suffice. You can thank ambulance chaser attorneys and liberal judges for that. Judges today aren't concerned with "the law." They are only interested in feeding some money to the "victim," and they look to whoever has money, regardless of degree/percentage of responsibility. Two examples: In one, a builder/developer build a mid-rise condo (eight stories) that in a few years had the brick cracking and falling off. The condo association sued the architect, engineer, developer, brickwork contractor, and maybe a couple of others. I was in the courtroom when the case came up, at about 10:30 a.m. The ONLY question the judge had was if the insurance company for each of the defendants was present. They weren't. "Court is adjourned until 1:00 p.m. I want each of you to have your insurance company's attorney here, and I want to know the limits on your policies." Second case: I once worked for an architect/engineering firm that specialized in roofing repairs. We were hired to specify repairs after a roofing fire on a shopping mall. About a year after the work was done, we were named in a lawsuit. The suit was filed by a volunteer fireman who had showed up drunk, fell off a ladder, and hurt his back. He sued us because our "defective specifications" were a proximate cause of the fire. Never mind that we weren't hired until AFTER the fire. Shame on his attorney. Shame on the judge who declined to release us from the suit. And, worse yet, we had to sue our own insurance company to get them to defend us. They wanted to PAY, because it was cheaper (for them) than sending a lawyer to court. Of course, they would have raised our premiums for the next 5 years so it wouldn't have cost them anything. /rant Tire shops around here have the same policy. It's a nuisance, but they have to do it because that's the nature of today's litigious society. Nobody wants to be responsible for anything. Everybody says they have a "right" to do 'X' or 'Y' or 'Z,' but then if doing to results in an injury or damage, they always look for somebody to sue. I always just take my tires in and have them mounted and balanced. I have a jack and a lug wrench.

Car sellers and buyers can be strange critters. I once had a car for sale. Parked it on the lawn at my mother-in-law's because she lived on a main road. Guy called, wanted to see it. We made an appointment for 6:00 p.m., after I got off work. I'm there at 5:45. 6:00 comes around, and the guy doesn't show. 6:30 rolls around and the guy doesn't show. 7:00 o'clock and he still hasn't showed. I call his number, his father says he went out with his friends, doesn't know how or where to reach him. 7:15 there's a knock on the door -- really nice young kid, turns out to be one of my wife's HS students, wants to look at the car. We look. He drives it. He loves it. Pays me the asking price in cash, on the spot. We make an appointment for Saturday to do all the paperwork. By now it's 8:30. The kid leaves, the phone rings, hey! ... it's Mr. 6:00 o'clock. Says he's on his way, he'll be there in 15 minutes. I told him not to bother, the car was sold. The dweeb went into a tirade, telling me I had no right to sell HIS car, he was going to call the cops and the DMV, tada yada. I finally hung up on him. Then there was the guy who wanted to buy my plow Jeep ... There are some people it's just better not to do business with.

Tire balance. That's the ONLY thing that causes vertical wheel tramp.

Adding another leaf DOES increase the spring rate significantly, but that doesn't make it harsh. One of the 4x4 magazines ran an article some years ago on how to calculate spring rates. I don't have the article any more but, basically, if you add one leaf of equal thickness to a pack that was 4 leaves, you increase the rate 25%. Add one leaf to a pack that started out as 3 leaves, and the rate increases 33%. I've done multiple XJs using cut-off XJ main leaves as an AAL and they generally provide about 1-1/4" of lift. One guy in NAXJA had an almost new 2000 and used main leaves from an almost new '99 and he got 1-1/2" of lift. The ride is not harsh -- in fact, IMHO it's better than stock. Keep in mind that those numbers are GROSS lift. If the original springs have sagged, the net is obviously less. The XJ I did for an ex-GF was already sagged about 1/2" to 3/4" so even though the AAL grossed 1-1/4", the net was only about 5/8" higher than stock. I had expected to need 3/4" coil spacers in front to level it out, but the net result looked good with just the rear AAL so I didn't bother. For an MJ, if the original springs have sagged a lot, then using cut-off MJ main leaves as AALs would be a good way to go. I picked up an '89 LWB that hasn't sagged too much, but I want a bit more carrying capacity without a lift, so I'm going to use XJ main leaves. The concept is that they'll add capacity without adding as much lift as MJ main leaves.

The causes of death wobble are many, and diagnosis can be very difficult. Sometimes it's a combination. You need to consider: * Tire balance * Loose track bar * Loose track bar frame bracket * Worn ball joints * Worn tie rod ends * Worn control arm bushings * Caster angle (too little caster can result in DW) * Worn steering box or pitman arm * Worn drag link TRE * Warped front brake rotors * Worn hub/bearing units * Out-of-round rims * Out-of-round tires IMHO the two most critical are tire balance and caster angle. I know a lot of people say "TRACK BAR!!!" is THE cause -- but I drove around for six months with a track bar so loose I had about a quarter turn of free play at the steering wheel, and not a hint of death wobble. So I'm unconvinced on the universality of the track bar as the, or even a, primary causal factor.

Probably a wise choice. I've been using the '88 SWB as an all-around truck, and I've lost count of how many times I have wished I had a slightly longer bed for hauling. I picked up (no pun intended) an '89 LWB with a blown tranny and no driver's side floor that's scheduled to correct that problem, if I ever get a few $$$ to throw at fixing it up.

What's going to be the purpose of going to 4WD and lifting? IMHO its pretty simple -- for all-around use as a truck, the LWB is far more utilitarian, and can also be used for an occasional off-road jaunt. The SWB wheels far better than the LWB because it has a better over-center angle and a better departure angle. It's also more fun to drive on the street ... but it doesn't haul as much stuff in "truck" mode.

Sorry. I was asking the original poster -- but it applies to anyone with skip/miss in the engine. Check the plug wires.

Are you running new spark plugs AND new spark plug wires? Missing/skipping under load is a classic symptom of bad ignition wires.

I have never heard of anyone replacing the mechanical speedo with an electronic one. I suppose it can be done if the electronic one runs directly off the electrical feed from the sensor in the transfer case, but I don't know if that's the case. If the speedo runs on a data signal that comes through the ECU, you're hosed. Even if it's possible, it's going to take a bit of work. Personally, I'd buy a new speedo cable and call it good.

There is a reason the stock exhaust is 2-1/4". Many years ago, when my brother was managing a Speedy Muffler shop, he talked me into replacing the stock exhaust with a 2-1/2" cat-back system. BIG mistake! I lost gas mileage, and I lost low-end torque. The trade-off is that you supposedly gain high-end horsepower. But ... you're talking about a 5-speed with tall gearing. Your RPMs at 75 MPH are under 2500 RPM. That's not exactly the high end of the RPM range. You do NOT need a 2-1/2" exhaust to run down the highway at 75 MPH in 5th gear. As for running with no muffler? One 25 mile trip and you'll regret it. I hope you have a good stereo with good speakers.

Do you regard stroking a 350 Chevy block to 383 a "cheesy upgrade"? If not, why would this be any different?

Rusty's track bar comes in two lengths, depending on the amount of lift. The shorter one will adjust short enough to run at stock height ... but (at least on my '88 MJ) at stock height the bend doesn't clear the diff cover, so it becomes an interference fit.

Good luck. There is a difference, because when I put a '92 or '93 track bar in my '88 XJ the steering wheel was off-center by about 1/8 of a turn. But you cannot see a difference by looking at them. I spent a half hour with two parts guys at the dealership one Saturday morning with the old and new style track bars laid out on the counter, trying to see what was different and why they have different part numbers. Any way we measured, we couldn't find the difference. Whatever it is, it's not enough to put your axle off-center by an inch. Have you compared your axle bracket and frame bracket to another stock XJ or MJ to be sure they haven't been damaged or modified?

I have two of them here with 3.55s. 4.10s were for the 5-speed.

Yeah, I've heard that. Don't tell VW, Audi, BMW or Mercedes -- they haven't gotten the memo.

Take a good luck at the routing of the speedo cable, under the dash and under the hood. It's very possible that in changing the clusters you pulled more cable through the firewall and made a tighter bend under the hood. This could make it bind at that point where it didn't before if it had a smoother, larger radius.