Eagle

Yeah, infernal combustion engines tend to run better on gasoline than they do on H2O. There may still be some crud in the tank. By the time you drive it home some of that my be worked out. Dump in a can of Dry Gas before the trip. And replace the fuel filter when you get it home.

I don't have it bookmarked, but use Google to find the Monroe catalog on-line. It'll be a PDF of the entire catalog. At the rear are two sections you need. One shows each shock absorber by length and by upper and lower mounting bracket type. Use that to find a shock with upper and lower eyes. (You can use one with cross-pins, and just knock the pins out.) Then take that stock number and cross it to see what vehicle it fits. That'll be what you're looking for. If you're lucky, you'll find an air shock with the right length and end fittings and you can order it directly by part number, w/o even knowing what vehicle it fits. For starters, try shocks for the rear of an XJ (Cherokee). They are slightly shorter than MJ rears. Lower mount is an eye. Upper will be a cross-pin, which can be removed. For the front, I'm not sure but I think possibly a Wrangler TJ might be slightly shorter than an XJ/MJ front shock.

In the above, "part time" is Jeep's terminology for "locked." So your 231 has 4-wheel-drive locked high range and 4-wheel-drive locked low range. What it does NOT have is a 4-wheel-drive UNlocked high range. That's the additional option the 242 will give you. The unlocked high range is an all-wheel drive that allows you to use 4-wheel-drive on dry pavement. The 231 should not be used in 4WD on dry pavement.

Holy Moses! I've never seen a panel like that in a Comanche, and I'm not sure I've seen it in a Cherokee. What goes in the three blank spaces? Is that one of the oh-so-rare System Sentry panels with the warning lights for oil level, etc? I like that just for the thermometer. Where can I get a couple of those?

Correct. The 231 has a locking 4-High and 4-Low range. So does the 242. If the original poster is referring to the full-time (all wheel drive) mode, yes the 242 adds that to the mix. It is also marginally weaker than the 231, but in all the outings I've been to with NAXJA I never saw anyone break a 242, so I wouldn't consider it to be a weak sister. Keep in mind that the MJ probably has a disconnect front axle. The 242 does not use a disconnect axle and I don't think it has a vacuum port to control it. So to swap in a 242 you would also have to either rig a control (vacuum or manual) for shifting the axle disconnect, or just shim the disconnect into the engaged position and leave it there.

Not really. I am well aware of the factory oil pressure specs, I've quoted them to a lot of people. But 1700 RPM is more than 1600 RPM, and 20 psi is barely more than half of 37 -- and 37 is the minimum acceptable oil pressure at 1600 RPM. Will engines run on less? Sure. I once drove a car hauler from Connecticut to Maryland and back that generated all of 10 psi on the highway. Wasn't my truck and the owner said not to worry about it, so I didn't. But it wasn't "right." In the present instance, we have a fairly low-mileage rebuilt engine. The oil pressure should be within specifications. Will it run on 20 psi? Obviously -- it is running. Is it right? No, it isn't. It's not up to me to decide whether or not the owner should worry about it. He IS worried about it or he wouldn't be asking questions. I'm trying to help diagnose the problem. And when the oil pressure is half the minimum specified by the factory --- IMHO that's a problem.

^^^ 10-4 what they said. Keep the stub axles in the hubs, remove the inner axles.

NAXJA is a lot more than "a web site." NAXJA is a fully incorporated non-profit organization that carries a hefty insurance policy to cover their off-road activities. A good chunk of the dues pays for the insurance. NAXJA also pays for each member to also be a member of the United Four Wheel Drive Association, the major group in the fight to keep off-road trails open and available to us. And they publish a newsletter.

A chevy guy answer for everything :roll: 10-4 :brows:

It "looked like" a tune up was done? Including the fuel filter? Are you saying you crawled under the vehicle and saw a new fuel filter canister bolted to the frame rail?

The first step is to hook up a good, verified accurate, mechanical oil pressure gauge and check the oil pressure at 1500 and 2000 RPM. This can be done in the shop -- the engine doesn't care if your actually driving or not -- oil pressure is a function of RPM. Period. Assuming that your 20 psi is an accurate reading, then you need either new bearings, or a new oil pump. Rings don't affect oil pressure so it doesn't matter if the engine smokes or not. Seals don't materially affect oil pressure, either, because the pressurized part of the system isn't pushing oil at the seals. What matters is the clearance at the rod bearings and the main bearings. This can be checked with the engine in the vehicle, using plastigage. It is necessary to drop the pan. It is also necessary to drop the pan to replace the bearings or the oil pump. I think you need bearings. The fact you can get higher pressure if you rev up the engine tells us that the oil pump is capable of producing pressure. The most likely problem is excessive clearance at the bearings.

J trucks were all 6-lug or 8-lug, were they not? Even my '79 full-size Cherokee was 6-lug.

Removing the valve cover and cleaning it up would be a good idea. There is a baffle inside there that can get clogged. Can't hurt. Before you change the fuel pump, have you replaced the fuel filter? It's mounted on the driver's side frame rail, sort of near the back of the cab. Most owners don't know it should be changed regularly.

207? You already have high lock and low lock ranges.

http://autocarpetoriginals.com/jeep_index.htm http://www.auto-interior.com/jeep4.htm

jesus, that was fast!! OK so the switch on the clutch is for cruse? There's one for cruise (if you have cruise), and one for brake lights. The clutch starter interlock wasn't used when the MJ was in production. It showed up during the latter years of the XJ but I don't recall which year. All of which reminds me, I need to bypass that in my 2000 XJ. I have had to drive the '88 XJ home from over 100 miles away without any clutch when the slave cylinder went south. I don't like doing it, but it's better to be able to when needed than to be sidelined by a stupid interlock.

WHAAAAAAAAAT? Where do you guys get all this misinformation? You must hang around with a bunch of Jeep haters or something. For the record, I'm an AMC guy since before Hudson merged with Nash to become AMC. I have owned and driven every cubic inch variation of this engine, from the lowly 199 cubic inch version in a 1966 Rambler American right up to two 2000 Cherokees sitting in the garage. There has NEVER been a problem with these engines and low oil pressure. Every single one I've seen that was anywhere near new ran 55 to 60 psi at 55 MPH. My '88 XJ is currently at a shade over 260,000 miles and it still runs 45 to 50 psi at 55 MPH. Sheesh!

'88 MJ 4.0L, 5-speed running 3.73 gears and 31x10.50 tires I typically got 19 MPG in mixed driving and 21 or 22 highway. The '88 XJ 4.0L 5-speed in completely stock trim (with 260,000+ miles on it) still delivers 20 to 21 MPG in mixed driving and 22 or so highway. You should be right around 20 MPG or maybe a bit better if you drive semi-sanely.

The Exploder 8.8 is marginally tougher than the Mopar 8-1/4, BUT ... Consider that the Ford axle is too narrow and that you'll have to run spacers just to keep even stock tires from rubbing on the sheetmetal. Either that or run ridiculous backspacing that'll leave the front wheels sticking way outside of the flares. Plus the Ford axle has an offset differential -- not a major issue in an MJ, but a consideration. The Mopar axle (97 and newer XJ will have the 29-spline shafts) is the correct width for an MJ. Weld on the perches and you're ready to rock and roll. I know a lot of people seem to think the 8.8 is a wonderful idea, but IMHO it's ridiculous. Unless you need the deeper gearing options available (but not standard) in the 8.8, the Chrysler axle is so much less work that to me it's a no-brainer.

Good luck ifyou think any of the aftermarket places have a bracket for a stock, OEM rear bumper. (We are talking REAR bumper, right?) If they list anything, it'll be the universal bracket for a Fey step bumper. I went looking for a factory rear bumper bracket maybe two or three years ago. They were no longer in the factory warehouse. My dealer tracked one down at a small dealership somewhere in New hampshire and I bought it over the phone, sight unseen. The parts guy there thought it was used and sold it to me for a used part price, but if it as used I can't see where or how. Unfortunately, it may have been the last one in captivity. And they are side-specific -- they are mirror image, not universal.

do you know if these are clipped and how much effort is to keep these in the SUA vice SOA just a personal pref. for me :hmm: If by "clipped" you mean are they c-clip, the answer is yes. And the spring perches are located the same as for an XJ D35, which means they are spring over but NOT the same spacing as for an MJ. So to use it in an MJ, regardless of SUA or SOA you either have to relocate the perches or simply weld on new ones (if you're going SUA). Like all XJ axles, they also have the lower shock mounts welded to the tubes. You can leave those in place and simply not use them, or if you're concerned about ground clearance you can cut them off. I would cut them off.

What ratio, and how do you use the truck? So many people have upgraded from the D35 that someone here might just give you a set of used gears, if used gears would be all you need. If it's a street truck, though, the D35 is adequate and putting in an XJ axle would be an acceptable solution. However -- for the same amount of work, you could drop in an XJ Chrysler 8-1/4 axle. Any of them are better than the D35, and the 97 and newer have larger 29-spline axle shafts that approach the D44 in strength. If the junkyard will sell you one of those for not too much more than a D35, that's probably the way to go.

It depends on which axle (front or rear), and what aspect of your axle is bad. Keeping in mind that any XJ axle you get is going to be used, it might make better sense to repair what's wrong with yours than to swap in a different with its own potential problems. Plus there's the issue of matching gear ratios. If the XJ axle isn't from within the same year range as your MJ, the knuckles, hubs and rotors will be different and that means you won't be able to use your MJ calipers, you would have to use calipers from the same year as the axle. Why don't you give us a bit more information on what the problem is with your axle?

Sure you have. All the Jeep relays are double throw. I don't remember the terminal numbers off-hand, but they are set up so if you wite them one way they are normally open, and another way they are normally closed. Yes, you could use that to operate both headlights off one relay.

You only need two relays, one for high beams and one for low beams. If the relay is in the vicinity of the battery and the lights and you use 12-gauge wire, you'll get plenty of juice to the lights. Running multiple relays won't change anything -- voltage drop is a function of wire gauge and length. Plan your wiring layout to minimize the length of the wire run and you'll get maximum power to the lights.