Eagle

It may be one (or more) partially clogged injectors. When the engine is cold, it does not respond to sensor inputs. During warmup, it runs in "open loop" mode, which means it ignores the sensors and runs on a pre-mapped fuel curve that's built into the ECU. With the '88 XJ, I have owned it for so long that in the winter I can feel when it switches. It's about 2 miles down the road, on a level area where I run at neutral throttle. Right in that area on cold morings I usually feel a slight jump and after that the throttle response changes subtley. Once the sensors cut in and the O2 sensor starts reporting the mixture to the ECU, the ECU can compensate (to the extent the injectors have enough capacity -- which they would at idle) for clogging, but the pre-mapped fuel curve would have no way to compensate for this condition.

Is the Eaton supposed to be a limited slip when it's not locked? I thouhgt that one was either open or locked.

The grinder is not necessary. If the interior panel is already gone, you can reach inside the door and unlock the latching mechanism by hand. I've done it, but it was long enough ago that I can't accurately explain what I did. It was NOT done using the rods -- you have to reach the actual latching mechanism, and my recollection is that there's a "thingie" that one of the arms attaches to that you push either upward, or laterally.

It's a battery. Of course it can explode.

I think you mean "less" backspacing. You want to move the tires out away from the vehicle centerline, correct? Bolt circle is 5 bolts, 4-1/2" circle. The studs are 1/2x20

Vacuum leak. The flappers in the dashboard are controlled by vacuum. They default to the defrost position if vacuum is lost. The most likely problem spot is where the vacuum lines run under the battery tray to the reservoir, which is (if your truck is stock) located on the right front, behind the bumper. The reservoir is a plastic sphere or suasage, and it's also possible that the reservoir has been cracked, which would also result in loss of vacuum.

XJ/MJ/ZJ/TJ coil spacers come in two sizes: 3/4" and 1-3/4". For a daily driver, personally I would go with either XJ 4.0L springs and the 3/4" spacers, or if you stay with the springs in the truck now use the 1-3/4" spacers. Either way, you should end up just a little higher than stock. That's good for up through 31" tires, so why go higher if the truck lives on pavement? All unnecessary altitude does is kill the gas mileage. For the rear, what spring broke -- a main leaf, or one of the other leaves? XJ spring packs are too short for the MJ by about 5" but you could cut the eyes off an XJ main leaf and use it as an AAL in an MJ pack. That's what I plan to do with the 89 longbed I picked up. I'm hoping it'll result in the equivalent of a metric tonne load capacity without much extra lift.

Putting a lift on cannot change the camber. The camber is built into the axle and does not know how far the body sits above the axle. I know about the offset ball joints. Never heard of "cams" for XJ/MJ ball joints, and having changed a few I cannot understand how or where any "cam" could be installed. If your camber is really out of spec and you don't want to use the offset ball joints, then I would second the suggestion to buy a different front axle assembly.

The brake lights are activated by a mechanical switch in the brake peddle arm mechanism. Look under the dashboard and see if the switch is positioned so that depressing the peddle allows the plunger to come out of the switch body. You may just need to adjust the switch position, or you may need to replace the switch. You can test the wiring to the switch by unplugging them and using a jumper (or a paper clip) to close the circuit. If the brake lights don't work when the switch contacts are jumpered, then the problem is in the wiring harness rather than at the switch.

JC Whitney used to have patch panels and complete bed sides in their catalog a few years ago. Has anyone called them to ask if they are still available?

I should also have mentioned that, IF you can find the custom pistons to use with the 4.0L rods (the pin height has to be relocated in the pistol to account for the "too long" rods), they will be forged, not cast hypereutectic. Forged pistons are strong, but they have a different expansion rate than cast hypereutectic pistons and so the engine will be noisier than an engine using stock pistons, especially when starting up cold. The stroker engines involve a lot of compromises. It is NOT just a bigger displacement stock engine. They are great if you want/need the power and are willing to live with the necessary compromises. I have considered it carefully, and decided that I don't need the power and I am not willing to live with the compromises.

Guys, just remember if you think you want to do a budget stroker -- you're looking at an engine that will absolutely need high octane gas, and even then you'll probably have pre-ignition problems. The 4.2L crank is the same length as the 4.0L crank and has the same journal diameters, so it drops right into the block. BUT ... due to minor differences in piston design and deck height between the 4.2 and the 4.0, you have a problem. The budget route is to use the 4.2L rods with 4.0L pistons, but that puts the pistons a fraction closer to the head than they should be. VERY high compression. You need to deal with this. Some people have sought out the heaviest, THICKEST pistons they could find so they can dish out the top of the piston to reduce compression. Others do an aggressive cleanup of the combustion chambers in the head, enlarging them in pursuit of less compression. A stock cam won't work -- you have to use a cam with more overlap to bleed off some compression pressure. A couple of people have even tried running two head gaskets. The other, and better, choice used to be to use the 4.0L rods, which are beefier than the 4.2L rods. The problem is, they are also longer, so to use them in a stroker you need custom pistons. The companies who make the stroker engines may or may not sell you a set of their pistons. The company I knew of in Baltimore that sold the pistons went out of business a couple of years ago. I have sort of dropped back from the strokers forum so I don't know what the current "hot" solution is. Carnuck might -- he was very active in that group. But you have to do something, you cannot ignore the fact that the basic geoemtry will result in excessively high compression. That's the biggest reason why I advise NOT trying to do a stroker unless you really REALLY need the extra power. The "budget" stroker looks enticing at first glance, but it really isn't going to be as easy as it first sounds.

It has to have at least an extended cab or it won't sell. The only reason I bought a Cherokee new in 1988 instead of a Comanche was the lack of ANY interior storage space. Today, I think any PU has to offer the options of extended cab and crew cab to even think about entering the market. Look around on the streets, and you actually see very few "standard" cab pickups.

World Series?????? That would be, ummm ... no, wait, lemme think ... errr ... no, no, hold on a sec ... ah, BASEBALL! Right? Seriously, I'm a Sox fan now. I have been ever since the Dodgers bailed out of Brooklyn and went to the left coast (which was probably long before any of you were born). I'm happy the Sox won, but George must be having a cerebral hemmorage about now. (Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.)

Thanks, guys. Armed with this info I took my wife to Wal-Mart to see what these critters look like. She;s recovering from sticker shock. My wife is from Chile, and she says she's sure they cost a lot less down there. She'll be going there for a visit in a couple of weeks, so I guess we wait until she can do some inter-continental comparison shopping.

JeepCo nailed it. It's NOT a SPDT toggle switch, which is what most switches with three terminals are. It's a SPST (single pole, single throw, i.e. ON-OFF) switch, but because it's internally illuminated it requires a gound to complete the circuit for the light. If the switch you wired in is a SPDT, you can make it work but it won't be illuminated. I don't remember which terminal is which, but one is power in (feeds both the light and the "hot" side of the circuit), one is power out, and the third is the ground for the light. BTW -- the above info is correct, it is better for the tranny to keep it in POWER mode.

I think you're better off with thr 3.55s for fuel mileage, unless you drive insanely fast on the highway. With 3.08s and stock tires. I turn about 1600 RPM at 60 MPH. That's below the engine's torque peak. For optimum economy, you want your cruise RPM to be somewhere near the torque peak.

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

Agreed. 4.10s are okay for 31" tires, 4.56 for 32s and maybe 33s, 4.88 for 33s and maybe 34s. Beyond 34 (or with 34 if you actually go off-road and want a half-decent crawl ratio) you really need to get into the 5s, and that means no more Dana 30 in the front because 4.88 is as deep as you can get for the D30. That's one advantage to the Wrangler Rubicon bastardized Dana 44 front axle -- it may only have the same knuckles dna axles as the D30, but you can get deeper gears. And yes, I do have a spreadsheet with tire sizes, gear ratios, and engine RPMs for a variety of tires sizes and all gear ratios available for the D30. If you want it, shoot me a PM with your e-mail address.

Wiring-wise, you're fine. The lights themselves are still running off the relay. Legally, you may not be so fine. I don't know what the law is in Canada. In the U.S. it is law that "driving" lights may ONLY illuminate when the high beams are on, and they MUST go off when you dip the headlights to low beam. Fog lights are just the opposite.

DRLs should activate only the headlights, at reduced voltage. Anything else is a hack, even though it may appear to be a well-done hack.

The width of the perches, or the center-to-center spacing of the perches on the axle?

Those rims are 15x7. The rule of thumb is that the tire should not be more than 4 inches wider than the rim, which would indicate that anything up to 11 inches wide would be fine. In reality, a little more won't hurt, although your tread life might be compromised due to not being able to keep the full tread in contact with the pavement without running a pressure that's too low to be safe. So the 11.50s will be fine. The real issue is what gears you have. My simplistic view is that 4.10s are good with 31s, 4.56 is good with 32s, and 4.88s are okay with 33s. Any bigger tires than that and gearing becomes a compromise.

Okay, guys, be gentle with me. Most of you know I'm officially a senior citizen, so I'm excused for not knowing this stuff. Looks like we'll have my wife's 12 year old granddaughter (from Chile!) with us for Christmas. And said granddaughter has informed my wife that she would like an iPod for Christmas. What the heck IS an iPod? Yeah, I've seen the name and I know it's "hot," but since I'm not interested in much besides Cherokees, Comanches, and Colt .45s it all just bounced off. Does this infernal device use a proprietary media format? (I'm sure the answer is yes.) Is it a "what you see is what you get" device, or are there different models and option levels? (It is an Apple product, right? So available only through Apple?) Best place(s) to buy? Bail me out, please. The young lady had a very rough year, between her great-grandmother dying and her mother having a nervous breakdown. We want to be as sure as we can that her time here for the holidays is a relief from life. TIA

Do you want a quick-and-dirty rebuild, or a decent rebuild? Are you doing the reassembly after having the block cleaned and machined, or are you paying a shop to do it? The last engine I rebuilt on a budget was 25 years ago and it ran me about $600 with me doing the reassembly. That was for an AMC V8 that was NOT rebored, so I reused the original pistons. Today I reckon it would have to be at least double that figure.