Eagle

Why did you need Paint for that? AMC/Jeep built those with four doors -- I owned a ;78 for years. In many ways I wish I hadn't sold it.

Yes, the D44 and the 8.25 are both about an inch longer than the D35. If yoou're at stock height, you should cut the drive shaft for either. If you have a significant lift, you might not need a shorter drive shaft. If you have the choice, I would prefer the dana 44. If you don't have access to a dana 44, the 97 and newer 8.25 is a decent upgrade from the D35.

Looks like a choice of mild steel or stainless. That's why I use the tubing bender. Many years ago I bought a set of the cheaper ones -- it has two sizes of "wheel" -- one for larger radii, the other for tighter radii. They work great with the cunifer brake line, making very clean, smooth bends.

That's the stuff I use now. It's even easier to work with than the coated steel line you buy at the chain parts houses. You can also find pre-made lengths of gravel shield on Amazon to make the lines on the rear axle look completely original. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=brake+line+gravel+guard&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 Then you just need a tubing bender. I've done some complete vehicles just using one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Tool-W704C-Tubing-Bender/dp/B0002KO2H0/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=brake+line+bender+tool&qid=1583678282&sr=8-15 For a few dollars more, you can go high tech on the bender with this: https://www.amazon.com/LORESO-Bender-Degrees-Bending-Aluminum/dp/B07S8DQBNL/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=brake+line+bender+tool&qid=1583678416&sr=8-11

I wish I had your confidence. I'm in my 70s, I've been working on cars since my teens, crewed on a friend's stock car for a number of years, and I built the engines for my own race car and a street car. For all that, after I had researched what it took to make a stroker run reliably without getting into detonation problems I decided it was more than I was willing to undertake. My pockets aren't deep enough to get it wrong and start over.

Do what? Bolt it in? Or deal with all the issues arising from the fact that the deck heights are different between the 4.2L and the 4.0L, meaning that to NOT have super high compression you have to take into account cam overlap, quench, combustion chamber volume, whether you run 4.2L rods (wimpy) or 4.0L rods with custom pistons ... yada, yada. There's a LOT that goes into making a good-running stroker. I love the concept, but I've never seriously thought about doing one because I don't have the time or the $$$$$$$$$$ t make it work.

If you buy them from Classic Tube, please let us know if they fit. The set I bought for my '87 weren't even close. I think they might have been for a Gladiator (the real Gladiator, not the new wannabe Gladiator).

I was thinking the same thing. Siphon as much gas out of the tank as you can and start fresh. Do the tires hold air?

The vibration damper weight was a Libertine thing. Not used on the Cherokee, and AFAIK not used on the Wrangler.

This link includes photos of the AX-15: http://www.jeeptech.com/trans/ax15.html Unfortunately, that site hasn't been updated to include the NVG3550. Novak has this image, though: https://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/transmissions/manual/nv3550/

Yes, but I've never heard of or seen them sold as lift kits. Both types of those inserts have been sold for years as cheap ways to "restore" sagging coil springs. I can remember seeing that &^$%* in the old J.C. Whitney catalog when I was still in high school.

:Sniff: No respect for tradition. REAL Morgans have wood frames. (Yes, they did. Well ... sort of https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/myth-busting-morgan-chassis-are-made-wood-true-or-false)

No, you can't. I've covered this before. The ignition is a 6-bit (6 tumblers) key. The door key is a 5-bit key. I discussed this at some length with a professional locksmith and he told me that, because of the different number of tumblers in the same length keyway, it can't be made to work.

Nope. I bought my '88 XJ new. Two keys.

He's re-using the existing ring and pinion gears. He needs to match the existing contact pattern as closely as possible or the diff will be noisy (noisier than 8.25s are anyway).

I have no problem with someone who is genuinely interested and is willing to discuss a fair price -- even if I'm not interested in selling at a fair price or any other price. Eaglescout526 picked up on it -- the most off-putting aspect of the poorly scrawled note was the reference to my Jeep "stuff." Not "your Cherokees," not "your Comanches," but "your Jeep stuff." That's the kind of notes I've gotten in the past, from people who want to low-ball me on price so they can clean up by parting out the vehicles. I'm interested in preserving them, if possible, not parting them out. As it turns out, my decision has been made for me. The guy scrawls so poorly that I can't make out the telephone number. And I'm not going to waste my time calling a dozen variations of what it MIGHT be to try to find the right guy.

The OP said he has an AX-15 out of a 2001 Wrangler. That combination didn't exist from the factory. As to whether the NV3550 is better than the AX-15 -- I have an AX-15 in an MJ, and my 2000 XJ has the 3550. The 3550 is hands-down the better transmission, by far. There's no comparison. It's stronger, quieter, shifts smoother, and has better gear ratios.

What part(s) of the frame would these stiffeners stiffen? Weld-in or bolt-on?

31s will fit with no lift, as long as you run factory Jeep wheels. I've done it but, personally, from a viewpoint of proportions, I think they look better running on 30s at stock height. Unless there's some reason why you need an extra half inch of road clearance, I'd go with 30s.

Mileage?

No. Leave the pinion alone. What you need to do is check the backlash on the existing setup, and maybe use some marking compound and take photos of the pattern ... then adjust the backlash with the new carrier to the same as it was before. As you have learned, the 8.25 doesn't set the ring gear engagement with shims, it uses that long tool to reach in through the axle tube to turn the adjuster. Set it so the backlash matches the existing reading, then use the gear marking compound for a visual check that the pattern is the same.

We had a thread recently about whether or not you should go knock on the door to ask about a Comanche parked in a yard. Well, I was on the receiving end of such a visit today. I found a Post-It in my storm door this afternoon. A guy left his phone number and said he wants to talk to me about my Jeep "stuff." So now I have to decide whether or not I want to give him a call. The last time someone stopped (actually, the last two or three times), it was some shag who wanted to pay me a hundred bucks for everything so he could part them out and make a lot of money. My attitude was that if I wanted them parted out, I could do it and I'd make the money -- get the [___] off my property. So I'm inclined to not even give this one a call. What do y'all think?

Better, IMHO. But ... different.

2001 Wrangler? AX-15? Didn't the 2001 Wrangler have the 3500 transmission?

I think it'll be fine.