Eagle

Unlikely in an '87, unless a previous owner swapped it in. The AX-15 didn't start until midway through the 1989 model year.

Receiving isn't the problem. Even the glass mounts will receive. Getting decent tranmission is the problem. Legally, all CBs are limited to 5 watts output, so having a good antenna really can make a difference. Depending on intended use, different types of antennas have advantages and disadvantages. My Radio Shack gutter mount, for example, worked great on pavement but on trails (in PA and New England) it was constantly getting whacked by low-hanging tree branches. A fiberglass whip, like a Firestick (which, BTW, is an excellent brand) wasn't the answer, because tree branches break those. I ended up buying a 6" or 8" magnetic mount "rubber ducky" antenna that I stick on the roof for trail use. It's short enough that most trees don't hit it, and flexy enough that unless it gets hit near the base it doesn't get knocked off. Range is reduced compared to steel whips, but is adequate to get from me to the other guys in my group on a trail ride. Several people I know use a 'Z' shaped bracket off the inner fender and mount a 2-foot steel whip on the left fender near the 'A' pillar, sort of a mirror image of the factory radio antenna. This gets them a good antenna and it's low enough to clear a lot of obstacles. Add a spring base and it's a good setup. Radio Shack used to sell the bracket, but I haven't checked in a number of years so they may have dropped it.

thanks for the tip, what does a typical MJ windshield run? I'm budgeting about 200 for it. That sound about right for the VA area? I've paid between $125 and $150, with the installer coming to my home and doing the job right in the driveway. If you convert to the new style perimeter gasket, you'll have to be sure to tell him in advance so he'll bring the gasket, and the gasket will probably cost an extra $25 or so.

The wheels are setup for tapered lugs, as are my factory steel wheels. Doesn't matter. A lot of Ford rims are set up for tapered lug nuts, but they have a smaller center hole than AMC/Jeep rims and won't fit on an XJ or MJ without modification.

25 miles is quite a reach for any CB, unless your chassis has been modded, but the first CB I had in the '88 Cherokee was an old Radio Shack compact model hooked up to a Radio Shack steel, gutter-mount antenna and is moderately flat terrain that would bet out a verified 13 miles on the Intertstate. That's probably about all you should hope for unless you decide to run an illegal "kicker." I've also had decent performance using a 2-foot steel magnetic mount that sits in the middle of the roof. Come to think of it, I'm now on my fourth CB and I've never used an honest-to-God fixed antenna. But I agree 100% on the glass mount types. One of the guys in my chapter of NAXJA tried one, and with him approaching in the opposite direction on a 6-lane (3 each way) Interstate, I couldn't receive him even when we could see each other and make hand signals. Save your $$$$$.

An '88 should have the second type that Jeff referred to. The "child-proof cap" will be white nylon, and the part you squeeze is the outer ring/collar thingie. If you squeeze it correctly, it pops right off. Squeeze it just a little bit wrong and it just sits there and laughs at you.

I have a Pioneer in the MJ and a Kenwood in the XJ. I much prefer the Kenwood, but the Pioneer keeps on makin' noise.

Pic #1 looks like the one that was on my ex-GF's '88 XJ with 242, and it's also like the one I added to my '88. It hangs down pretty far beneath the 231 in mine, and I always suspected it was intended for the 242. I don't think they were based on the tranny, I have always been led to believe they were paired to the transfer case. The 242 case is slightly larger and hangs down slightly farther than the 231, hence the difference.

Is that a tapered reamer or a straight reamer? Harbor Freight Tools (yeah, yeah, I know) has a complete set of adjustable reamers for around $75 (U.S.). If you know what size you need, I have the complete MSC catalog here, I can see what they have. (If they don't have it, I'll be amazed.)

I looked at the photo and the '86 splines don't appear twisted to me. It would probably make sense nonetheless to install the '88 shafts, and carry the old ones as spares.

I hate to come into this discussion as the voice of reason, but ... we are talking about a 2WD, street driven daily driver, correct? My daily driver is my '88 XJ, which currently has a bit over 266,000 miles on the all-original steering components. The only thing that has been replaced is the track bar. The XJ has been driven across the country and back, it has wheeled in Connecticut (back when we still had at least a couple of legal trails), multiple times at Paragon and on trails in the Mohawk Trail region of western Massachusetts, and nothing in the steering has bent or broken yet. So, for a 2WD daily driver ... what's the "benefit" of spending a bunch of money to "upgrade" to a heavy-duty steering setup?

But you transplanted the HO in right? Don't know if the ohms are the same or not. And a Q of my own, Since you can't test a sensor warm when it won't start, will a bad CPS result in non continuity between the terminals?? They are not the same. In fact, not even close. I have never figured out how you are supposed to test a CPS at operating temperature if the engine won't start. I have tested a known-bad CPS at room temperature, out of the vehicle, and the ohm reading on that one was within 25 ohms of the replacement as it came out of the box. My conclusion is that any attempt to "test" a CPS is a waste of time and effort. It's a PITA but, if the CPS is suspect, change it. If that works, you found the problem. If it doesn't work, keep the old one as a trail spare and keep diagnosing.

I disagree. If this were the problem, jumping it would not have made a difference.

When you scuff up the flywheel, inspect it closely for hot spots (patches of bluish discoloration). If you have them, the surface will be uneven and you'll always have chatter. That's why in the old days it was always recommended to resurface the flywheel. Too bad the new engineers think they have a better idea. Also inspect carefully for tiny cracks in the surface. Clean it up, get it nice and dry, then shoot it with water or brake cleaner or something that will temporarily settle in cracks and make them easy to see. If you see ANY tiny cracks in the surface -- buy a new flywheel.

MJ u-bolts are 14mm (which is close to 9/16") and XJ u-bolts are 12mm (which is slightly less than 1/2". I've settled on using 1/2" from a local spring shop for all my vehicles, XJ and MJ. You can safely run those 7/16" u-bolts for an easy highway trip, and replace them with beefier ones whenever you can get them. If you can't find them locally, try Husky Spring Company (I think their web site is something clever like www.huskyspring.com or something like that). The 86 and 88 axles should be the same. The 'C' in 35C does not indicate c-clips. It stands for "customer," meaning the axle is shipped to the vehicle manufacturer partially assembled, for "customer" completion. Chrysler made the change to c-clips either mid-year in 1989 or with the start of the 1990 model year. I'm not sure about MJs, but in XJs any rear axles with the c-clips will also have 9" x 2.5" drums rather than 10" x 1.75"

Okay, I sort of got lost as to what's original and what was swapped in, but here are some thoughts: 1) Is this an automatic? If so, how's the neutral safety switch? If it's a manual tranny and you swapped in anewer harness, somewhere in the early 90's Chrysler added a clutch safety interface -- the engine can't be started unless the clutch peddle is depressed. I don't know where that is or just what it looks like, but it's something to consider. 2) The CPS and ignition for the HO are totally different from the '87 - '90 Renix system. You have to use the CPS that matches the year of the engine and ignition -- the HO CPS won't talk to the Renix ECU, and vice versa. 3) In 1991 Chrysler rewired the entire vehicle, and one of the changes was to reverse the polarity of all the instruments. If you're wiring didn't take that into account, it may be possible that you fried something important, but I don't know enough about your swap to offer any guesses as to what might have been cooked. Best I can think of would be to get yourself the elctrical diagrams for the vehicle, and for the harness you swapped in. Replicate the replacement on paper and see if you can spot any areas where the polarity shift might have an effect on what you swapped in.

You aren't supposed to resurface the flywheel on an XJ or MJ. I believe it says that right in the factory service manual. Everyone I know of who has allowed a shop to do that has experienced problems. It can't be fixed, because it shouldn't have been done but the shops aren't about to 'fess up and buy you a new flywheel.

Clayton's Offroad in Waterbury, CT, has a bracket kit for installing front axles from a full-size Cherokee/Wagoneer into an XJ or MJ.

The hidden winch option was not a winch bumper. It used a 5000 pound Ramsey winch on an angle iron frame that mounted BEHIND the bumper. The bumper itself is a stock bumper with a slot cut in it. I never see them here in the U.S., but when I visit my wife's family in Chile I see them all over the place. Somewhere I have a dimensioned drawing of the winch frame. It mounts vertical, not flat, so unless you can find the special Ramsey winch that the factory used you have to "clock" the winch so the feet point toward the rear of the vehicle rather then down toward the ground.

No. I have yet to wheel with anyone whose air locker actually works more than about 65% of the time. I am confused. Your first post said this is a street truck. Then later in the thread it sounds like this truck sees the drag strip. Drag racing is not "street only." You have to realize that the two are almost mutually exclusive. For "street" a limited slip, like a Trac-Lok or TrueTrac, is by far the better choice. If you are drag racing, the ONLY choice is a Detroit Locker. Drag racing chews up the clutches in a typical limited slip very fast, and that applies both to the Jeep/Dana Trac-Lok and to whatever Ford puts into the 8.8 from the factory. The TrueTrac locks up more positively, but even for street use it is only guaranteed for up to 32" tires. I don't know how well it would hold up to doing hole shots, and when it breaks I doubt it'll be warranteed. Detroit locker. Only choice.

You need to brush up on terminology. A "posi" is a limited slip. Speficially, "positraction" was a GM trade name for their factory limited slip diffs. What you're saying is that you don't want a true automatic locker, like a Detroit Locker. For a street truck, I agree with you. Your least expensive option is a Dana-Spicer Trac-Lok ... the same unit the Jeep factory offered as an option. The biggest downside (and it isn't big) is that the clutches wear out after maybe 100,000 to 150,000 miles, and you have to use friction modifier in the gear lube. For a little more money you can get a TrueTrac, which is a gear-driven limited slip. It doesn't require special lube additives, it's a bit more aggresive than a Trac-Lok, and there's nothing to wear out. I have a Trac-Lok in my XJ, and a TrueTrac in my MJ. Neither one scrubs the tires on dry pavement. I think you'll be wasting a lot of money buying an air locker for a street truck.

You can use the dash-mounted vacuum switch from a mid-80s vintage Grand Wagoneer. They used a vacuum switch to go from AWB to locked 4WD.

Wrong. If you're not swapping the engine, you should stick with the clutch pressure plate that fits your year engine. You may need to get the clutch disc that has the correct spline count for the 3550 transmission.

That vintage Wagoneer or Cherokee (which is what I had) were considered full-time 4WD, not AWD. The front hubs are indeed like a Warn selectable, without the selector knob. Very easy to work on, and Mile Marker used to sell a kit to convert those vehicles to "normal" 4WD. The kits included the parts to convert the front hubs to selectables, so I'm sure you can do it. FWIW, Clayton (of Clayton's Offroad in Waterbury, Connecticut) has been stuffing those axles under XJs for members of his club for a number of years. I believe he has a kit out with all the brackets and hardware you need to do the front axle. It might be worth a phone call. (Sorry, I don't have the new phone number. His shop used to be just down the road from my brother, but they moved to Waterbury about a year ago and I lost contact.)

Don't have a clue. I assume they used a version with the correct length and spline count on the input shaft. I know for a fact they used the T-5, because my friend in Greece has an '84 XJ 4-banger that was imported to Greece from the U.S. and it has a T-5 transmission in it.