Eagle

What size RADIO? I like the compact radios. If you remove the ashtray, you can screw the bracket into the panel at the back of the ashtray recess, then mount the radio right there. If you remove the radio in the future, put the ashtray back in and you can't see the mounting holes. For hard wiring, do NOT tap off the vehicle radio. Best is to run a dedicated wire direct to the battery, with an in-line fuse, and a dedicated ground. I often removed the radio between wheeling trips, so I put a cigar lighter adapter on the power cord and just used the lighter as a power socket. My older Radio Shack compact had a mechanical channel selector so this worked fine. When the Radio Shack bought the farm and I replaced it with whatever I could get (Midland, IIRC), the channel selector was electronic and required power to "remember" what channel you had it set for. It defaulted to channel 9 whenever I turned off the ignition. Not a big deal, as long as I remembered to punch it back to channel 4 (or 19 for use on the highway) when I started the engine. I also tried a number of different antennas. For trail use I settled on a short, magnetic-mount "rubber ducky" type on the roof of the cab. I used a longer steel whip on the highway.

If it runs okay for about 2 miles, then starts acting funny, think oxygen sensor. The O2 sensor isn't used when the vehicle is warming up -- the ECU operates in open loop mode w/o input from the O2 sensor. Once the temperature reaches about 165 degrees, the ECU switches over to closed loop mode and starts reacting to sensor inputs.

Ditto what he said. If the original speedo had been "jumpy" I'd suggest that the cable needs lubrication (and that wouldn't hurt anyway), but if the problem began after the swap, either the cable is kinked or has a tight radius somewhere, or the and isn't firmly engaged in the speedo head.

That's pretty good, actually. The POS Chinese TRE on my Rusty's adjustable track bar lasted less than 4,000 miles before the truck was uncontrollable on the highway.

Correct

:???: :???: Third pole? Voltmeters only have two poles, one positive and one negative.

Rob are you aware that the rear drum brakes are what used to be called "servo assisted," and that by design they work much better going forward than they do in reverse? That's a big part of the reason one shoe is longer than the other, and why it's important not to mix up the long shoe and the short shoe. Parking brakes that are properly adjusted often don't hold worth patooties if you park heading uphill on a moderately steep slope. Ain't no way around it, it's the nature of the beast.

My '88 came with a YJ AX-15 and the YJ transfer case linkage still on it -- and the floor pan/trans tunnel badly hacked to allow the YJ transfer case shifter to extend up through it. Were you able to use your stock MJ transfer case shift linkage? Did you need to make any modifications? Which transfer case did you use, XJ or MJ? (I assume you must have used the one that matches the AX-15, because of the spline count issue?) I'd really like to get mine looking a bit less redneck on the inside, so any advice regarding the transfer case linkage would be appreciated.

Wasn't there a thread on this topic about a week ago? Listing a whole bunch of possibilities? I think the one the author chose was from a Dodge truck, but don't rely on my memory unless you have a death wish. Search might be your friend in this case.

Three magic words: Crankshaft Position Sensor

Automotive engineers apparently disagree, since back in the 60s and 70s cars came with ammeters, then they switched to voltmeters because they thought they were more informative. If I had my druthers, I'd ask for both.

No. There is one light, that says "BRAKES". It serves both purposes.

The brace on the MJ control arm mounts is welded onto the OUTSIDE of the "frame" rail at the pockets. The brackets fit up inside the control arm pockets. I don't see how the frame gusset could interfer with the drop brackets. I had a Trailmaster kit with brackets on my 88 MJ, it was on when I bought it. It's my understanding that the RE brackets are copies of the Trailmaster, so I think they should fit.

2WD SporTruck, Mate -- no transfer case to be had. I've seen any number of cars that have had trees fall on them. This truck wasn't "hit BY a tree," this truck hit a tree. I think the guy rolled it -- probably several times.

As long as your site isn't duplicating what Pete has going here, I'm all for it. I don't see any point in reinventing the wheel, though, so if any of your plans duplicate what's already in progress here, it would make more sense to contribute here than try to go it alone. Don't be like a gal I met at a networking session some years ago (not Jeep-related). She was new to the area and wanted to network. I started to give her a bunch of names of people she should contact, who had some networks already in place. "No," she said, "you don't understand. I want to start my OWN network." In other words, she was all about herself and not really interested in true networking.

Welcome

"The" 1988 FSM (Cherokee or Comanche) is a pile of separate books. There;s the primary mechanical manual, which covers engines, axles, brakes, transmissions, and transfer cases. Except ... ... that the manual is the 1986 manual, so it doesn't include the 4.0L engine, the 231 transfer case, the BA10/5 or the AW4 transmission. Each of those is available as a separate book. Plus there's a separate manual for the Renix injection system, and a separate manual for the electricals. I bought them from DaimlerChrysler's fulfillment house (Dyment). I don't think they have ISBN numbers, since they aren't being sold through Barnes & Noble or Borders.

Fuel injected vehicles don't have an accelerator pump like old carburetors did. The purpose of the accelerator pump was to avoid that lag when you mash the throttle. When you're driving at a constant (more or less) speed, the throttle plate is partially open and the air column flowing through your throttle body is moving at a basically constant velocity. When you mash the throttle, the plate opens up wide, but the engine RPMs haven't increased yet. So the velocity of that air stream drops significantly. Same volume of air, but flowing through the throttle body slower. In theory the velocity should be the same at the point where the intake runners enter the head (which is where the injectors are located), but maybe not. In a carburetor, the slower air flow doesn't such as much fuel out of the venturis as a faster column of air, so they used the accelerator pump to give it a shot of gas to enrich the mixture until the engine RPMs could catch up and get the airstream moving again. With an electronic injection system, there's the throttle position sensor that tells the ECU (or PCM, depending on year) what position the throttle plate is in. Maybe your TPS is out of adjustment and the ECU isn't "getting the message" that the throttle is wide open.

89 and older mj's have an emissions maintenence light, tahts it. :) '90 and older, actually. The newer Chrysler system didn't come on-line until the 1991 model year. 1990 was still Renix.

F-150 springs aren't hard ... they're brutal. They are worse than the 4" Trailmaster springs I had in my '88. Notice I wrote "had" -- past tense. I couldn't take the ride any more. I took out the lift and went back to stock height. What an improvement!

I have an '86 XJ 2.8L automatic (or what's left of one) that has 3.73 gears, but I don't know if they were ever offered in the MJ. The hulk I have in the yard is the only XJ or MJ I've ever seen that actually has 3.73s in it. And I don't know if the front axle is even original or matches the rear. It was a hulk when it followed me home, and once I started poking around I began to notice a few -- anomolies.

Lack of acceleration can also be caused by a clogged catalytic converter. The V6 that comes in the new Jeeps is a passenger car engine that doesn't develope torque, it developes horsepower -- at high RPMs. On the street it's a nice engine, but it is not an engine that was designed to do what an off-road vehicle is intended to do. IMHO you should ignore anything you see in an article that suggests the new Jeep engine is an any way better than the 4.0L engine, because that tells me either (a) the writer doesn't know anything about off-road vehicles, (B) the writer is a shill for DaimlerChrylser ... or both. I've only been driving a 4.0L Cherokee for 19 years and 260,000 miles (that's just on the original XJ ... I also own several other XJs and enough MJs that I've lost count for the moment). Your post is the FIRST time I have ever heard anyone claim that the 4.0L has a "problem" with not getting enough fuel at high RPM.

(a) What makes you think it leans out at wide open throttle? (B) It may have more acceleration when cold because before the engine reaches operating temperature the ECU runs in "open loop mode," meaning it doesn't read the oxygen sensor to meter the fuel, it uses a pre-programmed fuel map that's coded into the ECU and basically runs extra rich for warm-up. (Much as cars with carburetors used to have to run with a choke partially on until they warmed up.) The performance should not degrade when it warms up and switches into "closed loop mode," so perhaps your oxygen sensor is in need of replacement. Which could also affect (a).

it wil run, but you'll need to plug the hose so you don't have a vacuum leak. It stores vacuum for the HVAC controls to move the motors in the dash. wihout it you'll be stuck on defrost. Actually, he won't be stuck on defrost. When he's cruising or going downhill, the heater controls will work just fine. Going uphill or accelerating, the vacuum drops and the heater controls will mysteriously direct heat away from your feet and up to the windshield. You don't absolutely "need" the blimp -- but it does have a purpose.

The oblong "blimp" will work. It has two chambers. That one was for vehicles with cruise control, which also operated from engine vacuum. Just cap one set of outlets to keep junk out of the unused chamber and hook up your vacuum lines to the other end.