Eagle

Probably an AX-4 but possibly a T-4. Transfer case would have been an NP207. That will replace a 231 but it's not as good, not as strong, and the low range is 2.6:1 rather than 2.72:1 for the NP231 Other than the disadvantages you mentioned, I can't think of any. Easily? Nope.

The 86 thru 90 throttle body injection system for the 2.5L engine was a Renix system. The 91 and newer 2.5L engines used a Chrysler multi-port system that's essentially the same as the 91+ system they used on the 4.0L.

Did the TSB actually talk about modifying the stock wiring harness? I ask because you can buy replacement CPS's that come WITH the replacement two-wire harness to run straight from the CPS through the firewall to the ECU. The problem (as it was explained to me by the gurus at Bradshaw Jeep) was (is) that the run in the stock harness is too long, causing a voltage drop. The CPS doesn't generate all that much voltage anyway, so it doesn't require much drop to cause problems. The replacement harness, being a short and direct run, is intended to eliminate this problem. I haven't priced them recently, but the last time I bought one the CPS with the replacement harness actually cost less than a replacement CPS without the harness. If you need the part number, I can probably find the spare I bought and get the number off the box. It just might take a little while.

Correct. '92 was the last year for the MJ, but the last two years of the MJ did not have the Renix engine.

There was one on the MJ I gave to Detoours for modeling the rear bumpers on the longbeds. If he's still checking this board, maybe he could shoot a picture.

true, and that's why it was the last suv to not have an independent suspension. THe guy that designed the XJ front suspension was in charge of the zj one too. The WJ (Grand Cherokee redesign, introduced in 1999) still used solid axles, front and rear. The rear, of course, was that worthless aluminum "Dana 44," but at least it was a solid axle.

I corresponded directly with the president of AMOG about my 88 XJ and 88 MJ and he said they recognize through model year 1988.

I know a guy in Rhode Island who says he gets $15 EACH for old alloy rims. How hard is it to remove the rear window? Or did you mean that you got just the small, center sliding part? I want to swap a slider into one of my heaps but I can't figure out how the stock windows are held in. I know it's a gasket, but it doesn't seem to want to be cooperative. One of my heaps was rescued from the crusher. I spotted it in a junkyard just a couple of miles from home. It's an 86 LWB (naturally, being an 86) 4-cyl, 4-speed 2WD. But it's basically solid and straight. Based on the sorry tale above, the guy at this yard must be a saint. He sold me the whole truck for $100. Of course, he had already turned in the title to the state saying it was scrap, which is going to be a massive headache, but at least I saved it from the crusher.

At $50 for a 29-spline 8-1/4 you can't go wrong. If you cut/gring carefully you may be able to reuse the original spring perches. If not, for about $10 from Mopar Performance you can get a pair of the beefiest spring perches you'll ever need. Weld 'em on and throw that puppy under your truck.

Some people claim the sale to Chrysler was completed in 1987, although the paperwork for my 1988 XJ, which I bought in early 1988, all says I bought it from AMC. The 1988 model year is the last year accepted as "AMC" by the AMC Owners Group. The 1989 and 1990 service manuals were obviously published under Chrysler auspices. However, Chrysler didn't really get involved in the engineering until the 1991 model year. I rather suspect that at least the 1989 FSM is pretty straight AMC. Dunno about 1990. I don't have a copy of either one, so I can't really say.

Why? It's an AMC engine. The Chrysler FSM makes sense if you have a 91 or 92 with the Chrysler injection & ignition. It's worthless if you have an earlier 2.5L with the throttle body injection and Renix ignition.

If it's useless, it isn't an AMC FSM. I have the printed AMC FSM for the early MJs. It's excellent.

I agree.

I would go with the Dana 44. Since you don't want to consider the 8.8 (and I agree with your reasons, don't get me wrong), it's the only logical choice. IMHO the Super 35 is an option only if you can't find anything else, AND if you truss it -- which adds another few hundred $$$ to the equation. Plus the D44 has bigger brakes than the D35. [i sure do wish you'd stop calling tires "tars", though. Heck, even down south where they say it that way they spell it right.]

What purpose are the AALs for? There are nowhere near as many sources for MJ AALs as there are for XJs, but there are junkyard springs that can provide leaves. The question is whether you want lift, carrying capacity, or both. If you want lift, how much lift are you looking for and have you already converted to SOA?

Thank you, feerocknok, for documenting what I've been saying all along. What you didn't mention but the last photo shows is that the XJ flare simply doesn't line up with the mounting flange on the MJ, so even if you wanted to use it and accept the poor fit -- you could not use the stock mounting plates, you would have to Mickey Mouse some way of putting them on. Good "investigative journalism."

The crazy part is that the MJ doesn't have amber turn signals, so there's absolutely no reason at all to use a Hoppy connector for trailer wiring. I just tapped a plain-Jane 4-wire flat connector in and it's been working fine.

The XJ combo valve doesn't work "better," but if you eliminate the rear proportioning valve from an MJ, the stock MJ combo valve does not provide any proportioning. This can cause premature rear brake lockup in panic stop situations (or rain or snow), so unless you're old enough to remember how to handle massive oversteer under braking fromt he days before we had proportioning valves, you're better off with the XJ combo valve up front. The other nice thing about the XJ proportioning valve is that the rear outlet is on the bottom of the valve body. That's the line in the MJ that bypasses the rear proportioning valve, so you can connect that and remove or abandon the line coming out of the nose of the MJ combo valve.

Try what, checking the caster? Of course. If the previous owner is known to have replaced parts, you have no way of knowing if he dropped all the shims that control caster into the mud. Too little caster is known to contribute to DW and it doesn't cost anything to check, so why would you NOT want to check it?

Check the caster angle. If the caster angle is more than a degree or two less than specified, DW can result.

I know a guy in PA who has a complete, NIB factory Stage 3 cam kit. He was going to rebuild and cam the 4-cyl in his MJ but I believe now he may be leaning toward an engine transplant. Lemme know if you can't find anything and I'll ask if he wants to sell his.

ok so it was suspended animation wobble... Or "shimmy" ...

There is no such thing as a "mild form of DW." If the vehicle can be controlled and driven, and if you didn't pee in your pants and watch your entire life pass in front of your eyes, it was NOT death wobble. There is a reason it's called "death" wobble.

There's a chap from one of the Rocky Mountain states posting on NAXJA as "Hoss Hoffer" who runs a Mopar Statge 2 or Stage 3 cam in his 2.5 TBI. He says the stock fuel system is enough to handle the cam. I hope to find out next year -- I have the vehicle and I have the cam, just need to get them together.

I thought they made the change in model year 1990, but whether it was '90 or '91, the entire header panel is different. I don't think you can use the old grille and headlight bezels on the new header, or vice versa. The grille itself will go in, but the old grille has no trim above it, and on the new style header panel there's no place to attach the separate trim strip.