Eagle

4-bangers? The rear main seal on the 2.5L engine is a one-piece seal that canNOT be replaced with the tranny in place, by simply dropping the oil pan (unlike the 4.0L). So it would be an excellent idea to replace the rear main seal while the engine is out and the back of the block is accessible.

Yepp, that's how you'd use line locks. Or you could set up a pair of levers running small hydraulic cylinders either in the cab or under the cab floor and run those through independent lines to each rear wheel. The catch is, though, that the rear wheels can't be hydraulically connected or applying pressure to one will apply pressure to both. So you would basically have to eliminate normal rear brakes, and have only the hydraulic cutting brakes. (Or you'd have to install a sophisticated system of one-way check valves ... it can be done, but at what point do you say "This isn't worth what's it's costing"?) IMHO cutting brakes are a very specialized application that have no place on a vehicle that gets driven on the street. If you have a trailer queen that sees a lot of use in sand, then maybe there's some justification for them.

Yeah, you can if you have good rear brakes and keep them adjusted. But a hydraulic solution provides more braking power, for sure.

Pretty much all cars and PUs have separate cables to the two rear wheels. Converting that to fully independent cutting brakes requires adding two levers inside the cab and separate forward cables. It can be done, but for probably 98% of MJ owners wouldn't provide any benefit. The same thing can be accomplish hydraulically, using a pair of drag racing line locks.

Yeah. Considering the heat above the headliner in summer, good duct tape should last at least two weeks, maybe three, before it completely peels off. The cheap stuff I'd give a week, tops. Not a good idea at all.

Those big, chrome (rust) mirrors were part of the tow package option. The standard mirror on the base model MJs was a single, "flag" style mirror on the driver's side door. Pioneers, XLE's and such all got XJ style mirrors on both doors ... except the MJ versions don't include the inside "manual remote" popsicle stick adjuster. However, XJ mirros bolt right on if you have them. (Andy in PA, you should know this. The truck style mirrors are the same ones that are on "Blue" that Mike gave Chris.) And yes, the MJ doors are the same as the front doors for an XJ 4-door ... up through about 1995. Somewhere around '96 or '97 Chrysler changed the latch location so the newer doors will bolt onto the truck but the latches won't line up.

If you go to the Monroe shocks web site, they used to have their full catalog on-line. In the back of the catalog is a section that lists each shock by upper and lower mount type, and compressed and extended length. It takes a bit of hunting around, but using that data you can find a shock to fit just about anything. I haven't been on there for awhile because I have the printed master catalog, so I don't know for sure that they still have it on-line ... but I can't imagine that they would have removed it, it's too useful.

Does this post have a purpose? What is it you're asking for?

Find a Carquest parts store and buy a pair of XJ/MJ "Cargo Coils" BTW -- There's no such thing as a Grand Cherokee V6 -- at least, there wasn't until this year.

Owning and having wheeled both XJs and MJs, I can tell you that a SWB MJ wheels very well ... and so does an XJ. There are a very few types of situations where the MJ is marginally better, and there are situations where the XJ is better. Even the SWB MJ has a longer wheelbase than an XJ, so the breakover angle on the MJ is worse than the XJ (assuming the same ride/lift height). Overall, I think the Cherokee is better and if I were shopping for a vehicle to turn into a dedicated wheeler, I'd be shopping for a Cherokee, not a Comanche. And not just because I think Comanches should be restored rather than wrecked. Personally, knowing how many more XJs there are than MJs, I cringe at the notion of chopping up a decent MJ to make it into a wheeler. I know for some who own an MJ and want to go wheeling it may be the only economically feasible option, but I still don't like it. But when you already have an XJ that's set up with the 4-litre engine and AW4, going to the effort to move all that over to a 4-banger MJ just to go wheeling sounds like a complete effort in futility. The 4-liter AW4 XJ is possibly the finest out-of-the-box wheeling machine you'll ever find. There is NO valid reason to swap that stuff into an MJ and ruin a perfectly good truck. Also, why would you do away with an automatic for wheeling in favor of a 5-speed? I mean, I LOVE 5-speeds -- all my vehicles have 'em except a couple of 4-speed MJs ... and my wife's XK Classic. But even I will admit that the AW4 is superior for wheeling. JMHO -- YMMV

Ummm ... no Why do you ask? And what the heck does "ravid" mean? It isn't in MY dictionary.

You beat me to it. This is definitely the sleeper parts listing of all time. When I set out to order a pair of these things, the parts guy looked up the price, we looked at each other, and said "That CAN'T be for a pair." So I told him to order me two, just to be safe. So he ordered me two, and the next Saturday morning I stopped in to collect my swag. He set two boxes on the counter, and they rattled. We opened one, and out came TWO of the beefiest spring perches I ever saw. They are WAY heavier than the OEM perches that get welded to an XJ axle, and much better quality than what you'll pay the offroad suppliers $30 to $50 a pair for.

I don't know if the overall thread ever reached a consensus, since I know for a fact that XJ flares won't fit and at least two other posters insisted they will. Do whatever you think is best for you.

Assuming the oil pan has never been off before, be prepared to go very slowly or you WILL destroy the pan. The factory used a shellac type gasket sealer back then, and the pan is nearly welded to the block. Pry too hard with a fat pry bar and you'll bend up the flange of the pan, making it useless. What you need to do is get something very thin in there, and then gradually tap it around the permeter, cutting the gasket free of the block as you go. To replace, get the 95+ one-piece pan gasket. Depending on your parts source, it may or may not be listed as an service replacement for the older style, but it WILL work and it makes life sooooo much easier. Plus -- it's reusable.

The entire dash comes out, and for those who know how to do it, it's quick and easy. Kevin, the lead mechanic at my dealership, does 'em lickety-split. The rest of us, though, would really benefit from reading up on it in a FSM before proceeding. There aren't all that many screws and bolts, but a few are hiding in unexpected places, and those few can match the job a real pregnant dog.

So, like ... is that a compliment, or is that a statement for which you should rate a visit from the kneecap brothers? You'll be back. You have been assimilated.

The factory parts system had some a couple of years ago, and I doubt there has been high demand. I haven't checked recently.

That sounds like a plan to me. Let us know how it works.

I ran Pennzoil exclusively in my 88 XJ for 175,000 miles and I didn't have a mess like that. I changed over to synthetic at 175,000 miles, and at the time of the change the inside of the engine was clean enough to eat off. That engine looks like the oil was never changed, and the engine was severely overheated for protracted periods. It's a mess. That gook is baked on and it's going to be difficult to get it off. The best suggestion so far was the one to pull the head and have it hot tanked.

First off, y'ain't supposed to machine Jeep flywheels with the internal slave. I know it gets done ... and it always creates problems. HOWEVER ... the problem is usually the reverse of what you're encountering. The release bearing/slave assembly doesn't have enough travel to compensate for the machining. The usual "fix" is to shim the release bearing where it mounts inside the bellhousing, by an amount equal to what was removed from the flywheel. This one is the opposite. First dumb question, but I have to ask -- you are absolutley certain that the clutch disc is facing the correct way? It only goes one way, and if it's reversed the result is essentially what you are experiencing.

I was wondering the same thing just the other day. I'm particularly curious, since I'm the guy who donated the template. (And I'm still dealing with the medical aftermath of what should have been a minor injury incurred the day the templete departed the Jeep farm.)

I ran the 88 XJ on 10W40 conventional for the first 175,000 miles of its life. When I finally switched to synth, the gauge was showing a bit lower than what I like (still well within spec, but lower than I like), so I now use Castrol Syntech 5W50. Although I suspect that the problem is with the gauge itself rather than the engine. I know it isn't the sender, because I've replaced that multiple times with neglible difference. Once the engine is warm, you can't run an oil that's "TOO" heavy. You need the lighter weight end of a multi-viscosity oil only to get quick oil circulation on cold starts.

Okay. Warn me when posting pictures of the carnage. Barbarian!

There is (or was) a special tool that old line Jeep dealers had for disassembling those shifter handles. It required having the assembly out of the tranny anyway, to put the shift handle in a vise, so for this purpose it would not have been helpful. The shop foreman at my dealership told me they tossed theirs years ago -- it is difficult to use, and there was virtually never a need for it. They needed the space in the tool crib for tools they use. Without that special tool, I believe there is no non-destructive way to separate the upper shift handle from the lower extension.

That depends on how badly stuck they are. I had one I pounded unmercifully for two days that wouldn't give up. I was hitting the tire (first with a 2x4 block to protect the tire & wheel, then without, no joy. I finally decided the wheel wasn't worth saveing and went to work directly on the rim. It finally broke loose, but I had to do some serious damage to the wheel before it popped. Always use ant-sieze around your hub centers.