Eagle

I towed the remains of a partially stripped XJ on a long-ish, borrowed ALUMINUM flatbed from Massachusetts to Connecticut with the 88 MJ, which is a shortbed. I had 3.73 gears in it and I believe at that time I was still on 31s. And the electrical connection on the trailer didn't match the pigtail on my truck, so even though the trailer had electric brakes, they were useless. Stopping really required driving much farther ahead than even I am accustomed to, but that was no surprise. After all, I was towing more than the weight of the MJ and trying to stop with the MJ brakes. What surprised me, though, was how much that weight bogged me down on upgrades. The route went through the Berkshire Mountains (or Hills, depending on who you talk to and where they live), so there were plenty of climbs to negotiate. We made it, but the poor truck was really straining on the hills. I would say the only sensible way to do it would be with a stroker -- you need the extra torque. And if possible a longbed MJ will tow a lot better than a shortbed.

Be sure you're measuring the same dimension. I had an original Cherokee, but I don't remember what size drums it had. I do that that all XJ and MJ D44s had 10x2-1/4 drums. This is different from the early XJ and MJ d35s, which were 10x1-3/4 -- the backing plates DO NOT interchange. I already tried. Thought I was going to do cheap upgrade by scoring a set of used D44 drums to throw on the XJ. The rear flange of the drum bottoed out on the backing plate long before the inside surface of the center "hat" could make contact with the hub. End of experiment. A long time ago a guy named Mark in AZ told me he used Crown Vic 10" brakes on his XJ -- but he used the backing plates and everything outborad from there.

The sender for the idiot light is an on-off switch. The light should either be ON, or OFF. A dim glow indicates a problem, but it could be that the switch has triggered and that corrosion is limiting the current between the sender and the panel. I would encourage you to get some kind of temperature guage in there ASAP, even if you toss in a cheapie that hangs under the dash until you can find a full gauge cluster.

Believe it or not, JC Whitney used to sell them. I haven't checked recently so I don't know if they still do. Check out some of the threads around here. Several have discussed a place called Sherman's (I think) that carries them.

In the last few years of the XJ lifespan Chrysler changed the oil to 5W30. That doesn't lubricate anything better, mind you, it just might gain a nano-MPG on the fleet average. Back in the time of the MJs the recommended weights were 10W30 and 10W40.

If he's going to tow this rig far and/or often, he really NEEDS a full-size rig rated at least 3/4-ton. I'd suggest a Dodge 2500 in deisel. The MJ can pull that load, but you asked about "easily." It won't do it easily. Braking actually shouldn't be an issue, because any rig that heavy should have trailer brakes (probably required by law).

If you go the junkyard route, be VERY sure you get a backing plate for a Dana 44. THe XJ/MJ D35 backing plates do NOT work.

Because they don't have a knock sensor. The Renix system always keeps the spark fully advanced, as far as the speed and load will allow. The Chrysler system doesn't do that. My '88 XJ still gets around 23 MPG on the highway, and that's with 260,000 miles on the clock. One trip when it was fairly new I got 28. The HOs can't touch those figures.

Yes, they interchange, but you have to swap out the entire front triangle, including the glass, frame, surround, and the front track for the main window. IMHO it's not worth it. The operable vents always leak. I have 'em on my '88 XJ (paid extra for leaky windows!), I don't have 'em on any of the MJs, and I don't miss them. The ones on the XJ have been glued shut for years.

x2. VERY nice job.

Build up a couple of plies on the back (top) side to hold it together, then sand the joints smooth on the fabric side and maybe put a thin coat of resin to seal it. Probably worth a try. JoAnn Fabrics carries headliner fabric in most of their stores, BTW.

The original 4.0L and the HO 4.0L are the same engine. What changed is the injection/ignition system, from the original AMC "Renix" (RENault-bendIX) to a Chrysler designed system. The Chrysler system is OBD compliant (not OBD-2, however), the Renix is not. They are both good engines -- that should not be your determining factor.

Yeah, I'll bet that's what he figures. And it's obvious why -- eBay has become a haven for opportunists and rip-off artists.

Aren't the headliner boards made of fiberglass? If so, what about putting the pieces together and joining them on the back side using boat fiberglass and resin? You can buy glass fiber in rolls of various widths, like 2" or 4". I would think a layer or two of tape and resin maybe 6" wide would provide a decent weld.

If the board is intact -- I'm interested. The fabric isn't important as long as the board is solid and not bent or broken. How far is Granby from New Haven, CT?

Most of the stock rims are 15x7 with 5-1/4" backspacing. The wheels you are considering are 2 inches wider, plus 3/4" less backspacing, which means they will extend 2-3/4" farther out than stock rims. Only you can decide if it's going to look goofy or "tough." One thing to consider, though, is they almost certainly won't be legal. Most jurisdictions require that the fender or flare cover the whole width of the tire tread -- a few allow half to extend, but no more. I don't know what the rules are where you live or how aggresively they get enforced, but it's something to think about.

As of about a year ago the factory warehouse still had a few NEW headliners. I think the only colour available was grey, which was fine with me because that's the only colour I'd want. I am also considering tinkering with an XJ headliners, because my '88 MJ came with nothing. The problem is the back end -- the stock moldboard curves down over the rear window, and I don't know if it's going to be possible to match that profile with a chopped XJ board. However, if you have the tail end from an MJ board, perhaps the curved section could be overlaid (or uderleaid) to make the transition.

It will always look like a cobbled up patch job, because that's what it will be. The XJ wheel arch opening is smaller in both height and length, and IIRC the height from the bottom of the panel to the first body crease is also different. A friend of mine used XJ quarters to get his beater MJ through safety inspection. It didn't have open rust holes, but it sure wasn't pretty.

Man, if he's in PA he should be heading to that HUGE pick & pull yard in Hazleton. You can see the place right from I-81, just off the same exit as Paragon Off-Road Park. I think it's called Harry's. They always have Jeeps. Lots of Jeeps. If he's closer to Philadelphia, he should also check the u-pull in Conshohoken. Don't remember the name on that one, though. Shorty's? Shorty & Dave's? Something like that.

The bench brackets are the same, but they only have one track on each bracket. The bucket seat brackets have two tracks. If you didn't destroy the inner tracks, you can transfer them over to the bench seat brackets. If the tracks are history, you have a problem. Take a look at the illustration Pete posted and you'll see what I'm talking about:

The bolt pattern is the same for the 4.0L as the 4.2L but I do not know if the AX-15 tranny used the same bell housing as the Peugeot. If the question is a YJ bell housing vs. an XJ bell housing -- they should be the same.

Define "fit" please. Considering that the MJ wheel arches are both longer and higher than the XJ, and the height from the bottom of the panel to the first body crease is different, I wouldn't say that an XJ panel will "fit" an MJ. I suppose in an emergency it could be made to work, but it'll look like hell. A friend of mine patched up his MJ using XJ quarters, so I can attest first-hand to how bad the end result was. It got him through the state safety inspection, but that's the ONLY good thing that could be said for it.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I just need to dismember one of the XJ packs and hold the main leaf under the MJ to see how close the arch is. I think it's going to work. Yeah, Pete, I am fretting over a lousy inch. Probably 98% of the time I drive one of the MJs the box is empty, but when I load it up ... I load it up. I really don't want the back any higher than stock for that 98% of the time, but I do want the extra load capacity for the other 2% of the time.

I have the same problem on my '87. I replaced the tank, drove to the gas station to fill up, and promptly pumped several gallons of gas onto the pavement. What seems to happen is the brazed or soldered joint where the metal elbows pass through the fuel pump mounting flange cracks, allowing gas to flow out when it reaches that level. I don't recall if it was here or on the NAXJA forum, but someone suggested cleaning up the outside really well and then sealing the joint with a collar of JB-Weld. That's what I'm going to try next.

Hey, Pete -- About that extra main leaf: I've done that second main leaf on XJs (as have several other people). With an old XJ and an old pair of donor springs I grossed 1-1/4" of lift -- most people seem to gain about 1-1/2". I'm looking at doing the same thing as a budget way to upgrade a standard MJ to a metric ton sort of rating. But I only want additional capacity, I don't want lift. Did you do the extra leaf at the same time you did the SOA, or did you add the leaf as a separate operation that would allow you to quantify how much lift it produced? I have available to me both an MJ spring pack and a couple of XJ spring packs. I'm trying to decide which to use as donor AALs.