Eagle

As usual, I am confused. If you know it has a bad radiator, why do you think electric fans are going to "fix" it?

The fenders are the same. The header panel should be the same as an '88. The different header panel was when Chrysler changed the grill to make the trim strip above it an integral part of the grille rather than a separate strip. That also required a change to the header panel. Not sure if that change was made in '89 or '90.

Have you driven cars with non-rack & pinion manual steering before? Were you trying to turn the steering wheel when the vehicle wasn't moving? If so -- ain't gonna happen. Also, manual steering serves as a reminder to check your tire pressures. If they're soft -- you'll know it.

The strikers on the new doors are not only a different type, they are at a different height on the door. I read that article on NAXJA, and my sense is that he left out a lot of information. I wish we weren't on opposite ends of the continent, because I'd like to look at his swap "up close and personal."

The early Dakota spring packs are used to lift Cherokees, which are spring-over-axle. Am I safe in assuming that your BDS lift retained the original spring-under-axle configuration? If so, adding one leaf out of a Dakota pack might give you some additional lift, but there's no way to predict how much. The way to tell would be to hold the bare Dakota leaf next to the spring in your truck. If the Dakota leaf has more arch than your static loaded spring, it'll give you some lift. If it has less arch, it won't help you. Adding any leaves WILL make the ride stiffer. Have you considered chopping a coil off the front springs to level things out?

what is the cubic size of those engine? What else could it have, hes not to bright when it comes to axles. oh could it have the 8.25 or something like that. The 2.5L is 150 (some say 151) cubic inches. And, no, it is NOT the Pontiac "Iron Duke" (although AMC did buy some of those for the Concord/Eagle/Spirit line in the early 80s). 2.8 liters is 171 cubic inches. As to axles .. . if it's original, it MUST have a Dana 30 front and a Dana 35 rear. There were no optional axles in the 1985 Cherokee -- only optional ratios.

Seals? On all my Cherokees and Comanches, the seals are mounted to the body, not to the door. How is swapping a door going to get you newer seals?

An '85 XJ would be either a 2.5L 4-cylinder or the dreaded 2.8L GM V6. Neither would have a D44 rear axle.

You can certainly use the EARLY D35 brakes, but they aren't the same as D44 brakes. The D44 uses 10x2.5" brakes and the early D35 used 10x1.75". The offset on the backing plates is slightly different, so you can't use the backing plates from the 1.75" setup and slap on 2.5" drums. (Proven conclusively) The newer D35s and the 8.25s use 9x2.5" brakes. I think they can be made to fit, but why bother? Also, those axles use c-clips to retain the shafts, so there won't be a bearing retainer at the outboard end. I've heard of using 10x2.5" Ford drums on a Cherokee axle, but I don't know about a Crown Vic disc conversion. What about the discs from a Grand Cherokee?

That seems to be a common problem, and probably NOT the tank. Which I found out the hard way, when I first tried to fill the NEW tank I had just installed, and watched the gas flowing out around my feet from beneath the vehicle. The problem is often where the fuel hard lines go through the flange the mounts in the tank. One or both tubes gets loose and the gas flows out through the cracked seam. I'm going to try carefully wire brushing it with a bronze cleaning brush, then epoxy it and hope for the best.

Yes, all 86's are LWB. About a year ago I paid $100 for a decent running, very solid but rough paint 2.5L 2WD. A 4WD is worth a bit more, but IMHO $1000 for a truck that has been sitting for two years and therefore will need all new hoses, belts, wheel cylinders, calipers, and possibly axle seals and rear main seal -- is rather a stretch. Heck, after sitting for two years even the tires are suspect.

If you decide to go with the 8.25" XJ axle, be sure it's from a '97 or newer XJ. The older ones are 27 spline just like the D35, and the shafts are the same diameter. The '97 and newer use larger shafts and have 29 splines.

The drop brackets lower the control arms by 4 inches, so with a 5-1/2" lift your control arm geometry will be about the same as someone who throws a budget boost into an otherwise stock XJ or MJ. You won't need adjustable control arms for that amount of difference, but if you're buying aftermarket arms and think you may go higher later, then it would make sense to buy the adjustables so you only do it once. Another option would be to run stock control arms for now, and buy the adjustables if/when you go higher.

The corner markers do not blink on early XJs and MJs. I didn't think that started until 1997, with the new XJ body style. Are you certain they blink on a '93? The parking light problem and the glowing dash indicator both suggest a bad ground to the parking light socket. It's trying to ground through the dash indicator circuit.

Yeah, oddly enough I agree with pingpong. There aren't that many MJs around, comsidering they were only made for 6 years and Jeep sold a lot fewer MJs than they did XJs in those years. The purist/collector/restorer in me cringes at the notion of taking a GOOD one and carving/smashing/bashing slicing and dicing it into a trail beater. On the other hand, there are numerous MJs (unfortunately) that are either in junk yards or posied to be sent there, and even I would prefer to see those hulks saved from oblivion and used for some Jeep-worthy purpose. Buy it. Drive it. If it is a 4-speed, you should be able to find a 5-speed and swap them directly.

My friend just picked up an '88 MJ SWB Chief with bucket seats and the floor shift. They were available.

Are you sure it's a 4-speed? I didn't think they offered the 2.8L with the 4-speed. Basically, there is zero demand for anything in that truck. Nobody wants the 4-speed, NOBODY wants the 2.8L engine (anybody who does, I have one in an XJ you can have for free -- come and get it), and the transfer case is an NP 207, which is weaker and less desireable than the 231 that was introduced in 1987.

You need: The entire front clip off the 97+ vehicle, including the grille, header, bumper and bumper brackets, flares, fenders, headlight bezels, and parking light wiring harness. Hope you have a lot of $$$$

I'm not sure what year it changed, but on older Jeeps the neutral position of the transfer case disengaged the transfer case from the engine and tranny, but left the front and rear driveshafts connected and spinning together. This is fine for flat towing, but obviously with a tow dolly you can't have the front wheels turning. I read somewhere that this was corrected in recent years, but I don't know if it was done by 1995. To be safe, pull the rear driveshaft.

Be sure the steering is straight ahead when you make the adjustment. There is more clearance off-center, and if you adjust it when not centered it get tighter across the center and will damage the box. Your problem is still probably the tie rod ends or the track bar. Adjusting the steering box should be the last thing you consider, not the first, second or even third.

I'm still trying to figure out how he bought it from the people (or the company) who bought it from Jeep Corp (which didn't exist, because by 1990 it was Chrysler Corp), yet when he picked it up he picked it up from "Jeep Corp" rather than from the people who owned it. I don't think so.

In addition to having to remove the radiator supports from the MJ and swap in the appropriate parts from the donor XJ, you will probably also need to "massage" the firewall. The firewall apparently is different on the vehicles with the 4.0L. Some reports claim you can hammer the firewall a bit to provide the necessary clearance, others say cutting is necessary. The swap has been done, so it isn't impossible. Just keep firmly in mind that it is NOT a drop-in swap. The polarity on the gauges is reversed from '86 to '92, so you really are looking at completely rewiring the vehicle to use the '92 injection and engine controls. And the 4.0L uses a higher fuel pressure, so you're also going to have to adapt the XJ fuel pump to your MJ fuel tank -- and reverse the polarity on the fuel level sender to work with the '92 instrument cluster. Lastly, the '92 uses an electonic speedometer, and your MJ has a mechanical speedo. So you'll need to adapt that, as well. If you pull the entire engine/tranny/transfer case from the XJ and also use the XJ gauge cluster, everything should work together.

You can't feel the flange because the headliner board is rigid. My '88 has no headliner so it's visible. If you can wait a week or ten days I'll photograph it for you, but at the moment I'm house-bound while recuperating from an operation and I can't go out there to take pics.

What threaded adjuster? The ball joints aren't adjustable. And caster is adjusted by adding or removing shims at the rear lower control arm mounting pocket. You can do it at home if you have a level driveway or garage floor.

3.73 is an okay ratio with 31" tires if steert driving and fuel mileage are the primary criteria. 4.10s are a much better ratio if you plan to actually wheel it. For 33" tires you really won't be happy with less gear than 4.56.