Eagle

You obviously read the ad too fast, and missed the important stuff. They don't use ordinary hitch steel, they use INNER hitch steel -- with "astronomical" weight. (Funny -- my AISC steel handbook doesn't appear to know anything about this special grade of astronomically heavy steel, but I guess that's because structural engineers only design buildings and bridges, and not rock rails.) Now I'm curious. If there is an inner hitch steel, there must also be an outer hitch steel. Which is stronger and heavier? Maybe this stuff is inferior, and to get really REALLY good rock rails we should be using "outer" hitch steel. :eek:

The factory jack and handle for the MJ is exactly the same as for an XJ. Just hit the u-pull yard and look under the back seats of the XJs.

FWIW, the vacuum for the light works as CW said -- the switch should be on the passenger side of the firewall. The axle disconnect housing should have 3 vacuum tubes to it, but no electrical wires. As to the feeling that the t-case shifter moves back part way and hits a block: you are aware that there is a detent, right? It's a straight pull back to 4-HI, then you have to slide the handle to the right (offset) before pulling it the rest of the way for 4-Low.

I measured the difference as 5/8" but 3/4" is close enough. Yeah, the D35 driveshaft is too long. Cutting 3/4" off the end of the yoke won't do anything -- the outer portion will still slam into the tailshaft housing when the suspension compresses. The good news is that its a lot easier and cheaper to have a driveshaft made shorter than it is to have a longer shaft made up. Actually, the 3" lift might just be enough to make it about right. Shaggy dog story: A friend of mine had a 3" lift in his father's 95 XJ. For some reason he decided that he NEEDED to jump it up to 5", so he threw in front coil spacers and 2" blocks in the back. Took it out for a test ride and the driveshaft fell out a quarter of a mile down the road. So if a 5" lift is enough to pull a driveshaft all the way out, a 3" lift ought to be enough to pull it out 3/4 of an inch. Try bolting it up and check to see how much space you have left for it to move forward. Post that, and some of us with stock vehicles can tell you how close that is to OEM.

I am in Connecticut, and the man at Detours is a friend of a friend. I have a couple of longbeds here that he is more than welcome to come measure off of, but they are not running or registered so I can't take them to him. If he has a trailer and wants to borrow one for awhile, that would be okay, too. Have him contact me. He can find me either here or at NAXJA for a PM.

Yeah, but the Toy axle uses a 6-bolt flange, like on full-size pickups and the old full-size Cherokee and J trucks.

Too bad you're almost on the opposite side of the country from me. I have a 2WD 5-speed that I would very happily trade for a 4WD version. Actually, I have three of the damned things ... and two of them are locked in reverse.

well if this was my 88 that would work. but in my 86 that isnt where the vac ball is. and with this v6 i have no clue where it is. i will look for it and check there first though. thx alot. alex The vacuum reservoir on the 86 should be a metal coffee can looking thing on the passenger side inner fender, with a tube running to the center of the coffee can "lid." If you have cruise control, you probably have two of the cans mounted next to each other.

Except for the fact that the perches aren't the same distance apart. You canNOT just drop an XJ axle under an MJ and bolt up an instant SOA Best deal around on new perches is the universal ones from the Mopar Performance catalog. They run about $10/pair (yes, that's for the pair, they come two in the box), and they are BEEFY. Much heavier than stock XJ or MJ perches.

No, they were absolutely correct. It "should" just bolt right up. They simply neglected to mention that it doesn't ...

IMHO ... bad idea. As already commented, they'll get hung up on things. ("Things" usually meaning rocks, but can also apply to tree stumps, old fences, dead cows ... whatever you're trying to over instead of around.) My '88 MJ had a 4" Trailmaster lift when I bought it, with the front control arm drop brackates. Same idea. I hated them. Rock magnets, is what they are.

Many thanks for the number of the seal for the passenger side of the diff. Did it fit right in, or did you have to do any machining of the opening for the seal to fit? What I don't understand is why there are two other seals. The factory setup for no disconnect is just one seal, at the diff housing. What's with the second seal at the disconnect housing? If an axle with no disconnect housing doesn't need a seal in the middle of the tube, why does having an empty disconnect housing around a one-piece shaft require a seal?

Why do you think you need to swap harnesses? The TCU in an '88 is free-standing, it isn't part of the ECU. The ECU is different, but I know people have driven manuals using the automatic ECU, and I suspect you can go the other way. Not certain, but I think all you need is the harness to connect from the TCU (which mounts under the right side of the dashboard, by the glovebox) to the engine harness.

160,000 miles is just barely getting broken in, and $750 for a running MJ with minimal rust is a steal. My MJ isn't that high in miles, but I ahve an '88 Cherokee (which is the same vehicle, mechanically) that's now at about 254,000 miles and has had no major repairs. Still gets over 20 MPG highway, and has seen some challenging 4WD trails. Stick around -- we'll help you get it straightened out. For starters, do NOT use the 4WD on hard, dry pavement.

Longbed? How much do you want for it? What kind of condition is it in?

Correct.

DON'T DO THE QUAD LIGHTS! Those XJ Wagoneer quads are an oddball lamp that's hard to find. Worse, though, is that they put out woefully little light, and there's no upgrade path for them because they don't fit enough vehicles to make a halogen replacement light effective for the vendor. Do an older rectangular headlamp Waggy nose if you have to go the Waggy route. Personally, if I were going to change the nose on a Comanche I'd update to the new Cherokee (97+) look.

The older voltmeters aren't very accurate. As noted, corrosion in the circuit gets in the way. My '88 Cherokee shows about 12.5 volts on the gauge, but a voltmeter on the battery shows about 13.9 volts. Before you start shelling out big bucks for an alternator you may not need, check the actual output at the battery.

Used is an okay way to go for an older vehicle. Jeep used the 2.5L engine in the Wranglers right up through 2003 or 2004, in the Cherokee through 2000, and also Chrysler used it in the Dakota pickups for several years, so you can search other vehicles for the same engine. The throttle body injection was used by Jeep from 1986 thru 1990 only, but the base engine was the same right to the end. If you buy a newer one, use it as a long block and put on your manifolds to keep the same injection. The newer multi-port is more powerful, but as noted then you would have to rewire the entire vehicle. You'll have to use your old flex plate and CPS, too. The newer Mopar ECU/injection/ignition uses a different type of CPS that's not compatible with your Renix electrical system, and the newer flex plate won't trigger your old CPS.

AFAIK there was no optional, larger tank for the SWB MJ. The LWB had two tank sizes, the SWB only came with an 18-gallon tank.

Pete, what year were those numbers for? I know I got the number I quoted directly from an '86 Owners manual, and it doesn't match any of your numbers.

The big Ford coils won't flex -- period. Full-size pickups weigh a lot more than MJs, so the springs are much stiffer.

(1) Have the front tires rebalanced. (2) Check the condition of the front hub/bearing units. I suspect one may be worn. (3) Check the torque on your lug nuts! I had the same exact problem on the '88 MJ when I swappped on a pair of almost new 235/75 Pirellis on factory alloys. Right turns at 50 or 55 MPH would set off massive death wobble. I took off those tires and wheels, put on a pair of 215/75 BFGs I had on steel rims, and the problem is gone. I need to look more carefully at those rims. They were take-offs from a wreck and appeared good, but I suspect either balance, or physical damage to the rims.

My owners manual says 3093. PM responded to.

21 out of 25 here