Eagle

Good question. That's why I refer to the lowest section, the part that bolts to the floor pan, as the "pedestal." It's what the seat sits on top of. CW, as far as I know the rockers were never an "option." They were included with the seats on the early year XJs, and Chrysler eliminated them to save money (naturally). My '88 XJ is a Pioneer, which is only one step up from the base model, and it has the rockers. The side bolsters on my Pioneer seats are nowhere near as full or wide as the ones on those seats you got. Check out some XJ Sports and I think you'll find that the seats don't look like yours. Yours are from about an 87 - 90 Laredo, I think. Do they have the rocking chair feature? (Of course, if someone else converted them to the MJ, whoever did it might have removed the rocking chair hardware.)

I'm more of a manual tranny guy. In general, I think any of the "name" brands of Dexron (III or IV, whatever they're selling these days) will be fine in an AW4. Just be sure you don't put in ATF (forget even what it's called. ATF-3???) formulated for Chrysler trannies -- it's the kiss of death in an AW4.

Holy moly! You used RED Loc-Tite? What'cha gonna do when you need to change a hub/bearing unit, or replace the rear brake shoes? I think I would have started with purple, and maybe progressed up to blue if the purple didn't work. I don't use red on anything.

Correct. The trucks with the gas tank skid don't have the studs on the hanger straps. Those are for the plastic gravel shield that the non-skid plate trucks get. The bolts along the rear of the skid, into the frame, go into thread-serts (a.k.a. riv-nuts). Most likely you'll have to grind or drill them out anyway, because the bolts rust into the thread-serts, then when you try to unscrew them the inserts just spin in the holes in the frame. They're great for assembling the trucks on the assembly line, but an idiotic idea overall. Impossible to service in the field.

It probably isn't your tank that's leaking. I replaced the tank in my '87, drove to the gas station to enjoy my first fill-up in over a year -- and was astonished to find gasoline pouring out onto the pavement as I pumped. What happens is that the hard tubes for the gas lines break loose from the mounting plate where they go through the plate into the tank. Replacement fuel pumps don't include the mouting flange, so a new fuel pump probably isn't the answer. I saw a post by someone (don't remember if it was here or on NAXJA) who just epoxied around the tubes and solved the problem. Once the ground here dries up a bit I'll do that to mine. Fill yours to the point where it starts to drip, then crawl under and take a careful look at where it's coming from.

No, they didn't. The Chrysler 8.25 axles in the XJs have the same length pinion as a Dana 44. Comparing an '87 XJ with AW4 and Dana 35 against a 95 XJ with AW4 and 8.25 axle, the driveshaft out of the '87 was 5/8" longer, to compensate for the shorter pinion on the dana 35.

Those seats that cwlongshot has are not Sport seats. Those are from an early Laredo or Limited. Probably Laredo, as I think all the Limited steats were leather.

It can't happen at all. Something has to trigger death wobble, and a loose track bar does not do that. I drove my '88 XJ through an entire winter with a very sloppy track bar because it was too cold and snowy to change it, and never experienced even a hint of death wobble. If a worn track bar "causes" death wobble, I should have had it.

Welcome to the fold, brother. We'll have to arrange an MJ meet & greet at the transfer station some Saturday morning :)

If it were mine I'd probably be asking $2000 (maybe a bit more) and not settle for a penny less than $1500.

Good grief! About a year ago I paid $400 for a cap almost identical to that and thought I was getting a great deal. You STOLE that thing.

Yes

First check wheel balance. My friend, Erich, just bought an '88 MJ. He found death wobble driving it home the night we picked it up. The track bar is badly worn so he's planning to replace that, but he works in a VW dealership as a shop foreman so he took the truck in Monday and checked the front tires. He said they were horribly out of balance. A few ounces later, his death wobble is gone. The truck still wanders, so he does need to replace the track bar, but the track bar was not "causing" the death wobble as some people insist it can do. Hint: it can't.

That's the only way to go. Lemme see, I'm at seven MJs at the moment -- how can I explain that to the wife in terms that will stifle the argument? (Especially when currently five of the seven are hors de combat.)

I have never heard of Sach, but LUK makes (made) the factory clutches. I've heard of too many people having new clutch slave cylinders blow out after three to six months. For clutch hydraulics I buy only from a Jeep dealer.

NP207 with 21-spline input, 2.62:1 reduction ratio

You don't need a 3" lift to run 31s. In fact, you don't need any lift to run 31s if you use factory Jeep rims, although the front tires look a bit cramped under there. I would seriously consider going with around a 1-1/2" to 2" lift. It'll drive a lot nicer than a 3" lift and be more useful because you have easier access to the cargo box. My '88 had a 4" lift when I bought it and I ran it with 31s. I hated it. I finally removed the lift and swapped it to an XJ guy for a spare engine and tranny. Best thing I ever did for that truck. It is SOOOOOOO much nicer to drive at stock height I can't even begin to describe the difference.

The '88 4.0L does not have a PCV. Which hose are you referring to, the large one at the front of the valve cover or the small one at the rear of the valve cover?

I hear you. I have confirmed that there is a factory part number for putting an AW4 behind a 2.5L, so that same bellhoyusing will fit the 2.8L. I don't know what you would need for a flex plate, and the 2.8L engine is externally balanced so you would have to do something about the torque converter balance. And I don't know if there was a special (smaller) torque converter for the AW4 when used behind the 2.5L. I suspect there may be, because the bell housing is smaller.

That's a gorgeous truck, BTW. Please tell me you're going to keep it stock and not beat the stuffin' out of it as a trail rig.

I'll try to get pics when he takes possession. I think we're going to bring it home (HIS home) Friday evening, or Saturday. Yes, I'd very much like the roll pan. I'm on the road now, will PM you when I get home.

An '86 should have the 904. Tye 2.8L and the 2.5L use the same bell hosing to block bolt pattern, so if you can score one of the bell housings for mounting an AW4 to a 2.5L, you can mount it to a 2.8L. Of course, the logical next question would be : Why bother? Personally, I'd rather have a 2.5L than a 2.8L any day.

Those are factory rims, missing the center trim caps. They are 15x7 and they work well with 31x10.50s.

Naw ... that's the brakes, Mate.

Correct. If his is really an '89, it's either a 2.5L just like yours, or a 4.0L in-line 6. Doesn't matter if it's a V6 or an I-6, nothing in the engine will fit yours. However, if his has a V6 the transmission will fit yours. If he ahs a 4.0L, his tranny will NOT fit yours.