Eagle

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.

And it didn't cost me a dime. My buddy, Erich, has been looking for an MJ to do his household chores, now that he's a homeowner. But the ones I had available were 2WD 4-cyl, and one needed an engine. He just found an '88 shortbed Chief, 4.0L, AW4, skid plates, tranny cooler, gauges, tow hitch, bucket seats, full console, sliding rear window, a/c, tilt wheel, 10-spoke alloys -- and he just called to tell me he bought it for $1300. There is virtually no rust on this thing, the tailgate is straight, and it even has floors! Some guys have all the luck. I'll try to get him hooked up on here once he takes delivery.

The 5.9L Grand is a really nice vehicle if you're super rich. Using that as a daily driver is asking for bankruptcy. Those things don't drink gasoline, they chug-a-lug it. For the difference in price, you could easily buy the MJ and convert it to automatic. Jeep never offered the AW4 with 3.07 gears, but I expect in your part of the world the terrain is fairly level and open, so you could expect really good mileage out of that combination.

I guess 3.55s make sense if you have them already, but with 31s 4.10s would be the ideal choice and 3.73s would be much better than 3.55s. Running 31s and 3.73s in mine I found that the overall final drive ratio works out exactly the same as stock tires with 3.55 gears.

A box out of an old Jeep J20 truck will fit, too, and is an upgrade. The J10 boxes, though, aren't any bigger/better than the XJ/MJ boxes. Most of the parts stores are selling rebuilt J10 boxes for the J20 application.

A worn track bar cannot cause death wobble. Been there, done that. I drove around most of one winter with a horribly loose track bar because it was too cold and snowy to change it. The only symptom was excessively vague directional control. Tier balance CAN cause death wobble. And a shake that starts at 55 MPH is typically due to tire balance.

Maybe someone did, and he ignored them. Several years ago my ex-wife and I were on an interstate and saw an empty lowbed trailer (the kind that hauls bulldozers and such) screaming down the road, throwing up a rooster tail of sparks about 15 or 20 feet high. We spotted it just as we came to an exit, so I did a u-turn, caught up to the truck, and tried to flag him down. We received a rigid digit in response, so we got off at the next exit, found a pay phone (pre-cellular) and called the state police. We found out later that they caught the guy about 25 miles up the road, stopped him, and impounded the truck on the spot for being unsafe. The guy really should have paid more attention when we were trying to help him, but some folks don't think like normal people.

The Jeep 2.5L engine was engineered to use the same bell housing to block bolt pattern as the 2.8L GM V6, which is the same block as the GM 3.4L. So you can swap in a 3.4L and use your existing transmission. An early (1987 through approximately 1990) 231 transfer case can be used instead of the 207, because both are 21 splines on the input shaft. About 1991 Jeep changed to a 23-spline input shaft, which will not mate up with your tranny.

A fuel cell is more than just a tank mounted in a non-stock location. It has a bladder in it that acts like a sponge so that if you roll over, the fuel doesn't spill out and cause a fire. You can buy fuel cells at any decent speed shop that caters to racers, or on-line from www.summitracing.com

Isn't that an oxymoron? As to the photo -- I can readily understand the tire getting shredded, but what happened to the spring?

Burn-through is a real problem with sheet metal. That was one reason for choosing the heavier of the two gauges Lowe's sells for patch panels. My friend's father mentioned that he had some problems preventing burn-through. If you have access to someone who can MIG it, that would certainly be better. Otherwise, crank it down as far as you can and practice on a test piece before you go live action.

What engine? 258? That's a 4.2 liter, and was not offered in the MJ so if that's what is in it -- it ain't the original (or the correct) engine for the truck. A few years ago I paid $500 for the '88 shortbed, Comanche Chief, 4.0L, 5-speed, 4WD, a/c, tow hooks, 4" Trailmaster lift, 99,000 miles on the clock and the engine runs like that was the truth. A year later I bought the '87 Pioneer shortbed, 4.0L, a/c, 5-speed, Dana 44 rear axle, for $1200. The truck you are describing sounds like about a $500 project, not a $1750 vehicle. [EDIT]I missed the part about the blown tranny and missing transfer case. Last year I bought a running longbed 2WD in good, solid condition for $100. I then bought an '89 2WD longbed Pioneer with the 5-speed locked in reverse for $200. If the truck you're looking at has a blown tranny and no transfer case, $200 is about what it's worth.

I bought a 16-gauge patch panel from Lowe's. I think it was 8" x 20" and it was just about a perfect fit for the area I needed to patch -- from the "frame" rail outboard to the sill. I'm not a welder but the father of a friend in NAXJA is, so he welded it in for me. It came out perfect.

A couple of years ago I saw some nice aluminum checker plate rail covers at my dealer's parts room. Don't remember the circumstances, but they were the wrong thing -- maybe length? They were for an early Dakota, though, and I looked at them and said, "Hmmmm ..." I took one outside and laid it up on the MJ. Profile was perfect, but they would have needed trimming for length (I had a shortbed that day). The ones I saw bent down on the inside of the rail about 2", covered the top of the rail, and the outer flange was maybe 1/2" wide and turned down. Trim the length and they would have looked custom-made for an MJ. S-10 stuff might work. One of my shortbeds is wearing a commercial cap I bought off an S-10.

My 88 Cherokee has the BA 10/5. It's now at 253,000+ miles. It has been to Paragon several times, and run Old Florida Road and a number of other trails in the Mohawk Trail region of Massachusetts. If you gear appropriately for 32s and go easy on the throttle, it'll be fine. I certainly wouldn't pass on a nice Comanche for that reason. I have a Cherokee and a Comanche with BA 10/5s that work fine. I have an MJ with a blown AX-15, another one with a 4-cyl and a blown AX-5, and my friend's 19914 XJ just blew the AX-15 in that. (No, I didn't beat on the two AXs that I have, I bought 'em cheap because the trannies were blown.) Either the BA 10/5 isn't as bad as everyone says, or the AX trannies aren't as good as everyone says.

Both the 86 and the 88 use a mechanical speedometer, but the cable connection at the speedo is different. You'll need the speedo cable from the same vehicle you get the cluster from.