Eagle

That sounds like the factory bedliner. The holes are about 1-1/4" diameter? The retainers are black plastic screw/plugs that engage the underside of the bed rail when they are "screwed" (twisted) into the holes. My brother's Nissan with a Duraliner uses the same retainers, so you may be able to find them somewhere.

Longbed or shortbed? 4wd or 2WD?

That's not a return port. On the MJ, one port sends fluid through the rear, height sensing proportioning valve. The other port bypasses the rear valve and allows full brake pressure to the rear circuit if the front circuit loses pressure. In theory. See the thread in which I posted a picture of an MJ valve cut in half to see why theory doesn't always work.

They WILL fit. No cutting necessary if you run stock Jeep rims. There will be slight rubbing on the lower control arms at full steering lock

Finding part numbers isn't the problem. The problem is finding the parts that go with the numbers.

Here you would likely have to get a TPS from a 2.5L auto in order for the TCU to get the input it needs. You can always rig a switch to shift it for the sake of simplicity. But the 904 isn't electronically controlled, is it? Would there even BE a TPS for it? And if there is, would the output be compatible with the AW4 TCU? Yeah, it can be controlled by a switch or switches, but that only works if the driver remembers to do basic things like unlock the converter when stopping at traffic lights. I'd remember ... my wife wouldn't :(

When I get home and can excavate the spare trannies from the snow drifts I'll have a look. I'm assuming that a bellhousing can be redrilled, if necessary, or an adapater made up. Aside from actually bolting the tranny to the bellhousing, there are some other issues and if anyone has thoughts on them, please chime in: * Bell housing depth/input shaft length. I haven't done much with XJ/MJ 4-cyl manual trannies, but back in AMC days the smaller 6-cyl manuals used a shorter bellhousing than the bigger V8 trannies -- by an inch and a half. Is that an issue here? * Pilot bearing diameter -- what pilot bearing would be used, and did the 4-cyl version of the AW4 have a different input shaft? * Torque converter/flex plate: The standard 4.0L flex plate is too large to bolt up to the 2.5L engine, and would not be balanced for it even if it did bolt up. Is there a 4-cyl AW4 torque converter that bolts up to the same flex plate as the 904 auto in the 4-cyl models, or did the 4-cyl AW4 get a special flex plate? How aboiut fitting the torque converter intoi that smaller bellhousing? With manuals, the 4-cyl clutch is smaller. Is there a smaller torque converter for use with the 4-cyl version of the AW4? * What about controlling the tranny? I assume a harness for the TCU can be adapted from a 6-cyl, but does the TBI throttle body have provision for the tranny control output found on the 4.0L throttle body?

If you just grab and yank, you have a 50% chance the "christmas tree" faster will let go, and a 50% chance you'll snap off the slot on the louver -- meaning that you'll never put it back on again. They come off by sliding UP about half an inch. The push fasteners go into a n upside-down U shaped retainer on the louver. Take a block of wood, put it under the bottom edge, and tap gently upwards.

Here's another http://www.phoenixcampers.com/specs.html The Little Chief is for the longbed, the Wigwam is for the shortbed. The same sizes are available in the Coyote series -- I don't know if that's a step up or a step down. A couple of years ago there was also a company that offered a basically unfinished version that would be good for those on a budget who don't mind not having all the amenities. It also saved a considerable amount of weight.

Are you actually losing fluid, as your post begins by saying, or are you just losing pressure? Sounds like the latter. If you aren't havinbg to refill the master cylinder every day or two, you aren't losing fluid. Losing pressure probably means that the master cylinder or the slave cylinder needs to be replaced. It's unlikely that bleeding will help, but you can try. The bleeder is on the left side of the transmission, where the hydraulic line enters the bellhousing.

Here's a 7-footer http://www.northstarcampers.com/tc700.asp

You do NOT have to drop the tranny. The 4.0L rear main seal is in two halves, upper and lower. You have to drop the oil pan, and getting that out with the engine in the vehicle is a bit difficult if your truck isn't lifted, but it can be done. Once the pan is off, you remove the rear main bearing cap. The lower half of the seal comes with it. The upper half is in a groove in the block. You take a length of BRASS (not steel) rod 1/8" or 3/16" diameter and use that to punch the old seal half out. You may need to loosen the other main bearing caps (but not remove, just loosen) to allow it to move more easily. Then oil up the new seal and slide it into place, replace the rear bearing cap, retorque all the bearing caps, and replace the oil pan. Jeep changed the oil pan gasket in 1995 to a one-piece design that's MUCH easier to install than the older 4-piece design. Forget what the kid at Pep Boys tells you his computer says, the new gasket CAN be used on the older engines, and it makes life a LOT easier.

It is not needed with a 2WD daily driver. For a 4x4 that gets used on trails, the ability to control whether the tranny stays in 1 or 2 has value. On the street you don't need it. I discourage doing this if you don't need it because there are several version on the Internet and not all are equal. A young friend of mine did one of these mods to his father's 95 XJ and burned out the TCU because something ddn't work as advertised, or because he didn't follow the instructions correctly. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

To revive an old discussion ... does anyone have a definitive answer as to the truth to the rumour that some 4-cyl MJs came from the factory with an AW4 automatic tranny? Got a 4-cyl 5-speed with a blown clutch and bad tranny. I was thinking it would be a candidate to convert to automatic, but with the 5-speed gearing I need a tranny with overdrive. I also have a parts XJ 4.0L that I could grab the tranny out of, if it'll mate up to the engine. I know the bell housing bolt pattern is different. Is there a different 4-cyl bell housing available for the 2.5L? Does anyone know if I could bolt the AW4 up to a manual tranny bell housing? I know this has been discussed. Has anyone actually tried to recreate this mythical beastie?

It "should" fit. From the driver's seat forward, the MJ is the same as the XJ. What's different? Note that the MJ has some extra reinforcing (basically an angle on each frame rail) where the tranny cross member attaches to the frame rails. I am not familiar with the Full Traction kit so I don't know if this will be a problem. Worst case would be you might have to cut them off. The MJ also has some frame gussetts welded to the outside of the frame rails at the lower control arm pockets. Assuming the Full >Traction kit is like other long arm kits are requires removal of the LCA pockets, all this would mean is some extra cutting. Lastly, the MJ rear springs are 5" longer than XJ rear springs, and have a lot more arch. If the Full Traction kit comes with new rear springs ... they won't fit in an MJ.

Everything is different. The instruments operate on reverse polarity, the wiring is all different ... if you're going to go this route, you need to yank ALL the vehicle wiring out and replace with the wiring that matches the motor. Keep in mind that the pre-91s used a mechanical speedo and the 91+ used an electronic speedo, so you have more issues there.

I run 30x9.50s on my 87 MJ, and 235/75R15s on the 88. 215s may have been the stock size from the factory, but there are no fitment issdues with 235s. I think it's an ideal size for a stock MJ.

Hah! I live in Connecticut, where they use salt on the roads. I have yet to encounter a New England MJ with a factory rear bumper that didn't look like Swiss cheese mated with tissue paper.

As above. The rear line you want to remove is the one going to the rear, load-sensing proportioning valve. You should by-pass that entirely if you change to the XJ combination valve, otherwise you'll be running two proportioning valves in series, and my head hurts just thinking about that.

Good plan, Pete, and one I can whole-heartedly endorse. It's sad to know that there are scores of basically solid MJs sitting in junkyards all over the country. Even if they're too badly damaged to be made street legal again (or at least not "nice"), many would be excellent candidates for trail rigs. I know of one yard in Massachusetss that at last count had five or six (minus a couple of flares and tailgates ... heh, heh). I bought a straight and running '86 4-cyl from a yard just down the street. Not much wrong with it at all, but they had already turned in the title as salvage so I have some work ahead to get it legally titled and tagged. It's not that I needed another MJ ... I just couldn't let it go to the crusher.

A horn is a pretty generic item. Being a purist I would look for an XJ/MJ horn if I could, but if you need to pass an inspection, any horn out of any vehicle should make enough noise to satisfy the inspectors. AFAIK all horns ground through the chassis and use only one wire for power.

Happy New Year, Comanche people. My new years resolution is to do my utmost to sabotage all your plans, and to preserve as many of these wonderful trucks as possible in pristine, showroom condition. :D

That's correct, the AX4 was only used with the 2.5L. An '88 4.0L should be a BA10/5, which is a 5-speed. Something definitely isn't right.

A 4" lift shifts the front axle about 5/8 to 3/4 of an inch toward the driver's side. Every inch beyond 4" makes the shift exponentailly greater because of the angles involved. At 6" you'll be off by probably about an inch and a half.

Hint -- wide tires SUCK for plowing. On my old full-size Cherokee I tried both stock 235/75 R15s and 31x10.50s, and the stock tires were far better for plowing. Wide tires tend to float on the snow and don't give enough "bite" to push the white stuff out of the way. Narrower is better. Put 32x11.50s on a light chassis and you won't go anywhere behind a plow.