Eagle

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.

FWIW, over on the NAXJA forum so many people have reported that aftermarket clutch hydraulics don't last lonbger than 6 months, I would not consider buying anything but factory. especially for the master cylinder because when it leaks it also takes out the fuse panel. Yes, it's pricey, but somewhere there is an on-line source for factory parts that sells for a bit over dealer cost. I don't have the link but I believe it has been posted recently on the NAXJA forums.

Testing. Am I here or not?

There's a gas station down the road from me that does his lot with an 86 MJ 4-banger. And I know a guy near my brother who did a route plowing driveways with an MJ for several years and had no problems. He wrecked the second MJ and replaced it with a Chevy 1500, but only because he got a deal on it and couldn't find another MJ at the time. I don't think you'll have any problems. Locker won't hurt. I prefer limited slip, but the locker is better for wheeling and in snow there's not much difference in the way they act so go for it.

Just take out the bulb. That is the most idiotic of all idiot lights. I'm quite sure the one in my '88 would have me in 5th gear going up a 12% grade at 26 MPH if I were foolish enough to believe it.

Keep in mind that a '91 or newer Jeep 2.5L 4-cyl with the MPFI puts out more horsepower and more torque than the 2.8L V6. The 3.4L GM V6 is a direct bolt-in, but the 2.5L is also a drop-in.

I've been looking at popup camper shells for the MJ for a couple of years. My biggest impediment is that my wife hates camping, so it wouldn't see enough use to justify the cost, but I think it would make a terrific rig. There are a couple of companies that make popups for the mini pickups.

Back to the original question -- my '88 MJ had a 4" lift already installed when I bought it. I hated it. Ride quality was atrocious, the height was just perfect for breaking down the outside corner of the driver's seat every time I got in or out, ... I drove it like that for a couple or three years. Finally got around to putting it back to stock just about a year ago, and it was the single best improvement I've made to the truck. Rides better, handles better, looks better. What's not to like? You can run 30" and even 31" tires on a STOCK MJ. If you don't plan to off-road it, 30's should be perfect.

Thanks, Pete. I hoped somebody would have that info handy. So even a standard MJ is a 3/4 ton truck. "Light duty" my ***

I agree an RV cam would be a good choiice, but on a 9% grade you'd be in third gear at 40 MPH anyway.

They are both beautiful -- the MJ, and the GF. That truck is too nice to lift. Please, please tll me you'll keep it stock. (See my signature line to understand why.)