Eagle

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.)

HUH????? The Metric Ton version, with a Dana 44 axle and heavier springs but using the same chassis, is rated to carry 2,200 pounds of payload. Not sure what the rating was oin the standard version, and I'm not at home to check my literature, but I'm sure it's a LOT more than 750 pounds including driver. Heck, I've carried over a ton of roofing materials in my shortbed.

It is a bit tough on the springs, but if you add another leaf plus retain the overload leaves to control spring wrap, you should be okay with shackles. Rancho lists a full-length AAL for the XJ and MJ. It is just about full length in an XJ, which means it's "almost" full length in an MJ. The catalog says 2 to 2.5" but that's for XJs. In an MJ it's good for about 1.5". With longer shackles, that'll get you the 3" you want.

They goofed. Gear oil has extreme pressure additives. Mineral oil does not.

Ummm, not to rain on your parade, but RV cams don't produce more torque in the higher RPM range, they produce more torque at low RPM. I was mistakenly sold an RV cam for what was supposed to be a race engine, and it wouldn't run higher than 4800 RPM ... and power started falling off over about 3500. Am RV cam is a great choice for a Jeep, IMHO, but not if you want RPM out of the engine. RV cams are for low speed "grunt" pulling power.

I am slightly biased because I know the man behind the kit and I have seen them being fabricated, but IMHO the only way to go long arm is Clayton's kit. The crossmember is massive, and the end supports get welded to the heaviest section of the two uniframe "rails." Clayton designed his setup not to sell, but to run on his own rig and not break. Knowing how he wheels, that means for most people it is massively over-designed.

That's the disturbing finding. The circuit that has the outlet at the "nose" of the junction block is always active, and that's the line that feeds through the rear load-sensing proportioning valve. My concern was that when in override/bypass mode this circuit might be blocked. That is not the case, it will send pressure to the rear even when the front brakes fail. So from that perspective, my dissection was valuable. But notice the vertical bore from the rear circuit on the bottom of the junction block. This is supposed to be the bypass circuit that sends full pressure to the rear if the front brakes fail, rather than proportioned pressure. When the front brakes fail, that sliding piston on the top moves to the right, opening up the bypass circuit. Except ... the hole isn't bored all the way through to the piston bore. That's not an optical illusion ... the hole stops about 3/32" short of making a connection. If the front brakes fail, this valve would always allow proportioned ear brakes, but would never have gone into bypass mode. Now I want to get a few more of these blocks, to see if this one was the odd man out or if they were all defective. Pete -- thanks for putting the picture up.

It's about 5/8" longer. I doubt that a 2" AAL would make that much difference.

Crawl under the front of your MJ and look at either front wheel from in front of the axle. Going into the back side of the steering knuckle you'll see what appears to be a bolt that isn't screwed in all the way, with a lock nut on it where it enters the knuckle. That's the stop -- if you visualize how it moves as you turn the steering, you'll quickly see what it contacts to prevent turning too far. The lock nut is tack welded to the bolt shank, so you can't just back it out and re-tighten the lock nut. So you remove it completely and put one or two flat washers under it, then tighten it down again. Living in Connecticut where they use pure salt on the roads in winter, mine are rusty and I admit to being afraid I'll snap one off trying to get it out. I was running 31x10.50s and I found that after a short time I automatically stopped turning just before they rubbed. I ran A/Ts, though -- if I were running big, knobby mud tires that could REALLY catch on the control arm I would have made the effort to shim the stops.

Ranger rims have different backspacing than Jeep rims, and a smaller center hole. Not a good choice for a Cherokee or a Comanche. You can run 31x10.50s on stock rims. I did it on my MJ for about 4 years. The tires will rub slightly on the lower control arms when the steering wheel is cranked all the way to either side. You can either shim the steering stop bolts, or just live with it. I lived with it.

I carried a 31 under mine. The stock spare tire carrier is a winch. Look in the back, above the license plate, and you'll see a hole in the splash apron. Behind that is a tube that runs to the winch. Stick your stock jack handle in there (I hope you have it -- look behind the driver's seat) and crank. OWL = Outline White Letter

The rims in the big pic are 15x7 from an older full-size Grand Wagoneer. They have a 6-bolt lug pattern. The wheel in the smaller pic is a steel 15x7 but wasn't what came stock on the Pioneer. The stock Pioneer rim was the 15x6 rim with 9 rectangular slots. On the Pioneer it came with SS trim rings. But that was with the base tires. If the original buyer got the OWL tire option, they were larger and came on the 15x7 rims like the one in the smaller picture.

Taking that as my cue, here's what I found: The front "combination" valve, on an MJ is NOT a combination valve. There is no proportioning function at all. All proportioning is handled by the load-sensing valve in the rear. The normal flow to the rear brakes is through the outlet in the "nose" of the combo valve. That path is always available. From the description in the FSM I had conjured up an idea that under loss of the front brakes that circuit was disabled, but such is not the case. The outlet on the bottom of the front combo valve (the one we have often referred to -- incorrectly -- as a "return" line) is normally blocked off by the plunger in the top of the valve that actuates the brake warning light. If pressure to the front brake circuit is lost, the pluger slides to the rear of the combo valve and opens that port, allowing pressure to flow and bypass the rear combo valve. However, this does not disable the "nose" outlet, so if you eliminate the "return" line completely and run a single line from the nose of the combo valve direct to the rear axle flex hose, you will have full braking power to the rear wheels at all times. As noted, under panic conditions and in slippery conditions, this may result in premature rear wheel lockup, especially if running with no load. (This is why swapping in a Cherokee combo valve is a good idea, if you have access to one.) Now, here's the scary part: In the one I dissected, the port that is supposed to be the bypass circuit, to provide full braking to the rear if the front circuit fails, was internally blocked. The hole from the bottom, where the outlet fitting goes, wasn't drilled far enough into the valve body to reach the fluid passages. Now I want to get my hands on a few more to check depth of hole, because I have a nagging concern that if one was made defective, many were probably made defective. This won't affect normal braking, but it means that the intended function of the bypass circuit can never be activated. So if you lose the front brakes, the rear brakes will still be fed only through the proportioning valve. Summary: IMHO, dump the rear proportioning valve. Mine blew up when I made a panic stop. That's not a good omen. IMHO the best solution is to use an XJ combo valve. Next best is to remove the "return" line, plug that bottom outlet, and run the "nose" outlet direct to the rear flex hose. If you find that the rear brakes consistently lock up too soon, get a Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve from Summit Racing and install that in the rear brake circuit.

19" is low. I've measured a lot of them and they average around 20-1/2 to 21, center of hub to bottom lip of flare. Standard springs were 4-leaf. Metric Ton package got 6-leaf springs, IIRC

The 231 will live fine behind V8 power if you don't get crazy. It's a stronger t-case than the 242, and Jeep offered the 242 behind the 5.2L in the ZJs. An AMC 304, 360 or 401 will bolt right up to an AW4. I am certain because a friend of mine just used an XJ AX-15 and mated it to a 390 for a street rod he's building. Same bellhousing to block pattern, same bellhousing depth. The only thing you'll have to do is adapt a 360 flexplate to accept the AW4 torque converter. It'll be a tight fit, but the AMC engines (all those engines are the same basic block) will fit into the MJ engine room.

A clogged CCV system probably won't affect performance much, if at all. It just dumps oil in your air filter. A clogged catalytic converter robs power, more so at higher RPM. If your truck feels "lazy" the cat is a likely suspect.