gogmorgo

With regards to 8.25's, the ones out of the early HO's are only 27-spline axle shafts, which are smaller and weaker (read not much of a step up from a d35 if any) than the later beefier 29-spline versions. Making the gear ratios match is also a big deal when you're looking at picking up parts from multiple vehicles. KJ axles are mostly 3.73's, 4.10's in a 4-cyl, but you can't pull a matching front axle because they're IFS. XJ's did come with both ratios but not frequently, so finding a matching axle at a wrecking yard may not be easy. I believe the d30's in ZJ's and WJ's will bolt in and are likely to be had in 3.73's but you'll want to double check that, plus they're low-pinion so that's a thing to think about as well. In my case I found a 4.10 KJ 8.25 with discs and then it was two and a half years before I picked up a high-pinion 4.10 d30 to match that was within my budget, and then it was still a 1000-mile round trip to go get it... But it also came with a matching MJ AMC20 rear axle, so go figure. As to the compatibility of newer AW4's, this thread over at NAXJA should help: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1053970

Yeah, you'll definitely need the Renix plate, so be sure to order a plate for a '90. There was however a thread on here five or so years ago maybe suggesting that some of the aftermarket Renix plates, possibly even multiple brand names, had been made so the timing windows were timed one or two windows off when compared to the original plate, which was screwing up timing and preventing the truck from starting. Hopefully that manufacturing problem will have been fixed by now but you never know. So as with anything else before you install the new part, make sure it's the same as the old one. It might be more difficult with the centre section broken out of it, but line up the crank bolt holes as best you can and then make sure the windows in the new flex plate line up with the old ones.

Looking into it more the less and less I suspect the "old knowledge" is true, at least not any more. The more common tire sizes are getting wider, and tread blocks are moving further outwards onto the shoulder of the tire, making them behave as though they are even wider than they are so even the same sizes that used to fit may not any more. The 235/75/15 Hercules Terra II's on my MJ don't rub my lower control arms, but the more aggressive Grabber AT2's I had before them did, which supposedly should only stick 1/4" further out than the factory tires. For someone like me who needs to drive in snow pretty regularly, I don't want to go any wider than 10.5", but my selection of tires that'll behave in snow is pretty limited if I want to go beyond a 31" diameter. In fact there's only the KO2 out there in a 33x10.5, and I have those on my Jimmy and don't really care that much for them. Ideally I'd have a 32x10.5 but no one makes anything in that size that would handle winter... If you want a 32" they're all 11.5 wide now, 33's are all 12.5.

California seems like a bizarre place, in regards to car regulation. I've heard that if you leave a vehicle unregistered they will continue to maintain the registration and then make you pay for it before you can register it again... what the actual hell. But then when you buy a car there's no obligation to register it immediately before driving on the road and there's no real enforcement preventing you from just driving like that... forever. Are either of these things true?

^^^this is one of the reasons I haven't been too thrilled about the Rusty's 3" lift. It's a good reference point for the basics of what you need in a basic lift in addition to just springs, but when they talk about needing 3" lift to clear 31's, or alternative to lift blocks, it's pretty clear they aren't really all that focussed on MJ stuff.

Buddy of mine has a '76 Impala, and the guy he bought it from wa a drywaller and used it to pull his work trailer and boat and probably some other stuff, claimed he put "heavy duty springs" in for a little extra height in the back. We were underneath looking at a leak from the rear diff when we noticed those, bolts bent to crap, one of them about to pop out. We'd just been doing some real tight twisties down to the coast in Oregon or Northern California with massive drops off one side of the road, he claimed the handling was massively sketchy the whole way down, like, more sketchy than a massive old yatch normally should be. After we pulled those out (very gingerly with the rear end dangling as far as it could) it only lost about an inch of height but handling was massively improved. He was throwing that old boat pretty hard into some of those corners at first, so we're pretty lucky none of them popped out on him. My MJ on 300,000 mile original suspension still left him in the dust through those roads. ;)

I really hope "spread the springs" doesn't mean taking some of those cheap coil spring compressors and inverting them to stretch a coil apart for a small lift... I've seen it done but that goes well beyond sketchy to outright dangerous.

Actually check that. Found an existing pic of my XJ where it's visible, barely. The black upright bit over top of the emissions sticker. As indicated by the arrow. Although I can't guarantee that's the factory spot. This flip-phone quality photo of my MJ I think makes it look like it's hanging out under the brake booster, if you trace the hose up from the axle.

Yeah. Looks to me like the breather for the diff. Should go to the top(ish) of the pumpkin. The end on the ground has a small filter just to keep dust out, and IIRC the factory put it on the firewall, but it really just needs to be somewhere clean-ish that won't get submerged; the tube will start sucking if the air inside the diff is cooled down rapidly (by dunking the axle in cold water) and the warm air in the diff shrinks, so you want it as high up as reasonable. Sorry I can't get you a pic, both my Jeeps are buried in snow out in the yard right now. The only other tubes going to the axle apart from brake hoses are the vacuum lines for the CAD, which if memory serves are flexible black plastic, about 1/4"" OD. That doesn't look like them.

As long as you're not going around corners in 4x4 you should be good. When I still had my 231 I left it in 2wd for the most part in winter, just using 4x4 to help with stopping and starting. Decent winter-rated tires really put you further ahead there. That said, having upgraded to it I really enjoy the 242 tcase. You gain almost all the traction of part-time without any of the handling drawbacks. I do still go back to 2wd on the highway if I can, as there's a noticeable effect on mpg in full-time. But in snow or on gravel that full-time 4x4 is awesome. I suspect you could pop the vacuum bit out of your 231 and stick it in place of the electric switch on your 242, at least that's the way it looked from the outside, but I didn't really investigate too far with that as I had already upgraded to a one-piece shaft before the 242 came around. As others have said, permanently lock in the CAD or swap to a one piece or whatever, and you'll be good regardless. Do as I did, make the vacuum lines go away (unless you want them..?) and plug in the wires to make the lights work if you so desire. I think with the Renix gauge cluster you have the advantage of the full-time light being present, or at least a wired socket, unlike on the HO where they didn't bother printing that part of the circuit board.

2000 miles away, 60+ hours driving round trip? I'd like to but I don't know if I can squeeze it in. Too many big road trips in semi-planned stage as it is.

I just had a discussion with a guy from Vancouver about government insurance last week. He was convinced it was the absolute worst thing ever, although what we actually concluded was that BC is just doing it wrong, biggest thing being that they're operating as a for-profit entity, and paying profits into the BC treasury. I also discovered that you're not obligated to go with them (although I have no idea what the alternatives would be like) unlike Mb and Sk which while being true monopolies are also much cheaper than insurance anywhere else in Canada as far as I can tell. It was pocket change over $100/month for full coverage with $200 deductible on the MJ and $300 on the Niva... I know people with individual cell phone plans that cost more than that.

Yeah. Alberta's the same way. I think I'm only about halfway up the discount scale, and it was $1255/yr for the MJ when I checked... for liability only. In MB with similar discount it was just around $650, for full coverage, $200 deductible with $0 for wildlife. And that's including the $150 or so they charge for registration, plate fees, etc. Registration in AB is another 80 or so per year on top.

I've got the 242 tcase in my MJ. I use the full-time 4x4 (4wd on yours) any time I'm on the road an would like a little more traction on a road without compromising anything. Basically when the roads are snowy, gravel roads, basically anywhere there's low traction but inconsistently, where I'd risk binding something if I suddenly had traction again, or surfaces I don't want to risk damaging by spinning wheels, like a lawn. I've also used it while towing, to take some of the load off my turdy5 and for a little extra stability. I generally would only use 4hi (i.e. part-time, Hi lock) if I was on a surface where there was a risk one of the wheels might stop turning, like mud, larger rocks, deep snow, etc. Low range gets busted out if I need less wheel speed, more torque, or both, like if I'm stuck, trying to climb up a steep slope or a taller curb, or recovering a stuck vehicle. One of the biggest advantages to having the full-time 4x4 option is the better handling characteristics. Part-time 4x4, with the axles forced to turn at the same speed, tends towards pretty significant understeer at any speed, and also increased turning radius at low speeds. It also will scrub the tires while turning as one tire will end up breaking loose or dragging to make up for the different radius (and required speed) each axle turns through, which will either chew up tires or the surface you're driving on, and if your traction is too good you'll build up pressure as the axles try to turn at different speeds until that pressure is released, generally by breaking something. In full-time 4x4 with a differential between your driveshafts, the front axle is still driven but is able to turn at a different speed than the rear, meaning there's significantly reduced slipping and scrubbing, no drivetrain bind, and minimal effect on turning radius (vs 2wd), and just in general similar driving characteristics to 2wd, albeit with the front tires still pulling you along. It's great for high-speed driving on loose surfaces, I'll tell you that. Going back to the first paragraph, my full-time gets the most use on snowy roads (last season's last snowfall here was June 10th, the first one this season was sept 12th... I haven't seen the pavement on my street since some time in December), then ripping around on gravel, then for towing up steep hills or loose surfaces. There is a noticeable increase in fuel consumption over 2wd, so typically I won't use it if I don't really need to, although "need" may be a more broad definition than you'll find in the dictionary...

I usually get them from a pharmacy, some of them keep them behind the counter. Might be different rules south of the 49th tho I guess. You might also want to check out the literature that goes with those, I've never seen them sold as "all day" so I'm not really sure what to expect from them.

Like I said, the way caffeine works is it stops you from feeling tired, but it doesn't wake you up if you already are. If you're doing something to wake you back up its already too late for caffeine to help. The way it was explained to me is that everything your body does produces a "tiredness" chemical, and your brain has receivers for it, and as more of it finds its way into the receivers and activates them, the more tired you'll feel. Caffeine finds its way into the receivers without activating them, blocking the "tired". But if you're already tired, the receivers are already full, so the caffeine can't do much. It only preserves the state you were in when you started taking caffeine. So don't use caffeine in Jersey. (Hahaha I'm so funny) so yeah. If I've been awake for 30 hours I can take a handful of caffeine pills then still sleep for ten hours. An energy drink might give me an extra half-hour or so in the evening but it's too little too late at that point. Keeping up with caffeine means a steady influx of it through the day, and putting up with the side effects of prolonged consumption of it. Coffee dehydrates you and is a diuretic, energy drinks are loaded with so much nasty that your body go nuts getting rid of it (the can will say no more than two per day), plus the steady influx of liquid gives you more reasons to pull over. Caffeine pills don't come with as many negative side effects. They're also much cheaper, around $10 for a bottle of 100 up here, with each one being about equivalent to a cup of coffee. But it's totally up to you. You may want to experiment before hand to see how they affect you before you're driving. I'll also state that they're no substitute for actual sleep, and that it's difficult to judge the effect something has on you when the effect is that something doesn't happen.

I suspect many of us are hording. I think I have two or three extra sets myself. But part of that is that when you see them at the junkyard you grab them so they don't go through the crusher. I personally have never damaged a tail light, on anything. But if you reverse into something, the lights are right there, and old brittle plastic doesn't take much of a hit to crack. I don't know about where everyone else is, but I've been through a few jurisdictions where vehicle inspections require perfectly sealed exterior lights, so cracks are a no-no. In contrast all the front end stuff being identical to an XJ's is so easy to find locally that people aren't going to eBay for them unless there's a savings to be had. The demand for MJ tail lights isn't super high, but given the limited supply they do command seemingly silly prices. I think I paid $10 per for mine at wrecking yards.

I've found caffeine pills very helpful, if you know how to use them. You can find them with the sleep aids in almost any pharmacy. The trick with caffeine is it doesn't wake you up, it just slows you getting tired. Energy drinks don't really last in your system long enough to be useful, unless you drink an unhealthy quantity, I find they mostly just give me the jitters. The other advantage to caffeine pills as opposed to a caffeinated beverage is that they don't come with all the sugary side effects or triple your need to stop for bodily functions. It's also much cheaper. Usually I'll pop one or two an hour starting in the early afternoon. You just have to watch, cause just because you're alert and don't feel your body is getting tired doesn't mean it's not happening, and you will hit a wall where you don't really have much choice but to stop and sleep for a bit. Doing ridiculous drives across the continent has sorta been my thing the last few years. More than once I've done 6000 miles in 12 days. I also currently live about 1000 miles from home, and I've been known to make the odd trip back over a three-day weekend, while still getting in a couple days of visiting. Another thing I find helpful is maintaining a decent diet. If you live off gas station junk you'll feel like junk. Hit up a grocery store for some healthier (and less expensive) options. Jerky's a thing, I like the little individually wrapped cheese blocks, oranges are good, carrots, maybe something else if it's in season. Those frozen burritos are also great for wrapping in foil and tucking in the engine bay somewhere, although if you go for too many of those you may need to open a window...

It's an armour panel that protects the valuable rear end of your truck in the event of a collision.

The "factory" frame design is the Draw-Tite one in the OP. It bolts to the frame where the bumper does, and was rated for 5000 lbs, if the truck was equipped right at least. I believe there are provisions to bolt it to the bumper as well but I never bothered. Krustyballer makes a great reproduction of it, I've had 4500 lbs behind mine on the highway with no worries about the hitch... The original standard duty suspension and d35 maybe a bit more concern, haha. The Fey/Westin bumper I think is rated at 3500lbs. The bolt-on receiver tube might add a little more rigidity than just a ball on the step, but I don't know that it would be super wise to exceed that. Having the ball sticking out past the edge would increase the torque on it from tongue weight, definitely.

Just an idea, if you're not planning on using the hitch as a recovery point, you might be able to get a solid bumper then bolt something like this to it: https://www.amazon.com/Hitch-Receiver-Bumper-Mounted-Cargo/dp/B005HJTQO0 Unbolt when you don't need a hitch. Bit more of a pain to hook up a trailer I know but it would be out of the way for off-roading.

Check out Krusty's in the vendor section of the forum.

^^^That looks more than a bit sketchy to me. I wouldn't want to pull anything with a hitch that won't hold up to a popup trailer. I'd be concerned with using it as a recovery point too.

That's a bit more slack than I'd be comfortable with, but the "closed" throttle position should be determined by the throttle stop, not the cable. I can't see that causing a dying problem, if anything it would just prevent you from going to wide-open throttle. I don't know much about the 2.5tbi system, but I would be looking for issues with things like the throttle position sensor or an idle air controller or something like that before looking at mechanical problems. That said it could be a case of the throttle closing too far, but the throttle stop should prevent that and is one of those things that shouldn't just adjust itself... But that doesn't mean it didn't get adjusted by someone trying to compensate for a vaccuum leak or some other reason. How clean is the throttle body? And are you sure that's the throttle cable? The slot in it makes me think it's more likely to be something like a cruise control or auto trans kick-down cable, that wouldn't want to be pulled taught all the time. But I could be wrong there. If it is the throttle cable you should be able to watch it take up the slack while a helper depresses the gas pedal.

It's higher than the regular or SRT GC I think. 7200lbs?