gogmorgo

My understanding is the Addco uses clamps to hold the sway bar to the axle and then uses an L bracket to bolt the end links to the upper shock mounts. This is why the kit only works on the short bed MJ, long bed trucks have the shocks ahead of the axle so they can’t reuse the mounts. I’m also not convinced it’s the best place to mount the end links. You do occasionally see someone break the shock stud off the frame rail, and that’s without the added stress from the sway bar on it. This thread’s got a couple references and a diagram of the Addco. I’m not sure what to make of Limey’s complaint about the kit. Not enough context. You definitely need some form of roll control up front if you want to run a rear bar, and that description is basically what happens with a rear sway bar only, or if you’re trying to wheel with one on. The sway bar tries to keep the axle parallel with the body, and you don’t necessarily want that if the body is leaning hard because of what’s going on up front.

There’s a couple write ups in the DIY list, not specifically the XJ sway bar, but other similar junkyard sourced parts.

I mean I grew up in Manitoba. Can’t really call out anywhere else. Especially not when they’re living somewhere that makes Manitoba winters look short and warm.

Not sure, but I've been told that the city started a program to get the accumulation of scrap vehicles and junk in general back off the island. I'm not there anymore though, currently not too far from Baker Lake, in Rankin Inlet waiting for another plane north in the morning.

x2 on the coil retainer. Just a little bolt-on tab that holds the bottom coil in place. I've seen it more than once where the bottom coil snaps off for whatever reason. When I noticed it happened on my MJ I just rotated the coil to get it back under the retainer (probably loosened the both first) until I eventually replaced the spring with another.

Wouldnt surprise me if the OME upgrade is supposed to be less aggressive for more flex off-road. I have it in my brain that I’ve got a 28mm off a ZJ on my long bed but I don’t remember ever actually measuring it. I pulled it off a ZJ in a yard myself, don’t remember if it was a V8 or not but I’d say likely. But it was going on ten years ago. The ZJ I have is only a 4.0 and I’d have to guess it was still the stock sway bar but it definitely leans less in corners than the MJ, even with the 2” lift pucks on the Z. Likely a consequence of the rear sway bar if the one up front is smaller. I’d go measure them both but I’m 1200miles away for the next week or so.

Standard relay diagram: A relay is just an electric switch. It uses a small current to control a larger current. If you send power through pins 85 and 86, the relay connects pins 30 and 87 together. Pin 85 should have continuity to ground. Pin 86 should get 12V when you hit the starter. Because all you’re doing with those two is energizing a coil, you can get away with having pins 85 and 86 reversed in some cases, so even though it’s not “proper” sometimes a manufacturer will set it up backwards. Pin 30 should have constant 12V Pin 87 is the load side, so will have some continuity to ground, and if you put power to it, in this case it should crank the starter. If you’ve got power at pin 30, the easiest way to get power to pin 87 is to jump across the two. If you have a good relay in the socket but there’s a wiring issue, it will not start. The start signal wiring passes through the neutral safety switch between the ignition switch and pin 86, so if it’s not starting and you pull out the relay and have power at pin 86 when you turn the key to start, and you have ground at pin 85, and it still won’t start if you put the relay back in, it’s probably related to the starter itself and not the neutral safety switch. Also because the diagram references it, 87a is a terminal that gets used for the load if you want the relay to switch off when you put power to it, or switch from one load to another.

Definitely available. I recommend one of these for a connector: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Wiring/Pollak/PK11852.html Roughly the size of a 7-pin trailer connector, but good for heavy current. The female end for the vehicle comes with a nice little door flap to keep it protected and clean-looking when not in use.

I’m thinking it’s not necessarily the same snow… supposedly everything here comes by boat, but the ocean is currently frozen. So I imagine it’s got to warm up eventually? It’s honestly pretty tropical here compared to where I’ve been. Only about -10°C. Been around -30 with windchill past -40 everywhere else, not necessarily the best time of year to visit the arctic if you were wondering. I did see a couple pre-‘96 XJs and a 90’s Explorer on the way to the airport, so maybe there’s hope for the MJs. It’s a small town but not small enough to see the whole place in an afternoon. Further north and west there’s a lot more older steel running around. Square body Suburban cruising around Resolute. Mostly 3/4 ton trucks though. “Road” is a pretty loose term up here.

I pulled the canoe rack out of my short bed recently and I’m really liking the clean look of nothing in the back. I typically would have left it out for winter but it just didn’t happen this year. I’ve never been too concerned about snow in the bed. I’ve got a sheet of plywood down in the bottom of it that makes shovelling it out easier if I really need to. Three or four scoops is all it takes.

Everyone’s favourite, digging up old posts. At any rate, I’ve been wandering around town for a while now, and can confirm the MJs in the 10-year-old street view photo are no longer parked in this spot. Where they went I can’t say but I strongly suspect they’re no longer with us. Not many vehicles around much more than 15 years old, 25 at the most, and they’re all pretty beat at that age.

There was a guy on here who actually installed a kit to get the “rfid-fob-in-pocket” push button start, or at least was planning it. Can’t remember who though. Had a bunch of similar digital things in his build. Back to the original subject, though, I’d have concerns about unconventional starter buttons/switches, especially if it was labelled as something else. You wouldn’t want someone hitting the starter by accident on you. There aren’t a ton of switches in the MJ platform to begin with, either. You’ve got the two on each side of the steering column, cargo light, fogs, power/comfort, what else. Would the XJ rear defrost be a momentary switch? I haven’t spent enough time actually driving XJs I owned to know.

Not really sure if it helps any, but IIRC at least one of my Ladas wrap the throttle cable around a little cam with a groove instead of the cable hooked to a fixed pivot point. I’m a long way from the thing to take a picture but here’s a bit of a scribble. because the length of the pivot arm changes as the throttle moves through its sweep, it would change the sensitivity of throttle response depending on where you are in the sweep. In the one I drew the longer lever arm at the start of travel would slow down changes in butterfly position at closed throttle relative to speed at open throttle. I couldn’t tell you what issue the Soviet engineers were trying to address with the lever arm (or even if it was deliberate), it’s also possible they were trying to adjust input force compared to return spring strength for more consistent feel or something. Also my drawing is exaggerated compared to the real deal… but it’s a thing that does a thing tangentially related to what you’re talking about.

Went down to the beach today. I’m told the ocean’s down there somewhere.

I’ve seen an older Chevy truck with a starter “button” on the floor that was also a lever that manually engaged the flywheel. I want to say it was a ‘48, but not sure.

Yeah, sometimes referred to as a d44HD. Internals are different from the regular d44 as well as the aluminum housing. In the ZJ and WJ it’s got steel axle tubes pressed into it, which I think is a large part of the issues people have with it, dissimilar metals, especially with one being much harder than the other isn’t the best recipe. Salt exposure definitely wouldn’t do it any favours, Rob and Eagle are in rust belt localities, IIRC.

And yet the ZJ groups are still full of people running 35’s+, hammering them off-road, welding them up, and don’t seem to be chewing through them. Just like the D35 there are plenty of them holding up just fine despite the reputation. In my mind it‘ll be totally reasonable to run the axle if it hasn’t been having issues, worth putting new bearings and seals into even if the need arises, but not really worth building or putting effort into to run in something else. If you can do so without spending a pile of money on it definitely a good move to truss it so the tubes don’t start moving in the pumpkin. Most texts say you shouldn’t jack up an axle under the pumpkin, even with full steel or cast centre sections. Just because you can usually get away with it doesn’t mean it was designed to be loaded in that direction.

Hunter green is a pretty rare colour for MJs, it seems.

Auto shop wants thousands to do what exactly? If the trans is acting fine when you shift manually that’s a solid indication the problem is related to the shift computer and/or wiring. Following Cruiser’s advice is good for that sort of thing. Would also be good to check his procedure for properly adjusting the TPS, I’m surprised he didn’t suggest tip 8. Also worth adjusting the kick down cable. Likely won’t do anything but you never know, and it’s quick and easy. https://www.allpar.com/d3/SUVs/jeep/cherokee-transmission.html

Should be the same width as the ZJ D35 which is the same width as the XJ D35. ZJ guys prefer the 44A over the 35. No one else does. It’s the same amount of work to put the 44A in there as it is another coil and link axle, significantly more stuff to cut off compared to any number of leaf spring axles that would be better options. If you’re sticking the thing straight in without putting any work into it first, sure you’ll save money. But if you’re rebuilding, adding traction, tougher shafts, regearing the axle anyway, it doesn’t really cost a ton more to start with a better axle.

Not much in the way of trees up here But lots of snow and mountains.

But did you compare beds?