Jester1341

Kinda slacked off on this since I bought a house. The plan was to swap the intakes and keep the old single point for an easier swap. That means I require a block off for the EGR. Truck is for sale now. I don't want to get rid of it but it's 45 miles away and I just can't seem to find the time to work on it or move it. Kin of loosing interest in a truck I can't drive or wheel. John

Sorry I got one quite a while back, too bad sounds like your would have been much better for me. John

got the new engine in this past weekend, too cold this week to do much of anything. got a few bits left to button up before i can start her up. one i need to figure out is how to wire the new alternator to the old harness(new is four pin and old is two pin). need to work on the vacuum lines more also, eliminating almost everything. i kept the newer manifold since it doesnt have an EGR on it but it also doesnt have an O2 sensor. john

Yeah my original plan was an AX5 if I can't stand the AX4. An AX-15 behind my 2.5 is overkill anyway, I just figured if it was simple and cheap enough..... Okay thanks, back to your regularly scheduled thread. John

Please pardon the intrusion but I have an AX4 in my '86 comanche and id like a five speed, are you telling me I can get a Dakota AX-15 and it will bolt up? Also, would my AX-4 bell housing not onto a jeep AX-15? John

Pulled old 2.5 and swapped most of the acc over to the newer one. Oddly enough I was still thinking and thinking about what to swap to(in the future) and I was down to 4.0HO, V8(prob magnum), or a 4BT. Guy I picked the engine up from not only saw the same truck I bought and was going to buy it to swap his 2.5 into, he also pulled the running 2.5 to swap a 4BT into his YJ! Think looked pretty sick! Pretty much made up my mind although its a lot of work(and may get done to another MJ) I think it's what I'm going to aim for, way down the road. John

Redneck garage... John

Started swapping parts that I needed and removing ones I didn't, goodbye EGR! Creative solutions to moving the new engine around :)

Got the old 2.5 out Saturday thanks to unusually high temps for mid Jan. John

very little progress, wire wheeled some more rust and swapped an outside mirror. my '00 mirrors seem to fit pretty well with no trimming, so i didnt bother since i plan to swap the doors eventually. brought my hoist over but still need my engine stand. john

hah, thanks for the tip, but i took it out in about a dozen pieces. under side had a little mold from trapped moisture. picked up a replacement four banger today. Got to talking to the guy that sold it to me and it turns out that he was going to buy the same truck, but i got to it first......either way its still getting his engine in it ;) also explained about some moron i talked to on craigslist(that i should have never bothered with) that was asking like $1200 or something for a 2.5 with over 100K miles on it. the guy emailed me back after i offered him 300, and informed me that a new block only is $3000, and he would not take less than $1000 for his 'running' engine. furthermore he challenged me to find one less(since it is such a good deal) so i sent him the link to the WTB ad i placed on JeepForum that had three in the area for about 200 each..... some people... john

interior coming out. Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found stripped and ready for some grinding john

First MJ ever, thought they were cool for so long and off and on been trying to get my hands on one for 10 years. Twice I've ended up settling for an XJ, but now that I'm on my third XJ i had no excuses. I'll try to update this but i don't plan anything too fancy. Guess i'll start with a little background on this truck. Owner told me this was his 2nd MJ, it is an '86 custom model. Came factory with the 2.5L(150CI) four cylinder engine, AX4 four speed manual, and the command trac transfer case. previous owner told me he blew the head gasket and then repaired it him self. the repair lasted only 5K miles, which he blames on a paper gasket and not being able to find a steel gasket like he wanted. i assume the head was warped and not decked, but i wasnt there. the engine seems to be seized. i guess partly from water in oil and pertly from sitting for a 'while'. its not clear how long it actually sat, but it was long enough for a few mice/chipmunks to call it home. Image Not FoundImage Not Found

should be picking up a 2.5 from a YJ this weekend. john

finally brought it home(about 2.5hrs) and gutted the interior. carpet and headliner are gone, bench is removed. plan to swap in buckets, but may throw the bench back in for now(even though it stinks) after extensive searching and informing a few people a 'running' 2.5 is NOT worth $600+(one guy was asking $1100+) i've found a guy close enough selling for 150! picking up this weekend. hopefully can't pull the old 2.5 and swap within a few weeks. john

have an '86 MJ and need to replace the 2.5L engine. post here or email jester1341@gmail.com for quickest responce(straight to my phone) willing to travel up to a few hours for a good deal, let me know what you've got worst i can do is pass on it. john

It's not carb'd? Oh damn, ok. A friend has a 304 he wants to sell me dirt cheap but I was planning a 4.0HO down the road but as for now I'm pretty set that ill replace the 2.5. I can do some minor welding and fabbing and am a pretty accomplished hammer swinger ;) I will deff post any and all progress once I actually start any work and get some pics to post. John

Agreed, now the '86 is carb'd can I get any 150CI AMC and just swap over the intake components? And the flip side of that is it easy enough to go FI or should I stick to the carb? All of this setup is just get it running for the time being, ill be swapping 'cooler' parts down the road. John

I finally after years and years have my first MJ! I've had three Cherokees and currently DD a 2000 classic. The MJ I have is an '86 custom: 2.5L, AX4, 4WD. The bed has some rust but the unibody rails and underside of the cab are great. The only con besides the dirty mouse infested interior is the engine apparently blew a HG twice and won't turn now. Question is should I go for another 2.5 for the time being just so I can drive it and gather parts, or should I bite the bullet and jump straight into a 4.0 swap. Originally I wanted to just get another 2.5 because I wanna go HO with an AX15 and new xfer case.(I've also never gotten a straight answer on how hard 4.0 swap in an '86 would be because of the firewall) Any help is greatly appreciated, it's close but this ain't no XJ. John