mvusse

Even when I take off easy from a stop sign to make sure I don't break loose, and THEN get on it it squeals. And it's not a pickup. That's in my Cherokee.

Yeah, I had to move 5000 miles to become one. Netherlands has too much cloud cover (200 rainy days a year, ugh), and is too far north. Interestingly enough, Rednex is from Sweden...

The torque peak being that high explains why I get better mileage at 75 (21mpg) than I do at 60 (19mpg), despite the higher wind resistance.My Comanche, however, when it was still stock got it's best mileage doing 60 (24mpg, despite automatic transmission). Around town the XJ gets 17mpg, though, where the MJ used to get about 15. I'm guessing the transmission makes the difference here.

Just to be a nitpick :D Bike, or BIcycle means two wheels, not 4. Looks like you had fun, though.

My XJ has 3.07 gears. It will burn rubber in 1st, then squeal for 2 or 3 seconds going into 2nd, again for about a second into 3rd, chirp into 4th, finally into 5th it keeps traction, but I'm going about 90 when I hit 5th. Pete mentioned getting better tires when I first mentioned this. It will do this with 3 different sets of tires, all 235/75R15. Some generic "Traction XTC", Wintermark snow tires and Armstrong Coronet SX/A. 3.55, 3.73 or 4.10 with stock size tires would scare the begeezus out of me. I thought the MJ with an AW4/3.55 had torque with the stock tires, but compared to the AX15/3.07 XJ it's a piece of poo. Also have no clue what the top speed it, but I've had it over 100 making a quadruple pass.

Okay, now I feel like an idget. Turns out I checked it out a year ago, but was smarter that time...

I have a 23 gallon tank, and the sender in it had a long arm. It reads correctly. I also got another long arm sender from a JY, also a 23 gallon tank, also long arm. I got a "like new" tank off Ebay, also 23 gallon, with a short arm sending unit in it. That one reads full when the tank is anywhere over 2/3. Both a 4.0 pump and a 2.5 pump fit on the same unit. The only one that is different is the unit for the 2.8V6. It had a mechanical pump on the engine block, not electrical in the tank. I don't have one to sell you, though, as two of the three need fixed. Haven't got around to it yet. End my 23 gallon tank, even with a big dent in the bottom from a rock or log (can't remember any more) holds ~26 gallons :nuts:

I'm not religious, but HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS! Yeah, that's for the bed side. Might well be the only one on the planet.

I did the same thing. Drilled them out, ran bolts up from the bottom, washers on both sides, nylon stop nuts.

Gee, THANKS, ROB! After posting something like that, of course I had to see what it was. :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :rotf:

You can't just bolt them to the unibody "frame" as the bolts will tear through the first time you use them. Factory brackets may be had from a junk yard Cherokee, I myself use "Custom 4x4" brackets, there are other ones out there, including some that were designed with input from some members on here. Anything made for the front of a Cherokee works on the front of a Comanche.

Surprisingly the seat studs are still fine, and the nuts came off using just a 6" ratchet. Unlike the Comanche that had no studs left.

That floor is in great shape. This is what the passenger floor in my XJ looked like earlier this week. Driver side is next.

Fire wall modification is supposedly easy enough: just a few swings with a BFH, as the extra needed clearance is pretty small. The 2.8V6 is a gas guzzler that produces less hp than the 2.5l straight 4. I say get a 4.0 Cherokee, and swap everything over: engine/trans/tfer case/wiring harness/computer. I've been lucky, as both my MJ and my XJ have a 4.0, so have no personal experience. But there are a number on people on here who have done a 4.0 swap. Another option is to swap in a 3.4V6 out of a fourth generation Camaro or Firebird. Same exact block, keep your current transmission. JeepcoMJ swapped in a 3800 out of something, but it makes too much torque and was eating transmissions for breakfast, lunch and supper.

I guess I have 5 years on Pete. Unlike most of you, though, I expected Pete to be younger. Like mid to late twenties... I had an epic set back also, 5 years ago. I went from a house with double attached garage AND 24x32 pole building with double garage door to a house with no garage whatsoever because of her. Actually, the setback was her leaving. Single income raising a teenager in today's economy doesn't buy much house.

If you can find a product that converts iron oxide (rust) to zinc, you must have a close cousin of the philosopher's stone (that transforms lead into gold). There are cold galvanizing products out there, though, that will cover steel with a thin layer of zinc as a rust inhibitor. It will not remove rust, only prevent rust on new unrusted steel. There are a number of rust reformers out there, and most hardware stores sell a brand or two in aerosol cans. Either way, wire brush as much of the rust off as possible before doing anything. Any remaining rust (even a speck) that didn't get converted will make it continue to rust, and no reformer will go below the surface. Only sure way to eliminate rust is to cut it out and weld in new metal.

Shaking violently enough to rattle the teeth out of your skull, to be exact. Anything less would be just a shimmy.

Lay underneath the truck while somebody moved the steering wheel back and forth just a but beyond the play, and see what's moving.

Wheel balance? Alignment? Tie rod ends? Ball joints? Suspension parts are only part of the list of possibilities. Steering system is in there too.

Get a 8.25" out of a 97 or newer Cherokee from Pull-a-Part, buy an angle grinder and some cutting discs to cut off the spring perches and shock mounts, then buy some new perches and have them welded on in the correct location (measured off the D35). Total cost is much less than new gears in the D35 (case spreader, gears, install kit, dial gauge, feeler gauges, inch pound torque wrench and other tools to do it yourself, $500 to $1000 to have it done), and you end up with a much stronger axle.

I'm using XJ spring plates on my truck, and weld on shock mounts on the axle. That way I could put the shock mounts at exactly the height I wanted.

Great thing about donor vehicles is that you get bonus parts, like spring plates ;)

An add-a-leaf makes the spring pack stiffer, so it won't settle as much from the weight of the truck. It also has more arch than the stock leafs, forcing the whole pack into a bit steeper arch. This will give you some lift. With a SOA set up, you will gain the thickness of the leaf in addition to the above.

So what are your shocks mounted to? Any chance you could get us a picture of your improperly done rear axle set up?

The only way 31s fit with no lift is with stock wheels. Even though 8" wide rims are better for 10.50" wide tires, most after market wheels have less than factory backspacing. You wouldn't be rubbing the control arms, but you would be eating your fenders. You'd need 3" lift and extended bump stops.