mvusse

Supposedly a D35 will not hold up even with stock tires and no locker. I'm still running it (unlocked) with 33s because my new axle is not ready to go under yet, but expect to have to drive home from wheeling in 4wd (front wheel drive) one of these times. But in any case, do not waste your money locking the D35. Sooner or later it will break regardless. Use the money you'd use for the locker and put it towards a new axle instead. Chrysler 8.25" from 97 and newer Cherokee is okay (29 spline), D44 from Comanche would be awesome, but hard to find. Ford 8.8" from Explorer (year?) is also good, but is an inch narrower and would need an adapter U-joint on the drive shaft. On the plus side, it's got disc brakes. Pull-a-part junk yards charge $101 for a complete axle with disc brakes, $71 with drum brakes, $56 without brakes. Or lock the front axle, like I did. $230 for an Aussie locker, can install it yourself.

I had done some cutting on the flairs to help clearance issues when driving. Now I played some with the GIMP before I cut into the fenders themselves to solve clearance issues under full flex. How bad does this look with the stock bumper? Original: Cut:

Although it would be a good upgrade, a SYE is not needed. Do not get a drop pitman arm. The drag link needs to be parallel to the track bar. With the drop pitman arm they will not be resulting in bad bump steer. On top of that, with the uni-body frame, a drop pitman arm, especially with 33s, can easily put enough torque on the steering box bolts to rip/crack the frame. Ditto track bar relocation bracket. If this is a drop bracket on the frame side, you would need to beef up the frame first. Using both might eliminate the bump steer problem, though. I advice not changing anything on the steering other than having an alignment done after the lift. This is absolutely not optional. Adjustable track bar YJ front brake lines 95 Dakota rear brake hose sway bar quick disconnects adjustable upper and lower control arms longer shocks (front can be Gabriel #81440 from Autozone with 2" extensions. Think I paid $15 per shock and $3.99 for the extensions. Rear depends on how you do your shock mounts with the SOA conversion) A long arm kit would be nice, but adds to the cost and can be problematic to install as most (all?) are designed for a Cherokee frame which is not quite the same as a Comanche frame. Good luck!

I usually object to control arm drop brackets, because they are great at catching rocks and getting hit on steep break overs. If this is going to be purely a mud truck, that won't be an issue, though. But not absolutely necessary if you don't want to spend the extra money.

Which is another reason diesels can be so good on mileage. High compression (17-19:1 for the turbos, as high as 27:1 for naturally aspirated) can make for a very efficient engine. I still say easiest way to get to 80 mpg on gasoline is to build a diesel engine using gasoline for fuel.

Depends on what auto. A stock Allison 1000 can easily handle 700ft lbs. With a few custom parts upwards of 1000. But I would still take a 6 speed diesel over an automatic. I decide what gear I should be in, not some computer trying to think for me. Nice truck, but I don't think you should have traded in your MJ. Could have probably talked him down $3000 without a trade, making the final price the same. Why? Because on paper an MJ isn't worth hardly anything as a trade. So now that you have the tow rig, when are you buying your next Jeep?

It is recommended that you fill up with ethanol free fuel whenever possible in any vehicle. Even flex fuel ones.

No, they are not the same. Sway bar connects to both ends of the axle, just outside the spring plate through end links. It prevents excessive body lean in turns. Track bar connects to a bracket on the frame on the driver side, and a bracket on the axle on the passenger side. It keeps your axle in place side to side. If there's any play, the axle can move side to side, and as the axle moves left, the steering links cause the wheels to turn right. Then the axle wants to go right, causing the wheels to turn left. If there is a lot of play it will cause you to be all over the road. If there is any play, a bump or out of balance tires can set off an oscillation that will attempt to rattle the teeth out of your mouth and feels like the truck is trying to shake itself apart. That is called death wobble. It can also be "cause" (allowed to happen) by worn bushing in the control arms, usually lower ones, bad TREs and bad ball joints. But the most common cause seems to be play at the frame end of the track bar due to an elongated hole in the frame bracket. If it is you may have to pull a few from junk yard XJs to find a good one, but thankfully, XJs are plentiful.

Plugged cat is easy to diagnose by temporarily removing it. Don't run it like that at night, though, as you will wake up everyone withing half a mile or so.

That's what I like about mine. It's rusty, it looks like a chameleon with all the different color body panels, but if I put another dent in it, it'll blend right in. Another scratch in the paint? What paint? It allows me to challenge myself and my truck off road without having to worry too much about trees or rocks.

Could be fuel pressure, or flow capacity. Can't hurt to change out the filter and the sock on the pump. Sounds more like an ignition issue, though. Are you sure you're firing on all cylinders? When was the last time you changed distributor cap, rotor, wires and spark plugs?

Not quite. Octane measures the tendency to pre-ignite. Adding ethanol increases the octane level. 89 octane is still 89 octane whether it has ethanol or MTBT or whatever that stuff is called. Ethanol is also not too good for rubber fuel system components as it has a tendency to corrode rubber, nor too good for the top end of your engine as it washed the oil off the cylinder walls. Government thinks ethanol is great because it is produced domestically and works fine in their fancy 2009 model cars. They don't care about those of us who can't afford to take out a second mortgage to buy transportation and are stuck driving old junk that was never designed for ethanol. But with less available energy, even a flex fuel vehicle will get better mileage and last longer engine wise with less ethanol and more gasoline.

Ride smoothness depends a lot on shocks. I have 6.5" with adjustable short arms, NO drop brackets and shocks meant for a compact car. Rides way nicer than my stock 94 XJ with Skyjacker shocks. The Skyjacker shocks make the XJ ride like a 3/4 ton truck.

The bolt on SOA kit will only work with MJ rear axles. XJ axles are already SOA, but the perches are in the wrong spot. 4.10 XJ axles are 100 times easier to find than 4.10 MJ axles, as there are very few MJs in junk yards. XJs are everywhere, Sell the bolt on SOA kit, buy an XJ axle, then after you have the axle and know the diameter (35, 44 and 8.25 are all different, don't waste money on a 35) buy weld on perches and shock mounts. A welding shop should not charge more than $25 or $30 tops to weld the perches and shock mounts on. You can cut the old stuff off yourself with an angle grinder.

I have replaced the pump in my 87 MJ, buddy replaced the pump in his 90 XJ. Same pump.

Yellow lenses are fog lights. Clear lenses are driving lights and could be used for aux light when off road or when there's no oncoming traffic.

My local drive shaft shop estimated about $300, possibly higher for a custom rear drive shaft with a slip joint. Couldn't give me an exact quote without at all individual parts, but I told him not to bother as I don't have a SYE yet.

My 87 MJ reads about the same, also 10W30 synthetic. Don't know about my 94 XJ as it has idiot lights.

Or restriction in the exhaust, like a plugged cat.

I don't know what to say. I don't think I've ever said that before.

I doubt tires will make it "fall on it's face" on take off. I run 33x12.50 with the stock 3.55 axles, Renix 4.0/AW4 and can do a 10' burnout on dry pavement.

Notes to self: Shock length at ride height: RF 23.5, LF23.5 RR 20.5, LR 21 Lift rear driver tire until fender interferes: RF 27, LF 19 RR 18.5, LR 24 Lift front driver tire until fender interferes: RF 20, LF 27 RR 23.5 LR 18.5 Front shocks Gabriel #81440 with extensions: 27" fully extended, 17" fully compressed. (24 5/8" to 14 5/8" without extensions) Rear shocks Monroe #59358 (Gabriel #61582 should also work, 25" extended, 15" compressed): 25" fully extended, ??" fully compressed. Can't lift passenger side with full gas tank: gas pours out near filler. Rear tires hit front of flare before top. Move axle backwards will solve, but need longer drive shaft. Front tires hit front of flare before top. Modify flare somehow. Front and rear both look like they might fit inside under flex. Front lifted fully extends shock and tire interferes with flare at same time as track bar hits axle bracket. Modify bracket a bit with grinder.

Please, not so loud. Junk yard. Parts stores say they have them. Parts stores are wrong. Parts stores will sell you a Cherokee unit, saying it will interchange. It will not. They are mirror image.

X2, the 2.5 would have an AX5, which would not hold up to a 4.0 even if it would fit, which it doesn't. I would swap the AW4 automatic transmission in with the 4.0.

86 makes more problems than most as the 4.0 was never available in it. You have to change out everything under the hood including radiator supports and maybe even the hood prop. Firewall may or may not need to be massaged <1" with a BFH. Never done it myself, just repeating information that has been posted before. You will also need all under hood wiring, possibly dash wiring.