mvusse

AFAIK, the 249 was only available in the V8 models but I may be wrong on this. If it is a weak pos, why would they only use it behind the larger engines? I have never heard of someone grenading a 249, though. The problem they have is when the viscous coupling fails/wears out due to age, full time 4wd starts to act like part time 4wd. Most people swap in a 242 when this happens because a new viscous coupling to fix the 249 is $500 whereas a used 242 can be had for a lot less.

Pinion angle depends on the type of drive shaft used. If it has single u joints on both ends, it should be parallel with the transfer case output, or ~2 degrees below so it will be parallel under load going down the road. If going SOA, shock mounts on the axle instead of using the stock ones on the u bolt plates are a good idea. Either way (SOA or SUA) perches will need to be cut off and new ones welded on in the correct position.

Theoretically, going from 215/75R15 tires with 3.07 gears and want the final drive ratio the same with 33" tires you'd need a 3.66 gear ratio in your axles. So even with 4.10 you're already overshooting and will be running higher rpm at the same speed. Your speedometer will also read faster than you're actually going by about 12%. So with the 4.10 gears and 33" tires if you go 80, the speedometer will read about 90. If you ran 2300 rpm at 80, with the new set up you'll be pushing 2600. with 4.56 you'd run almost 2900 rpm with the speedometer reading just under 100, with 4.88 you'd be close to 3100 rpm with the speedometer a tad over 105. Except doesn't the speedometer end at 85? I find with Renix engines the sweet spot for mileage seems to be ~2100 rpm, for the HO it's a bit higher, closer to ~2300. Running faster speeds at the same rpm because of tires, gearing or combination it that would drop some because of increased wind and rolling resistance. The 4.10 gears overshooting the tires will make up for the increased rotating mass of the larger tires and increased weight of the 4wd conversion when it comes to acceleration and seat of the pants performance. When I has my XJ with 3.07 gears I found 1st gear almost useless. Even making a sharp right turn from a dead stop, like a stop sign I'd have to shift to second halfway through the turn already. 4.88 gears with 33" tires it would be like a granny low for getting a 5K trailer rolling up a 20% grade.

3.69

The D44 was also available separately as a "heavy duty rear axle" without the MT or towing package.

One of the cylinders is missing, time for a tune up: new distributor cap, rotor, plug wires and plugs.

And now the reason I wen to this topic to begin with, did a bit of work on Wilbur yesterday: Rotated the tires. royally messed up one of the wheel studs while removing the lug nuts, so I had to replace it, then I removed the bent, mangled and buckled trailer hitch. Still haven't figured out what I'm going to do for a rear recovery point now, but I should really do something before tomorrow, and have to have one for next week Saturday. Next I got the griner out and cut the outer bed skin off the driver side. All dented, huge hole rusted through above the wheel and the flare was flopping in the wind. Looks more presentable. Passenger side looks just as bad and will be done next week. Plans for this winter are to flip the rear springs around, but leaving the wheel base the same, then cutting a bunch off the frame, and installing a custom bumper with hitch and shackle mounts built in that would also act as the mounting point for the spring shackles. Then custom bed just large enough for fuel cell, toolbox, cooler and spare tire.

I bought one of those for Sparkles, but have reservations about putting it in. The holes through the frame side bracket are larger than 1/2", possibly as large as 13mm. The bolt on that side of the track bar is only 12mm. That would give the trackbar 1mm of slop. The stock trackbar that is under there now has some slop, but less than that. The loud clunking when going from a left turn into a right turn and vice versa is one of the reasons I want to replace it. On top of that, the rubber bushings when installed are almost 1 9/16" thick, the metal spacers are a fuzz longer at 1 9/16" even. So far so good, but the space for the track bar in the frame side bracket is almost 1 3/4", which would cause the track bar so slide around on the bolt. I don't think tightening the bolt would draw the sides of the bracket tight either, as they are 1/4" thick steel with a 1/4" thick support between them. I've been thinking about drilling out the hole to use a larger bolt, but the only 7/8 O.D. bushing I can find is for a 5/8 bolt which might be overkill, and that bushing is only 1 1/2" long.

Wonder if this was the one:

Day before yesterday it dropped to 3.75 and it was still there yesterday morning. Then at noon it was 3.73 and at 1 is was 3.71. I'm liking this trend.

Front axle will be low pinion, rear axle will be D35, and I believe it will come with a 42RE transmission instead of the AW4. Supposedly the CV axles are about as strong as the smaller u joints. Rear Discs will work on a Comanche, but you will have to lengthen the rod for the load sensing valve as disc brakes need more pressure than drums.

You could have left it in gear and put the transfer case in 2wd to be able to spin the front yoke...

Headlight bezels and front flares interchange with Cherokees which are plentiful in junk yards. Be careful with the headlight bezels, though, as there are two styles of grille and headlight bezels that look almost identical but do not interchange.

You're going to have to contact Jeep for that letter. Your title office will make you a new title for whatever state you reside in.

Probably no more so than from Canada. A letter from Jeep stating it mostly conforms to USA EPA and safety standards for the year, a stop at the border for import papers and a vin search that can usually be done by your title office.

Front axle can come from definitely 87 through 01 Cherokee, probably all the way back to 84. Also 97 through 06 Wrangler and 93 through 98 Grand Cherokee. Of these only the 84 through 99 Cherokee are high pinion, 91 and newer did away with the problematic central axle disconnect and 97 (96? 95?) and newer will have stronger axle shaft u joints. Actually, older ones with ABS will have the stronger u joints also. You cannot bolt a transfer case onto a 2wd transmission, so your transmission will need to be swapped out as well. With 2 possible spline counts and 3 possible lengths on the transfer case input shaft, it is best to get the transmission and transfer case out of the same vehicle. For plug and play install you want one from an 97 through 90 Cherokee or Comanche with the 4.0.

On top of that, unless it's running with the fan on full blast, not recirculating the air and it's 100 degrees out, it will not run continuously but rather cycle on and off. On newer cars with better aerodynamics supposedly the AC uses less gas on the highway than the increased drag from having your windows open.

Early as in 87-90, don't know about 84 through 86. More or less stop sign shaped diff cover. 99% of Cherokees that era had a D35, however. Advantages: Axle shafts in a D44 are marginally thicker than 29 spline 8.25, no C clips. Negative: D44 axle tube is smaller than 8.25 axle tube. Which one is the better axle? I'd say the D44. Is there a large enough difference for it to actually matter in the real world? Probably not. 29 spline 8.25 is easy to find as there are thousands out there. I have yet to find a D44 under a Cherokee in a junk yard. I did find a metric tonne Comanche once, but the rear axle was already gone. Likely disappeared within hours.

Even doing a rear wheel stand while bouncing on 35" tires and a locker I did not manage to damage my 29 spline Chrysler 8.25". Did twist the driveshaft in half, though. Any late 96 or newer Cherokee without ABS should have it. Correct width, pumpkin in the center so you can get correct u joint angle if you do a SYE, correct 1310 series yoke for the driveshaft and you don't have to McGuyver the parking brake cables. 4.0/auto would most likely have 3.55 ratio. 2.5 would have 4.10 no matter what transmission by then, stay away from a 4.0/5 speed as it would be 3.07. Or possibly find a D44 off an early Cherokee. Rare, but not as rare as a Comanche D44.

Dropped 3 cents to 3.79.

I reserve judgment until I've used the new site for a few days.

The grill is upside down, though... :roll:

I usually get my hard to find parts for transfer cases or axles from my local drive train shop, but when I needed a chain for my 231 I ended up getting it mail order from Morris 4x4 since an old acquaintance of mine works there. Pretty much any Jeep 231 or 242 should bolt on, but depending on transmission the input shaft could be either 21 spline or 23 spline and one of three different lengths. If it came from behind an AX15 it should fit, if not you may have to swap the input shaft from your old one to the new one. Not 100% positive but I believe the input shafts will swap between a 231 and a 242, as long as you stay before 1994. They changed the cut of the gears in or after 94 and the shafts do not swap across the changeover year. Have never had a 242 apart before, but a 231 is not really that complicated inside. Edit to add that swapping to a 242 transfer case means you also have to swap the shift gate.

Sounds like it runs in open loop mode, then messes up in closed loop. How old is your O2 sensor?

I run 6.25" in front on short arms causing the axle to swing back a lot more under droop with 11" suspension travel and have no issues with shock clearance or the shocks bending.