mvusse

As I stated in my last message, you can't. The cut of the gears on your 89 transfer case is different than the cut of the gears in the 99, so the input shaft WILL NOT swap over between the two cases. For the input shaft to swap into a new transfer case, the new case need to be from 1993 or older.

The AW4 changed from a 21 spline output to a 23 spline output in 1990 or so (not quite sure of the year). So your transmission has a 21 spline output shaft and your transfer case has a 21 spline input shaft. The 1999 transfer case has a 23 spline input shaft that bolts up to newer AW4 transmissions, but not your 1989 one. To make the 1999 one bolt up to your transmission requires replacing the input shaft with a 21 spline one. For one thing, this requires complete disassembly of the case. And then you need to find one because your 1989 input shaft will not work. In 1994 the cut of the gears changed inside the transfer case making your 1989 input shaft incompatible with the 1999 case. On top of there are also different LENGTH input shafts that depend on the transmission it bolts up to. Unless you have easy access to a 1987-1989 (1990?) transfer case to swap in I would start by removing your current case and taking it apart to see where the problem is. Or just remove the front driveshaft and drive your truck in rear wheel drive only until you find the correct transfer case.

I had an old style Aussie in my rear axle. Great for off road, but I didn't like the way it handled on the road at all. That was with aggressive 35" MT tires.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the carriers are different between 27 and 29 spline. 29 spline gears do not fit in a 27 spline carrier.

Bunch of mall crawlers driving on gravel roads. Either that or the film crew doesn't know what parts to shoot.

I do believe the straps are the same. The short bed tank uses 2, the long bed one uses 3 of them.

If you can get to low range, the transfer case is functioning. And you're wrong on where the 4WD light is -- it's in the status light cluster to the left of the primary gauges. As already pointed out, your MJ has a vacuum-controlled axle disconnect. If you don't have good vacuum, it won't engage. The 4WD light is also actuated by a vacuum switch, so that's a second hint that you have a vacuum leak. You could try to track it down (which would be a good idea, since it probably also affects your cabin heating/ventilation distribution), or you could just permanently lock the axle in the engaged position. {Edit to add} I overlooked the fact that you said you have an '85. That's interesting, considering that there is no such thing -- the MJ was introduced in the 1986 model year. What transfer case does your MJ have? There should be a label on the driver's side sun visor that will say either "Command-Trac" or "Selec-Trac." The operation of the 1986 Selec-Trac was very different from the MP242 Selec-Trac of later years. The '86 would not have an NP231. If it's Commend-Trac it would be an NP207, IIRC. The 231 didn't come in until 1987 or possibly 1988. http://jeep.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Jeep_transfer_cases http://www.4x4review.com/jeep-transfer-case-identification-guide/ He did say "where the upshift light is". That light is in the same cluster, maybe he has left and right mixed up?

The 249 in 97 and 98 Grands has a locking viscous coupler, that locks the front and rear together in 4 low. The viscous coupling goes bad after a time and is VERY expensive to replace. That is why a lot of 249s get replaced with a 242 when (not if) it goes bad.

I run an 01-04 WJ pump through-bolted to the stock 87 Renix bracket. Had to use my old 87 pulley for everything to line up because the 01-04 pulley sits out 1/8" further. Pain in the behind because the old pulley does not have the bolt access holes. Had to install the pump first, then install the pulley on it. I did run the new pulley for a couple of weeks trying to figure out why the belt was squeaking.

Because of the different shift pattern (and extra position), the shifter gate is different, and the tab that bolts to the transfer case that the linkage pops into is (going from memory) 3.5" on a 231, 3" on a 242. Using the tab of a 231 on a 242 causes you to hit the end of the shift gate before you are fully engaged in 4-low. As a good friend of mine always says: "Ask me how I know..."

I lowered the back of my truck a little, now around 7" of lift, SOA, Sterling 10.25", but axle should not matter too much. Pointing straight at the transfer case would have been 17 degrees. I took 2 degrees off to account for axle wrap and set the pinion at 15. A friend of mine has an XJ with 6.5" lift and a CV shaft. He ran it while siting on jack stands with the pinion seal removed and it pumped oil out the pinion quite well. I wouldn't worry about any problems with whatever pinion angle you'd need to run on am MJ.

There never was a 1986 short bed. The short bed version didn't come out until 1987.

I talked to a friend of mine with 6.5" lift on an XJ and a SYE. He ran the truck on jackstands without an oil seal in the rear axle and it pumped gear oil out the pinion quite well. Evidently my worries about the pinion bearings were unfounded. It is now almost 5 years later and the above mentioned driveshaft has been twisted in half during a stupid move (bouncing while doing a rear wheelstand) a few years ago. Had a bomb proof one made out of 3/16" wall tube. The sucker weighs about 50 pounds, but treated me well until I swapped 1 ton axles under the truck. Now with the 1 ton axles I did install a heavy duty slip yoke eliminator and had a stock front driveshaft retubed with 1/4" wall tubing, lengthened 19" and a 1310 to 1330BC in the bottom end of it to hook up to a Ford 10.25" axle. On a side note, I built my daughter a Cherokee. Started with a rust free 1996 2wd model, and bought a rotted out 1996 4wd parts truck. Used the 4wd transmission, but not the transfer case. Instead I used a 242 transfer case out of a 1994 Grand Cherokee with a hack-n-tap slip yoke eliminator and 4.5" lift. She runs stock front driveshafts front and rear; kind of handy having to only carry one spare driveshaft.

The Renix's reservoir is not an overflow tank, it is pressurized and always has coolant flowing through it, into it on the side, out through the bottom. Because of this the temperature inside the reservoir will be closer to that of the thermostat housing than on the HO engines. Even so, Frank is correct that the thermostat housing is a much better place to read the temperature.

Make sure you use a digital multimeter. Analog ones have too low an impedance and will fry the sensor.

But then you'd have to carry two spare tires, swap in a different rear axle, or run adapters. The WJ has a 5 on 5" bolt patterm while our trucks use 5 on 4.5".

Autolite plugs are crap as are Bosch; don't know about Bosch wires. NGK copper is pretty good. For a cheaper option, Champion coppers seem to work good also with our engines.

Just tried both my 87s. You are correct about the horn, I never realized this until now, but on both the brake lights work fine with the ignition off.

What puzzles me is the ignition. The brake lights should work no matter the ignition, or a key even being in it. Just like most of the rest of the lights. The only lights that should only work with the ignition being on are turn signals (but not hazards flashers) and backup lights.

After ripping the passenger upper control arm off a D30 I prefer the disconnect housings. They are usually regarded as a weaker axle due to the multipart construction of the passenger side tube, but I have never had any issues with that in my first three D30s. One of them still lives on under my daughter's Cherokee. Axle shafts are a minor point. After a passenger side single shaft conversion, any non disconnect axle shaft will fit and interchange, regardless of u joint size (5-260x versus 5-297x/5-760x) or even CV shafts from a V8 Grand Cherokee. Stay away from TJ (97-06 Wrangler), ZJ (93-98 Grand Cherokee) and 00-01 XJ (Cherokee) housings as they are all low pinion. Obviously you don't want a YJ (87-95 Wrangler) either as they were leaf sprung. Large u joints could be found from the factory in 94 and up I believe Cherokees, any Cherokee with ABS regardless of year, any year TJ, and any year ZJ unless it has CV shafts. But with axle shafts breaking and being replaced, nothing in the junk yard is sure unless you take a tape measure with you. Small ones measure 1 and 1/16" across the cap, large ones are 1 and 3/16". I like the newer brakes calipers, the ones that don't use a separate bracket that uses the inverse torx bolts, but bolt directly to the knuckle. These caliper go with a like year knuckles as the newer calipers will not work on an older knuckle. They also use regular bolts for the caliper slides as opposed to that stupid pin that uses a difficult to find 7mm allen key. Another problem I kept having with the old ones was the factory installed heli coils coming out. The different year knuckles swap onto any year D30 housing whether old style or new style. Other difference in brakes is the rotors. The older ones used a thicker mounting surface. The newer ones with a thinner mounting surface mount deeper because of that; the newer unit bearings make up the difference. Old unit bearing with new rotor will cause the rotor to rub on the steering knuckle. Older rotors work with any year unit bearing, newer unit bearing will work with any year rotor. No, I do not know off the top of my head what year was the changeover. I do not know much about the WJ (99 and newer Grand Cherokee up until it became IFS (WK?)), except they came from the factory with 16" and larger rims to fit larger rotors and I think they use over the knuckle steering instead of under. They also use different unit bearings and have a different bolt pattern for the wheels.

The ground wire by the driver side tail lights is the ground for the fuel pump.

I wouldn't be surprised if a few Wrangler or Cherokee follow me.

I have had 4 Dana 30 axles under my truck. Three were CAD housings andthe only problem I had with them was the lower control arm mounts (they would rip off or fold up when off road). The last one was a non-CAD one. It was under my truck for only 2 trips off road before the passenger side upper control arm mount got ripped off. Overall I think the CAD and non-CAD housings are the same strength, except the the thick cast passenger upper control arm mount on the CAD ones is a lot stronger than the sheet metal one on the non-CAD ones.

I think yo have the Purple People Eater beat. 4 cylinder stick shift 2wd, radio delete, no dash clock, no cigar lighter, no rear bumper, dummy light cluster without trip odometer, but it has power steering. My other one (Pioneer) was somewhat decked out for a Pioneer model: dash gauges, fog lights, bucket seats, all black interior, 4 litre auto 4wd. My daughters 96 Cherokee Sport (I though the sport was the entry model, like the SE?) has power windows, power locks, AC and cruise control. The 94 Cherokee I had for a little while was an SE. It was 4.0/AX15/4wd, dummy lights, manual doors, no AC, no cruise. It was also a 2 door :banana:

Evidently the 12V you measure is high impedance and doesn't mean anything. Check the brake light fuse.