MrSimon

I need a new steering column in good working condition, with keys. Do not want column shift. Glenmoore, PA

I absolutely love Craigslist!!!!! But there is an art to finding the deal you're looking for. Once you've done it for a while, you get really good at quickly sorting the crap from the gems. Also, you have to watch it every day and be ready to move quick and fast.

Read, read, and read some more. There is literally an endless supply of information on the web. And then, after it all completely confuses you ..... just do something and see how it goes. After all, there is no perfect choice. If you are new to modifying Jeeps, the best way to learn is to DO. No amount of internet reading can replace real world experience. But with all that said, I'd recommend searching the classifieds for a set of used adjustable lower AND upper arms. Being able to dial in your caster angle helps with road manners a lot.

If I read it right, you need to re-build/replace your failing 4.0. Some of your goals are to drive it to Alaska for back-country moose hunting, and you want it to last a few 100 thousand miles. A stroker might not be your best option. They do give some extra power, but they aren't known for longevity. Plus they cost more from the get go and will put more stress on things like the trans, transfer case, gears, suspension, etc. It's not a TON more stress, but it would add up over the years. $2,400 is a lot of money to spend on an old engine. Have you considered replacing it with a newer 4.0 from a Cherokee? You could find a nice donor XJ and have a shop swap the motor over for about the same price. Depending on your current truck, you might also get an upgrade to your cooling system, axles, transmission, transfer case etc etc. A few years back, I bought a wrecked, low mileage 99 XJ for $500 and paid a shop $2k to swap everything into my MJ. I did pay a few extra hundred bucks to have them do a full tune-up of the engine when they put it in .... new seals, gaskets, plugs, hoses etc.

Any more specifics on what you mean? Screwdriver in the cylinder, jumping the solenoid, or doing something to the ignition switch on the column. Even through the cylinder is drilled out, it won't turn .... at least not properly enough to engage the ignition switch correctly. Essentially I need to "bypass" the cylinder by messing with the ignition switch.

I finally found a totally rust free MJ in Richmond VA. I went down there, bought it, and drove it to my brothers house 50 miles away with zero problems. 65MPH on Rt. 95 after sitting for a year. RENIX baby!! I shut the key off and the key cylinder locked up ... it was pretty wonky to begin with, and the whole column really should be replaced. We drilled it out so the wheel is unlocked. To get it home to fix it properly, I need to essentially hotwire the thing. I researched the ignition switch wire colors and know what is hot, starter, accessories, etc etc. What I really want to know is where is the best place to tap into the wires? There seem to be two sets of wires going up into the bottom of the column. Any ideas which one is the right one to mess with? Ideally I'd like to find a connector that I can un-plug and jam some paper clips into. Any suggestions?

I've had Detroit lockers, Aussie lockers, ARB with full York driven OBA set-up, and Zip lockers with a small under-hood tankless compressor. Here are my thoughts: Air lockers are VERY susceptible to not working right. Like was said above, air lines can leak, solenoids can stop working, relays can lose a good ground, wires corrode, compressors crap out, switches break etc. When air lockers work properly, they are fantastic!!!!! Full OBA set-ups are totally not needed to actuate air lockers. Small tank-less compressors work great and are easy to install. Detroit lockers are freaking awesome! Cheaper than air lockers, easy to install, no fuss, decent dry road manners and phenomenal off-road traction. I don't really like having the front locked full time though ... it makes turning hard while wheeling. Pretty sketchy on slick roads though. If that thing unloads in rain or snow, good chance you go into a spin. Lunchbox lockers - mostly the same pros/cons as Detroit, but cheaper .... not a full case locker though, so less strength than a Detroit and won't stand up to abuse of big tires or big power. Love these little things though. ARB and Yukon air lockers are very similar. I have Yukon right now cause the dealer close to me gets great prices and any warranty issues can go through him. I like that. A properly installed and maintained air locker is probably the best all-around set-up. You just have to be diligent in maintaining it. More than likely you WILL have issues to work out after the initial install, but once it's all dialed in, you'll be thrilled.

Here is an update: I traded the green MJ for a trunk full of guns, sold off or parted out all the junk XJs, and finished up building the green 00 XJ. It's a sweet sleeper build with gears, air lockers, long arms, inner air beadlocks etc ... but it's still fairly low and plain looking with only 33" tires. I love it!

NAXJA is having it's annual wheeling event at Rausch Creek Offroad Park this June 23-25. It will be a great three days of wheeling, camping, and hanging out with other XJ and MJ owners. Rumor has it the raffle this year will have a lot of great prizes too!! More info here: http://www.naxja.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=369

You will be fine. Don't forget to pound down the pinch seem inside the front wheel wells. I ran 3" with 31s for some pretty heavy duty wheeling without any issues. You'll have no problems with 32s and mild stuff.

Will a 231 transfer case from an 87 MJ with the 2.5L 4speed be a direct swap into an 89 MJ with the 4.0 AW4? Both trucks are 4x4.

200HP on the ground is a ton for an MJ. If you go much more than that you'll have to upgrade the trans, TC, axles, drive shafts, cooling system, suspension, etc. That's big big money. Strokers are perfect for people who want a noticeable increase in power with a mostly plug and play swap. If you need more power than that, then a V8 swap will certainly do it. Just be ready for a big project.

Because of this thread I did a bunch of reading last night on V8 swaps and building up strokers .... mostly because both are AWESOME :yes: :yes: It seems like the 4.8 or 5.3 Vortec is a popular option. There is a ton of info out there on the swap and you can even buy adapter kits easily. Seems like this swap runs in the $3k range if you do it right - maybe less if you get a smoking deal on the motor/trans and do all the work yourself. The 4.6 or 4.7 strokers are also popular, and put out some impressive numbers ... especially in torque (more than the 5.3 even). The beauty of the stroker is that it's a direct drop in replacement. They seem to run in the same ballpark as a V8 swap. I guess it comes down to what you like .... or what you have available. Personally, I love the idea of picking up a decent 4.0 from Craigslist for a couple hundred bucks .... building it into a stroker in the garage .... then dropping that 275HP torque monster into my Jeep in one evening after work.

I've run drop brackets and long arms both quite a bit. They both work fine. Most people don't push their trucks hard enough to even feel the benefits of long arms (although they do offer a slightly smoother ride even on the road). For me, I switched to long arms because I was tired of having the drop brackets get hung up in the rocks. The LAs act as long smooth skids and slide over rocks that used to hang me up. This is a pic of me going through some stuff on LAs without getting stuck .... where I used to get hung up a lot on DBs. If I didn't wheel in stuff like this, then I don't think I'd have LAs. But since I do, I freak'n love the LAs and will never go back.

I've seen guys put a Chevy 5.3 in Cherokees without too much trouble. The small block Mustang motor is also pretty popular and fits without too much modification. No matter what you do, you'll have to adjust the motor mount locations which kind of requires cutting, but that's not too bad. After researching a V8 swap for a while, I decided that building a 4.7 stroker gives you V8ish power without altering the engine bay at all.

If you are gonna do all that it takes to get a truck at 8" on big tires .... then it would be silly to not use long arms. A set of long arms isn't that much more than drop brackets and adjustable upper and lowers .... what's a few hundred dollars more when you're already $4k into the build. A few more things to consider with such a big build are: Transmission cooler Hydro assist steering, or at least an upgraded steering box and maybe even a power steering fluid cooler Extended bump stops Traction bar in the rear (to cut down on spring wrap) And you might want to think about a stronger transfer case Beadlocks would be nice to keep those big meats on the wheels And I'm sure you'll want aftermarket bumpers, a winch, rock rails, and skid plates Now throw on some sweet daddy LED light bars and you're ready to rock Obviously you can get a truck up in the air without all this stuff, and for not too much money .... these are just all things that we all WANT to do to our trucks.

I think when it comes to "offending others", our society has gotten so far out of control with political correctness that's it's becoming destructive. Telling someone else to "stop doing that, it offends me" is the ultimate in anti-freedom hypocritical BS. But the Flag is different. Many US soldiers shed their blood, died, or watched their friends die to support what the American Flag represents. They had to go through hell so the rest of us can be free and comfortable .... and the Flag represents WHY they chose to do so. So I will personally go to great lengths to treat the Flag with reverence and respect and will do my best to avoid offending a veteran who fought for me and my family. Sure, some veterans might seem over-sensitive to this issue ... but they have a right to be!

LoL, it'a all good. I'm pretty sure we're on the same side of this one for sure! It's funny ... I was thinking about this thread while fiddling with the MJ this weekend ... and I was dreaming how awesome it would be to drop a 5.3 in, lift it a couple inches, put a huge rear end in it ..... for the sole purpose of doing sweet daddy burnouts!!!!!!

I put a V8 in my 86, lifted it 6.5", put 4:56 gears in the axles and guess what? It will never leave the pavement. It is my street queen. Just because you don't agree with it doesn't make it wrong. If and when I get my 2WD, QCLB, CTD I am going to dump that b*@$£ on the frame. It is my money, my time and my trucks. How about the sentence ABOVE the one you quoted where I said, "Hey, don't get me wrong .... I'm all for doing whatever you think is cool to your vehicle .... better to be working in the garage than sitting around watching TV, regardless of what you're building." I never said it was wrong .... just that I don't understand it.

Should I just go to a junkyard and pull off the steering from a zj? No. The only difference is a slightly stronger tie rod (and that's only on the V8 models). It really isn't much of an upgrade. I've seen them bend just as easy as stock XJ rods. As was stated above, the entire stock XJ steering is weak when you go offroad. There are a bunch of companies who make nice 1 ton set-ups. They come with heavy duty TREs and heavy duty drag link and tie rod. You ream out your knuckles and bolt up the new stuff. It's pretty simple, a whole lot stronger, and only costs a couple hundred bucks. He mostly drives on the road, with very little actual offroading. The v8 tie rod is a hell of a lot stronger than the stock xj/mj setup. http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/11060.html This is the OTK 1ton steering i got, If you want i can run over & show you it in person. Yeah, if he stays on the road, it will be fine. But why is he swapping in an 8.8, doing SOA, and considering 35s just to stay on the road :brows: Cause why not? Why do people build up mustangs and camaros and never go to the drag strip? Um, when is the last time you saw a hopped up mustang or camaro out wheeling on the trails. That's the equivalent of putting an MJ on 35s and staying on the street. Hey, don't get me wrong .... I'm all for doing whatever you think is cool to your vehicle .... better to be working in the garage than sitting around watching TV, regardless of what you're building. I just don't understand putting all that time, work, and money into lifting a truck if you are going to stay on the street. It will actually perform WORSE on the street ... ride worse, handle worse, get worse mileage, tow worse, and be much more prone to breaking. It just seems silly to me. Especially if you are already on a tight budget.

Welcome, and congrats on your truck!!! For what's it worth, here is my advice in three easy steps Do nothing but maintenance and repairs for the entire first year .... get it in good reliable driving condition and fix all the little annoying things Read read read .... watch tons of videos .... and think hard about what you want to do with the truck Then plan out exactly what you need to buy - and save your money to buy good quality stuff. It will save you money in the long run. Or do what the rest of us did and throw cheap parts on right away, drive it hard and wheel it, then get annoyed because it doesn't run right and half the crap we put on is broken :rotfl2:

Should I just go to a junkyard and pull off the steering from a zj? No. The only difference is a slightly stronger tie rod (and that's only on the V8 models). It really isn't much of an upgrade. I've seen them bend just as easy as stock XJ rods. As was stated above, the entire stock XJ steering is weak when you go offroad. There are a bunch of companies who make nice 1 ton set-ups. They come with heavy duty TREs and heavy duty drag link and tie rod. You ream out your knuckles and bolt up the new stuff. It's pretty simple, a whole lot stronger, and only costs a couple hundred bucks. He mostly drives on the road, with very little actual offroading. The v8 tie rod is a hell of a lot stronger than the stock xj/mj setup. http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/11060.html This is the OTK 1ton steering i got, If you want i can run over & show you it in person. Yeah, if he stays on the road, it will be fine. But why is he swapping in an 8.8, doing SOA, and considering 35s just to stay on the road :brows:

Could you have gotten a more boring car? :laughin: All kidding aside, they are stout little cars and you shouldn't have any trouble with it. And at that price, I think you made a wise decision.

I am a big fan of the Chrysler 8.25. It is a very stout axle and will hold up well even up to 35" tires. I consider them to be only slightly weaker than a D44. And at least where I am, they are super easy to find and run about $75. They are almost all geared at 3:55, which is probably what your front D30 is. Also, since most newer Cherokees had them, you can usually find one with no rust and low-ish miles. No matter what you find (unless it came out of an MJ), you'll have to remove the existing perches and weld on new ones.

Should I just go to a junkyard and pull off the steering from a zj? No. The only difference is a slightly stronger tie rod (and that's only on the V8 models). It really isn't much of an upgrade. I've seen them bend just as easy as stock XJ rods. As was stated above, the entire stock XJ steering is weak when you go offroad. There are a bunch of companies who make nice 1 ton set-ups. They come with heavy duty TREs and heavy duty drag link and tie rod. You ream out your knuckles and bolt up the new stuff. It's pretty simple, a whole lot stronger, and only costs a couple hundred bucks.