onlyinajeep726

Today has been pretty productive. I had my buddy Justin come over around lunch time to help with the transmission install. Got all four tires sitting on 8 inch cinder blocks to help with getting the trans. underneath the MJ. Ended up having a hell of a time with it lining up right. Had to take off the transfer case and we finally got it in. I spent the a good part of the rest of the day figuring out how to bolt the crossmember on... My solution was drilling out the frame rail and tapping it to the bolts that were originally used (3/8" - 16). I know some of you will question the structural integrity of this and I too wonder how it'll hold. I know of the passenger side where I drilled and tapped, there was several layers of sheet metal that equated to about a quarter inch of metal for the bolt to fasten against. On the the driver side, I drilled out the crossmember instead and used an existing bolt hole from the original crossmember. I also broke off the drill bit for my last hole. Right now, I have 5 of 6 bolts holding it in place. After that, I bolted my transfer case back on. By this point it was close to 7:00 pm, so I called it a night. Oh, and I also swapped the power steering pump. I used the spare one I formally had on my XJ before I did the stroker swap on it. The rest that needs to be done is as follows: (may be missing some things).... 4WD linkages Fuel lines O2 sensor Wire back-up light Bolt-on the trans. shifter Shorten the rear drive shaft Install both drive shafts Fill the transfer case, transmission and power steering pump with their respective fluids Fill engine with oil and install new filter Swap fuel pump Install the CPS and mock up a mounting bracket (more on that later) Install starter NSS bypass Get the little window part of the dust shield bolted up (I'm using the former AW4 one) New spark plugs Custom ignition coil bracket '91+ heater hoses Overflow bottle Fill coolant system Torque down oil pan Clean/degrease engine Install throttle cable Plug in and fasten cruise control module Bolt-on exhaust down pipe Install air cleaner box Bolt down 4.0 battery tray Hook up clutch pedal to master cylinder push rod A/C lines with new O-rings New, HD engine-to-chassis ground strap Etc, etc. Pictures now? I think so too. Passenger side: Driver side: Passenger side, again: May have to open up the shifter window a little... What do you think? AW4 dust shield with AX15.

Anybody here have any experience with the Badlands 12,000 lb winch that Harbor Freight sells? Usually I'm skeptical of HF stuff for something as hard core as winching, but the reviews on this thing suggest it's well worth the cost. Right now, it's on sale for $300 vs the normal $500... So, thoughts? http://www.harborfreight.com/Off-Road-Winch-with-Automatic-Load-Holding-Brake-12000-lb-Capacity-68142.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiODIwMzU5NzQiLCJza3UiOiI2ODE0MiIsImlzIjoiMjk5Ljk5IiwicHJvZHVjdF9p%0D%0AZCI6IjgwMzgifQ%3D%3D%0D%0A#pr-header-back-to-top-link

Good luck getting the pan separated from the dipstick tube... I had a b!tch of a time on my (former) '96 XJ...

Yessir and good luck!

I like the idea of this concept. The photoshop is pretty good except two very obvious things that the artist overlooked: The double ended roof bar The rear passenger tire is too far up Observe:

So basically no one has any tips? lol

All three of my Renix era XJ's have a 5-prong socket. As far as the 40A thing, I'm not saying you're wrong, however, all three of mine had the stock 4-prong relay installed and all of them were 30A. The stock fan pulls somewhere in the neighborhood of about 23-25 amps IIRC. I don't know what's going on there, but honest to goodness all three have 5-prong sockets.

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/renix-c101-delete-152271/

You can just use a 5-prong relay. They work the exact same. The 4-prong one is just a 5-prong with that center one missing.

:agree:

That's what American ingenuity is all about! Good job! :thumbsup:

Hahaha, yea, seriously.

Quick update. I sold my former 2.5 and drive train Tuesday afternoon for $400. That night, I ordered $271 worth of parts from RockAuto to hopefully wrap up this project soon. Among the things ordered were a new fuel pump (for the 4.0 MPI), a new O2 sensor (to replace the one I broke like a moron), new pre-filled/pre-bled master and slave clutch cylinder system, and other small odds and ends. Just have a few big things to install like the transmission, figuring out how to mount the crossmember and shortening my drive shaft.

Good luck lol. :thumbsup:

No problem. Take/post a lot of pictures of how everything goes. :yes:

If you're going from a 2.5/AX4 to a 4.0/AX15, you would have to shorten the rear drive shaft on a stock height MJ. Now, with 6.5" lift, that will likely change some things. I would highly advise you wait till you get everything in place before you worry about drive shaft modifications. Once you have everything where you like it, you can then base your drive shaft needs on actual measurements. No one here will be able to tell you with 100% certainty how long/short the drive shaft will need to be.

Here you go... currently working on this exact project now. Some things I'm doing are '86 specific, but the general principle is the same. http://comancheclub.com/topic/39539-links-for-25l-to-40l-swap/ Also, check out my build thread for my MJ. Lots of pictures and things that should help. Happy swapping!

Do a solid front axle swap and lift it!

Anyone have any tips or write-ups on removing the AW4 TCM harness from the main engine harness for a '90 Renix 4.0? Since I've got it bolted to a AX15, I know that jumping the pins for the NSS is necessary for starting the engine, but I don't want unnecessary plugs/harness all under the hood. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I really wanted to see this in the MJ though... but I understand your reasoning.

:agree:

Yes, they're the exact same. The '86 - '90 MJs and XJs used the TBI 2.5L. '91 - '92 MJs and '91 - '01 XJs have MPI 2.5L. I just sold a guy my '86 2.5L today so he could replace the one in his '87 as a matter of fact. You don't happen to be the same guy, do you? lol Edit: I think you are the same guy. Your username gives it away haha. Also, click the link below in my signature "Comanche Stock Specs" and scroll down to the engine section. Lots of good info there.

Getting a little closer... Got my LuK clutch kit today and another goodie I picked up off of a guy on ComancheClub. The elusive trailer hitch receiver for a long-bed MJ. Anyway, in the past few days, I installed the HVAC box, the dash and dash harness. I also made a custom harness to adapt the XJ dash harness to the MJ fuel sender and tail light harness. I've gotten my 4.0 in place and supported on the motor mounts, the flywheel bolted back on (had to remove it to get the engine in), the clutch kit as of tonight. Next big thing is install the transmission and welding in some bolt studs for the relocated crossmember (which I don't know how far back it will be pushed back). Then it's a matter of getting all the piddly, little crap sorted out such as shortening the rear drive shaft and swapping power steering pumps (since I broke the return line barb). And now, it's time for pictures.

Cam swap would be the easiest and more practical, but diesel swap would be way more fun. A lot of people said that swapping in a 4.0 into my '86 is more work than it's worth, but I was willing to take it on and I'm about 3/4th of the way through. If you put your mind to it, you can do it. May need some deep pockets and another job, but hey... you only live once.

I like the idea of the VM 2.5 because if it is offered in XJs, then a big pro for me personally is the ease of swap, i.e., motor mounts, harness placement and the whole setup can just be swapped into the MJ. But, the big con with that as you said is the availability of parts, especially here in the US. Some one posted a thread a while back here on CC about a guy up north that does OM617 conversions on XJs and has done many. He has all the stuff and his own shop and is certified. Can't recall the price he would do all this but IIRC, it was quite steep for the average Jeeper's pockets...