Bornindesert

Awesome hornbrod! Went to eBay and ordered the 2 bolts. Thanks for the quick reply and needed info.

When I rebuilt my 2.5 I discovered both starter bolts had been previously buggered up and one had to be drilled out. They are not available through Mopar, RockAuto or local Autozone stores. Need a set, decent used or new. If anyone has found these online or can part with them from a trashed out 2.5 please let me know. Can trade parts or Paypal what you need to buy & ship. Thanks!

If you decide to tackle the exhaust yourself...you can find all of the Walker exhaust pn's on RockAuto and then shop the lowest prices between RockAuto and Amazon....free shipping sometimes get's you a better deal. I think my middle of the road CAT was around $90, free shipping from Amazon.Total parts was around $240 including new rubber isolators. Don't forget the flange gasket.Trickiest part is removing the old CAT from the down pipe. Two studs with nuts and two bolts / nuts hold the flange together. Heat them to Cherry and either let cool and break free or crack them when they are still hot. If the CATs been replaced already, the flange may separate easy...good luck with School!

JeepAir in Florida can fill any gaps you have in sourcing parts locally or on-line. Best advice I can give you is to just give them a call, My liquid line was not available anywhere and they knew exactly what I needed and shipped me the part...like $36 plus shipping or something like that. Good place for hard to find A/C parts and they know their stuff. From what I've read on this thread, you're getting all the right advice.

I use Tapatalk on my mobile to upload pics

Those are both molded hoses IIRC, meaning that they are OEM parts and the ends are sized to fit two different diameters. The bottom one is hard to find, the top one is still available on RockAuto. Going from memory so might have it mixed up.

The Factory R12 high/low side ports (I know also called them valves) are very similar to a tire valve typically also called Schrader valves. They are capped in your picture to keep clean and also help prevent slow leaks. When you convert to R134a the ports are more like quick disconnects and the low side (blue) is smaller than the high pressure side (red). They make R134a conversion kits that includes the new ports and screw onto the existing R12 ports on the compressor. The two systems are not compatible, you can't fill or mix R12 with R134a. Here's a Comanche compressor that's been converted to R134a.

From the picture - you are sticking with R12, not converting it over to R134a? Since you said you'd bring the freon, was wondering where you got the R12? Or maybe it's been converted over to R134a and the low side valve just looks like the old style. Just curious. Sucks about the oil, there's a plug on top of the compressor that you probably found after the fact. If you replace all those components, you can add oil to the dryer and the compressor before charging.

The HC 3" was not an option when I ordered Metic tons from Joe at General Springs. You should expect some lift over your stocker but may not quite get 'a bit OVER 3 inches' to match the front. That question aside, they are really sweet heavy duty springs and come with the Military Wrap. I thought they were a pretty good value for the buck. If your trying to nail 3-4" lift in the back, might be better choice to go HC. There's a JKS adjustable shackle, but they're not cheap. The Chevy drop shackle will probably be too much with the GS MTs. As in 6-7 inches total.

You are correct, there's no crush washer on the D30 on your 1988 axle. There's a torque range on the nut, which should be replaced anybtime its removed if you go by the book. The procedure is to apply incremental torque starting at a low enough value (200 ft lbs) and then measure the running torque of the pinion. Target running torque would be 15 in lbs. So, you'll need a smaller in-lb torque wrench that has a dial read out plus a hefty traditional torque wrench that handles up to 500 ft lbs. The procedure is to torque the pinion nut, measure running torque and repeat by increasing the pinion nut torque by 25 ft lbs until you see the running torque come up. After that, make smaller increments on the pinion nut until you get the 15 in lbs rotating. I don't have the spec in front if me, but you'll be looking to get your running torque with a range of about 275-350 ft lbs. Don't over torque, or you'll wipe out the threads on the nut. Also, you could measure the running torque before you back off the pinion nut, and use that value as a target for when you reassemble. Hope that helps, least get you started thinking about what you'll need. I made a tool to hold the yoke while torquing the nut.

I read about these U/LCAs somewhere on here and found them on Amazon. They're tight on the frame side so be prepared to get out the BFH, and I had to make some room on the lowers by removing the adjustment tabs. Best part was being able to set the caster and orientate the pinion to a proper angle.

Sounds like your ARC Manager could benefit from some of Randy's methods (he's the assistant trailer park supervisor on the Netflix Canadian series Trailer Park Boys) and not fall into the bad habits of Mr Lahey, who drinks like a fish and pesters the parks residents.

I have some 88 2.5l pics, not sure if that would help?

Nice work. Nothing like the satisfaction of doing it yourself and the ride has to be better with all new bushings. I bet it was a pretty heavy press getting those old ones out?

Thanks for the decal hook up mjben! My very first MJ looked just like the red one in yellowheaps thread over there, roll bar, tonneau cover and the Stripe! Brings back Very cool area, South Jersey Coast. You're a lucky guy living down in Brigantine Bay.

Nice truck. Picture reminds me of St Armand's Key in Fla. Wish the Sport truck decals were still available mine are sun crispy.

What I do know is the 2.5 RMS is a one piece, the 4.0L is two piece. I'm a big fan of Felpro, don't like buying the cheapest or most expensive when on RockAuto. On the 4.0, be very detailed on the rear bearing cap, the groove and mating surface on the oil pan and the corners. It's tricky getting the one piece seated back there, so just pay attention. don't over tighten the pan bolts, use a torque wrench and then re-torque after the sealant has cured. A small dab of silicon sealant on each bolt is not a bad idea, just extra work. Using a product like Hi-Tack, spray on gasket sealer keeps things in place during assembly. Good luck!!

At the time Hells Creek was not producing springs so wound up going to General Springs. I hear that HC is back in business and they make a 3" SUA lift spring. Let me know if your serious about the GS and I'll dig out the order. Maybe $160 per Spring plus $100 to ship. Guessing...they do offer a CC discount. Thanks Don, kids gotta learn lol.

Went for the Metric Tons from GeneralSprings, with the Military wrap. Very pleased, great fit and heavy duty. There's a thread on here you may want to do a search to get some more info.

Most of the coolant hoses are molded and a couple are expanded to fit a larger sized connection at one of the ends. It was more difficult to identify all of the replacements than it should have been, but I ordered all but one from RockAuto. If Team Cherokee has a kit, save yourself some time and get them there. The heater control valve is available from there too if you want to replace yours.

My 88 started it's life as a Black 2.5L 2WD 4Spd no A/C truck, good body, good title and some minor unibody damage drivers side from a light hit. Couple of hours on the frame machine, a new inner section welded in and it was remanufactured into a White Renix 4.0L, 4X4 Auto AW5 with a NP242 TC with Air (A/C was dealer installed). It's a big job but pretty straightforward. As long as you have the parts or the right donor, I can't remember anything that was problematic in converting the truck over. Axles obviously need to be swapped. If you move forward, I'd be interested in the 2.5L engine wiring harness - building an 88' 2.5L and the harness is trashed.

Just picked up a Dakota Bell Housing from Onlyinajeep726 and gathering info on the AX15 upgrade for my Red Devil Comanche project. Assuming I find a 1995 XJ 4.0 4x4 5spd, does anyone know what parts I need for the Clutch? I know I need a Renix flywheel, do I re-use the 12" 2.5L flywheel? It has a pilot bearing, not bushing, assuming that gets pressed out and replaced with a new bushing? The 2.5L 14 tooth 9" clutch plate has to go, what do I use for the AX15? Same questing for the pressure plate.

Agree, clogged Cat or corroded ballast resistor connections. The fact that you where on an incline or wash board road when it started happening leans toward the Cat. Only bad thing is you have to basically pull it off to see if the slug is sliding around, blocking the exhaust. Mine was dislodged and truck wouldn't run or idle but would start, gasp cough and sputter lol.

Exhaust is pretty straight forward. I replaced everything from the head pipe flange back, so new flange gasket, new Cat, new muffler, new tail pipe, clamps, and a couple of new rubber hangers. If you plan on not replacing the CAT, good luck...you'll fight to get it separated from the old muffler but it's doable. Most of the old Cat's are doomed to fail eventually anyways, so bite the bullet and replace it now. First, Walker has all the OEM replacement parts and there are various manuf's for the CAT. I started on RockAuto, got all the p/n's then went to Amazon and found them with free shipping. Wound up purchasing the CAT, clamps and gasket from RockAuto and the muffler / tail pipe from Amazon. Tricky part is, getting the flange separated. there are two studs with nuts and two bolts with nuts. If you break the bolts...not really a big problem, but if you break the studs off trying to back off the nut...you'll need to figure something else out. Best bet is to use a torch and heat them up cherry and then back off the nuts carefully. The extra time and effort here will save you the hassel of having to deal with the flange bracket repair.

Would a 95 AX15 XJ be a good donar for the 1988 2.5L AX4 swap? Like the OP, just picked up a Dakato bell housing for the beginnings of a tranny upgrade. Also, why not just use the Jeep XJ clutch, pressure plate and flywheel if the AX15 is from an XJ? Do they not mate up with the 2.5L tailstock?