johnnyc

Changed the diff fluid in the rear end and added a Solid cover and Lube Locker to match the front. I was able to confirm that my Dana 44 does indeed have a limited slip. Took a picture down near the beach.

The TJ Moabs have slightly less backspacing than stock XJ wheels.

The question was posted on jeepforum.com regarding the width of an MJ bed. The person claimed that the front of the bed was wider than the rear of the bed. I was skeptical but went out to measure my bed. The front of the bed measures 56 5/16 inches. The rear of the bed measures 55 3/16 inches. A difference of 1 1/8 inches. Is this normal? If so, why would they build it like that?

Hey Kid, Never realized that was your MJ. Can't believe I'd never seen your build thread before now. I saw the picture of your MJ somewhere and I saved it to my computer as motivation for my build. Mine will look very much like yours. I finally decided to paint it silver. And I have the 97+ front end and Moab rims. Thanks for the inspiration!

Your grill is upside down. :) -edit- Dammit...missed the previous post.

You wanna do the 97+ front conversion without changing the header panel??? That doesn't make much sense. The header panel is the main component in the conversion. And yes, you can use the same headlights.

Did they look like these? Mine are just white overlays though. All factory gauges were black.

I thought all Metric Tonnes were longbeds. Nice looking truck. :thumbsup:

I added XJ main leafs wth the eyes cut off to my MJ packs and got two inches of lift. Enough to clear 245/70/16 MTRs ( a little less than 30").

Frame side LCA mounts are different on the MJ...and stronger.

Went to the local muffler shop because I've been dealing with an exhaust leak the past few weeks. Turned out that the 9-month old muffler was leaking at the outlet tube. Had them put on a new Magnaflow. Sounds much better now.

Right here on Comanche Club viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11834

The glovebox thing is only an issue if you have power windows and locks. If you have manual windows and locks, the door panels are different and the glovebox will open all the way. But still, it's not that big of a deal. The glovebox opens enough that you can reach in and grab something while driving.

No. The latch is lower on the 97+ doors.

We know what you meant to say. ;)

Actually, you can spin a rear tire one revolution while counting the number of revolutions the driveshaft makes. If the driveshaft turns about 3.5 revolutions, you have 3.55 gears. If the driveshaft turns about four times, you have 4.10 gears, and so on.

Yeah, I can't believe I met a buddy in the Krispy Kreme parking lot to give him my old hood...and I didn't even have a donut. ;)

I just got my Reflexxion hood on yesterday. I bought it throught www.4wd.com and they offered free in-store pickup at a nearby 4WheelParts store. Plus, I got a 10% discount when they recently had a sale. The assistant manager in the store said that I got lucky because there was a glitch in their system. It was supposed to charge me an additional $150 surcharge, but didn't. And he said that the omission would soon be rectified. But I just checked and they still haven't fixed it. So anybody in the lower 48 can still get the hood with free shipping. I also checked to see if the free in-store pickup is available in Hawaii. And unfortunately, it is not. It would cost you $640 total. So maybe the louvers are a better idea for you.

Put the cowl induction hood on today.

FINALLY got the steel cowl induction hood on. The first one I got was damaged, so I had to wait for a second one. The fit was perfect. The only issue is with the hood hitting the passenger side wiper when open. I wanted to retain my Redline Tuning hood struts. And when the hood is fully open, it hits the wiper. In the picture, the wiper is off. But I have since put it back on. I'll just have to be careful when opening the hood. So many different colors...

The door weatherstripping from a 97+ XJ is definitely thicker and provides a tighter seal. I put them on my old 96 XJ and on the MJ. I got them from a junkyard, but it shouldn't be too hard to find brand new.

Just be careful if you get used ZJ V8 coil springs. Mine were used and only gave me half an inch. I added a coil spacer (nothing wrong with them) and an XJ main leaf in the rear, with the eyes cut off. I ended up with about 2 inches and am running 245/75/16 tires, which are just a shade under 31 inches. And I'm still running stock length shocks. But my MJ is a street only truck for the time being.

It's been in the 80s here for a week. I went up to Big Bear yesterday to do some snow wheeling. It was probably 50 degrees and I was shivering.

It's real easy to wire up using the info here. http://gojeep.willyshotrod.com/HowtoDashClock.htm

Actually, it's not measured center to center. It's 4.5 inches from the center of one stud to the BACK of the stud two over. If you measure one of our wheels center to center, it comes out to about 4.25 inches. Why they do this, who knows. BTW, this only applies to 5-lug wheels.