Sir Sam

JFC this forum software pisses me off at times. Make offer! Apparently they just spent $2k on a mechanic who did the head gasket but did not replace the 0331 head after it overheated and was getting contanminated oil/coolant. We told them they need to find a new mechanic.

So what it needs.....most likely just a head, its an 0331 head, and it got overheated, and then the problems started. Id bet the block is fine. So the plan for now is to grab a junkyard 0331 TUPY head, rebuild it, put that in, remove the grandpa steps, find some alloy wheels for it, general clean up, and then list it on bring a trailer.

Another option is to check with gps how far off you are, pull your current gear tooth and then do the math to see what your ideal tooth count is, and then decide what to order, I prefer to have my speedo read a little high to help avoid speeding a little too much.

Well, swapping in a 4.7 requires the same amount of fabrication as any other engine swap. So the 4L gets points for bolt in. the rear axle isn’t particularly desirable and doesn’t have tons of aftermarket support, to the point where a ford 8.8 or kJ 8.25 is better and is only $100 at the junkyard. the front axle is fine, it’s low pinion, which doesn’t matter much, and it’s wider than the XJ axle so the mounting isn’t a direct fit up. So to swap it in you need to do some fabrication, more than let’s say just taking a HP XJ d30 and swapping on WJ steering and brakes. 545rfe trans is just OK, but an AW4 is much much better. if you had a 242 transfer in your donor you would find it does not have the speedo provision in the tail housing like the xjs and ZJs do, so what do you do about your speedo? do you have the ability to rewire the engine harness, to get the 4.7 to run standalone? I don’t know if anyone makes a plug and play kit and flashes an ECU or not. At the minimum you would want to flash the ECU to remove the security, unless you are well versed in the SKIM system and know how to work around it. So think about all of that, and then compare what spending just a little more money on a Chevy donor gets you and.......you have nearly all the same trouble, expensive, headache, for a lesser option V8.

Ya what I posted is only really relevant to the later handles. If you don’t mind the aesthetic change with an older interior it seems like a good way to go.

This is probably the best that I have already written up about it: https://comancheclub.com/topic/9562-project-crd-mj-is-born/page/11/#comments

I also modified one so I could do the method where you don’t cut a hole in the floor and instead modify the parking brake bracket and run the cable out the back through one of the bulkhead holes. I didn’t end up using it but it’s also a good option.

For my 00MJ I just cut the small foot shaped hole where it was needed for the 97+ handle and then ran the cable back to MJ parking brake bracket/splitter/adjuster.

I do love a 4 cylinder turbo diesel.

Yes the flat hood looks much better. Too bad mine got t boned shortly after upgrading.

Well it looks like I can find electric brake assemblies with a parking brake provision, which starts to slide me in that direction.

The rear axle for spares does sound interesting. But realistically I don’t think it would ever be useful. I don’t have one around but any junkyard axle will be cheaper than a new trailer axle. That being said while cost is a consideration it’s not the be all end all, would rather build it “right” for my needs. Getting an electric brake axle also means I need to buy a trailer brake controller, again not a big deal as it’s useful, but is a consideration. since I plan to use it Offroad and will be moving it around by hand often the parking brake feature sounds really nice. a hydraulic surge brake controller sounds like a good way to pair brakes and a parking brake, so if I went that route i would want to use one with a reversing solenoid. I had some crazier ideas about using an abs computer to make electric hydraulic brakes with ABS built in, if I had the tools to reprogram the computer this would be the easiest way actually. right now I am leaning towards a caravan axle with hydraulic surge brakes.

I’m thinking about the Offroad type use I would have where I would be dragging it over some rough roads to get to where I would camp. More likely to do that with a standard trailer axle since the tube is so small. but maybe I’ll stick with Sua and some Chevy drop shackles. To get some height. when Offroad I would have the wildernest on it, which as a preload is already pretty heavy.

So what is everyone’s thoughts about axles? For $100 I can get a KJ rear disk axle. I could use either the KJ parking brake or the hydraulic brakes to make a parking brake that is mounted by the tongue, useful for keeping it from rolling away or moving it around by hand. however the other thought occurs to me that maybe it’s possible to have a surge brake controller/tongue and hook that up to the KJ hydraulic disk brakes. That could be a slick setup. Surge brakes and parking brake ready to go. or, get a lighter non braking trailer axle in 5x4.5. Or get an electric trailer brake axle. I would like to run 5x4.5 so I can put stock wheels on the trailer for spares. Since this has stock Springs I’m thinking going soa to give extra squat room for it. also someone cut one of the shackles, I’m not sure if I kept my MJ ones around or if I will need to replace the pair of them.

Made it home!

$315 out the door so far. Got it on the flat bed and I’m leaving Colorado Springs now. 2 hours drive home!

I don’t disagree. Hence why I said unfair.

And cost more I’m sure........ unless I get it at an unfair price.

No, but I’m thinking it’s easier to use that and weld a tongue to it. Plus it has other things I like already provisioned, like the spare tire holder and fuel tank holder.

Planning to go cut a long bed apart to make a trailer. Gonna be a challenge to get it out of the junkyard. junkyard seems like they will be no help either. Rear axle is gone, leaf springs are there. One shackle was cut. No tailgate or tail lights of course. planning to cut it as close to the cab as possible. I’ll bring it home on a flatbed trailer. I’ll get a new pair of shackles, likely pull a KJ rear end and do a SOA on it. it’s a long bed so I like the idea of being able to put the wildernest on it and use it for an off road camping trailer as well. any other advice from those that have done it?

Looks very cool. If I was gonna blow money I’d have a hard time deciding between the hybrid, diesel, and this monster.

IMG_9827.MOV

Yes, though the implementation on the 97s is a little different if I remember right. I believe on those the security feature was built into the RKE board, which was export only. So I'm not sure if the 98+ module would work on a 97. Some unknowns there for me. Running a 98 ECU in a 97 setup would likely work just fine though.