highlandjeeper

That is exactly what I figured I would base a new bed design from. It would be very simple to build, and I think it would suit the truck nicely. The only thing is I may be selling the MJ. If I keep it, I will probably build it.

Good news is that I finally pin-pointed the cause of my sqealing belt. Bad news is the engine is FUBAR :fs1: . Thrust bearings are toast and the crank is walking 1/8"-1/4" back and forth, which causes misalignment of pulleys. Looks like I will be putting an engine in. My predicament now is whether to put the 4.6L Stroker from the YJ that lays in pieces in the Manche and go with the 360 AMC in the YJ which is really what I want to do, or just stick with a 4.0L in the Manche and run the Stroker in the YJ as it already plugs in. :dunno:

I ditched the cat and put a dynomax welded stainless ultra flow on mine as the ultra quiet fell apart after a couple months. I liked how quiet the old one was, but I am getting old. The new one has not bad tone at idle, but gets a bit snappy at 3000 +/- rpms. Structurally it is holding up very well. I don't have a video camera any more or I would post a clip.

I am tempted to build a stepside box for my Manche as the orig one is rusty and now dented from wheeling. I am thinking of something similar to the Willy's P/U, using 10 ga sheet and tube flares for strength. I think it would look killer as well as be good and strong for some abuse on the trail. I guess most depends on if I sell it soon to build my YJ that has been apart for 3 years. Any thoughts?

It's back :mad: . I popped the hood tonight and got a wiff of antifreeze. Perhaps the belt is getting contaminated and that is causing it. I shall investigate further. As for too much tension, I don't know how much too much I have, if any really. What is the proper way to check if one doesn't have one of those fancy smancy tension guages?

Finally got my problem fixed. I had checked out what BLHTAZ said about pulley alignment and all looked good. My best friend who is a mechanic said that he had done some engine jobs in XJs and had to tighten the bejesus out of the belt in order to quiet the sqealing. I tried this and was successful, until I packed up the tools and closed the hood to exit the shop, three times :mad: . Sometimes it would be quiet until I put a little pressure on the clutch pedal and then would squak again. I was afraid the release bearing could be a culprit, which I was not looking forward to changing. Today I picked up a new belt and proceeded to the shop yet again. First off I removed the belt to rule out the release bearing. all was quiet. I then cleaned every pulley and reinstalled the belt, setting the tension very tight this time, and all is quiet :clapping:. Now I can continue with improvements. It will sure be nice wheeling this weekend in peace.

I had the same problem...I mean exactly the same...and did all the things you are doing to no avail. I finally found that someone (previous to me) had changed the PS pump and when they installed the new one they pressed the pulley on the pump shaft about 1/8" too far. I got a puller and pulled the pulley out that little bit and it is now quiet as a mouse. :yes: Thanks. I will look into that.

I too am having a problem with my belt, but a different one. It started a while ago. Intermitently it would sqeal as if it were loose, but not all of the time. I put a new rad in and installed a replacement belt I had been carrying for a while as the sqealing was getting worse. The new belt was a Gates which is pretty good if I am not mistaken. Changing the belt didn't change a thing. If I shot some lubricant at the Idler pulley where it contacts the belt, the noise lessened, which lead me to believe the idler pulley was bad. I put a new one on, even thogh the old one felt alright and the noise was still there. There was a little play in the waterpump pulley and the noise seems to be in that area, so I once again disassembled the front end. The waterpump felt alright, but I changed it anyway because of the play. I also checked the alternator, fan bearing, and PS pump for rough or noisy bearings by spinning them by hand and they all felt good. When I first started it, everything was quiet. As it warmed up and I was refilling the coolant, the noise came back and hasn't stopped at all. I cleaned the belt and applied belt dressing. The noise would go away as I applied dressing, but returned immediately when I stopped spraying it. Belt tension is good. Aside from changing more parts until it is quiet could get pricy, but it is very annoying and embarrassing to drive. Any thoughts would be very appreciated.

That is my plan. When one uses these forums to get info to build a rig, it is always nice to give back :cheers: .

Had a quick peak at the 8.8 under my junk. There is some castings with holes drilled and tapped beside the pinion that would make an excellent mounting point for the particular device I plan to build that won't require welding to the cast portion of the axle housing. Another benefit of said device is the truss over the axle centersection will eliminate the possibility of rotation of axle tubes, as I did not weld them when I installed the diff (I was worried about warpage). Hopefully I will get a start next week. If this thing works, the Manche will be a totally different animal in the snow, having the option of stepping on the skinny pedal :banana: .

I think this one is the best design of the three you posted. As stated...a lot of work that the average guy is not going to have tools to do, but it's a nice set-up. I like this idea as well. It looks like a lot of work, but so is removal and rebuild of spring packs that may or may not fix my problem. I work in a metal fab shop, so a project such as this is not all that difficult for me.

Did it work?

Ever since I did a SOA, I was concerned about axle wrap. I had not had any problem until today. We went wheeling in the snow(+/- 2 ft deep). I had the rear of my Manche chained and there was nothing I could do short of letting completely off the throttle to stop the axle hop. I have considered trying to add another main leaf with the eyes removed under the existing main leaf, but am worried it may cause more lift, which I don't want. What have you guys done to try to eliminate, or just limit this?

I still wish that I could bolt a Magnum 5.9 to my AMC bellhousing, but I cannot find that it can be done. You state that the Hudson pal bolted a late AMC 390 to an XJ AX-15. I don't see how this proves that a Chrysler tranny bolts to an AMC as the AX-15 has an AMC bellhousing pattern and not a Chrysler one. In my continued research on this subject, I have found that: The Jeep/Dodge AX15 5-speed, the Jeep NV3550 5-speed, the Jeep NV1500, the Toyota R150F & R151F, the 87-92 Toyota Supra Turbo R154, the Isuzu AR5 and the Pontiac Solstice\Saturn Sky\Chevy Colorado\ GMC Canyon MA5 5-speeds all share the same case to bellhousing bolt pattern (Large Pattern). As such there are a number of possibilities that can be had when a 5-speed is desired: 88-99 Jeep 4.0L L6 bellhousing: Connects all to any AMC 290/304/343/360/390/401 V8 and any 72 and later 232 L6 and 258 L6. 94-99 Dakota 3.9L V6 Bellhousing: Connects all to any 3.9L V6 and any 273/318/340/360 V8, Magnum 5.2\5.9 V8, 3.7L V6, 4.7L V8, 5.7L Hemi V8, and Jeep 2.8L CRD Turbo Diesel. (Requires use of an 11" flywheel.) In fact, I have also found that the bellhousing pattern changed in 1972, not 1970. Here is the link I got this info from: http://www.jeeps-offroad.com/showthread.php?t=4740 If I can find a Mopar small block laying around, I will take my AMC bellhousing and attempt to bolt them together. I am positive the two won't mate, but if they do, I guess we will have put to rest a lot of questions, and may start in some new directions for projects.

I also found the same info on a number of other AMC forums as well. I had a "79 Waggy with the 360 and a GM TH400 and Command Trac t-case. The tranny had an AMC bellhousing, same as what one would find with the Torque Command tranny.