HOrnbrod

Sounds good Pete. Even with the metric ton springs in back, I'm still getting a bit more body roll than I like with the camper, and I think a good anti-roll bar in the rear would help a lot. Suppose I could hold up an XJ bar in the back too if I had one to see if it would possibly work.........

Yeah, you had a rare jewel there. The only folks I know that ever made a bolt-in rear sway for the MJ (SWB only) was/is Performance System Technology in NJ. Design was bad on theirs as they used the stock upper shock mount with a simple "L" bracket for the sway bar retainer. I think a well designed rear sway for a lifted MJ with discos would be useful for highway driving.

I know it will work, but was wondering if it's been done before. I was hoping for some technical input from some for mine/everyones benefit. I bought it SOA with the Stanley springs. It had about 9.5" of rear lift and 6.5" of front lift. I lowered it because the driveline was too short and the yoke was binding. The springs have 4 leaf including the overload spring. I plan on replacing the overload leaf with a thin leaf I have and redoing the axle mounts to keep the lift as low as possible. I want to keep the longer shackles, but move the upper mounting point up 2". It will also help keep the springs from dragging as easy. I would gain 5" of lift from the SOA swap and lose 1" by relocating the shackles. Combine this with the lift the springs have and it will be about 8" total. For the front I'm trussing a '94 non-discconect axle, raising the spring mounts 1.5" and raising the control arm mounts 3". This will level it out and improve the control arm angles, but that's a whole tread by itself... I tend to go outside the box when I build. I guess you'll have to follow my build-up tread to see whats next.... Yeah, definitely outside the box, good stuff for all. I'll have a stock MJ 2WD rear driveshaft available soon, 60" length u-joint to u-joint. Long enough for about any lift w/o an SYE if the drive angles can be corrected. Keep us informed on your progress.

So you installed a set of 4" lift replacement springs SUA w. the longer shackles and your rear end was still too low as compared to the front. Now you want to use these same springs SOA and move the shackle mounting point to give you a net 4" SOA lift, right? Your Stanley replacement leaf pack, is it 4-leaf or 5-leaf? If 5-leaf why not pull a leaf to drop it down? If 4-leaf, maybe your plan to move the mount point will work, but who knows for sure? Can not recall anyone doing this before. Hell, give it a shot.

Just took a peek at your YJ - can see how the pan would come out real easy with those meats. Great job getting the AW4 in and like the shifter. :cheers: I've got a hi-lift 4T jack now and decent jackstands, so I'll try pulling the pan including the dip stick tube next time. Want to get those magnets back in anyhow.

True Chuck, but I couldn't get my junk high enough at the time. Wish I had a lift. :cry: Not to change the topic, but the last time I changed my tranny filter I forgot to put the little magnets back in. Did not notice any metal particles in the pan though, so I guess it'll be okay until I pull the pan again?

Reason I asked is because MJ's didn't have rear sway bars from the factory.

Should be only one possible snag for this DIY. The lower half of the dip stick tube is welded to the AW4 tranny pan. There is a slip joint about half way up the tube that has to come apart to pull the pan. If it's never been apart before, it won't slip real easy. Douche the joint down with some PT Blaster and let it sit a couple of days. Mine was a bear to get apart the first time. :mad:

Yes it will. Just did it.

Arn't you awful "tipsy" in an off-camber situation with your shocks setup like that? The shocks don't have any bearing on "tippyness" They merely dampen out the bumps. BUT, You are correct in that they do not work as effeciently mounted like this. :D Ideally they should be mounted as far out towards the tire and as straight up and down as possible.CW CW, just curious. What is the extended and collapsed length of your Bilsteins? Part number? Must be too long to mount vertically?

SouthLakeSoldier: You have a rear sway bar on your Comanche? Aftermarket or what?

It also depends on if it works. The one in my '88 worked ... until I had to make a panic stop. I guess I'm generally easy on brakes. The panic stop locked up all 4 wheels ... with 31x10.50 tires. It also exploded the height sensing valve, and they are no longer available from the factory. I don't know about you, but for me exploding when I need the brakes most does not fall within the definition of "functions properly." If I can't trust it to work when I need it, I'd rather not have it there. My other MJs include an '86, an '87, another '88 and an '89. The one that exploded was about two years ago, so the ones I have are ALL older than that one was when it failed. Assuming the failure was due to age (the truck only had a bit over 100,000 miles on it then), they all have to be suspect. Therefore, as I get them on the road they will all be divested of that part. I'm a careful driver, but I can't control other people. I need to know that my brakes will work if I have to make a panic stop. I suspect the height sensing valve might have been rusted pretty bad causing failure, or did the operating arm seals blow out? Agree, I want to depend on the various systems function as they should in all conditions and situations, expecially brakes. I'm looking at the toyota Tacoma valve, as detailed here: http://tinyurl.com/2y9a62 It's plumbed the same way as the MJ unit, looks much beefier, has it's own bleed screw, and uses basically a threaded operating rod for easy adjustment, i.e. no special tools like the MJ requires. I know my MJ valve won't last forever........

Sorry, my mistake, should have searched your previous posts. Since I've never had a front brake failure, and I still have the OEM MJ front dist block, I do not know if I have a design failure or not. And I did not research all, but I know the height sensing valve is still used in many modern trucks; I only stated the ones I was sure of. It's a good thing if it functions properly, and so far so good for me. Depends on what you use the truck for.

Except there is a special procedure for bleeding the rear brakes when you have the height-sensing proportioning valve in the circuit, and if you don't have a factory service manual I'm sure you didn't follow this procedure. Which means if you lose the front brakes you may have NO brakes. Not good. I transcribed the bleeding sequence from the FSM on here awhile back. I don't have it bookmarked but I hope you can find it with a search. If you're going to retain that "thing" in the back, you really have to be sure to bleed the system properly. That "thing" (Load Sensing Proportioning Valve) is still used on Toyota and some Dodge pickups. But researching them, the design has been improved. My MJ valve is still functioning, and when I load the rear end down with the camper and a load of crap, the load sensing valve positively affects braking bias to the rear wheels, especially on a panic stop. I know Eagle sliced one and found the "safety" brake line orfice was faulty; maybe this was a defective valve. Eagle, ever find another one to slice? I will keep mine since it's still functioning, but am looking to replace it with the Toy version or install a Wilwood or other manually adjustable unit. And X2 on the FSM brake bleed procedure. When I put rear disks on the back, I used the conventional bleed procedure because I was not aware of the FSM procedure. The brakes were definitely better than before, but after bleeding again following the FSM, the front/rear proportioning was much better.

Yes, it's the same wire on the 91 MJ.

I have a two new speedo gears, a 36 (red) and a 37 (white) tooth long shaft if you're interested Alex.

Good article on this topic: http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf50014.htm

Monroe Sensa-Trak. Yeah, had those pre-lift. Both rear shocks crapped out in less than a year. Front shocks were okay though. Save your $$ and get some good ones. I think Bilstein and KYB and I know OME makes shocks for non-lifted stock MJs.

As long as your suspension is in overall good shape, the sway bar should help a bit. It helped me quite a bit on body roll because I have a 2-1/2" - 3" lift and the camper. But if it were me I'd just get a thicker OEM bar, at least 1", and replace the bushings on the bar and the end links while you're at it. I think the aftermarket bars are a waste of $$.

Installing a beefier sway bar up front would do very little to improve handling IF the rest of your suspension parts (coils, leafs, shocks, etc) are not in good shape. I'd concentrate on these parts first before the sway. Lots of MJ guys don't even run a sway bar. I needed the beefier sway bar and stronger springs because I haul around a camper shell all the time. Here's great link: http://www.dpgoffroad.com/ Ask for Dirk, he'll answer all your suspension questions. Good guy and good prices.

I would. Sounds like the ECU is not getting the correct signal from your O2 sensor over the entire RPM range, and is messing up the A/F ratio at 25-30% throttle. Or you could install have a tech check it out on an A/F meter.

O2 sensor functioning?

I had this problem many moons ago when I first got my MJ. Turned out to be a shorted brake switch under the pedal. And yes, I'm one of those knuckleheads :mad: who still retain the rear load sensing valve and it works just fine.

OME makes great shocks for XJ/MJs up to a 3" lift. Not cheap but they give a super ride and good handling. If you need the part numbers, let me know. The XJ rear sway bar will not "bolt in" to the rear of an MJ, but I suppose anything is possible if you're talented. PST (Performance Suspension Technology) used to make a bolt in rear sway bar for the SWB MJ, don't know if they still do. As for the front, hit the yards and pull a heavy duty front sway bar from an XJ Country model. It's much beefier than the MJ stock bar. Or better yet, check Fleabay occasionally. I picked up a NOS 1-1/16" XJ sway bar from Tapco for $18 + $11 shipping.

Hey Eagle, did not realize the POWER/COMFORT switch was hardwired to the POWER config later. My 91 might as well be, has not left the POWER mode for at least 7 years. Better mileage, crisper shifting, better performance.