mjeff87

:cheers: to old iron! I "adopted" a castaway, decrepit M543 5T wrecker when I got to my army reserve unit way back in the day. Noone wanted anything to do with it, so it became mine. Incredible vehicle, and all the deuce and a half boyz never minded me dragging their broke down asses down the road, even if it was at 30 mph.... :D Jeff

"Silverton Train" "It's a long lonesome road" "Old home filler up and keep on a truckin' cafe" and just then, the fully aluminated, chrome plated, gen-U-ine accessory shift knob came right off in his hand...... ahh, memories. My older brother by eight years, who mostly raised me as a youngen, had a CB way back in the day. I used to ride around with him and his buddies. His handle was Power Mike (real name was Mike) for the longest time, then changed it to crackers. Me being the younger brother, got the handle "crumbs" given to me ;) Ask me what I had for dinner last night, and I couldn't remember it to save my life. Ask me to sing a CW McCall song, and I could be on a reality TV show right now.....funny what sticks in your brain, huh Joe? :cheers: Jeff

damn.....didn't think it would go that quickly! :D

Let's see who all knows this.....I been playing the CD (remade from LP and cassette originally :oops: ) in the TJ since I got it. The artist may be more familiar to the west coast/rocky mountain guys. "It was the dark of the moon, on the 6th of June....."

"Valucraft" brand, both 8 and 10 gauge versions :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: Jeff

yeah, if you want to get warm, leave it on vent. The HVAC system is the same as an XJ, and probably designed for the interior capacity of them, which means they really heat up an MJ cab great. So much so that once I'm warmed up, I slide the heat lever over to 1/2 way and am nice and comfortable. Leaving it at full "hot" it gets unbearable. Jeff

There is a contact switch inside the CAD housing on the side opposite the vaccuum motor, and when the CAD is activated and slides over it closes the circuit for that dash light. Like CW said, most likely the motor is "stuck" in the engaged position, and the switch is still closed. Pop the electrical connector off and see if the light goes out. Here's a bad pic of the assembly, but you can see the wires for the switch in the top of the housing. Imagine it flipped over and rotated 180 degrees, sitting on the axle, and you can see where the switch is... HTH, Jeff Image Not Found

I never say anything sig worthy.....I just read what Pat (pingpong) or Dirty Comanche write for inspiration, usually ;) Jeff

<> Most of you don't know, but by day I go as a Quality Assurance manager, and Specifications Analyst. I deal with Q/A issues, recalls, etc. on a daily basis. This has nothing to do with what I work with, but it really frosts my cookies...... AutoZone (yeah, I know....) is recalling 140,000 units of jumper cables, manufactured in guess where? (China), because, and I'm quoting here...."the cable's clamps were assembled incorrectly, resulting in reverse polarity, which can pose an electrical shock and explosion hazard to consumers." IT'S TWO FRIGGIN' WIRES, YOU IDIOTS!!!!! HOW CAN YOU SCREW THAT UP????? Someone.....no, everyone, involved in that manufacturing/QC process needs to be fired, and quick. <> Jeff

the Leaning Tower of Power.....interesting idea ;) Might have some issues with the distributor and the shock tower on the passenger side (like not being able to get to it without pulling the motor). Jeff

My wife and I went thru about the same thing a couple years ago with our oldest cat, which was her family pet long before we ever met. She got to 21, and we had the "talk" when her health started to visibly start to fail. We decided that the first expression of pain we saw (hard to discern in pets, especially cats) would be the time. Within 3 months, we took her in and were with her as the vet put her at peace. Without doubt, the most emotional moment of my life. The evening before, our three other cats all sat silently around her on the living room floor all night. Didn't eat, play, anything.....just sat there and groomed her. It was surreal. I still get chills thinking about it. Make the decision that is best for you, your fiance, and your friend. It's not an easy one to make. Jeff

the short thick leaf at the bottom of the pack :cheers: I changed the pic with a better one, so you can see what they are.... Jeff

non-metric springpacks are 3 leaves plus the overload. Here's a pic of the ones under my MJ before I tore them apart and redid them: Jeff Image Not Found

I use blue on lower temp, non-gasoline contact surfaces, like the disco housing cover. I use it on diff covers too without any problem. I've used it on the VC before, but I can't say it does the greatest job. I've got a paper gasket on the D44 diff cover now, and it's working swell. When I regeared it, the install kit came with a paper gasket and I tried it for the first 500 mile break-in. Not a single drop, so when I drained and refilled it, I went with another paper (Felpro, I think it was). All is still good so far. The key, regardless of what you use as a gasket, is surface prep. Make sure both surfaces are flat and squeaky clean, and if using RTV or similar, do not overtorque. I prefer cleaning the surfaces with brake cleaner. Jeff

but...(and there always is a but ;) ), if a shaft breaks that's it...just the shaft. If the UJ fails, it takes both the inner and outers ears with it, generally, and can even fubar the ball joints and/or knuckle. It's all in planning the failure :D I just scored a 95 YJ outer with the 297 a few weeks ago. It's now stashed in the parts pile, and it will go in along with a 297 equipped driverside shaft when I lock the front. I'm keeping the CAD and unshimming it so I can lock/unlock it with a manual vaccuum switch. That's all on the '08 calender plan. Jeff

wow...another excellent post I completely missed :oops: thanks for bringing it back up guys. I wish Id'a seen this when I put the XJ booster/MC in. I much rather would have done this mod versus moving the stock bottle the way I did. Both accomplished the same thing, but ^^^^ that method is so much cleaner looking. I'll have to add it to the list-o'-stuff to do, someday.... Excellent work, Don! Jeff

Dunno, but the pigatils for the lights are there, as are the little holes in the dash to screw the brackets thru. Just go find an XJ in the boneyard with them and snag them (don't forget the little brackets). Also, if you want, there is a light for the ashtray (it's blue), and the pigtail for it is tucked up under also. Grab that light also.....it's Plug and play. Like CW said, those kickpanel lights REALLY make a difference. Jeff

No clue.....that gunk was on there when I got the axle. I cleaned all that goop off. I just run a thin bead of silicon blue on it. Jeff

the connectors are tucked in behind the dash in both corners. I've got a pic.....lemme see if I can find it. BRB. Jeff here: Image Not Found Image Not Found

with trac-loc, which is the other tag on the top cover bolt... Jeff

That's an option, definately. But, 31's with 4.56's and the doggy 2.5 work pretty well together. I'm afraid that a heavier tire might cause issues. If it was a 4.0, or even a 2.5 with MPI (llike the TJ :brows: ) that'd probably be the way I'd go.

SOA rear, ZJ coils and ACOS (maxed out) in the front, 31X10.50's on stock BS YJ alloys. Plenty of room in the front, but the rear is the problem with BS on the swapped in XJ D44. If I go to 33's like that (which I'm not) I'm probably gonna rub the inner sidewalls on the frame in the rear. I've got a set of 15X8 wheels with 4.25" BS that would alleviate the rubbing problem, but then the fenders get in the way. Think I'm going 31 or 32" MT's but sticking with 10.5 width at the most. Jeff Image Not Found

CAD drawings of the grill or ban........ :D Nice rig! (you KNOW you wanna build it....) Jeff

you wouldn't want to make any assumptions about my MJ from either the VIN or the build sheet. I've changed so many things on it since I've had it that when someone asks me what model year it is, I ask them "what part"? :brows:

Do you still have the Dakota junction block hose clamped to the tube? I used the same hose, but tapped the stock hole to fit the combo anchor bolt/bleeder. You need a 25/64" drill bit and a 3/8X16 (I think) tap. I used a rubber impregnated washer inbetween the block and the tube that conformed to the tube shape when I tightened it down. Jeff Image Not Found