mjeff87

Anyone happen to catch the latest episode (w_howey? :D ) I stopped watching it a long time ago, but I watched about 5 minutes of it on Saturday....... they spent this entire season building up a Ranger, baja-style. Lotsa expensive bolt-on stuff, lotsa cheap arc-welding, and so on. Took it on it's maiden break-in run and literally destroyed it. I laughed my @$$ off... Just proves that big money doesn't always build you something good. Score one for us poor folk! Jeff

How many wraps are there in the coils? I've got a set of V8 ZJ springs ready to go in mine, and I've noticed that not only are the coils thicker, but there's 9 wraps compared to 8 on the MJ/XJ regular coils. Jeff

Any of you 2.5 guys here have AC (working or not) on your rigs that can share a pic with me? Project OBA is going nowhere fast :cry: I need a visual of what the AC compressor/alt bracket looks like, and also the alternator frame and how it mounts to said bracket. I've got a later model compressor bracket (I think) that won't plug and play with my alternator, and I'm hoping there's an earlier version of it that I can find. I can't use a newer alternator, either, because it's a single wire, non-regulated design (plus my alternator is practically brand new). TIA, Jeff edit: Advance website has a seperate listing for a non-AC and an AC-equipped alternator (both have same amperage, tho). Hmmmm...maybe the bracket is right but my alt is wrong. Crap.

Il'll let ya know in about a month :D I'm swapping discs onto the D44 I got. Like you, I already have all the parts (off a ZJ D44a in the junkyard) except the e-brake cables (which I forgot to get when I was down there this weekend, AGAIN). I'm gonna swap in a ZJ prop valve, too. Jeff

Well, that project got out of the gate pretty good, then went straight to #%#*&@ Seems my (brand new, mind you) alternator doesn't fit the AC bracket at all.....not even close. I either have to get a different alternator or an earlier style 2.5 AC/alternator bracket. Anybody have either lying around? :D Jeff

OK, I'll be over in about, ohhhh say, 7 hours or so. I gotta run home first and check on the cats :D air tools.....that's the "muy" part of the muy grande plans. Hopefully, I'll have OBA by Monday

I gots muy grande plans for the MJ this weekend, finally am setting aside some time to wrench on it. But mother nature might win out, at least tomorrow and Sunday here...tons of rain :cry: :cry: :cry: but I'm off Monday so at least I can get one day in. It suck-diddley-ucks not having a garage..... Jeff

Cool, thanks for the info. I'm supposed to be acquiring a set of them from Jerry (tjbliley) soon to go under mine. Lemme know if you have any issues with them other than what you mentioned already. Jeff

Pete....about those LCA's..... when you said you cut the "sleeve", did you mean the bushing that fits over the bolt, or the cup that holds the rubber part of the bushing in the arm? I was under the impression that there was alot more modifying that needed to be done than what you described (?) If it's as simple as cutting that small sleeve, I'll be a happy boy! thx, Jeff

it's my turn today. All morning long here at the office (since 7 AM), I've been finding random coins lying all around the floor, pennies, dimes, etc. So, I've been picking them all up and pocketing them...thinking I'm the lucky dog here today. Must have gotten close to $1 in change so far. Gonna be a good day, Tater. THEN, I just suddenly realized, I've got a small hole in my jeans pocket. All along, I've been dropping my own change and picking it up again. :dunce: Thank gawd it's Friday, and it's a long weekend off..... Jeff

:popcorn: Wow, our little 'ol club is finally getting some exposure. This is getting exciting! Mr. Cappa, big thanks for taking the time to register and respond to the comments posted so far. In my eyes, that's beyond what a lot of others would have done....kudos to you. I haven't read the article (yet), so I can't say anything about it's content either way. The MJ moniker is probably one of the most misspelled words ever, and an easy mistake to make ;) Us MJ'ers tend to get a little fanatical about our vehicles sometimes, since we're so few and far between. We invite you to meet our club members, and look forward to your publication's furthur support of our favorite Jeep. There's plently of buildups here done by members, from stock restorations to full-out builds, to provide content for the several upcoming MJ articles you mentioned. A few notables come to mind immediately, but for a quick overview, please be sure to visit the "introduce your Comanche" post at the top of this section of the forum. Enjoy! Thanks, Jeff

Back before I mounted up Pat's old bumper, I had a 235/75 hanging there, with plenty of room for a larger (30-31") to fit if I wanted. Since then, I cut a bit with the sawzall :evil: .....now I don't think a tire off my garden tractor would fit there :D But it looks to me like the perfect spot for an air tank for my OBA project (we'll see this weekend) BTW, I have the old tire winch off mine if anyone needs it. Works fine. My spare now rides in the bed :chillin: Jeff Image Not Found Image Not Found

I thought you were talking about JU and just made a typo. WTF is JF.....? Jeff

More than likely 3.55's but don't assume anything with Jeeps :D Image Not Found There shoud be a metal tag held on by 2 diff cover bolts, right where the passenger side axletube meets the center section. It has a bunch of number on it. Ignore the long string of #'s on the top line, but the second line will have the tooth count of the r&p, plus the ratio. It'll look something like this: 89054732846 3.54 39 11 3.54 is the ratio, the ring gear has 39 teeth and the pinoin has 11 teeth HTH, Jeff

Glad to hear noone's injured (except your son's wallet) Got any good junkyards near you? Pull all the stuff you need off an XJ if there aren't any MJ's in them. Sounds like about $250 worth of stuff (even less if you don't have to replace the axle). Got any pics? That'll give us a better idea of the damage. Jeff

That depends on who's working the register, and how they ring it up :D The most it would cost (less discs) would be $175-ish. It's a U-pull yard, and they don't track any inventory....you just have to go look around. I was down there last Sunday and there were 2 of them. I didn't check the r&p. I'm'a heading down there sometime this week to p/u an AC compressor to fab up OBA on my MJ. I'll look and see what's there if you want (?) Jeff

I'm desperately trying to make a run to Tellico early next month (with NAXJA SEC). If you find one that needs dragging, I can get it to ya. or option #2......I can pull you an 8.8 out of my 'yard up here in Richmond. Jeff

Hey, on a side note.....if you do go get it, can you grab me at least one of those rear bumpstops (or both)? One of mine is AWOL :oops: The bolts will probably snap off inside the frame when you put a wrench on them but that's ok, I'll get new ones. Jeff

It'll cost you $100 to get it out the door (75+25) If you bring them back an old axle, they'll refund you the core (25). Either way, it's a hell of a deal in my book. Even if you don't *need* it, you could always get it and resell it for at least 2X what you paid for it. Lucky dog....... :D Jeff edit: Pete beat me to it. But, on the core charge at my junkyard, they really don't care what you bring back, just so long as it's essentially the same thing (like if you had an old rusted up axle lying out behind your house, just so it was a rear axle of some kind. All my place does is sell it for scrap. But, YMMV...

Since that '20 is behind a 2.8, it could have either 3.73 or 4.10's most likely. Here's some help to identify the ratio: Identifying the gear ratio of an AMC 20 is a bit tricky. Dana axles normally have a tag on the left of the diff cover with the gear ratio at the time of build. The AMC axles have a code that has to be looked up in a table. The code is stamped on the housing boss to the left of the diff cover right near the axle tube. Good part about the stamp is it tends to stay readable longer than the tag, but you have to know the code. Since there are conflicts between what a code means for a narrow track and what it means for a wide track, don't count solely on the code to identify an axle. Bring a tape measure or know the source of the part. Specs Narrow Track AMC 20 Code Gear Ratio Diff Type AA 2.73 Open DD 2.73 Trac-Lok BB 3.31 Open CC 3.31 Trac-Lok A 3.54 Open N 3.54 Trac-Lok GG 3.73 Open Q 3.73 Trac-Lok L 4.10 Open M 4.10 Trac-Lok

Tranny is an AX4/5. And the 20 is a definate "get it" in my book. Pete is running one in his rig, and unlike the CJ '20, the MJ ones are one-piece shafts BUY! BUY! BUY! Jeff

Just looked at the eBay pics again, and the one of the gauge cluster shows it has OD......so it's gotta be an AW4 Don't want to get you tooooooo excited, but methinks you got lucky :D Jeff

Thanks for the pics :cheers: I'm still not sure about the tank, tho. I'd like to mount it up under the bed somewhere, or behind the rear bumper where the spare tire used to be (until I sawzalled all that out :brows: ) Image Not Found I picked up a 2.5 alternator/compressor mounting bracket from Chuck yesterday, and my friendly neighbor is sandblasting it for me today at work. I'm'a run down the junkyard Saturday morning and grab a compressor and get at least the mechanicals mounted up this weekend (compressor, new belt, new upper rad hose). Then I'll plumb it all and install the tank. Jeff

You might have gotten luckier than you think..... Check the tranny on it. If it's an AW4, then those axles *should* be 4.56's stock . Very rare combo, only available in XJ/MJ from 87-89 with 2.5/AW4 I've got a D30 about to go under mine that came from an XJ like that, out of the junkyard. The rear was a D35 (and I left it there). Let us know what you find! Jeff

I've heard that, just never knew for sure. All I know is, you coulda fed this stuff to animals it had so much "extra" stuff in it. I was gonna take it back, but it's kinda hard to re-bale it once you cut the twine off, y'know? :D Jeff