mjeff87

I'd look for a 2 door XJ as a donor because those buckets have a forward folding seatback (just like the MJ bench). 4 door ones, like the ones I got don't fold forward the whole way, which I'm hoping doesn't pose too much of a problem. I just couldn't pass these ones up because they're in such good shape and they're black (hard to find interior color, at least for me it is). I measured the brackets this past weekend, hoping that they were the same so I could just put them in with as they were, but no dice :( the holes are spaced differently, and just wouldn't work. So now I have to get creative and figure out how to get the #$&@ off them so I can mount MJ ones (once I find a set of them LOL) And I think the buckets are gonna take up a bit more room behind than the bench, but not too much. The bench is thinner than the bucket backs, and not quite as padded (I guess the padding is for back seat passenger protection ??) Jeff

The anchor pins thread into the knuckle. If those threads are stripped out, you can repair with a helicoil (or replace the knuckle :( ) Jeff

It's your truck, and your money. Do what YOU want with it. My .02c worth... Jeff

To all, Today is, among other things, National Be-Kind-To-Spiders Day. So if you run across any, don't squish 'em. Give them a beer, take them out for dinner, or something like that :D Spiders are our friends! Jeff

Not having the hookup like Eagle did, I opted for the thinner gauge sheet that Lowe's sells (IIRC it was 22 gauge). Cut/formed/bashed with a hammer to fit the contours, then zipped about 1000 1/8" self-tapping sheet metal screws around the perimeter. I layed a bead of flashing cement before setting the pieces in, then smeared the same stuff over the seams and screwheads on top, followed by 3 coats of spray on bedliner. The only "problem" with my plan is that the tranny tunnel underneath is now a deathtrap to your hands/forearms if you have to do any work in the area because of all the sharp pointy screws :oops: Makes working on the TC shifter assembly pretty exciting. Jeff

Looks nice. Curious, how much were the packs, with shipping? And they're full packs right, not AAL? Jeff

Hmmmm.....maybe the show producers heard my cries. Seems like the show is getting revamped, or cancelled, or ??? http://www.staceydavid.com/feedback.aspx I'm curious what his new show concept is gonna be. According to this, it's more of a "how-to", technical thing. Maybe a good thing :D Jeff

X2 My bench is shot (but only on the driverside LOL) 99% of the time I don't have passengers with me, either. I need better/easier access to all the crap behind the seat, and if I have stuff sitting on the bench, I have to move it all to fold the back of it forward which is a big PITA for me. Plus, I can't stand not having an armrest on my right side! With buckets, I can put in a full XJ console, or fab something up inbetween them for a little bit of comfort. Jeff

yeah...I know. But it's depressing. At the least, they could make it more realistic by using a vehicle that had some years of road-time on them. I'd love to see them deal with a snapped off UCA bolt inside an XJ framerail, or a rusted to death unit bearing, once in awhile :-D They did one episode IIRC with an ancient Dodge p/u that had no floorboards left in it. That one was pretty good watching. Jeff

Verify the pressure with a trusted mechanical gauge. Are you getting oil up to the rockers?

True. You can swap in a later model YJ outer shaft with the 297X joint (or so I've heard).

for about $0.00 you can shim over the shift fork in the CAD and lock the inner/outer shafts together full time. :D Jeff

Are you running a Fram filter by chance? If so, change it out post haste. Jeff

rant mode <> I know the power of airbags, I'm not disputing that fact. I actually used HPLV airbag systems as a firefighter back in the day. They are awesome, and the ones I used were operated by a single hi pressure SCBA bottle (the things FF's use to breathe inside fires). That right there is proof of the system's effectiveness. I just have a bias toward that show is all. In fact, most all the "builder" shows on TV these days, 'cause they do nothing more than bolt new aftermarket crap onto BRAND NEW vehicles (the kind with no rust, and the factory fasteners aren't even 2 weeks old). A monkey could do what they do.... I used to be a huge fan of Junkyard Wars way back when it first aired, because they truly scavenged junk up, boogered it together, and made something functional out of it all (kinda like I did with my MJ). Then, certain vital build parts started getting "planted" for the teams to find, so it wasn't such a challenge anymore, and some unique concept thing could be built within the confines of a one hour TV show. But I digress.....that Trucks! episode caught my eye/ear when I saw the preview, and I started to watch it expecting a good old-fashioned hydraulic-piston/cylinder apparatus, with a HD pump powered off the engine, kind of thing. Then I saw a bolt-on air compressor thingamajig contraption getting bolted in, and that was it for me. YMMV :D rant mode <> Jeff

X2 Loosing the alt (and battery to boot) isn't a fun experience, but I gotta say that was the original alternator with over 160K miles on it. Not too shabby in my book, and I just swapped in a new OEM one. There's two different amperage alternators available, 60 and 72 IIRC...you could upgrade to the higher output one if you have the smaller one (?). I just stayed with the stock 60A one. And I <> V8 ZJ's have a larger stock output alt, something like 90-100A that you could probably rig up if you wanted to. Jeff

Thanks guys. I'm gonna look at them again tonight. I saw the rivets, but it looked to me like the bolts were the key to everything. I need to get a new driverside bracket anyway, since my bench one rusted thru (there's nothing attached at the front now :oops: ) I had a set of them pulled off an MJ with buckets about a month ago in the 'yard but decided not to buy them (stupid, I know). I'll cobble something together... Jeff

Well, I could stand to sit a bit higher, so that's not a problem. I just can't understand why somebody would engineer something that's damn near impossible to service :roll:

I watched that, right up to the point of the....airbag..... :roll: Jeff

I yanked a set of black cloth/vinyl bucket seats from an XJ yesterday to mount in the MJ, but can’t get the seat tracks unbolted from them :( They’re the spiffy ones with the back-and-forth “cradle/rocker” adjustment, and I can get 5 of the 6 torx bolts off, but one of them is blocked by the forward/back handle where it’s riveted to the track. WTF was Jeep thinking when they built these things? The junkyard was going to charge me $7 ea extra for the tracks so I tried to take them off there...they ended up trying to help me but finally we all gave up and they just gave them to me along with the seats ($12/ea:)) I got them home and screwed around for over an hour with them and still couldn't get to that one bolt! Woody, how’d you get yours off? Just how different a footprint are these brackets from the MJ bench ones, like if one set of holes line up (front or rear), could I redrill the other set? TIA, Jeff

Hey.....aren't you supposed to be at WF????? :D Jeff

X2 I got mine @ autismzone too, 'bout $11 each per side. Make sure you specify short/long bed so you get the right ones. Jeff

Now DAT'S what I'm talking about! Nice find, Pat... :D Jeff

So....from the looks of it, then: *crown vic rotors *TJ bearing retainers (slightly modified) *bootyfab engineer the e-brake cables and you can have discs. Coool. I'm gonna go parts hunting this weekend. I'm planning on replacing the old shaft bearings/seals anyhow, so it sounds like a plan. I'll plan on posting a thread up in the new "Projects" forum, but don't hold your breath. Might take awhile 'till it's all done :) Thanks for the info 'manche! Jeff

same clutch between the AX4 and AX5. They are the same transmission (except the 4 doesn't have a 5th gear) Jeff

Well, PartsAmerica lists different part #'s for drums for each, so I guess that answers that.... Cabz, that was my alternative plan #2, and I just might do that. Would I have to upgrade my MC to accomodate rear discs? No biggie, but I just put a new MC in and it'd be a shame if I yanked it out... I'm gonna research it a bit more, but doesn't the swap use ZJ '35 disc asssemblies? Those I could score for cheep from the 'yard :) Pat, that was my option #1. I could just pull a complete set of 35 brake assemblies and bolt them on...they're a dime a dozen at the 'yard. But I like the thought of rear discs. Thanks all, Jeff