mjeff87

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

Well, I finally made my NC trip (successfully) and swapped the XJ'44 I got for an MJ one, but the new axle needs all new brakes. Are 35 and 44 brake parts interchangeable? Specifically: *backing plate *brake "bar" and adjuster *drums I'm going to take some of the old stuff off the 44 to the 'yard this weekend to see if they'll fit on a 35. Spring kit, anchors, and wheel cylinders I'm going to buy new, but I'd like to save some coin on the other stuff by recycling if I could :) TIA, Jeff

The advantage of the YJ yoke over the XJ/MJ isn't so much the added length, but rather the wider spacing between the yoke ears to help prevent binding at increased angles: (YJ on L, XJ on R) It is a bit longer though, about 1/2".... Jeff

It's on the bellhousing at about the 1 o'clock position (if you're facing the engine from the front). It's held in by 2 bolts, and it's kind of a PITA to get on them. You may want to unbolt the tranny crossmember and lower it some to get better acess to them, and use a combination of socket extensions to reach. There should be a little plastic "sheild" that the sensor sits inside....make sure you don't loose it, and reinstall it when you put the new sensor in. It will help to prevent a dropped bolt falling down inside the flywheel area :oops: Jeff

just be sure to post up what the cause was, so we all can benefit :D Jeff