mjeff87

Well, at worst, you can swap both axles from the 86 to the 92 (they might have better gears). If the engines are different, I'd pretty much bet the 2WD rear axle ratio is gonna be different than the 4 cylinder axles. That negates the easy/quick swap of just the front axles so you'll have to swap both front and rear. Assuming the 92 is a 4.0L, it'll be a H.O. engine w/ an AX15 behind it (very nice combo), but you'll need a 4WD AX15 (the 2.5L 4WD tranny in the 86-if that's what it turns out to be-won't work very easily behind a 4.o, or proabaly last too long either). Your TC probably won't work as it is behind an AX15 either because the input gear is 21 spline and the AX15 output is 23. You can find a 23 spline input and tear the case apart and swap it in to make it work, tho. You can use all of the 4WD linkage/shifter assembly except for one rod that connects the underside of the cab lever to the TC...they come in 3 different lengths depending on which trans they are behind. You'll just need one for an AX15 (I might have one in my box-o-parts you can have). If you reuse your 86's front axle you'll have all the vaccuum disconnect crap to rig up if you want to, so you'll need an older TC with the vaccuum switch on it, or reuse your 86's like mentioned above. Or you could simply bypass the disconnect motor and lock the pass shafts together full time and not fool with that at all....there are several methods of doing this. Just throwing out some "maybes" for you at this point. Once you get more specs on both rigs, let the group know and you can get some specific advice to help you git 'er done! Jeff

I think your 85 is an 86 (first production year, and they were all longbeds). What engines are in each? Depending on the drivetrain, you may be able to use some of the 86 on the 92 (tranny, transfercase, driveshafts, front axle). If they are dissimilar, you might be better off keeping the 86 intact and sourcing conversion parts from somewhere else...depends on how involved you want to get. It's not difficult to convert 2 to 4WD, if you've got the right combo of parts. BTW, where ya from? Welcome to the club :) Jeff edit: ahhh, New Hampshire....I see it now.

Pete, I don't know how bad it is for you as admin, but IMHO the board is a resounding success. Notice how many "new" people have found this place? I think it's great.... Jeff

Whoops, sorry Barny...I misread your question :oops: As far as I know, the 2WD beam axle is the same. I've got one sitting in the garage leftover from my conversion, and there's a '99 XJ down @ the junkyard that's 2WD. If you want, I can eyeball both of them and let you know if they are the same (?) Jeff

2WD's rotors house the inner/outer axle bearings, and mount on the 2WD spindle. 4WD ones don't....they just slip on the unit bearing, thru the wheel studs. Ya can't use 2WD rotors on a 4WD :( Jeff

The 242 was never offered from the factory behind a manual tranny, although it is a direct bolt up. There are a few folks over on NAXJA who have swapped one in place of their 231's behind an AX15, and there are various opinions on how the differential inside it gets along with the manual tranny when in full-time mode. Some say there's no problem, others say there's alot of driveline slop when shifting the tranny between gears. One person claims to have "blown up" 3 242's and ended up going back to the 231 :roll: I've got no doubts as to the strength of it, especially behind a 2.5/AX5, and am going to swap on in mine, probably in the spring. Hopefully I can find a D44 by that time, and can do a whole makeover all at once (new engine, tranny, 242, front and rear axle, and either an AAL/spacers, or springover rear and front lift). Have you put any miles on your 242 yet? any observations on driveline swap? (I doubt it) Jeff

I'm sure a '44 will eventually show up in one of the two yards...it's the law of avearges. Plus my horoscope for yesterday said to "look for bargains....partners and associates will applaud you for your savings" Now that's funny. On another note, is there a carrier break on a D44? I'm assuming I'd need a new carrier for 4.56's, once I find one... Jeff

If your AX5 is of unknown origin, it may have come from a YJ. The TC mounting holes on the rear of it are clocked about 10 deg differently than XJ/MJ trannies. You might try to clearance the floorpan with a weapon of your choice :) I think Pete M is running a YJ AX15 in his MJ and had a similar problem (?) Maybe shoot him a message and see if he has any suggestions. HTH, Jeff by the way, keep the group posted on how the 242 works out behind the AX tranny (hopefully well!) I'm planning on a 242 behind mine come springtime.

Hey, I'm from Johnstown....but my wife and I moved down here to VA back in '99. I get home about every 6 weeks or so. Maybe we can meet up some weekend I'm up there. Jeff

rear was a turdyfive w/ lsd. I thought about grabbing it, but decided not. I'm still holding out for an MJ '44 (which I planned to regear and maybe SOA anyways). Short of that I might go with an 8.8, but I'm in no rush. The subject vehicle was an 87 XJ Country, with 2.5/AW4/231. It's the first and only one I've ever seen down here in the flatlands LOL. From what I've read, this was the only combo that came w/ 4.56's. The '35 is still down there if anyone wants it....$79 IIRC. Bring your tools and $1 to get in the yard, and you can have it! Jeff I forgot, I have to run back down there and grab the speedo gear from the TC. DOH!

Had to sneak a bottle jack into the 'yard and relocate the blocks that were holding the XJ up (dead center on the LCA's...) Yes, 4.56's do exist stock. This was the first one I've ever seen.... $89, out da door, and in the baca my MJ Jeff Image Not Found Image Not Found

Welcome to the club. You canucks have some neat speedometers :D Jeff

Hopefully they're still there, 'cause I can't get back down there until Sunday at the earliest (damn inlaws are coming this weekend :evil: I was thinking I should have pulled off the diff tags so noone could easily see what they were, but if I did that some numnuts would have popped the cover and goobered everything up..... From what I've read on other boards, 4.56's were the only ratio offered with the 2.5/AW4 (?) Dang it....I just might call in sick to work and go get the '30 *cough* Jeff

I can now say I've seen an AW4 behind a 2.5L. I was at the 'yard over the weekend and saw it in an '87 XJ. Better than that, the thing had 4.56's in it (D30/35 w/ lsd). I might go back down and scarf up the '30...stash it under the house for future use :) Jeff

Howdy, and welcome. This forum is a spinoff from the regular Yahoo group founded some time ago http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/jeepcomanche/ It's a small but growing forum, more user friendly than Yahoo (IMHO). There's some of us here, me included, that converted our MJ's to 4WD...from mild (me) to wild. Feel free to ask questions. Jeff

There's a couple of guys on NAXJA that run a 242 behind a manual tranny. It was never offered from the factory, but it is possible so long as you match input spline/depth like Pete said. Future plans for my MJ include a 242 behind my AX5, hopefully in the spring. You might have to have your rear driveshaft length altered-there's about a 1" length difference between the 231 and 242. I've got my old 2WD shaft sitting under my house I'm planning on having cut to length and rebalanced when I swap cases (if my current one won't work). Jeff

Hafta wait until gas prices come down a bit :D I must have taken about 100 pics when I was doing my MJ, but I was new to the digital camera world, and only about 10 of them were actually any good. I wish Id'a taken the time to get good pics.... Jeff

Man....I thought I was bad taking 1 1/2 years to do mine LOL. Of course, I did have to drive 700 miles to work on it. Got any progress pics Brian? Jeff

Cross-posting this on the Yahoo board as well (seems like a different crowd over here :-D Anyways, second time it's happened, and it's only happened under the same circumstances. Took the MJ on a PA roadtrip over the weekend, and there's one spot on I70 that's a long, gradual uphill grade, like 3 or 4 miles at about 8-10% grade. As soon as I start up it, I lose vac signal to the vac motor for the HVAC and it defaults to the defrost vents. I've checked the blimp under the bumper and all the soft lines under the hood and nothing's leaking (?) Could it be that I just loose manifold vac under load @ part throttle going uphill? It doesn't do it anywhere else but this particular piece of landscape, and as soon as I crest the top I get vaccuum back. (It's I70 westbound, going up Town Hill, for anyone that's familiar with the area....) 700 mile roadtrip and not a single problem other than this weird vaccuum issue <> Jeff

WE had a pretty extensive discussion about the AW4/2.5 myth over on NAXJA a few months ago, and the consensus was that they existed in rare numbers only from 87-89. Before that the only auto tranny available was the TF904/999, and then the 909 was available as an option. Not truly a 4 speed auto, but it had a locking torque convertor. I've personally never seen an AW4 behind a 2.5, and I've crawled over 100's of XJ/MJ's down here. One guy saw one, but he was a Chryco mech that had one pass thru his shop. IIRC, it was a "California equipped/spec'd" XJ model. Meh....I dunno, I'm just curious more than anything. I'm a 5 speed guy at heart. Less stuff to worry about breaking :) Jeff

Bob, If that MJ truly does have an AW4 behind the 2.5, please get a pic of it. It'll help settle a long standing myth that AW4's did in fact get put behind some 4 cylinders (although a rare precious few). Thanks, Jeff

Ditto what Pete said (thanks Pete, you save us alot of typing :wink: ) I did mine over the course of time, and did alot of other stuff to it while I had it off the road. I spent about a year gathering parts...when I saw something I needed for a good $$$ I bought it and stashed it. My total cost was about $300, courtesy of the junkyard and offsetting the price of what I bought by selling what I took off during the swap. It's the absolute BEST way to get to know your MJ, and you have the satisfaction that you built it instead of bought it. Jeff

'87 Sporttruck (or at least the flaked off decals on the bed say it was:)) 2.5L, AX5, used to be 2WD but I converted it last year. It's got 160K+ on it and runs like the cat's azz. I'm shooting for 200K and then yanking the engine for a block up rebuild (I've got another complete 2.5 sitting in the garage waiting to go in to run while I rebuild), and am going to swap a 242 in place of the 231 TC I'm running now. Sorry about the big pics, but they're the only ones I've got available right now. I've got more of them at Jeff Image Not Found Image Not Found