mjeff87

I had the factory front towbar on my MJ (got it off an XJ in the junkyard). I vaguely remember those little brackets, I think. I was somehow able to get the tow bar and the hooks to play nice together, but I don't remember the exact setup anymore. I used to have a really nice set of pics showing how I installed it all (even had a thread on here about it a long time ago) but sadly all those old pics went away thanks to Photobucket. Here's the only pics I still have showing the towbar and hook setup I ran. I didn't use the towbar as actually intended, but rather to stiffen up things between the framerails underneath the radiator support. That bar is/was fairly stout, and added a bunch of rigidity to the front end.

I need a non-Jeep part, if you're willing to look for it (and if the yard has any later model vehicles). Rear passenger side taillight assembly for a 2014 Dodge Caravan. My yards don't have any caravans in right now, otherwise I'd go snag one myself. It's actually for my father in law, not me directly. He backed his van into the side of the house and cracked the light a couple weeks ago....MIL called asking if I could find him one. She knows how much I love junkyards, LOL. If you can't, no biggie. I'll end up getting one from here, eventually.

You are talking about the FRONT tow hooks, yes? If you mean the rear XJ hooks, I've only ever seen one XJ up here with those.

Lol. Send that AX15 crossmember off to Killernoise

I apprenticed in the Army under a retired Marine who re-upped as an E7. His job in the Core was a helo mechanic, and he had the calmness and patience of a Tiebetan monk. Nothing phased him, and he was a wizard of mechanical ability. He worked on stuff with mirrors because it was 180 degrees reversed away from him. He taught me many, many things....including patience, restraint, and using the right tool for the job. All that being said, I agree 1000% with the above post.

We used to get them all the time up here a few years ago. Sadly, I think C4C ended all that. I pulled multiple sets back in the day. If I happen to run across a set here, do you want me to pull them for you? PM me....I'll gladly yank them fir you at cost, plus shipping.

^^^I laughed way too hard at that one.....

Did you grab the wiring harness for the hitch? (unless you homebrew one yourself) I got a free Mopar hitch, courtesy of the "gas tank/possible horrible explosion if you get rearended" recall campaign, but the dealership would not install a wiring harness. It wasn't part of the recall, LOL. I had to wait patiently until a decent KJ showed up in my 'yard with the harness and was finally able to grab one. Plug and play....I like that.

Now that you mention it, I don't have ABS in mine. But, I do have a tone ring inside my diff. EDIT: After researching it a bit, it appears the 02-05 KJ's had speed sensors in the rear diff, 06+ has them as ABS speed sensors on the wheels.

Yank, my KJ is a 3.7 gasser, but an early year 2002...the very first ones off the line got all the leftovers from other models. We got the 8.25 rear, but with drum brakes instead of discs (boo!). But the 2002's also got 45RFE's. They switched to the '42's starting in 2003. Admittedly, it is a bit TOO much of a trans for the KJ, it does shift a bit "sharply" LOL especially after a battery disconnect and re-learn procedure. But, it's stout and I doubt I could ever break it. Can't say the same for the 42 models.

HOA's aren't always the devil (but can be). Just make sure to go over the CCR's thoroughly before committing to anything. Ours used to be a bit unpleasant, but that was because of the president. He was pretty much insufferable, and noone wanted to get involved with anything (including me) because he did what he wanted to do. He finally saw the light and bowed out after about 10 years, still lives in the neighborhood but doesn't even come to meetings anymore. New president and now all the sudden everyone's getting involved again.

^^interesting, thanks. That's my one-new-thing-I-learned-today.

<<insert Morgan Freeman meme "he's right, ya know" here>>

What's the curb weight of the new pig compared to your old one?

On a 2.5, yes you can get to them from the top. Take them out first, then the rest of the bellhousing bolts. When reinstalling, replace them with regular hex head bolts/washers.

auto trannies ain't my gig, but would a 45RFE work? I have one in my KJ (don't laugh......) and it's a pretty stout unit. They were used behind 4.7/5.7's normally (Durangos, Dakotas, etc). It also has a second "second" gear, kind of like an old school kick down gear for acceleration.

Damn son....nice job Ive yet to see a CRD in our yards up here. And I've only ever seen one 4 cylinder KJ.

Could also be in Florida right now.....they put out a "falling iguana" alert https://weather.com/news/news/2020-01-21-falling-frozen-iguanas-florida

I need to get to the 'yard and pull another steering knuckle for the Focus, but I don't NEED it that bad enough to go until it warms up around here, LOL. It was 19 this morning....but supposed to soar up to a high of 40 today. Newp. My MIL called last night, mentioned that FIL backed his van into the corner of the house a couple days ago and cracked the rear lens assembly. She wanted me to check the 'yards for a replacement (and probably drive up there 6 hours to swap it for them too ). If you do go and see a decent rear passenger side lamp/lens assembly for a 2014 Grand Caravan......grab it for me so I don't have to go looking for one. I'll make it worth your while

If it's using oil, it's likely the valve stem oil seals in the head(s). I change my oil religiously at 3K miles, and it will burn a quart in 1000 miles. I fill it back up, and it stays full until the next oil change. No idea why, but it's always done that.....I just remember to check it at the 1K mile mark. I'm afraid if I had to change the heater core, I'd either bypass it entirely (can't really do that right now, because winter), or get rid of it.

It's all good. I do have a very tiny leak from the back corner of the trans pan, gasket is worn out. I'm about 10k miles late on trans service....I'm going to drop and replace the pan and pony up for a lubelocker gasket for it. Front axle pinion seal needs replacing too...it's a bit damp with gear oil on the bottom, but it's not dripping or slinging oil anywhere yet. I hate leaking vehicles (so why do I drive a Jeep?) I can't really complain though. The darn thing is almost 20 years old.

Still legal in PA, from Thanksgiving until tax day (April 15th).

Winter studs FTW. I used to run them in recaps when we lived up in PA. In VA now, not so much, lol. Studs are illegal here.

Holy crap, had a near vomit moment today. I flushed the heater core in the KJ last week, but haven't driven it since. I decided to take it out today, down to the grocery store a couple miles away. It ran great the whole way, with heat out of the vents so hot I could melt steel. Got back home and parked in the driveway, went inside the house for a few minutes. Came back out to a puddle of coolant underneath, with a steady heavy drip coming out of the passenger side. Pulled it into the garage, still whizzing coolant everywhere. Popped the hood, nothing was leaking on the engine, nor inside the cab. I deduced the heater core had sprung a leak and my heart sank. I seriously thought about putting a couple rounds into it with my 9mm or driving it off a cliff. Then it stopped dripping. Turns out, it was just leaking spilled coolant from when I flushed it. My driveway is not level, it faces uphill from my garage. When I flushed the core, I had the front end facing uphill, and must have trapped a couple gallons of water/coolant inside the frame rail/behind the firewall and heat shields. It all settled to the back, and when I got home I parked nose down in the driveway and it all flowed forward and leaked out. Talk about a heart attack moment, lol. I seriously thought I'd be ripping out the dash to replace the heater core....

No worries bud, we're all just wanting to help you get it figured out. Honestly, I wish I was able to look at your setup in person.....it's really difficult sometimes to try to diagnose things over the Internet. Trust us, we will eventually figure it out.