Pete M

short answer is that results will vary. what I would recommend is do the swap the way you want and if the rears lock up too soon, simply splice in an aftermarket adjustable proportioning valve into the rear line. :thumbsup:

if it was cheap enough, I'd still grab that 44. heck, depending on how much tooth was gone, it's still usable as-is. :thumbsup:

part of screwing up is taking the ribbing that others give you afterwards. we all go through it. :D if you're going to build another, then by all means, take lots of pics and share. plenty of us here who want to see. :yes:

aftermarket rollbar. :thumbsup: all Jeep rollbars mounted to the front angled part of the wheelwell.

I hate to say it, but you should be able to build that outta pipe. it'll be strong enough to take the dynamic forces of a few hundred pounds of gear. be careful of how you attach it to the MJ though, as those flanges that pipes screw into tend to be brittle (they are just cast).

stronger with bigger brakes.

oooooooo...... low mileage MJ... :drool:

just make sure you keep it straight. higher number = lower gears :thumbsup:

could be. a fusible link is a short piece of wire designed to fail and protect the rest of the harness. there are a few of them all clustered together somewhere over by the battery. maybe at the starter relay? been a while since I've thought about them. they are funky looking compared to the rest of the harness. the way to inspect them is to pull them and check for continuity.

you might have fried one of the fusible link wires near the battery.

I have a TJ ax-15 in my 88 and of course it didn't come with that particular part so I made my own from a straight piece of aluminum.

do not associate rpms directly with fuel consumption. it's far more complex than that. the basic goal is to keep your engine in its optimum torque range because that's where the best fuel economy happens. Lets assume that your current setup was ideal (it's likely already running at a bit lower rpm than ideal). when you install 33s, in order to maintain a given speed the engine will now be at a much lower rpm which is now lower than optimum and now the engine is working extra hard to maintain that same speed (meaning it's consuming more fuel). adding in lower gears (higher number) brings that back up to the optimum. keep in mind that bigger tires are, well, bigger. they weigh more and have more friction with the ground and mpgs can suffer num matter what you do. the key is to get the best bang for the buck. tire diameter and gear ratio are directly related to each other when it comes to both engine performance and mpgs. when you change one, you need to change the other. :thumbsup:

it's not a gear "rating", it's a gear ratio. :thumbsup: as in the ratio of teeth between the ring and pinion gears. 4 to 1, 3.5 to 1, etc. if you add big tires but keep the same gear ratio, the mpgs will go down. upgrading the gear ratio will pick that back up. the gear ratio is literally the leverage that your engine gets over the tires. think of upgrading to 4.10s as putting a pipe extension on a wrench. takes less effort to accomplish the same task (undoing a bolt in this example).

in theory, a 3" lift on any MJ XJ would need the same length lower control arms and so anything you see that says it's for a 3" lift would be the same length. in reality, the adjustable ones are really nice to dial everything in right. :thumbsup:

it'll be a bit different. I couldn't find a 90. Try replacing the smaller fuses you find, the 5, 7.5, and 10 amp ones.

if you're dead set on parting out a rig, look for 2.5/5-speed/4wd (double check the gear ratios), then swap both axles over to your Jeep. that'll give you a pair of 4.10 axles and then you can work on upgrading the rearend later on with something that'll last.

It's a Dana 35. :( since the truck is a 4.0/auto, it should have 3.55 gears in it. be sure to price out everything it needs and then compare that to a buying a late model XJ axle to put in. It pains me to see money thrown at a 35. :( or better yet, I would contemplate an upgrade, either in strength or in gear ratio (or both :brows: )

yup. some TJs had them too, but also suffer from the low pinion issue. :ack:

just checking. the clutch master cylinder likes to leak brake fluid into the fuse box and that causes all sorts of calamity. which fuses did you replace?

profile pics have a smaller limit than regular posts. is that the photo you want to use? I'll do that for ya.

http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/view ... =2&t=18625

anything that came from the factory would be a positraction (which is not a true "locker") and they are not the greatest things in the world. good for the street, but the clutches inside will give up offroading, leaving you spinning one tire. they can be ok if you have a front locker in the mix. If you want a locker out back, try to get an axle with an open differential. That way you can spend 2-3 hundred on a "lunchbox" style locker which replaces the spider gears inside an open diff, but will not work inside a posi diff. factory posi would be the cheapest (since it comes with the axle) a "lunchbox" locker would be an affordable but good and effective choice Detroits or other selectable lockers that replace the carrier are very expensive to do but the best thing out there.

Having a Dana 44 is sweet, don't get me wrong. I've got one in the 3.55 flavor (pushing 31s). but it will cost some decent money to do it right. If you can find one with 4.10 gears, the 8.25 will probably be your cheapest route and the 8.8 having the easier to find. both will require the same fabbing (clean off the old mounts and burn on MJ mounts) but the 8.8 will need you to buy spacers and either the proper U-joint flange or one of the combo U-joints (I've got two of them adapting my 78 ford axles to my 88 MJ, got them from NAPA). you haven't spent a penny yet though, so keep your options open. you might get lucky in a junkyard or on a local classifieds. don't settle for 3.55s though. you'll be much happier with 4.10s. your engine will feel much stronger and that equates to a bigger smile on your face. :D

not to beat the ford drum too much, but the 8.8 gives you disk brakes right off the bat. I would plan on buying some quality wheel spacers and just factor that into the budget.

yes. if you're going to do this, do it right. and do it right the first time. :D learn from our mistakes. :yes: