Pete M

in here:

you've got a tricky rig there. the only 4wd trans from a Jeep that'll easily work is from an 84-86 auto MJ/XJ. but if you bought a donor rig from that era, you'd be missing an opportunity to upgrade from the weak crap used in the early Jeeps. The front driveshaft was puny and the t-case was the less desirable NP-207. What gear ratio if in your rear axle?

what about the current engine is worn out? low compression? bad noises?

Rob, any update on the rolled MJ?

As have I. :D I show Jo pictures of the plan and I may have cried a little... so she told me to go. :rotfl2:

the hard things to change are engine type (2.5, 2.8 or 4.0), trans type (auto or manual), adding AC, and rust. everything else is bolt-in, including seats and 4wd. personally, I'd go for the 88 and argue the price down a bit. but then I've got no problem fixing the shortcomings of the earlier years.

Shackles designed to lift an XJ up 1 inch should be pretty close to stock MJ.

I think I've surpassed a 50% chance of making it. :D

MJ shackles are longer than XJ shackles. :thumbsup:

I'd look for a solid southern truck. I've lived in Michigan my whole life and have seen what salt will do to the underside of an MJ. :( Crawl underneath and look up into the interior of the bedsides. Our trucks rot from the inside out, so anything you can see on the outside is likely 10 times worse on the inside. Whatever truck you buy, make sure you pull up the carpet to check for moisture before handing over money. All MJs are susceptible to floor rot.

sounds like it's time for a new belt adjusted to the proper tension. If you've never touched the adjusting bolts, start spraying them down with PB Blaster now, and every day til you do the work. :thumbsup:

I assume it also works ok in my axles? Oh lord, $50 a gallon for redlines gl-5. Let' seee, both axles, xfer case, tranny...sounds like almost $70 worth of fluid? Help. GL-5 is the modern standard for gear oil specs/additives. If you walk into a store, everything there should rated GL-5. You don't need the fancy redline stuff, but it has apparently been known to help with problematic trannys. Simply putting in fresh fluid might help too. The transfer case takes ATF, not gear oil.

A few years back I purchased insanely expensive GL-3 rated gear oil from the Dodge dealership (Daks had the AX-15 too). :(

yeah, because they didn't want to pay to make the special stuff anymore. motor oil doesn't have the bad stuff in it. :thumbsup:

should be ~42" center to center

Did you just cut off the top, or the whole thing?! i didn't have to cut much, as there wasn't much left of it. :(

any GL-5 rated gear oil. :thumbsup:

the AX-5 bolts to the 2.5/2.8/2.1L engines. The AX-15 bolts to the 4.0L.

If it came from a 2.8L, then it'll be an AX-5, the baby brother to the AX-15. :thumbsup: Neither the AX-15 or the BA-10 can be bolted to the 2.8L.

doubtful. The uniframe is pretty darn strong in the cab area with or without it. :thumbsup:

then the plot thickens. since the AX-5 still has a GL-5 requirement. :dunno: Maybe it's the exact composition of the synchros that's important.

:agree: does your camera have a "macro" setting? it should. It tells the camera that you're snapping closeups and so the camera will change its focus point. :thumbsup:

I cut what was left of mine out and the floor will just be flat when I'm done.

even if you planned to re-gear it, it's a decent price for a complete axle in good shape. :thumbsup:

thanks guys. I knew I could count on you to fill in the details. :D