Pete M

The TJ and YJ transmissions are essentially the same. It is generally not worth it to make a 2wd trans into a 4wd. Mostly because buying the parts costs too much. In your particular case, if you used the parts from the YJ trans to convert your MJ trans, the end result would still be a YJ trans. See, the back end of the transmission housing is what clocks the t-case up. The holes are in a different position than XJ/MJ transmissions. I would use the YJ trans and rebuild it if necessary. Just be aware that there are slight differences. I love the extra bit of ground clearance. I was able to make a flat skid plate to protect the trans. :D 99 TJ on top, 86 MJ on the bottom. TJ trans/t-case in my truck. I have a custom trans crossmember and used the TJ trans mount, so yours may not be quite a close to the floor. Or it might be closer. I don't know. :dunno: I do know that the problems are overcome-able and the ground clearance is nice. :D I believe (it's been awhile) that I nipped off a bit of the aluminum tabs sticking out of the t-case where it got close to the floor.

94 is iffy on the external slave. If I remember right, the transition was something around midyear 94 for the XJ, not sure if the YJ follows suit. The YJ trans is a bit different than the XJ trans. The YJ trans clocks (rotates) the t-case up a small amount. It results in a tight fit between the t-case and the floorboards (but more ground clearance :brows: ). I have a TJ trans in my 88 and it's close, but I haven't had any contact yet. Unfortunately I had the t-case shifter linkage from an 86 MJ and the 99 TJ on hand during the swap and am not certain specifically which parts I used. I thin it was half and half. :dunno: You could always buy the aftermarket shifter assemblies that eliminate the funky stock linkage. I've read that rebuilding an AX trans is relatively straight forward.

Do you know what engine/transmission was in the donor?

What driveshaft are you using? Custom or stock?

Also, don't forget that you can look for used parts too. I would definitely keep an eye out for 3" LCAs.

Some of their tools are always bad. Some of their tools are usually good. Others are purely hit or miss (like the ball joint presses). Cheap is cheap for a reason unfortunately. :headpop:

The risk is that after putting on that LCA-less lift, the steering will feel loose due to the lack of proper caster. Deathwobble might even rear its ugly head. Also, how does that particular kit raise the back end? The picture shows an XJ kit with the spacer block.

According to my dealership brochures, 225/75/15 were the tallest tire ever available on an MJ. 31s on factory rims will rub on the LCAs. 31s on aftermarket rims will rub on the flares. Anything above 2" and you will want LCAs. And any change in height up front will throw off your alignment and that will need to be addressed. The little things always add up. You could just do a 1.75" spacer lift up front and then either a long XJ AAL (will lift about 1.5-2") or 2" MJ AAL or longer shackle in the rear, lower the front brake line brackets, then get it aligned and call it a day. 3" is the amount of lift where the geometry of the suspension changes and all sorts of bits and pieces need to be addressed. If I remember right, at 2" the stock shocks will work fine on road, but limit your travel offroad.

89 was the transition year between the Peugeot (87-89) and the AX-15 89-up

I leave for georgia right after the badlands and return around the 29th.

Oh I'm interested, but first things first. I'm focused on getting the truck running enough for the Badlands. Assuming everything goes smoothly, I'm up for whatever. :cheers:

The center is indeed cast steel. And the answer to your question depends on who you ask. Some say to pre-heat, others say it's not necessary. :dunno: Either way, you probably won't need to weld the entire circumference. Just a few inch-long stitch welds should do fine.

I owned my LB for a couple years before I noticed it. :roll:

Actually, longbeds are in front of the axle. Shortbeds are behind :D

Then you should have 4.10 gears. If that's true, stick with it. :thumbsup:

I carry 2 of each junkyard sensors (someday I might actually take the time to see if any of them work). What year is your truck? If it's the AX trans, it's an AX-15 (the AX-4 and AX-5 only bolt to the smaller Jeep engines). The other choice back then was the awful Peugeot. The AX-15 is the most common upgrade for a blown Peugeot, so it still might be an AX-15 even if it's too old to have gotten it from the factory.

Sweet, so the idea works then? :brows: Now I can officially recommend doing it that way. :D

Gearing can be more important to 4 bangers than axle strength. Is your truck a 4speed manual, 5 speed manual or auto?

If they make noise or are loose, they should likely be replaced. Factory bearings can go 150 or 200k before needing replacement, so it's not a regular maintenance issue, but rather a "when it goes bad, replace it" thing. Rough roads, bigger tires, or wheels with less backspacing can accelerate wear.

Possibly because you could no longer rotate them front to back? :dunno:

That block weighs 500 or so pounds. Maneuvering it into your wife's ride is not recommended. Trust me on that. I did some minor damage to the door of my Dad's van. :oops:

Is the axle gear oil topped off?

The Sub weighs twice what the MJ does. :D Lots of axle related parts do great under our Jeeps and poorly under fullsize rigs. A 1.5" spacer would also work out fine on one side.

I've had the pro/con C-clip discussion on other sites before and now my only opinion on the matter is that, if you can't break it, than it won't matter. Explorer axle shaft breakage is so utterly rare that it simply shouldn't be a concern. And to this date I've never heard of a C-clip failure. The relative weak links in the 8.8 are the carrier and the wussy weld plugs between the axle tube and the center section. Get the tubes welded all the way round and swap in a Detroit or other locker that replaces the carrier and it's practically indestructible for reasonable V8s running up to 37" tires. For those of us running stock 4.0s and up to 33s, the stock carrier is ok. Not great, but ok. (I personally would still get the tubes welded). And for what it's worth, my plan (when I was going to swap an 8.8 into my 90 but then decided to use my Dana 44) was to buy a single 2" spacer and put it on the passenger side. Then center the WMS to WMS and burn on the perches. It centers the pinion (although this isn't really a concern, just a by-product) and means I don't need to do anything about shorter lugs on the shafts (which are longer than 1").