Pete M

I think it was late May when I went. Day one was overcast and I was wearing long sleeves. Day two the sun came out and it was a shorts/t-shirts swaet-a-thon. The weather is very unpredictable out in the desert. The trails are rated so you should be able to find the difficulty you desire. Every trail is awesome so you don't need a 5+ to have fun and check out the incredible scenery. Moab Rim and Hells Revenge get lots of praise. I did part of Hells and part of Poison Spider and recommend them both. :D Doesn't hurt to throw in a rear locker for the trip, but it's not incredible necessary. You'll just have more wheel spin in the sandy areas. Most important is to not hit the trails alone. Who ya wheelin' with? :brows: I camped at the campground north (I think) of town. Nice place.

ive never heard of this. what engine is in it? is it just an H.O with a body kit? It's just a plain-jane Comanche with some extra plastic trim. Regular ol' '87 renix 4.0L engine and regular ol' suspension. The only differences we can find are the ground effects that were added post-factory.

Try to make sure your donor has the same engine/trans as yours. (Unless we're talking about a 4.0/stick and then I'd rather not use those axles with their crappy 3.07 gears.) While the process is relatively straight forward, there are numerous little speedbumps you could conceivably run into, so keep throwing questions at the group so we can make sure you don't trip on any. :D

Well, off hand I can't remember what the exact lengths were for MJ and XJ shackles, but I'd wager that if it lifts the XJ 1" (meaning that it is 2" longer than a stock XJ shackle), you might see a half inch of lift on an MJ.

I didn't see anything that said how long they were. Stock MJ shackles are already longer than stock XJ shackles so it's important to know how long these replacements are. Also, keep in mind that a shackle that is one inch longer than stock will only give 1/2" of lift. To get any reasonable lift, the shackle needs to be much longer than stock and that can cause problems like increased spring-wrap and also vibrations due to changing the angle of the U-joints in the driveshaft.

Seems logical. But maybe you shouldn't run it empty. Go grab any greasy or oily rags you've got in the garage and throw them in for a good 10 minutes. :D

Might be a weee bit small for your XJ. :D

Check the condition of the light sockets. Corrosion in them can cause all sorts of weird issues.

There are trails that a stocker should be able to traverse, just watch those rockers. Oh, and if I am able to come along, I'd be willing to bring my set of 29x10.5 super swampers for anyone that would like to run them. :D

It's been one of the best things I did to my truck in the way of looks. Unless you touch them, you'd never know I didn't have rockers any more. :D A few words of warning. Don't use Rhino Liner for intricate work like this. The process by which Rhino Lining is applied is complex (to say the least) and does not lend itself to detailed work. Do not plug up any drainage holes in the door, the seams, or the rockers. Make sure you properly prepare the surface. Different manufacturers may have different steps for this. Notice all the drips and the overspray that's peeling away from the frame and undercarriage. :mad:

No. If I remember right, TJ coils will give MJ/XJs less lift than TJs.

Or you could build your own adapter to fit the seat to the pedestal. People installing custom seats have to, so how hard can it be? :dunno: Having said that, I've got MJ buckets in mine. I'm lazy. :D

If you haven't seen it yet, these are the dak vs MJ taillitghts http://comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=458

I'm giving it some time to let the poll take shape. The guy that volunteered to take it on is a bit preoccupied at the moment (baby on the way) so we're in no hurry.

Remember that 03 and newer Vic/Marquis rims have about 5" of backspacing (I don't know the number exactly).

You wouldn't be the first to accidentally nudge the parking brake pedal juuuust enough to turn on the light. :D

Once upon a time I was changing my oil in the 88 and when I fired up the truck, I noticed oil pouring out onto the pavement. I shut off the truck and popped the hood to find that oil had been spraying all over the engine bay (thank god it wasn't shooting towards my battery). As it turns out, the oil filter had a tiny dent in the lip and it was enough to cause the rolled edge to fail. Then when I went to the store, I noticed several more filter on the rack that had the exact same little dent. My best guess was that some idiot dropped the box of filters. :roll:

For better or for worse, I use high grade synthetic oil. :D (left over after each oil change in the diesel libby) I too am curious as to what carnuck uses. And on a side note, I dragged home a discarded lawnmower yesterday. :roll: Same generation craftsman as mine, but with a 6.5 engine and the one "drive" wheel. Don't know what's wrong with it, but I figured with all my newfound mower knowledge I might as well give a try. :D

The truck is still only part time. The t-case is what makes it that way. If you're familiar with manual hubs, think of the CAD in that light. With my 78 Ford axles under my 88 MJ, I can shift the t-case lever into 4wd any time I want and the front driveshaft will turn. But that truck has manual hubs, and if I don't get out and engage them, I won't have any power to the front tires. The CAD does about the same thing. If it doesn't engage, you'll be spinning both driveshafts in 4wd, but there won't be any power getting to the front tires.

The 02 Vic rims I have on the Marquis are 17x7" with about 4" of backspacing. The center hole is about 2 3/4" across.

A Posi-loc is a really expensive way to engage or disengage the front axle coupling whenever you want. In my opinion, the CAD was/is a bad idea by Jeep. And eventually they learned better and did away with it.

30s should work fine on stock rims (even on a 2wd). If you go with aftermarket rims, they have less backspacing and rubbing may ensue.

What rims will you be running?

Pop open the CAD cover and use one of the various techniques to keep the collar shifted over. A couple that come to mind are washers to keep the fork shifted, or a band clamp on the axle to directly keep the collar shifted.

As I understand it, the Dakota line is the rear one. Don't know if front Daks work.