Pete M

Yeah, I was pleased with it. The colors turned out pretty good. 8) Honestly though, it's real hard to take a bad photo in Moab. :D

Just imagine some icons scattered around it. :D

:hmm: The timing is set and adjusted by the computer, not the distributor orientation.

You may want to double check that. I'm 120% sure that my 2.5L 4 speed has 4.10 gears in it from the factory... Is the 4-speed factory? :D Just kidding. Lots of crazy things happened back in the day. The rule of thumb is that 2.5L + AX4 = 3.55 gears. But the only way to know for sure is to check.

You've got a torque wrench, yes?

The Dakota line is for the rear. YJ lines are longer than stock MJ fronts, but I'm not sure if they are quite long enough.

Don't cut that end! :D You can do pretty much whatever you like to the other end, after all it's 40+ inches away. If you're concerned at all, you can go slowly or just throw a wet towel on the isolator end. I paid a shop to cut/reweld mine so I'm not sure what they did. :dunno:

Sure you can. Just cut the t-case end of the shaft. I'm running a cut down isolator shaft on my 88. :thumbsup:

But then you'd have the same sucky gears, small U-joints, and that stupid CAD that (almost) all MJs came with. :( Why would you want that in your truck? Right now you could have anything. Don't pin yourself down to the crap that Jeep put out back in the day. You can go out and get better than stock. :D

Any dealership that's willing to take a trade in that old is also willing to sell you that truck for the same price, with or without the trade in. They don't want your truck, they just want the sale. Shopping around is the best thing you can do to reduce the cost of new rigs. Forcing them into competition is the only way to win. :D

No can do. The show doesn't start until Friday so there won't be anyone there. But if they have any literature out, I'll be sure to score some. My dad works for one of the display companies and so I can get in earlier than most. :D There are some downfalls to that though. Like if I would have gone last week, there probably wouldn't have been many cars, but plenty of boxes and crates everywhere. :roll:

Even better, if anyone ever has issues with their avatar (size or clarity or whatever) you can email the fullsize image to me and I'll fix it and upload it for you. Just be sure to include your screen name with the email. petermontie@hotmail.com

I bet if you look at the axle end of the driveshaft you'll see the big rubber isolator. Helps with vibrations I'm sure.

How big of a pic? normal sized tires or big? What color? I don't have photoshop either. All my stuff is made with microsoft paint. :D (sometimes one pixel at a time) :roll:

Need more info and pictures or sure. Short ads never do old trucks justice. :(

Why are you looking at MJs for 4wd stuff? Go find a late model XJ and get some better-then-we-ever-got good stuff. :D

If you have a full cluster previously, the tach will automatically work. Though it might not be all that accurate if it's coming from an engine with a different number of cylinders. Just make sure it's from the right generation. 91+ will be different and unusable. If I remember right, 87-90 will have a slightly different clip for the speedometer cable, but you can use the parts from your current one to make it work. :D

If I have this right, early 2.5s had external, later had internal, much later they went back to external.

The newer Jeeps are a complete one-piece unit from master to the external slave. I adapted my 88 master to the 99 slave that came attached to my trans (had a few inches of line left on it) using a simple 1/4"-5/16 line adapter from the hardware store. Guess he didn't think of it. :D

I simple refrigerator magnet will stick to steel, but not to rust or body filler. The weak magnets work best since a strong one can still attract to the metal underneath.

It's in "night 5" but doesn't mention a specific date.

Cool. I'll be sneaking in to the Detroit show this Thursday. :D I'll bring back pictures.

Most everything I have is craftsman. Sears isn't too far away, but pretty much the only things I've returned so far were phillips and torx screwdrivers.

I would probably fix it up first, but converting to 4x4 is as easy as swapping in a new front axle and transmission. Most guys look for a 4x4 XJ with the same engine and trans (auto or manual). In your case, try to find an XJ with the 5-spd trans rather than the 4-spd. Pretty much all you do is bolt stuff on. :D There are some pitfalls to avoid, so try to check with the group before you actually by anything. :thumbsup:

Re-paints always scare me. :( Especially if I can't touch it before buying.