Pete M

Open systems are overrated. But having a radiator with a cap on it is cool. :D

I was told the hat company's rep was coming through Michigan this week and would be stopping by to pick up our order from the store owner (as well as give him the updated samples. etc). The store guy said he'd call me when that happened so I could swing by to be there at that time. Haven't heard anything yet, but he didn't know when the rep would be in town. :( I'll be checking in with him today to see what's up.

You're also running a much bigger tire than the 31s he's got.

And pray-tell how much does this "solution" cost? Someone better be calculating the costs here and comparing the cost of extra fuel you think you're using each week to the total price of swapping part/tires. :smart: And what happens when you do all this and find out you're not saving anything? How do we know that your previous mileage calculations weren't off? I hate to be the devils advocate here, but I have a feeling this is much ta do 'bout nuthin'. :cheers:

Find a local 4x4 club or website. That's how I've found people to do the important welding on my truck. Some will even do it for beer. :D

Spending tons of money to try and recoup a bit of gas mileage is rarely a wise move. My advice is to stop obsessing ofver the mileage and just go enjoy your Jeep. By the way, if I got 12 mpg in the Dakota I'd be happy. :( Too much dang power on tap. I just can't resist the call of the skinny pedal. :D

That's the kit I was talking about that was only half a kit. You'd still need to buy upper and lower control arms and they ain't cheap. You don't need the complex bolt-on thingy if you're going to weld anyway. And going SOA is a lot of lift for 31s. Are you prepared for the even bigger tires and new gears and a new rear axle? Each addition inch of lift cost way more than the last one did. My advice is to stick with your plan and try not to bite off more than you can chew. :cheers:

I know from personal experience that it's a bad, bad, bad thing to do. Made my bedside waaaay worse and rot out faster than before. :(

Honestly 3k isn't that bad. It should actually be working less hard now than before since 3.07s and 33s puts the engine real low in the sweet spot. Might just sound worse since you're so used to the previous tune the engine played. :dunno: My Dakota has 3.92 gears and little 28" tall tires and when in OD on the freeway it was usually around 3k. It always felt like the trans should shift again, but that's just the nature of the beast. 3k won't hurt anything. :D

How's your caster? Alignment?

Have you been switching your speedometer gears to make the speedo accurate with each gear or tire change? 4.10s with 33s should give you better mileage than 3.07s and 33s. RPMs of the engine is only part of the equation. More important than them is how hard your engine is working to maintain any given speed. Maybe your gas mileage went downhill because your Jeep was suddenly fun to drive? :brows:

When my rear lights stopped working one day, it turned out to be the connector in the wire harness. located right behind the drivers side rear tire. Corrosion inside the connector was the problem. I tried cleaning but had to splice in a generic connector I got at the parts store.

CJ-10A aircraft tugs are pretty rare. I think I read that 1800 were built?

I usually get the largest gauge I can get for regular vehicular applications and made my own to go with the HO alt in the 88.

Yes, there were 2 different size drums for the Dana 35. For some reason I always thought that MJs got the bigger drums (and the smaller size was limited to certain XJs and YJs) but my '90 MJ came with the tiny drums on it. :( Didn't matter though, as that axle was the first thing to get ripped out in the build. :D Also, a key point for the first-timer is to work on only one side at a time. That way if you get confused about how it goes back together, you can reference the other side (which is a mirror image). :D

If I remember right, the straight XJ sliders are essentially the same as MJ sliders and can be bolted to the bench seat floor brackets. Also, you'll need to find 2-door XJ seats if you want the seat to fold forward to get at the rear storage. 4-door XJ seats don't fold. If anyone would like to track down individual members who have tried the various possibilities and options and then compile a thorough instructional post, we have a DIY forum now. :brows:

I wanna say 3 inches too. :dunno:

The positive cable in my 86 once shorted out on the exhaust manifold. :D It's very important to keep the securely tied up. And this has very little to do with checking you cables, but a couple months after buying a high-output alternator for my 88, it shorted internally and the ampage caused the cable's plastic coating to catch fire... :eek: ...while I was driving. :eek: :eek:

'95+ is disk brakes. From my observations, 4.10s were more common in v6 models. There will be a tag on the diff cover that indicates the ratio and will have an L in the moddile of the number if it's posi. "4 10" is open, while "4L10" is posi. :cheers:

If it was easy, it wouldn't be fun! :D At least that's what I keep telling myself. You'll get it eventually though. Old trucks just need more TLC then we'd like to think. :cheers:

AX-15 ('89.5-'99) or NV3550 ('00+) from a later Jeep with the 4.0L. You'll need to get a matching t-case with the later transmissions' 23 spline output though (peugeot is 21 spline). External slave is always a plus (95+).

I gained like 3 inches of headroom when I tore out the stock headliner and instead lined the ceiling with automotive grade foam. I learned a hard lesson about the so-called "high-temp" glues though (the metal roof can get very hot in the sun) and eventually glued it up with exterior grade household black silicone. I had to put it up in pieces due to using 1" foam and having to work around my sunroofs, but if there's no sunroof it'll likely go up as a single sheet.

That's where the XJ and MJ are very different.

Apparently if a powerplant is used to power the electrolysis, the efficiency can be as low as 25%. :eek: Also, the anode in the electrolysis system needs to be made out of platinum or else the Oxygen will react with the metal in the anode and cause oxidation (their example was if you use iron, it'll turn to rust), which will reduce the effectiveness of the electrolysis.