Pete M

Ask if their 2x2 "hitch" is actually rated for anything. I would hesitate towing anything with an unrated attachment point. There's a huge difference between extraction from the mud and hauling 4000# down the interstate.

3.07s do NOT equate to better gas mileage unless you're running little tiny donut tires. 3.07s just SUCK. 3.55s will give you better performance and, in doing so, better gas mileage because the engine is no longer struggling to overcome the crappy gears. I PROMISE!!! I went through all that when my 88 was a lowly 2wd daily driver running 30" tires. After the 3.07 Dana 35 blew up I swapped in a 3.55 geared Dana 44 and the truck improved in both power and gas mileage.

Don't worry, every MJ I've purchased practically had one foot in the junkyard already and the next one might literally come from the 'yards. Unless you're in the habit of seeking out run-down rusted-out hulks here in Michigan, I think we'll get along just fine. :D Again, I don't care about the offset pinion!! I'd be adding the spacer purely for asthetic reasons to push the rear tires back out to their current location. If I could do that with a pair of 1"ers I would, but spacers are 1.5-2" thick. It has yet to be proven that I can buy a single spacer (though I don't see why not), but since I just happen to have 2 other 8.8s that I'm selling, maybe one of their future owners will split a pair up with me. :brows:

ebay.com will have all sorts of brochures from back in the day listed.

Yup, the width difference is a common design element for larger trucks, done for handling purposes they say. My 88 has about an inch of width difference in the 78 Ford axles. But the rear end of an MJ is wider than the front, and this leads to the tires sticking out up front and hiding under the flares in the rear. I have no desire to exagerate that if I can help it. I'll be using the stock steelies and 31s you see on it right now. Even with the stock offset rims, there shouldn't be any rubbing without the spacer, so I guess you could say that the spacer would be purely an experiment.

It's amazing what Microsoft Paint can do. Just wait till I get a real welder! :D

That's my dual exhaust I bought from another MJ owner. :D Forgot to add that to the list.

The sway bar is still attached to the axle, links and all, so it was just a thought. It is a daily driver after all, and I've been known to take my corners a little fast. :D As to the spacer, the Ford axle is off by like an inch and a half, so the thought is that if I add a spacer to the passenger side and then center tha axle and burn the perches, the axle would be the exact right width and the pinion would be a little more centered (not that I'm at all worried about that particular aspect).

And if you've got a manual trans, you'll need to upgrade it too so you don't destroy it. And that will require that you get a matching 23 spline t-case. It's the snowballing of expenses and swapping that makes this hobby so darn expensive. :cry:

-rocker guards, rocker guards, rocker guards -solid recovery points front and rear -better rear axle -gears (I assume this is already in the plans since you're getting full carrier lockers) -high flow cat if you need it

Anything else I'm missing for my sweet new daily driver? 1990 MJ with lots o' rust and no fear of parking lot dings :D -4.0L (tired, but still kicking hard for having 210k miles) -External slave added to the old AX-15 -NP-242 for all wheel drive -31" all-terrain tires on cheap steelies (seen in the photo) -Extra main leaf added under the current main to help control spring wrap -1" spacer to balance out that extra leaf -'98 XJ Dana 30 with 297 joints and 3.55 gears -95 XJ dual-diaphram booster, MC, and prop valve -Dual exhaust (post-muffler, not "true" dual) -And I'm still debating this one because I have an extra 3.55 MJ Dana 44 that would just bolt in, but: '99 Explorer 8.8 with disks, open diff, maybe the anti-sway bar and a single 2" wheel spacer put on one side before the pads are welded on. Coming soon to a garage near me. :banana: I have all the main componants, it just needs to get in line behind my other projects. As she sits right now:

I mean this from the bottom of my heart: Do yourself a bog favor and stop looking for a 3.07 and start looking for a pair of 3.55 or better. 3.55 are the most common XJ axles out there and all you need is to weld on perches to the rear axle. car-part.com might be able to help you out in your search.

With a 101" wheelbase! :eek:

Fixed it for ya. :D

Uh, yup. That's generally when the snow/ice hits. :D

Salt. Under much of Ohio and southern Michigan is a huge salt dome, and since the salt is so cheap, they use it in abundance on the roads. Bastards. :wall: :mad:

3 per side. Absolutely no deflection I've seen even after dropping the truck on them. :D I could probably have gotten away with 2 since I used DOM tube and put the bar through the frame, but better safe than sorry. Besides, the middle ones were the easy ones. :D I had the same frame strength concerns, but if you use a large plate to spread out the load, you should be fine. Even better if you can use some angle iron that wraps under the bottom of the frame. It is just double layered sheetmetal though, so be careful with the welding. Also, notice I lopped off the corners of the plate to lessen the chance of it being a stress point.

More pics and how it attaches to my frame at: http://www.picturetrail.com/petermontie in the protection folder.

Ours will be as accurate as possible, but even then there will be plenty of asterixes (sp?) because some parts of the MJ history are still a bit fuzzy.

Ownership isn't a requirement, but I can't imagine life without mine. The Surgeon General has rated the MJ highly addictive. :D

Mine: They go straight through and are welded to plates that are welded to the frame. For your idea, if you use a broad intermediate plate and add some gussets, it should be plenty strong.

The YJ/TJ parts are slightly different than XJ/MJ and some creativity is needed. The shifters (both the trans and the t-case) are different and the t-case is clocked higher up. I put a TJ assembly into my MJ and it's do-able, just not bolt-in. See: http://www.picturetrail.com/petermontie in the "drivetrain" folder.

I'll be doing the inside of my cab later this summer. The most important thing is to properly prep the paint/steel first. The liner material is really tough, but its adhesion to your truck is entirely up to you. Oh, and don't get any on your hootus. :D

I would keep it simple and strip the MJ down to the steel and swap the whole caboodle. But I'm a manual transmission guy myself so it's a tough choice. This is what I did with my Peugeot after it decided to self-destruct: I made little trophies! :D

Unless we're talking about stealing that sweet diesel out of one. (But not if the reason is better fuel mileage. No MPG gain could ever make up for the costs of swapping in one of those)