Pete M

Spiders eat mosquitos, and anything that east mosquitos is a friend of mine! :D Jeep on! --Pete

Not tech questions about your own truck. They go in the tech forum. No advertizing. That goes in the classifieds. Keep us updated on your progress with plenty of pics! Lots and lots of pics! :needpics:

:D

On the 88 I threw a thick aluminum plate over the big hole and called it a day. :D I know my 90 is much worse, but haven't pulled up the carpet yet. Jeep on! --Pete

Define "fit". Some guys care if it's a bit taller or shorter than the cab, others don't. The big question I have is, where to the rear downbars mount? to the floor? to the angled front wall of the wheelwell? to the top of the wheel well? Just about any small truck can donate a rollbar if it mounts up right. Most bars are not very "vehicle specific". Small is small. Ask for some pictures or at least some measurements. Jeep on! --Pete

It would be worth it to me to seek out a "long" AAL and swap them. Jeep on! --Pete

Yup. That would be a "short" AAL. There are also "long" AALs out there. Jeep on! --Pete

2000 was the first year for the NV transmissions. Stay away from TJ trannys unless you like extra work with your swap. The TJ (and YJ for that matter) have trannys that rotate the t-case up a bit more than MJ/XJs. It can be a great way to gain some ground clearance, but the trans is different in other ways and some fabbing and coaxing of metal is necessary. Besides, 00+ TJs got a less refined trans anyways. My sis had a '00 TJ and the trans whine was not insignificant. Jeep on! --Pete

Most everything I've read has recomended taking it to a shop. That way it'll be "legal" and what-not. Costs seem to range from $10-30. Personally, my 88 has had 3 clusters so far and I've decided that I simply don't care what the odometer says. (Speedometer doesn't work anyways due to the mismatch of an 88 truck and a 99 t-case.) :roll: Jeep on! --Pete

Amen to that! I almost lost my engine to a fan that wouldn't turn on. Now I just flip the switch and the aux fan comes to life. Flip another switch and the hood vent fan comes on. I like switches! :D Jeep on! --Pete

It's a straight forward swap. A bit tricky if things are rusted, but not hard. A shop manual will lay out the steps. Make sure the vents work right before installing them. I got vents from the junkyards and ended up having one that wouldn't seal up right because it was looe in its pivot hole at the bottom. Jeep on! --Pete

3 regular leafs plus the overload for normal MJs. 4 regular leafs plus the overload for Metric Ton MJs. Chances are that an AAL will look a little different that the others (like the shape at the ends or the finish of the paint) and, while the ends of the regular leafs are spaced fairly evenly apart, an AAL will seem to be shoved in. Jeep on! --Pete

There's nothing like a factory service manual for dealing with wiring issues. :D I recommend the 89 though rather than the 88. The trucks are essentially identical, but the 89 manual was the first Chrysler re-write and is better than the 88. ebay.com is a good source for them. You shouldn't have to remove the engine to get at the wiring. Jeep on! --Pete

Don't forget that you'll need to swap the ending units in the 88 for the switches. Otherwise the new owner won't have use of the temperature or oil pressure lights. Not cool. It may just be easier/cheaper to get a junkyard cluster. Jeep on! --Pete

http://www.jeepin.com/features/gaugeswap/index.asp

that's a lot of money for something so far from home. Especially for a trail rig. For that much you should be able to find one with the lift/gears/tires already done. I'd hold out for something better/closer/cheaper. Jeep on! --Pete P.S. I didn't need another project either (being broke and all), but I still ended up buying a $300 rust bucket and have plans to install a new trans/t-case(242)/axles(4.10s) and install a 3" lift/31s to make my new daily driver (currently borrowing my mom's car). I figure I should be able to sell off the removed parts and pay for most of the new stuff. Don't think of it as "another project", but rather a couple weekends worth of work and then it's done. :D

If a tranny swap is out of the question, I personally would pass on it (unless it's a great deal), but then I have no inhibitions about throwing in a new trans (only done it once in my life so far). But then it *could* run just fine for you. There are a lot of then still out there. Don't forget that you WILL want new gears for those 32" tires. Manual tranny + 3.07 ratio gears + 32" tires = suckiness. What circumstances are causing you to avoid the swap? 87-89 can be great trucks if you throw in a newer trans. Jeep on! --Pete

Same here. Itty-bitty 'joints and the pull-your-part yard by me has never ever had a YJ, let alone a 95 YJ. Lots of XJs though. Not that it matters much to me personally just yet. My 88 has Ford axles, the 86 has been in 4wd only once since I bought it, and the 90 isn't any where near ready for the road. But rest assured that the 90 will have the conversion eventually. Jeep on! --Pete

Check out the "Introduce your Comanche..." post in the tech forum or the "Various Comanches" post in this forum. Lots of pics in them. Jeep on! --Pete

Buckets feel more comfortable to some. They certainly hold your butt in place better. But there are those who like the bench too. Jeep on! --Pete

I swear I can sense an MJ before I can see it. But I guess that doesn't help at all if there aren't any nearby. They are out there though, keep your eyes pealed! :D Jeep on! --Pete

I tried a pair of CJ mirrors once, but thought they looked too big. Like elephant ears. I eventually went with a smaller generic curved mirror. Jeep on! --Pete This is the CJ mirror: And this is the mirror I went with, but I used a CJ mirror arm. Sorry, I don't have pics of the finished product yet.

At the very least, upgrade your axleshafts and front driveshaft. The 3.4 might be a good match for 4.10s, but 4.56 or 4.88s would be better. It depends on your budget. Jeep on! --Pete

Yup, 3.4L. You can even get a brand new crate 3.4 from GM. Add that, plus some better gearing, and you'll have more than enough grunt to put a smlie on your face. :D Don't forget to upgrade the front axleshafts/ujoints and front driveshaft (86s in particular suffer from a weak front driveshaft). All can be had from the junkyard. http://www.off-road.com/jeep/cherokee/x ... 4swap.html Jeep on! --Pete

???? The airbag is ingenious. It's simple, powerful, and is used extensively in big rigs. The new thing in offroad recovery is a big fat orange airbag that uses your exhaust to lift up the truck. I think it's an ARB product. Jeep on! --Pete