Pete M

Central Axle Disconnect. Jeep on! --Pete

They're "trail" tires that will only see pavement if I kill one of my trXus MTs. But I might whip up a set of flare extensions like I have for the front, just in case. Household exterior door flashing is cheap, tickets for being a safety hazzard are not. :D Jeep on! --Pete

I prefer an open rear on snowy pavement. Less fishtailing. But then, I don't have a real locker back there, just a crap-tastic 27 year old Ford posi that isn't strong enough to help offroad, but strong enough that I might as well have a spool in the snow. :( Jeep on! --Pete

All MJs came with the 260 joints and almost all came with the CAD. If you want to keep the CAD, upgrading the joints becomes a little harder. But rumor has it that the last couple years of YJs came with 297s and CAD axles. Might be hard to find in the junkyard, but you can order the passenger side from catalogs I'm sure. car-part.com might be able to locate shafts for you. Search for 95 YJs. Jeep on! --Pete

I'm having issues with the materials staying up. The dark red metal gets HOT in the sunshine and the "high-temp" spray-on glue I used first would soften and drop sticky pieces of foam on me. Next I used regular black exterior household silicone and so far it works great. A bit of a pain to use though. I feel it's important to use black, as every white silicone I've ever used stinks to high heaven. Stupid me, I used that spay-glue again for attaching up the carpet, and woulldn't ya know it, it softens and the carpet is sagging in a couple places. Someday I might learn my lesson about that stuff. On the results side, it seem to insulate great. My A/C no longer works, but the truck isn't an oven like it was before. Any insulation is better than none. :D Jeep on! --Pete

There's only a very small difference in power between the H.O. and non-H.O. as they left the factory. Changing to the 91+ system requires just about EVERYTHING electrical that has anything to do with the engine to be swapped over (including the harness in the dash). In my opinion, it's really not worth the effort. If your truck feels anemic, there may be a problem. Does it have the original catalytic converter? When was the last time you changed the air filter? Fuel filter? How many miles are on it? What condition is the tranny in? What size tires do you have? Jeep on! --Pete

I feel the 4.0L/4.10s/33s are a good combo. The 84 XJ and 88 MJ have the same size U-joints in the Dana 30. Fortunately, upgrading to the larger joints is easy. Check this page out: http://www.madxj.com/MADXJ/technical/te ... dSeals.htm Jeep on! --Pete

I have to be at my Grandma's in like a half-hour, but I simply couldn't wait! :D Note that the rear now matches the front for non-coverage. Jeep on! --Pete

The neon tubes have been replaced by a tap-it light and velcro. I absolutely love the shelf, but hate the felt covering that keeps falling off. The visors are actually stock, but with the outer covering stripped off. What you see is the "skeleton" inside. Also not shown is the rear wall, which is now covered with a 3/4" piece of plywood so I can screw in brackets and what-not for various items like a fire extinguisher, flashlight, etc. I've also removed the glovebox door and use the glovebox as a shelf for the GPS, inverter, 12v outlets, etc. I love functional upgrades! :D Jeep on! --Pete

All my interior shots are here: http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/vie ... uid=512063 I'm noticing that many of my newest upgrades aren't in photos yet. I'll have to work on that. Jeep on! --Pete

Close enough. :D 1475 and 2205. Jeep on! --Pete

The Cherokees are exactly the same clocking as the MJ. It's the TJ/YJ that has a different clocking. Try car-part.com for junkyard parts. As to the ex/in slaves, the bellhousings are different and you'll need all the stuff inside the bellhousing. I adapted my late model ex slave line to my stock master line with a $2 compression fitting from the hardware store. Has worked flawlessly for almost 3 years now. and yes, I agree that it's usually easier to grab a tranny/t-case combo than trying to adapt spline counts. Plus, that gives you a lower mileage t-case. Non-running XJs can be a source of parts, but if you can't test drive it, you're stuck with trusting the seller. Junkyards should have a warrantee of some sort so you aren't screwed if the parts are bad. Jeep on! --Pete

Well, it looks like I might buy the truck. I stopped by to see it on my way through Toledo and it seems to be "ok". I didn't look to in-depth because of time constraints, but for the price, I don't expect much. It's got 209k and definitely looks the part of a high-mileage, rust-belt truck. The owner has made some bodywork repairs on the rust holes so it looks pretty good from 20 ft. Just don't get much closer. :roll: Rust is everywhere, the seat is broken, the shifter seems really sloppy, no A/C, the floors are TOAST, but the engine sounded ok. We are both leaving town after Christmas, so I'll go visit him again after the new year and do a more thorough looksie. Hopefully I'll be able to limp it home if I bring a large bottle of brake fluid for the clutch and, whenever possible, shift without using the clutch. The backup plan is to have my buddy bring his bronco and give me a little push to get me going from a stop. One way or the other it should be an adventure. :D I've already contemplating the build-up. Nothing major, but I have a Dana 44 with 3.54s sitting around doing nothing. Throw that in, grab an XJ front axle, and maybe do a 3" lift. This would be a daily driver, so what I do to it depends on what it needs to be reliable. But it doesn't cost a dime to dream. :D Jeep on! --Pete

My household owns 7 vehicles at the moment (3 aren't at the house) and three of them are my barely-running trucks. You can never have too many MJs, but finding homes for them can be challanging when you live in the suburbs. :( I'm just bummed that at this point in my life I can't provide for my own transportation. On the other hand, knowing that your ride will start in the morning can be a nice thing too. :D Jeep on! --Pete P.S. I found two 95 AX-15s at a junkyard in Circleville Oh. listed for $250 and showing 78k and 88k. http://www.marshallsautoparts.com/

I'm close enough to be a part of this too. Not that I really need a third MJ, but I don't currently own a vehicle that I can drive every day. I'm stuck with my dad's minivan (or if I'm lucky, mom's Cruiser). I might be willing to split the cost with you or at least help you find a tranny. I'll be traveling through Toledo on Thursday on my way to get my tires, maybe I can swing by to check it out. Jeep on! --Pete

I had some wheelhop back when the 88 was still 2wd. The back end would plummet to the ground on heavy acceleration too. Found a cracked leaf in both packs. I replaced the broken leafs when I went spring over, added a second main, and there's no hop at all even though it should be more prone to it with SOA. Jeep on! --Pete

If you carefully drill out the heads for the outside screws, the housing should pull right off, leaving the screws behind. Then they are relatively easy to deal with. I recommend finding some stainless or otherwise rust-resistant screws to replace them. I think I'm using some regular old galvanized wood screws on my 88. Jeep on! --Pete

Non-Metric tonne 87+ 2wd/4wd MJs are rated for 1475 lbs payload. I got maybe an inch out of the added main leafs. Jeep on! --Pete

I did that. It adds some carrying capacity and to a certain extent lift, maybe 1/2". I added it to help support my mains and help control axle-wrap. I guess if you added enough junkyard leafs you *might* gain 3", but your spring pack would get pretty stiff. Add-a-leafs are pretty cheap. Be sure to get a long one for a better ride. And you'll need shocks with 3 inches too. Jeep on! --Pete

Save up your money and get a complete 3" kit. And Dakota/S-10 leafs don't lift an MJ the same way they lift an XJ. We have just as much arch as the S-10/Dak. Jeep on! --Pete

Traction anyone? :D These are my future tires: Jeep on! --Pete

Whew, what a week. I can't wait for this stupid semester to end. :roll: Anywho, it appears that my offer has been accepted on the used boggers. :D And to clear up some of my ramblings, I was planning on keeping the trXus up front. The mini-spool adds a significant amount of stress to the system and the current tires already like to crunch and nip away at the fenders when at full stuff and turning. I can only imagine the damage from a bogger! But I'm still open to the possibility. AYou can bet I'll be trying the boggers up front, if for no other reason then to take a few pictures. :D Maybe I'll keep the extra 2 boggers for mud bogs. Something where the tires are pointed straight pretty much all the time. Maybe I'll let my buddy Mike use them in the rear of his Bronco. Dunno. I still have to arrange schedules so I can pick them up. I try hard not to get too excited until I actually have my hands on them. Jeep on! --Pete P.S. I'M GETTING SOME FREAKIN' BOGGERS!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

Less than a swapped-in 3.4L. :D Jeep on! --Pete

I warned you they were "ramblings". :roll: Jeep on! --Pete

I need a new spare. The old one died a most unexpected death from a huge bulge in the tread area. (and without having touched the ground in the past year!?! :shock: ) My plan is to buy two spares of a tread pattern more aggressive than my 33" trXus MTs and use them as trail tires for the back. I have a ford 9inch so breakage isn't much of a concern for me, but I'd rather not increase my chances of blowing a Ujoint in the Dana 44 front so I'll keep the milder trXus up there. That's the theory at least. I originally was looking to get some blemished LTBs directly from Interco, but they ran out before I could jump on them. The 33" LTBs seem to be very hard to come by used, so I started looking at Boggers. By some weird coincidence, in the last couple weeks I've found several sets (of 4) 33x14" boggers in decent condition within 5 hours of my house. A couple appear to still be available. One set is practically new (no trail use) and comes with sweet black and chrome steel rims for $600. Another is 75% with obvious trail use and plain white steelies asking $500. Now, given unlimited funds the choice seems obvious, but I don't have that kind of money. I was thinking of offering less for the used pair. I don't need brand new tires and I kinda like the "used" look anyway 'cause they won't see a ton of action, but will still look like they did. :D I don't need 4 tires, alhough I sure don't feel like driving 10 hours for only two. Somehow I doubt too many sellers will break them up anyway, so rather than try and grab only 2, I think it might be better to grab 4 of what I need and then sell off a couple. Of course, my upcoming wheelin' trip is canceled, so getting my hands on the tires is no longer an emergency. I could simply wait for a closer or better deal. 33x12.5s would theoretically be better since I could put them on my spare's 8" rim (4" backspacing) and just buy a second one. But then (by my calculations) the 14 inchers on 10" rims (4" backspacing) only sticks them out 2" further than my current setup. What to do, what to do... :( Jeep on! --Pete