Pete M

Have you tried car-part.com yet? Jeep on! --Pete

Well, it seems that someone in the post office didn't feel that a CD counted as "media mail", even though the lady at my post office said it did. :( Did anyone else get the re-burned CD? This is becoming quite frustrating. Jeep on! --Pete

Be very careful pinching off the lines before you remove the filter and be prepared for gas to still dribble out onto you somehow. :D Jeep on! --Pete

While the 33s may look awfully tempting, I think you'd be much happier with a 3" lift and 30s or 31s. You don't have a t-case low range to help you out with gearing. Jeep on! --Pete

Yeah, I just keep air in 'em and protect them from the weather/sun. I imagine one of those tire protectant sprays wouldn't hurt either. Jeep on! --Pete

It's a winning combination! :D Jeep on! --Pete

I added a second main leaf from a junkyard MJ pack to mine. I cut the eyes off and placed it underneath the current main. I am very pleased with it. Haven't had any issues with 'wrap and it still flexes great. :D I'm actually limited by my shocks (bumpstops keep the shocks from actually bottoming out). Jeep on! --Pete

I could buy a whole heck of a lotta gas with 6800 smackers. Fuel economy is way overrated. I see it as a pay-to-play deal, and I like to play. :D Jeep on! --Pete

The transmissions behind the 2.5L/2.8L and 4.0L do NOT interchange. They have a completely different bolt pattern on the back of the engine. If the rolled truck was really, REALLY cheap (free or next to it), I'd probably still buy the wreck, but I'd hesitate swapping the drivetrain into the 86 unless I had a whole bunch of time on my hands. Jeep on! --Pete

My recommendations: step down to 33s, upgrade the front axleshafts and ujoints with later model XJ parts to get the Dana 44 size joints, upgrade the rear axle to a Dana 44 or Ford 8.8, and get better gears so you can push the big tires around. There may be some other issues but that depends on the details of your truck. Jeep on! --Pete

sigh... Tis the joy of owning an old truck. Sounds like a great opportunity to replace all the rusty brake lines (something we ALL should seriously contemplate whether we've popped one or not) and upgrade the rear to a 3.54 axle. :D Jeep on! --Pete

It's gotta be better than my stupid mini-spool. The automatic lockers are supposed to unlock when you aren't hard on the gas right? At the very least I recomend upgrading to some junkyard axle shafts and 297 Ujoints from an XJ. 94+ will have them, as well as earlier XJs with antilock brakes. They will have a one pice passenger side inner shaft too. If you insist on keeping the CAD, then that makes life harder. Rumor has it that 95 YJ shafts will they have the CAD and 297s. Don't know for sure but it's something to look into. Jeep on! --Pete

As far down as the stock bumper? :roll: It's the brackets themselves that would interfere and I'm sure there are plenty of ways around it. I had been contemplating ditching the tailgate for a prerunner tire mount and the frustration with the bumper bracket was the final straw. I love how my truck turned out and don't regret losing the 'gate at all. :D Of course, I rarely use my Jeep as a "pickup" much anymore and I have a reciever rack if I need it. Jeep on! --Pete I tucked the bumper up as high as it could go (for clearance offroad) without making a serious headache with the sheetmetal removal. As it turned out, my bumper was 1 inch too high for Michigan's bumper law. So I added 3" angle iron to keep it legal-ish. 8) For off-roading I unbolt it and leave it at camp.

I hear you about the seat mounts. I was contemplating building mounts that came up from the floor and are tied into..., well, I'm not sure what they tie into yet. As I understand it, the reason other rigs tie their seats into the cage is becase in the event of a harsh roll-over, the cab can separate from the frame (which is what the cage is attached to if they are smart). That can't possibly happen with our trucks, so I'm thinkin' we may just need to strengthen the mounts and tie them into the structure better. Oh and remember that XJ and MJ floors are very different behind the seats. Jeep on! --Pete

XJs and MJs share nothing out back, save for the axle. I made a template out of cardboard by placing the cardboard (already in the shape of my eventual bumper bracket) up against the frame and pushing a screwdriver through it where the holes were. Then I used a razor at each punch spot to cut a hole that would be larger than the bolt hole in the truck. Then I put the template back up on the truck and used a pencil to make crosshairs on the cardboard to indicate the exact center of each bolt hole. Then I laid the cardboard template on my steel and the crosshairs indicated the exact center of the bolt holes on the truck. My bracket was simple 4" wide 1/4" thick stock. Unfortunately, if you want to retain use of your tailgate you can't use the 4" stock precisely like I did. The MJ's frame is not inline with the bumper. :( I got a local steel shop to bend the brackets for a couple bucks and paid a porfessional welder to mate the brackets to the bumper. You could also bolt the bracket to the bumper, but paying $10 for the welding seemed a whole lot easier than drilling 20 holes myself. :D Jeep on! --Pete

For something as complex as a cage, I would find a local with a bender and go full custom. It seems a whole lot easier than trying to alter a kit. If a bar is off by an inch or a few degrees, it'll become a huge hassle to make it work. I sought out a local fab guy with a bender for my rollbar. It allowed me to create my own design to work around my needs. He even had a computer program that calculated all the bends and cuts he needed to make. I also recommend an external cage. It's infinitely easier than trying to weld inside of a small cab. I've seen plenty of ugly ones and my future cage will be much more subdued. Another benefit of the external cage is protection for the cab. An internal cage seems like such a waste of effort when a single slow motion off-camber collision with a tree can write off the entire truck in one fell swoop. To me, building a cage is about saving my baby as much as it is about saving my head. :D Jeep on! --Pete The top will be a simple hoop and the A-pillar down bars will be hidden behind the fenders. Just ignore the green lines, I haven't decided whether I truly want to do that. I'm lookint for a minimum of armor and the cab is the hardest thing to replace. Besides, a little damage looks cool. :D

Eagle was kind enough to cut one open to help answer the riddle of what on earth it does. Unfortunately, his unit has cropped up a couple questions that are more troubling. I'll let him tell you the story when he gets back. Jeep on! --Pete

Some people might consider it too much gear for 31s. I like too much gear! :D I've got 4.10s and 33s and wish for 4.88s. Jeep on! --Pete

No problem here. My shocks are behind the axle. :D Jeep on! --Pete

I have the photo CDs done again so I'll mail them out tomorrow. Jeep on! --Pete

I rotated the guards for the uniqueness of the look, the extra strength of the added weld bead and welds being in more than one plane, as well as it allowed me to tuck it up as close to the body as possible. Jeep on! --Pete

Pics! Pics! Pics! :D :D :D

You do know that swapping gears isn't as easy as bolting them in, right? Just checking. And while the TJ axle may technically be weaker, I've seen plenty of them survive just fine with 33s. I wouldn't go any bigger though, but that's just my opinion. Jeep on! --Pete

I have all of the above and have to say I use the Chiltons/Haynes manuals too. Sometimes the Factory manual seems to assume you know stuff. :? But the electrical diagrams and pictures in the FSM can not be beat. :D Jeep on! --Pete

Usually due to extensive rust but sometimes to reduce weight or to increase clearance on tight or rocky trails. Jeep on! --Pete