Pete M

yeah, it's of the utmost importance to fix all the leaks before putting new floors and carpet in. otherwise it'll happen again. these are the leaks I found on the 88 I'm helping with. and this is just the pass side firewall. rear window and windshield were also leaking.

perfectly normal. although there are things that can cause it to be even longer (failing CPS signal for example)

I'm sure I've seen that before somewhere, but this truck isn't mine so I'm not keen on slicing it up. it lives in georgia and so I cleaned up and treated the inside and then sprayed flex seal on the inside and deemed it good enough to outlive the truck. up north and with my own truck, I'd probably do more. But the rust is inside the seam, so there's a limit on what can be done. you'll never get it all without tearing apart all the panels (and honestly that would likely do more harm than good)

I went through this recently with a passenger side and the answer is, no, you can't easily reach the other side of the seal. I even pulled the hood so I could pull the hinge and still couldn't get access. there's a stupid piece of metal in there that blocks everything.

not a lot of snow covered mountains in GA, or I'd share my own. but I'm deeply envious of those kinds of adventures.

high pinion CAD-free Dana 30 with the 297 joints is about the best thing out there. need anything more and you might as well step up to a dana 60. though a truss is a great idea if you plan on jumping it.

I swear I've read that the 2.1 survived as an option into part of 87 maybe just export?

not sure I've ever heard someone managing to swap in a high end brand name pump into the assembly.

truth. it's important to have multiple MJs

LS, because it sounds the best

Jeep itself dumped the design from the Cherokees in the early 90s. your Jeep will just be like them. the only real drawback is that if your front driveshaft has warn joints, you'll now notice it at high speeds. (which is actually a good thing since you should be replacing them anyways)

do make sure that you don't clog any of the drain holes in the doors, frame or rockers.

our truck rust from the inside-out. layers on the outside won't prevent the worst stuff.

rule number one is never practice on your truck. practice on other things (junkyard fenders for example) and then move to the truck once you're confident. rule number 2 is proper prep. rule 3 is never paint in the cold or wind. the lows at night must be good enough for the paint because the steel warms up much slower than the ambient air. ummm, lets say rule 4 is using multiple thin, light coats.

spray paint DIY for the (affordable) win

bedliner really only prevents scratches and is harder to repair if real damage occurs.

anything that moves has to move freely. doesn't have to be stuck-stuck to be sticky enough to cause issues.

lube the guides religiously and get new calipers if the old ones are all corroded.

highly recommend running shocks if there aren't any under there currently. they fixed a lot of the lean my trailer was experiencing while turning corners.