Pete M

did you rotate the whats-it to the right orientation before tightening the bolt down? not sure what to call it, but it holds the gear shaft and has various tooth counts on it and rotates to keep the teeth engaged.

the ECMs in MJs are fairly robust and failures are uncommon. a more likely culprit is the ignition switch.

yup. I get emails. and speaking of getting things, thanks to the discount my dad and I will be getting this bad boy soon. (early joint b-day gift from my mom)

yes. yes you should.

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haha, yeah that became obvious once I opened it up but, hey, gift horses and all that. The liberty is more utility than toy when it comes to winch use anyways so it should be fine for now.

to go along with my new winch (a 5k mounted on the Liberty) I got a snatch block and tree saver for christmas. technically the tree saver is a $22 lifting strap (3" wide, 4' long), but it's rated for 33k so I feel it'll do the job. so my recovery bag now contains: 3"x30' yank strap 4' tree saver (I'd get a 6' if I do it again) snatch block remote for winch various clevises clevis adapter for hitch thick leather gloves spare hook spare hitch pin 14' logger chain (not actually in the bag since it has a specific home in the Libby) I carry a crap-ton of other things that are always in the Jeep with my other tools (safety glasses, hammer, shovel, a weight for the winch line, etc), this bag represents things that are only used for recovery and winch stuff. next step is to flesh out the bumper and move the lights.

yeah, it's probably time to replace some of the old parts.

If I remember right from a previous thread, one key concern was oiling inside the t-case. aka, if the engine powers everything, the oil is picked up and flung around like normal, but if the rear driveshaft powers things from the towing, then maybe not.

just a long shot, but is there any binding/bowing in the coils? with no track bar and no steering installed, the body shouldn't pull to one side. plus double check all your suspension alignment measurements.

most likely. the ones in the driveshaft are probably originals. try grabbing the driveshaft and checking for play. 60mph vibs are usually tires. you can rotate them to see if anything changes.

trim level mostly just means it has a few more things standard. but even then a base model could be ordered with all sorts of things that are standard on a higher level truck.

Mine grenaded itself while simply tooling down the highway in rushhour traffic. wasn't even shifting at the time. just a loud BANG then a cloud of smoke and a challenging drive home. (it appeared that 5th gear somehow separated itself from the pack and blew a hole out the side of the case resulting in a quick loss of oil). but in its defense, it last over 180k miles before that happened and it did get me the 30 miles home. (I was stuck in 3rd for the last 10 and the screeching was painfully loud ) it made me a bit gun-shy but would I skip buying a truck that had one? no. would I immediately swap one out that was doing fine? no. would I plan for the future and start hunting down an AX-15? yes. (got a TJ ax-15 in her now)

I would run a compression and leakdown check before jumping to the assumption that the engine is bad. these things run forever if cared for.

what's the benefit of the stainless?

do you mean "closed to open"?

I have no idea how it compares to an XJ in length, mounting, flares, or anything. I used a stock Dakota line. plenty longer than stock MJ. other guys have used other fullsize trucks' lines.

without the smoke? what did you change?

please elaborate... junkyard engine? was anything internal changed?

under what search terms?

yeah, the wire colors changed over the years. but a multimeter should be able to tell you which is which.

1: can't say for sure since I haven't seen the work. it's possible that a later block was put in and adapted to the Renix electronics/wiring and that's what they're talking about. It's a fairly common swap. pics would help. I would find the computer and see what's stamped on it. 2: most everything got better with time. the later horseshoe intakes flow air better than the 80s stuff. 3: a complete XJ donor. most everything will need to be changed. the 2 systems are very similar in overall design, but they share very little in parts and wires.

are you asking about what it would take to convert your stock renix Jeep to an HO? or what it takes to swap an AW4 into a stickshft Jeep?

love the look! just be careful with the XJ shackles if the truck is up on a lift. if a shackle is too short, there is the possibility of it inverting and going the wrong direction.