Pete M

welcome to the addiction! . :MJ 1: .

does pumping the clutch pedal twice change anything?

all I need is a couch and that view :D nice!

factory leafs taper to be thinner at the ends. yours looks like someone ordered some custom packs. (ignore the second leaf in that pack. it's a main leaf that I cut and shoved in there)

3+1 for a standard pack. there is a booster leaf visible on the pass side but it's just a clamp-on style and isn't part of the main pack. is it just me, or do the factory overload leafs look bent? in the end, I don't think there's any plus to getting these particular leafs as they look used and abused. :(

or AMC-20 in 86. I see the helper spring, but I also count 4+1 in the main pack. are all the factory leafs' ends the same shape and equally spaced from each other?

our trucks rust from the inside-out, so be prepared that anything you see will be worse on the other side of that steel and probably need a bit bigger patch to fix. :thumbsup: she looks like a great project! . :MJ 1: .

could have been a mouse nest in the duct where the blower resistor is. that thing gets wicked hot. :(

I used a TJ AX-15 mount bracket (came with the TJ trans so I figured I'd try it) and used it to mount to a custom crossmember. raised the trans up a hair I think. The TJ trans clocked up the t-case too and it's reeeeeeal close but doesn't touch the tunnel so all is well. shifter brackets were a combination of custom and oem stuff. here are some random pics that may or may not help with explaining it (taken so long ago they were snapped with film!)

what about just rebuilding yours? I've read it's pretty easy as transmissions go. it might just need new synchros.

Grinding between almost every gear if you don't rev match perfectly. Third gear grinds especially bad and will attempt to slot in without the clutch or rev matching resulting in spectacular grinding. Third gear is becoming harder to find and today the transmission briefly got stuck in third gear for the first time. Extreme clutch chatter because the pilot bearing has been nonexistent for at least the last 30k miles. Which I will assume has destroyed my input shaft/seal. I did a very through trans flush about 15k miles ago. Probably the first one it's ever had, fluid was the most putrid rank vile smelling stuff you can imagine. But no metal. Flushed it twice with motor oil, then filed it up with Redline MT. I give 100% credit to redline for extending the life of the transmission this long and will definitely be using it on my next trans. are you absolutely super duper sure it's not a failing clutch system? I'd hate for you to go through all that effort for a bad slave cylinder.

you have to determine all the ratios before you can make a good decision. :thumbsup: the new axle's ratios could be better! :) (or worse :( ) besides, it's a great idea to pop the covers and inspect the insides before using a used axle. :yes:

replace your axle if: -you need a stronger axle or -the gear ratio doesn't match the front.

what's wrong with the current one?

all depends on how much of a project you want. all of the front suspension components interchange. rear leafs are different though. everything pretty much bolts in, including the engine and wiring and dash and whatnot. please note that the 2.5L/2.8L engines won't just bolt to a 4.0L transmission. in a perfect world, I would find a solid 2.5L 87+ MJ and gut it for all of the components of the XJ. also, welcome to the addiction :thumbsup:

what gears in your axles? the AX-5 is just an AX-4 with overdrive. you don't have to use that 5th gear.

verrrrry nice :D

Did you ever hear back from the new owner? still nope. :(

the hood latch was a single center mount in 86, then a double outer corner moutns in 87. can't for the life of me remember if they can be directly swapped. same size hoods, but the brackets for the hood mounts might be very different. no longer have my 86 to run out and check. :(

fenders are the same across all years of MJ. hoods are all the same length too. minor changes happened to the header panel but as a unit they are swappable. and the 86 MJs are considered Renix era as the 86 4banger is identical to the 87 4banger in the block and the TBI system. 84-85 XJs had a carbed 4banger. the radiator mounts, the hood latches and the dent in the firewall are the only real changes in the engine bay. both were modded to accommodate the 4.0 radiator but the overall engine bay is the same size 84-01

very nice :D some day I'll make one of my own. someday...

fun road!

aw4 came about in 87. before that was a non-overdrive somethin-somethin'.

yes. also don't let it go quite that long. when my 88 was a daily driver it got new oil every 2k. I could feel the power difference with new oil, that's how dirty the oil got. :(