Pete M

take lots and lots of pictures as you remove each part from the XJ. pics are free and can be absolutely invaluable later on. :thumbsup: I also suggest a factory shop manual (digital copy) combined with a chiltons or haynes. each book has it's strong points and some explain certain things better than the others.

I totally understand. I had a home and decent life in michigan but then my sis and her family moved to georgia, then my parents and grandparents followed. so I gave up the house, simplified my life and kinda live in both states at the same time. Now if I was healthy enough to hold down a regular job, I'd probably have to choose Georgia because my little nephews are pretty darn awesome. :yes: bottom line is that if you can't find employment where you are, ya gotta go somewhere and being near your family in CO sounds like a decent choice. :thumbsup: you'll have a good chunk of cash after your house sells and will be far, far from the land of salty roads. :D Just be sure to buy a place that has enough land to store all the rust-free jeeps you'll be finding. . :MJ 1: .

but a new carrier requires a new setup procedure, which is not cheap.

tis true. but also is a relative statement. the rest of an 8.8 is very strong. The 8.8 carrier is still much stronger than a dana 35 carrier and people still lock that up. plus keep in mind that the 8.8 is typically found behind v8s and under fullsize trucks. I wouldn't worry about it unless rock bouncing is in your future. :thumbsup:

check this out for adding fog lights: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f140/how-2005-2009-grand-cherokee-wk-fog-light-install-867728/

because you can drop a 300 buck locker into an open carrier. you can't do that with a LS carrier. :thumbsup:

yup. need more info.

personally I would go with the open and drop in a locker. all depends on what sort of driving the jeep will see.

it's still a dana 35 and has weak shafts, weak tubes and a weak everything else. It's better to invest in an upgrade. :thumbsup:

found bits of my 90's. :( nada on the other MJs I've owned.

KJ (02-07 Liberty) WK (05-10 grand cherokee)

glad to hear it was something simple. :thumbsup:

pinch welds are a way for manufacturers to join sheetmetal. the ones you are referring to are in the wheelwell and common among lots of unibody Jeep lines. the fix is usually to make little cuts and then fold over the pinch seam so it can't cut into oversize tires.

that's what the Pub is for! :D I'll swap your post into its own thread for ya. :thumbsup: what sorts of upgrades are you thinking about? suspension? bolt-ons like bumpers? superchargers? what?

yeah, they are pretty much just paying you to drop off your Jeep for a bit. :banana: and some people get a free hitch! :banana: :banana:

you might have a bubble stuck inside your engine near the coolant temp sensor. try this bleeding procedure: -make sure the coolant sensor at the top-back of the engine turns easily -point the truck downhill (or jack up the rear end and put it on stands, back the rear end up on a curb, etc) -make sure the engine is cool so there's no chance of spraying hot coolant all over. -turn on the truck and let it run for a moment to build up pressure. -turn it off and bleed out any air you can by slowly unscrewing the temp sensor (trying not to let to unscrew all the way) -repeat until no more air escapes. :thumbsup:

the pivot hole on the bracket on the transmission needs to line up with the pivot hole on the body side bracket. the clocking of the t-case won't help or hurt that. I made mine out of some steel after I noticed that 2 threaded holes lined up perfectly with where the imaginary pivot hole should be.

that's quite a lot of sheetmetal work just to avoid a little bit of money. :dunno: remember, it's not like we are completely devoid of both stock and lifted options. they simply cost a little more than other rigs' parts because our trucks are rarer and the market share is smaller.

1-1/4 will do well against trees, and it'll certainly help in the event of a rollover of you created a whole cage, but you won't have roll-down-the-grand-canyon levels of strength. It's exactly what I'm intending to use on my uncle's XJ for tree protection. don't forget that your frame is just sheetmetal and you'll need to create tie-in plates to spread out the loads. and the plates can't have any sharp corners either or it'll create stress points and defeat the whole purpose. :thumbsup: .

I think you have the wrong transmission-side bracket for the t-case linkage. you need one from an XJ/MJ. :thumbsup: need more closeups of the steering and front suspension.

design ideas? or attachment pointers? what exactly are you looking for?

has it really been that long? :eek: guess we missed CC's 10 year anniversary by a few months. :doh:

he hasn't been on CC since july 26 and isn't responding to emails or messages. :dunno:

the 44 came in packages, but could also be ordered separately apparently. Basically, if you walked into a jeep dealership looking to buy an MJ, they would throw whatever you wanted at it. :D

assuming nothing is slipping in the transmission, the engine rpms will be directly linked to the tire rpms. I don't think there's anything wrong with your engine. might be that your tachometer is off though. and yes, it WILL feel underpowered if you're pushing 31 inch tires with the stock 3.07 gears. the cure is a gearing upgrade. :thumbsup: