Pete M

I've used this method on other vehicles: run to the store and get a pack of little wooden wedges. get a hammer and pound in the wedges to pry back the passengers door enough to get a coat hanger in. curl the hanger end so you can grab the pull handle inside and yank on it. a rubber band on the end works great for rides that have the little pop-up thingie. if all else fails, use the hammer to break the passenger side little triangle window. they are the easiest/cheapest to replace. and then get a copy of the door key made so this never happens again. :thumbsup:

definitely a possibility. :D though I might need a leaf blower...

ooooo.... tough call. Harlan would probably work out better for the meet, but I've always wanted to see Tellico.

a quick and dirty way to estimate the ratio is to jack up one tire, put the trans or tcase in neutral, and then turn the lifted tire around 2 full revolutions while counting the number of times the driveshaft spins. if the shaft spins around 3 and a half times, that would indicate 3.55 gears. a bit over 4 times would be 4.10 gears, etc. if the axle has a posi or locker then you'd have to jack up both tires and rotate one of them around once (which assumes the other tire is also rotating around the same amount).

the easiest is to yank out EVERYTHING and swap over EVERYTHING from the donor MJ/XJ. there is no reason to keep ANYTHING from your truck and then try to splice into it (except maybe the rear harness depending on what the donor rig is). as to the firewall, a big hammer should take care if it if you don't have a late year truck that already has the bump-out in it. we're only talking about a small bit that's in the way.

essentially you will need EVERYTHING. gut your truck down to an empty shell and swap it all over from a donor. from driveshafts to fuel pump to dash wiring to exhaust. you get to keep your axles and um... seats... and doors... ummmm..... and headlights... a 3.4L will go in with MUCH less effort. you can keep your trans, your exhaust, you front shell, etc. and you can even swap in fuel injection from the donor camaro pretty easily (it's a stand-alone harness unlike our spaghetti mess)

impressive!

yesh, i'm totally envious. :D but I don't want Alec feeling left out sooo... I picked this up the other day. It's an older model but is in better shape than Zayne's was. It's even got doors and push button shifting! fancy!

no need. I'm positive it's yellow because that was the one that was disconnected. :D seems a previous owner installed a new ignition switch and hacked up the harness in the process. the yellow wire simply popped out of a butt connector. good as new(-ish). :thumbsup:

:doh: duh. didn't even think of that. If I remember right, I'm checking for power at the yellow wire with the key turned.

I can get it to start by bypassing the starter relay so the battery is good, starter is good and it does run. the dash lights dim when I turn to start. swapping starter relays didn't fix anything. tried bypassing the nss as I had seen online but with no luck. even unplugged the screwy aftermarket radio with no change. is a 96 new enough to have some sort of disabler? it's been sitting a while with no battery in it, but it's not the first time that's happened and it's never done this before.

I hadn't even considered that there might be junkyards near you. just might have to add that to the itinerary for the trip out to the coast. :D

you can easily lock out high speed and reverse with a single screw and then bring them into play later once they've mastered driving around at 2.5 mph. :thumbsup: and they are impossible to tip by a small child. they don't have the power to exceed any tipping point and they weigh a surprising amount for a chunk of plastic. on a side note, he took his brother for a spin yesterday. . :MJ 1: . I'm told photos are on their way.

the 2.5L/auto combo was cancelled long before 97.

car-part.com might be of help :thumbsup:

bump

no problemo :thumbsup:

You definitely need a longer track bar at 4.5" of lift. any brand will do. :thumbsup: notice that your front axle isn't centered side to side and one tire sticks out a bit more than the other.

t-case drops are not for the front, they are all about the back, specifically the angles of the ujoints in the rear shaft. XJs and wranglers have short wheelbases and the angles of their rear shafts as you go up are severe enough to sometimes cause vibration. MJs have a foot more wheelbase than a cherokee and so the angles are much less and vibrations are rare. It is unnecessary. :thumbsup:

you don't even need one t-case drop kit. sell both. :D

if you're still having difficulty, you can send the image to me and I'll take care of the rest. :thumbsup: comancheclub@hotmail.com

:thumbsup: you are most welcome! that's what we're here for. (well, that and to feed our own MJ obsessions :yes: )

yup. a 98 could have had an earlier 8.25 swapped in to replace a blown dana 35. all 97+ 8.25s will be 29 spline, but not all 97+ XJs had an 8.25.