Pete M

only one jeep on my desktop these days. :D

full cluster and appropriate sensors are in. :D and guess who found some XJ Waggy taillights. :banana: with old ones for comparison:

compared to narrowing an axle?

I've have a couple friends who once owned Zx2s. I hate zx2s. I hate fixing them. hate everything about them. They rust in such horrible ways.

x2 :bowdown:

bushwacker flares cover them quite nicely. :D but laws and cop attitudes vary wildly by location so caution is understandable.

all I need is a name/address and they are on their way. :D

thanks :D

I've forgotten, which coolant temp sensor is it that feeds the gauges?

now featuring a complete set of glass :D tinted no less. it came from the only XJ in the yard (of maybe 10) that had manual windows. and yes, I swapped in the matching set on the drivers door.

the doors now open! I repeat, ALL FIVE DOORS NOW OPEN!!!! :banana: some not-so-gentle persuasion with a 10 lb sledge hammer was the trick. :D closing is another matter. the rear takes quite a manly shove to get it to latch. I'll have some pics once the rain cloud moves on by and I get the new glass installed.

quite the opposite. automatics are a bandaid that lets you get by with less gearing (numerically lower). Manuals need more gearing so they don't fry the clutch as easily when starting from a stop. I really hate those charts. way too complicated and you start with the numbers that Jeep supplied from the factory (which SUCK). This is mine for when you're paying for gear installs (aka: spending insane amounts of money): got a 2.5? 4.56 for 30/31s, 4.88 after that got a 4.0? 4.10s for 30/31s, 4.56 fr 31s to 35s, 4.88s for 35+ these rules change if you're grabbing axles from the junkyard with gears already in them (aka: doing this on the cheap) since 4.10s are the most common deep gear for axles that are easy to swap in.

emotions aside, it just doesn't make any sense to drag a couple of "northern", TLC-needin' trucks 750 miles down to a location where I could buy the rust-free versions of them. w what I do know is the D44 is coming with me. :D

I've got 4.10s in the 88 (4.0/stick) and I'd kill for some 4.56s. the driving is certainly better with my 31s than my 33s, but I'd never pay for 4.10s. that was the ratio that was already in the ford axles. If I was paying all that money for a re-gear, I'd go no less than 4.56. Some pathfinders/rodeos came with 4.30 gears and tires that were way less than 31". Heck, my Dakota has 3.92 gears and the tires are only like 28" tall. It's a myth that Jeeps struggle on the freeway with gears that are just a bit deeper than stock.

why narrow it? I'm running full width fords and it's not a big deal :thumbsup:

quite the opposite. my brain has been trying its hardest to avoid it all together. :( It's tough contemplating giving up part of the flock.

the 88, the R/T, and the empty MJ that's already in georgia.

also I need some dang free time

chaos

it will be, mr smarty pants. :D still working out how I want to begin such a mass migration of threads.

passenger side door handle has been pried back out of the window's space (used a come-along). now I just need a new chunk o' glass. :D

there's no way I'd pay that much for flawed seats just to get the mounts. especially since an MJ bench has the same floor mounts as the MJ buckets. perfect seats, yes.

plate is on. she's mine all mine now. :D

I appreciate it. :D but I should be fine. there's a pullapart near me for glass and I've got a spare trackbar. I've got no intention of replacing the doors, though I would like to try and pry them open. I eventually got my van's door to open after someone did a hit-n-run one morning. fingers crossed! 96 should have R-134, yes?

the b-pillar is definitely knackered. the doors don't open at the moment. the 96 XJs have the 97+ XJs floor design so the seat undercarriage is a bit a different. You planning on moving to Georgia for good? maybe. maybe not. It's hard being an uncle from 750 miles away. :( I have a feeling I'll still be living in both states, just more there than here.