Pete M

I like the idea of a dolly that slaps into the receiver :thumbsup: .

I take pretty much everything with me, but leave it in the van (some items like the floor jack are in the van 24/7 anyways); including the cordless drill and sawzall, full set of wrenches and sockets, my regular toolbag, crowbars, big hammer, etc. Essentially I triple the value of my van. For walking in the yard I grab my leatherman, #2 phillips, med flat head, torx multitool, and small adj crescent. I can get at most small things with that stuff and head back to the van if it's something bigger.

yes, they swap. and you'll gain a rad cap in the process. :thumbsup: you can also swap to the entire open system if you want.

New ball joints are good because bad ones are, well, bad. You don't want one of those failing on you. but professional alignments on our truck tend to be overrated. There's really only one adjustment; toe (and aligning the steering wheel). camber isn't adjustable, caster isn't adjustable (except with the shims at the back of the LCAs, and I doubt most alignment shops will touch those). and the adjustment that is possible, can be done by the owner with a tape measure and a flat piece of pavement. It's been done to great success by shade tree mechanics for ages. :thumbsup:

what oil filter do you have? I assume you checked the oil level?

just so you know, switching to an open system is not a cure-all. if something else is wrong (clogged rad, bad pump, ect) it'll still overheat.

holy gigantic photos batman!!

I'm going through this right now. the cruise switch works backwards of what you'll need. BUT I'm told the later model XJs have a brake switch that fits in the cruise switch spot. that's my plan, I just haven't gotten to a junkyard yet. :thumbsup:

got a multimeter?

do you get 12 volts down to the starter?

junkyard + a DIY carwash. it'll be some work, but ya can't get any cheaper. :thumbsup:

wow! all I got was a pair of running shoes for half off. :doh:

the shakiness could be just about anything up front. the only way to know is to have someone turn the wheel back and forth and check for slop in the steering. then jack up one tire at a time and shake it left-right and up-down to check the balljoints and wheelbearings. could also be bad bushings in the control arms, bad track bar, or even a plain ol' crappy lift job.

did you check the starter relay yet? I'd do that before the starter.

I had a much greater drop in my 88 and it turned out to be a failed brake booster.

yours sounds like a dirty NSS (neutral safety switch)

if the starter was bad, you should still get a click from the starter relay under the hood. sometimes my '90 needs the battery cables and terminals cleaned where they contact each other and then it works great. til the next time. :fs1:

if you can't read the tag, you can use this procedure: -jack up one rear tire, -put trans in neutral, -rotate tire around exactly twice while counting the number of times the driveshaft rotates, - that number is your ratio. 3 and a half times = 3.55/3.54 just over 4 times is 4.10/4.11 if it has a posi in the rear, then jack up both tires and rotate around only once.

you'd need to get perches welded on in the proper MJ location.

if your truck has a 2.5L/4spd, then it already has 3.55 gears. 2.5L/5spds came with 4.10s. you can still buy that jeep, strip it of the sell-able parts, then scrap it. the front suspension and front axle will work under your jeep, you just probably won't be happy with the gearing if you add larger tires. the rear can be sold off and the proper 3" lift parts put on your truck. be wary of cheap jeeps. there is usually a good reason why they are cheap. Be careful about the rusty parts under your MJ. bolts (such as the ones on the sway bar) like to snap off and make a simple swap into a hard swap. Is this your only driver? YJ wrangler front axles are pretty much worthless to you. but their trans and t-case can be made to work. you'll still need parts from a 4wd MJ/XJ though (shift linkage and such). your current trans shifter column needs to be retained. the wranglers are taller.

not that bad with 31" tires. the 5spd version of your trans swaps right in too.

yup, parts trucks are awesome. :D my 88 half-a-jeep has donated plenty of parts to my other 4 and I haven't even used the thing I bought it for yet (remaned 4.0).

it'll drive, but it won't win any races. you can do the lift first and the axles second, but I would prefer to gather all my parts as I can, then do it all at once.

car-part.com can help you find axles in junkyards. search for various years (cause they all are pretty much the same, but sometimes the part number changes for no reason) of cherokees and comanches with the 2.5L and 5spd trans for 4.10 axles. search for XJs with the 4.0 and auto for 3.55 axles. XJ rear axles will need the perches moved, but that's real easy to get done.