FrankTheDog

I've done two large foolish hauls with my 98 XJ. First one daughters boyfriends Volkswagen camper van broke down in Knoxville. I had no clue how much they weighed, (4200 lbs). Uhaul wouldn't rent a dolly so I went to a music store that also had uhaul dollys and told him I'd be pulling a 1980 golf. Luckily I had 4.10 gears so it pulled it ok but I didn't go over 50 all the way back to CT. I didn't learn the first time and went to Virginia to pull back a MJ. It was a lot lighter because there was no drivetrain in it. Trouble with no drivetrain is that there is no weight on the front end and it death wobbled at any speed over 40 mph so an 8 hour trip turned into 14 up I95. My advice? Haul with a real truck.

Posting error.

I have 184k on a luk oem repset in my 98 XJ. I've used it for towing and I was without first gear for 60k. Clutch still works flawlessly. The original owner replaced the original with a centerforce. It was very stiff and didn't seem to work correctly. I replaced it with the luk at 214k and it's in there now at 395k.

If he has the stock shafts in his, those u joints won't work. He'll need the spicer 260 u joint.

Eagle is right, get to low of rpm and it turns into a dog. My 5 speed XJ with 4.10's got 21 mpg with 265/75/16 tires running at 80 MPH from CT to Tennesee. It was spinning around 2500 or more the whole way.

I'm running 16x8's with 4.5" back spacing with 265/75/16's with a 4.5 RE lift. I've been very happy with the fitment of everything. The tires tuck in nice under the flares. There are a lot of load range E tires on craigslist for mostly street tires. I paid $80 for my first set and got the second set for free from my brother. Both BFG's.

4.10's and 32" with a stick. We get 18-19 mixed driving with our 98 XJ. On a trip to Tennessee I got 22 mpg all interstate at 70+ mph. This was with 3.5 lift, 4.10's and 265/75/16 BFG Rugged Terrains. On the way back I got 15 pulling a 1982 VW camper bus. I wish I knew that they weighed 4300 lbs before I went down there. I'd still go 4.10's with an auto too. Stock your running a 28" tire with 3.55's. With 33's I'd go with 4.56's.

Seeing how my gas gauge and low fuel light are so inaccurate I use the trip meter and calculate my mileage and I get between 18.5 general driving around and up to 22 on trips. Trying to guess how far you can go by your gas gauge is foolish. With our XJ's we refuel at 300 miles and with the MJ it's around 380-400. XJ's have 20 gallon tanks. My MJ has 23.5. Quite simple really.

My light comes on around 280 mile or so. I get between 450 and 480 a tank.

Luk gold clutch for the win. The clutch I have in my 98 XJ has 175k on it. It has, towed an 82 vw camper bus from Knoxville TN to Winsted CT. 4300 lbs plus dolly. Not recommended. Towed an 89 MJ from Dale City VA to CT. It was also subjected to 50k of second gear starts because the old tranny wouldn't stay in first gear. The clutch it replaced was a centerforce with a 100k on it that the po installed at 115k so I think he was harder on clutches than we are. The clutch still works great enough that I left it in when I changed transmissions. I'll keep running it until it starts slipping. Oh, it came out of a wreck that the guy I got it from said it had 1,000 miles on it.

For an 89 you'll want an XJ that was built between 1/89 and 5 or so 90. That'll keep you with the renix operating system and give you the AX15 with 23 spline output if you have a 5 speed. If you get a 1990 model year that'll get you the later 1990-98 brakes. If it is a standard you can use any year past 1989 to 2001 for just the transmission and transfer case parts along with the front axle and front driveshaft. But, most of all, search, for this subject comes up at least once a week and all your questions have been answered at least a hundred times. Don't make us do all the work of typing and answering questions when with a little effort you can have all your ?'s answered and I can enjoy my vacation. :smart:

Out of all the vehicles I've owned, the 91-98 XJ-MJ are the least troublesome I've ever had and the easyist to fix. It's mostly alternator, water pump and starter changes. In over a half million miles I've replaced two fuel pumps and that wasn't even the problem it turned out. I'm going to be driving these as long as I can get them. I'll throw in the 91-98 wranglers in there too.

You're better off using GL-3 in both. That way you won't be eating up the syncros. GL-5 wears out the brass syncros faster.

No, 91-98 are pretty much the same as far as mounting points on the block. Some 99's are compatible if they still have a distributor, not sure if they are if it has coil packs. Just use what ever year operating system your chassis has and bolt it on the engine. You can use the later intake with the nicer power steering adjuster too. Just realize that the belt is routed different.

90 and 91 have different wiring harness connectors I believe also. I'll have to look at my 87 and 94.

Yes, I did the reverse in a ZJ. Put a 97 motor in a 94 with all the 94 sensors and brackets on it.

Go with Novak Adapters mounts. Novak-adapt.com

I just bought a 96 XJ with 221k on it and 5 years ago I bought my wife's 98 XJ with 206k from the original owner. My 96 runs great and I expect to get another couple 100k out of the engine. Hers has 381k on it now and it's her dd. We'd drive it to California right now with no worries. For $600, how can you go wrong. Even if you only drive it for a year it'll still be worth nearly $300 as scrap. Beats making new car payments. I wouldn't bother rebuilding a 4.0 HO yet. Still to many out there for cheap. I just paid $100 for my 96 and I expect to get a couple years out of it still.

Please follow the For Sale/Wanted rules by posting a location please. It'll save a lot of aggravation. It would be even better if you just put it in your profile so we can see it.

I'm in New England, to far away from Shrevepart Louisiana.

What's your location? What gear ratio are you looking for?

I have one.

Built around November-December.

If your stuck on putting a V8 in it, the 5.3 LS GM motors are quite common. Go to Novak-Adapt.com and do some research there. They have all the XJ/MJ specific parts that you would need to install it. You can pick up the 5.3's for under a grand. I believe you can come pretty close to getting an LS into an MJ for not much or any more than stroking a 4.0. 5.3 LS's start at 300 or so HP and go up from there if you want to put a 5.7 or 6.0 LS in it. That's what I'd like to do with my 89 long bed. LQ9 with an AX15 and a NP242. With 3.55 or 4.10 gears and posi's front and rear and 31's it would really move out.

They are, I've seen them. He's a decent guy too.