dasbulliwagen

Are we sure this is a Venezuelan built vehicle? Ive seen before where a vehicle is assembled or changed somewhere else then is assigned an arbitrary VIN number for local titling purposes. Maybe could you comb over this thing with a fine tooth comb and see if you can find a stamped VIN starting with a "1"? If it did start out as a Toledo built truck there should be some kind of American VIN on it somewhere. Other than all that, like was said, it might be time to contact Chrysler, though in my experience with them, all they will do is the same I can do here at the dealer... run the VIN through their database and have it come up as "NOT FOUND". Which then points you back to Venezuela. You might look up Chrysler Jeep Venezuela and contact them directly with your issue, maybe have a translator with you when you do this in case they no hablo ingles. ( I'm assuming they speak spanish and not portugues ). If you can find an american VIN on it somewhere feel free to PM me and Ill run it through Chrysler for you. Good luck and let us know how this turns out.

There is no Dodge drivetrain that will bolt up. I'm not sure where youre heading with that though. It would take a lot of time and custom fabrication to make any Dodge drivetrain work in your truck other than the 2.5 engine that was offered for a while in the Dakota. And as was said, the 3:55 gearing in your truck won't be very happy to drive. You could source an 8.8 out of an explorer with 4:10 gearing (and rear disc brakes!) You most likely won't find much of anything that will fit that has 4:56 gearing unless you buy new gears and have them installed. I think though that 4:10's would be OK in your application, and the 8.8 would be a fairly easy swap to someone with some welding skills ( though this can be cheaply outsourced ). To find some of the parts you could look on www.car-part.com

I forgot about the power steering question. I started with the same platform as you. 87 2.5 4speed 2wd no power steering. You should have a dummy pulley in the place where your p s pump should go. The 87 has a remote resevior so you'll need a new pump, resevior, high and low pressure lines and the gearbox. This is a good time for an upgrade so research that before getting the gearbox. It will bolt right in with the same hardware and steering shaft. This isn't a hard upgrade to do. My biggest issue was that the resevior is no longer available and I couldn't find one anywhere else so I had to improvise. I think they are available now. That should make for an easy install for you. And it is probably the best upgrade I ever did to my MJ.

The A904 auto is a decent one from the earlier models and has no electronics to worry about hooking up. It is a lighter duty version of the Chrysler TF727 and was used behind slant 6's and small v8's in Chrysler products. If you do a little research there are a couple upgrades you can do to them that are bolt on that improve shifting and durability. I have a 4wd one sitting in one of my parts vehicles that I might use in a future build. Good luck and let us know what you figure out.

I too have seen issues with the wrangler radial. From balance issues to odd wear patterns. These experiences havent been on Jeeps. Mostly Ford Rangers and Mazda B series. There's no way I would use them on a vehicle of mine.

I went to this show today. I was hoping there would be more "modern" Jeep people there, but there were a bunch of sweet Willys Jeeps there, and even a MIghty Mite for sale. Ill go again next year, but won't attempt to sell JK parts to Willys enthusiasts again.

Replaced my radiator last night. I ordered what was advertised as a 2 core rad. It came as a single core but double thickness, which I guess is fine. It installed fine and seems to have helped my overheating issues greatly. The old one seems to have seen better days. The inner passages I could see through the cap seems half plugged up, and it appears to have been slowly leaking. I also added a bottle of water wetter and an 18lb rad cap. It can't hurt! Then I drove today a half hour with a bed full of used JK parts to see if I could sell any to a group of Willys enthusiasts. Needless to say, I didnt sell much. But the truck stayed cool and ran good. Now I just need to make the time to install the park brake cables and speedo cable I bought for it I don't know how many months ago.

Yeah, the NADA classic car pricing guide is ridiculous when it comes to pricing our trucks. I have NO idea where they get their info from. My 87 2.5 2wd is shown to be worth around $7000.00.... if I try to sell it, do you think Ill ever get $7000? NO, and neither will this guy unless he finds just the right idiot to buy it... trouble is those are few and far between nowadays.

Yeah. A little pricey. But the oily thing is fairly normal. You should see mine. You'd really freak out.

Over 352,000 on my 2.5 MJ. 220,000 of that on the current rebuilt Jasper engine. I'm the second owner. The original owner said he replaced the engine and trans at around 130,000 due to oil leaks! When he sold it to me he was talking about doing the same thing to his 150,000 mile XJ. I told him to just fix the leaks. There's probably nothing else wrong with it. People are crazy.

HAHAHAHAHA!

This is coming up this weekend. Looks like the weather should be good too. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Another angle to worry about driving with the front un lifted is caster angle. Sitting like that will put your caster angle close to neutral causing vague steering and increased possibility of death wobble. Just something to keep on the back of your mind.

Maybe you have a vacuum leak causing a lean condition and this higher temp.

Yes I made sure to get the good Hub Centric ones from Spidertrax. Nice good quality stuff. With the wheels and adapters, it put the backspacing to about right at original spec, so shouldnt be any issues. Theres no way I would have used non hub centric ones, not for my baby. Yeah they cost more, but its worth it. I found mine for the same price they list everywhere else, with free shipping and no tax, so right at $200 for the set.

Yes, the older the rating, the higher the zinc content. Too much zinc in the oil of newer cars causes issues with emissions testing. Most diesels don't have this issue, but its starting to go away from their oils too. So keep an eye out for the rating if you care about that sort of stuff. I recently bought 11 gallons of NOS Mopar diesel oil SJ rated to keep for my MJ. That ought to hold me for a while!

Yes. The awesome XJ Wagoneer grille assy. I got that during cash for clunkers. My dealership let us take parts off the trade in vehicles. I got the grille / header assy, the front fenders and front doors (full power), skid plates, XJ Up Country sway bar, another full set of lace wheels with good 235's. The poor Waggy I got the parts from was an 86 Limited, and it was spotless. A real shame that it was turned in for that. i should have taken more off of it, but I felt I was pushing it getting what I got.

If it is a FRONT bumper, then yes, it will bolt up just the same as on the Cherokee.

It has 4:10's in it I transfered over from my 86 donor. A little more gear would be good, but I don't off road (yet) so I can live with it the way it is.

With the standard lug nuts, if you pry the stainless cap off, you probably would have has the right clearance for your center cap, that and with the caps off the nut is perfect for an 18mm socket.

The way it sits it has about 1 1/2" over stock 2wd, or about a half inch over stock 4wd. When I did the 4wd conv I added stock 4wd springs and an extra isolator, the rear got longer shackles. I had to trim the bottom edges of the flares in the front, and still have minor rubbing, but only while turning in reverse. I used the Spidertrax adapters. Between the new take-offs and the adapters, I have $400 wrapped up in swapping to the JK's.

Cool. Could you give some more details on the front Mazda bumper? And we love pictures, the more the merrier.

I finally put my comancheclub decal on. Ive only had it for a year or two now. And also this is the first time youll be seeing the JK takeoff wheels on my truck. They ride good, but at 32 inches they have affected power a little. Its still fine around town, but I rarely see fifth gear. Ill be updating my build thread soon too.

The stock rad cap on my 87 2.5 is a 13lb. I see that they make a 14 lb one for "racing" applications as well, which was what was on it before I replaced it with a new one recently. I never realized how relatively low the pressures were on these. Ive never seen one lower than 16lb before now. Do any of you think it would be an issue for me to go to a 16lb cap when I get my new radiator? I know raising the internal pressure also raises the coolant boiling point, and the higher the better would be my thinking, at least to a point. Do the Renix 4.0's have a 16lb stock cap? I'm thinking if a 4.0 can run one a 2.5 should be fine. What are your thoughts?

I hope the weather holds out for the Siler City meet. I need to get a new radiator in the truck before I come over though. Ive been having some overheating issues that I can't track down. A new rad seems like the next logical step. I got my comancheclub sticker installed in my rear window and Ive been meaning to get some pics posted. I keep forgetting to take some. Ill do it real soon. Ive been getting a list together of what I can bring to sell. Hopefully Ill make enough to pay for the rad and a WJ booster/MC assy. See you guys there.