dasbulliwagen

....working on my work at work that I should be working on.

Odometer shows 346,000 but PO said he replaced everything at 140,000 with a Jasper engine and trans.... so that makes over 200,000 on the rebuilt unit. After talking with him a while back about his XJ, I get the feeling he only replaced everything before because it was leaking oil.... not because it really needed it. And there was a story linked to here recently about an XJ with overb 600k on it with no internal engine work.... so you never know.

Ever since I converted my truck to P/S, the pump has whined a bit, and today after about 2 years of driving it like that, it finally bit the dust. I put an aftermarket reman pump on it at the time, and it has worked fine, but now looking at prices for them again, I'm wondering if there is anything else that would bolt on in the same place and work as an upgrade, like maybe from a Grand cherokee or whatever or if I should just stick with stock. My truck is an 87 2.5 with serpentine belt system and custom resevior from a Dodge caravan. These pics are from a year or so ago, so sorry no bleeding P/S fluid pics.

Youll need a front end alignment after lifting too, as when you lift with our inverted -Y steering system, it will cause the steering wheel to be off center and cause the wheels to toe in, more lift too will decrease your caster angle as well, so youll need to do something about those soon after lifting to keep from eating up your tires. And making the caster angle right might keep you from getting Death wobble. I know the improper caster angle will not cause DW, but if you have too little, it might get set off easier.

I saw I guy I used to work with do that accidentally with his lifted Samurai. It was freakin hilarious! Didnt help that the guy was kindof an idiot already! Good stuff!

Where you gonna run the muffler?

My 87 2.5 would run like crap like that quite a bit, I did all the stuff you mentioned with tune up, gutted cat, etc..... finally put a new O2 sensor in it and its been great ever since. I think it was like $42 from the dealer.... but that was a few years ago, and at my employee discount. Still shouldnt be much aftermarket. Good luck.

Youre going to miss having a truck to haul crap around with, but a nice xj is a nice xj, especially of its free.

Sounds like youre really getting to the point of knowing what you want.... keep it up, but this sounds like a build thread, and should really be in the projects section. Its easier to follow all the builds over there. Good luck!

So is this the case for all trucks/cars? This is NOT the case for all cars trucks. Some have completely different setups between the two, not that it should make a difference in an alignment.... and don't let them sell you a 4 wheel alignment as the rear end is not adjustable. When they say 4 wheel alignment, it mean that they adjust the rear end adjustments (if it has any) before setting the front end adjustments, this usually pays the tech about 1/2-1 hour more than a 2 wheel or front end only alignment. Our trucks only require a 2 wheel or front end only alignment.... 2wd or 4wd should not make any difference.

Juat run new lines, its too easy not to do it.... easier than getting a different radiator too. Run them across and meet with the original lines and connect them with some hose. They arent very high pressure so a couple of clamps will do the trick.

Your windsheild will pass inspection broken as long as it does not have any cracks that will make the wipers snag on them. And if your cat is there, but just hollowed out, it will pass as well, as there is no way for us to look inside it. Yes parking brakes need to work as well, and have I think at least 1/3 of travel as reserve with the brake on before hitting bottom. You don't need the reverse lights to work to pass either, they don't get inspected.

I'm a NC safety emissions inspector. I'm assuming youre talking about what you will need to get your MJ inspected.... youll need ALL lights to work, except reverse lights, headlights aimed right, youll need all emissions equipment to be in place and APPEAR operational, steering tight, tires need at least 2/32" tread with no cord showing, belts on the engine need to have no cracking, though like was said, it depends on the shop you go to and if you know anyone who could help you out in that area. don't just pop into an inspection station, and expect to get a leinient inspection. We are really wary of first time customers, and unknown vehicles, and if the inspector get scared thinking youre an undercover, you will get the full monty of inspections with no leiniency. Youll have a month or so after you move down before they really want you to get your inspection, so take that time to get to know a good shop, or find someone that is a good customer somewhere that can take you in and they won't go so hard on you if you are a little outside the lines in a couple places. It will be a safety only inspection, but included in that is a tampering inspection where we check to see that all original emissions equipment are still in place. When we do that, the state compares what we see to a database on the vehicle to make sure everything is kosher. If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me or ask whatever here. I live about 1 1/2 hour west of Raliegh. Good luck!

Used it today to haul 1000 lbs of scrap brake rotors and wheels to the scrap yard.... $116.00! 13.5 cents lb for clean scrap.... I still have a full 4x8 trailer stacked with dirty scrap to take in yet. I count this as my fringe benefits from work!

Why? The OEM muffler is not center-in center-out. Mine was :nuts: my dad is the original owner and only replaced the muffler with a stock one... Did your dad replace it himself, or have a shop do it? Some muffler shops will do crap like that to get rid of product and the customer may never know.... doesnt make it right.

The muffler is suppsosed to be center in offset out. I put a Flowmaster 50 series on mine at 2 1/4 inches, and extended the pipe off the back to reach to the original tailpipe... works great, and the 50 series is much mollower than the 40, gives a fairly stock idle sound, but has a nice growl under load.

I don't think "RAT ROD" is the right term here. A rat rod is something very specific, usually pre war, and HIGHLY customized, but with a junked out look, and use of odd and wierd parts. I don't really consider anything post war to qualify.... I just call them BEATERS. And a Comanche peiced together with different colored parts just sounds UGLY! Yeah its great that its being saved, but for the sake of being that way.... not for me. Ive had enough vehicles like that in my life, but they werent rat rods.... just junk. Id love to build a real RAT ROD, but I don't have the time or money to put into something like that to make it right. If I had the time and money, Id have one hell of a nicer Comanche right now, and maybe a rail dunebuggy, or a Porsche 550 Spyder replica, or a Chopped 50 Mercury, or a...........

The explorer front won't work at all, youll need to find a 4cyl, or V6 5speed dana 30 front from a comanche or cherokee, or have your existing one regeared to match the 8.8.

05 and newer Chrysler LX platform wheels fit too.... same bolt pattern, and hub size, and backspacing, and are 17x 7.5 in size. The LX cars are the 300, the Charger, the Magnum and the Challenger. The base wheels are steel with bullet holes, or if you find a police Charger, they came with an 18 inch steel 5 spoke that looks pretty good. Just FYI.... anoter option.

First on the list should be an MJ Dana 44, next would be an MJ M20, after that would be an XJ Dana 44, and after that would be an XJ Chry 8.25, then theres the Ford Explorer 8.8, and then there the Isuzu Dana 44, but it has different bolt patern. All of these are the same width or very close to factory MJ width, and all but the MJ specific axles will need new perches and shock mounts welded on, and parking brakes adapted. Good luck.

In order to make it work, you would have to swap everything over from the 2.5, including all the wiring... dash and engine bay. The radiators are the same between the two, and the trans are the same....like I said the hard part will be all the wiring swap over.... good luck.

If you tell us what trans you have we can probably guess what gears you have. If its a 5 speed you probably already have 4:10, but I'm not sure what gearing they put behind the V6 auto in MJ's. I have an 86 wagoneer parts truck with the v6 and A904 auto, and I have yet to confirm what gears it has, but in some research, Ive found it could be either 4:10 or 3:73.... the 3:73 being very rare early on. I'm hoping for the 4:10's. My 87 got the 4:10 set of axles out of my 86 MJ and will soon get its 5 speed trans also. And I'm hoping to use all the guts from the 86 waggy to re do the 86 MJ as it has the auto and the full time transfer case, though it is the less desireable one... NP 228. A 3.4 swap would be perfect in that. Maybe someday.

Most people who have problems with ther CCV system either replace the whole system lines and all, or get a late model valve cover and its CCV system and that usually takes care of it. It doesnt necessarilly mean you have bad rings. And I think you would only have a valve issue with no exhaust if you were running it with no exhaust manifold, and I'm sure youre not doing that.... most likely fell off after the converter.... right? That will not be an issue for you.

One thing Ive noticed with this issue, is with the alignment. I had this issue for a little while, replaced all the steering parts, to no avail. Did an alignment on it and made sure I did the caster angle too, and I havent seen it since. If you have too little caster, DW will be more likely to happen because it would be easier for it at less of an angle, and if it goes into negative number then you get the grocery cart woobity wheel syndrome..... same principle as DW. And most alignment shops won't mess with the caster on our trucks, especially if it needs special shims, like my 87 did. Adjustable contol arms would give this adjustment, but if youre mostly stock like I am, theres really no need for them. And I agree that wheel balance doesnt cause DW, but an unbalanced wheel at just the right speed will cause DW to start under the right conditions. The wheel balance didnt cause it, the worn or loose parts casue it but wheel unbalance puts it into motion. Sometimes fixing one part will get it to go away, because maybe that part was the worst worn, or maybe balancing your tires will cause it to go away because they no longer set the DW off. It has to be the right combination to set it off or get it to go away. Thats all there is to it.

True, but how much of that stuff will still be working in 40-45 years? Even by modern standards simple can be > complicated. Very valid point I agree too about the electronics lasting that long. Look at the eighties Caddies... none of the crap in them works anymore, and even the higher model ZJ's are feeling the electronics pain. And I'm suprised every day that the old RENIX stuff we have is still soldiering on like it does. I can't imagine that some of the stuff we have today will hold up that long, and with soooooo many different systems out there in all cars, is there really going to be anyone out there supplying replacement controllers for all the things they put in there? I really don't see it happeneing. The factories design and build cars nowadays to have a 10 year life span, they don't give a crap what happens after that, and relly don't want them to last any longer than taht.... this makes people buy more new cars! There is something to be said for simplicity, but I really don't think we will ever see it again on any modern automobile.