87Warrior

I read the above article yesterday. Today I was cruising past the local salvage "junk" yard and noticed a Black 1967, SS (badged), Camaro sitting behind the fence. All I could think was, no way would I want to see that car sold to the govt and destroyed for a mere $4500. Its worth at least that sitting in the yard. In any case, this will never do a damn thing for the economy. The folks who are driving the 1990 Taurus that burns oil and leaks tranny fluid do not want higher property taxes, higher insurance rates, or that extra monthly payment. The leaders of the obamanation do not think through much. Makes me sick. :smart:

I have never personally dealt with them. I do have their front and rear bumpers on my TJ. At the time, they were the only company that had integrated 2" receivers that were Tow Rated. Through miss-labeled boxes, a series of returns, my initial purchase of a rear bumper, through Q-tec, ended up including a front bumper at no charge. When dealing with companies that fail to return calls, I just hound them. If you are a member of jeepforum, I believe "jerry" knows the guy that runs Olympic. I had a Dead on arrival EPi9.0 from Superwinch. After not getting anywhere with the customer service, I posted on another forum for help. Turns out one of the members knew the owner of Superwinch. The following day a complete winch assembly was overnighted to me with a prepaid return box for the old winch. Keep at it. Somebody has to be able to help you out. If not, keep at Q-tec and you may eventually get the right parts.

June 17, 2009 (see below post for images!!!) BED IS HOME FROM THE PAINT SHOP!!!! Got a call this morning that a red comanche bed was taking up space in the paint booth. The inside of the bed was not painted, just had the factory paint pulled off. I am going to use the UPol-Raptor spray in bed liner for this. The UV protection is primarily why I am going with it. Time to get the rear frame cleaned up, POR15'ed, and get the bumper installed Tailgate sitting in the house. Waiting to get the J E E P stickers on the back. The D44 is almost ready for POR15. Also received serviceable Spicer U-Joints/ straps today. The collection of XJ body parts collecting dust and grime in the corner. Finally getting the missing antenna wire/mount. Then I will work on getting this sheet metal installed. After the 97+XJ sheet metal is installed, the truck will go to the body shop and get the floor pans, rockers, and cab corners replaced then shot with more shiny paint

Man, thats one nice truck you have The exhaust certainly sounded better than the "Comanche with Stacks". A little louder than I like the 4.0. Sounded crisp though, that is good.

Got the STT's on my Rubicon. Absolutely love 'em! It never ceases to amaze me how much of a difference wheels and tires make on a vehicle.

I have the same battery in my TJ. It has been in for just over a year, but did not hesitate starting my TJ during -14 degree morning or had any issue with a few hard pulls from the Superwinch EPI9.0. It also runs my Viair compressor with out the engine running perfectly. I purchased this battery to replace the factory 5 year old battery. Optima was on my list, but was nixed because of many complaints from folks in the last few years. In reading archived postings from Jeep Forums, you can plainly see more and more complaints about the Optima batteries were reported within the last 3 years than the years prior.

I finally bought a 44 and have been busy cleaning it up and getting the brake lines off with out stripping out anything. I need to paint the axle. So far I have been spending my evenings with a wire brush taking off the year of rust, crust, and grease. Now that it is getting down to bare metal, I need to decide on paint for this thing. I am not looking for show quality suggestions, simply tough paint that will keep the 44 in good shape. I have thought about POR15, Rustoleum "Hammered", and Tractor paint. On to the the install: I have the LWB d44 driveshaft. What U-Joints would you recommend? I have the Tom Wood Gold Seal Joints on my Rubicon and have had good luck with them. What 'series' of joint with the MJ D44 shaft require? http://www.4xshaft.com/GoldSeal.html U-Bolts and Spring Plates: I have read this forum posting several times for reference: What stores carry U-Bolts In reading that, I am unsure of what to do about the spring plates. I am staying in stock configuration with the stock leafs. Will my D35 spring plates work with the D44 or will I need to purchase D44 specific plates? If the two plates are different, what makes them unique? Brakes: The axle has the factory drums still installed. I need to replace these brake lines. I have read through several postings about replacing the hard lines on the vehicle, not much about the axle end. Will the lines from the D35 work on the D44? I know their lengths are different because of the axle vent location, but can they be swapped. My D35 lines are in very good condition with no rust. Thanks for the help!

Sad but true. :rotf:

The local Jeep dealers have NO NEW JEEPS on the lots. Three days ago there were around 15JK's and some of the others. These are also all loosing their Jeep dealership. Sad news. No more Jeep Jamboree every year that had been a huge event since the early 80's. Nearest dealer is at least an hours drive. At this point I do not have much attachment to what happens to the Jeep vehicles. After all, I have the two Jeeps I need... and they don't even produce parts of the MJ any more. The future will be interesting that is for sure. Lets just hold on to our hats and hope for the best.

Since I have not needed to buy MJ specific after market parts, I have continued to shop with Jason and David. Awesome customer service. :banana:

Gah, I had terrible luck with the RE SF Arms and would suggest replacing them ASAP. The rubber bushings would crack and cause weird drive line problems every 3-6 months. Been running the JKS arms on my rubi for 2 years with no issues. Not a bad looking XJ there. $400 is not bad either!

It has been awhile since my last update! I have acquired a bed, wheels, some "beef" for the rear end. March 29, 2009 I picked up a new RUST FREE bed/tailgate and rocker panels from CC member krochus. It is currently at the paint shop getting dents/waves pulled out. To be painted soon! April 14, 2009 Time for some new wheels. I grabed this set of Moabs locally. Need repainted, but is great shape. I have 3 of the 5 wheels shot with self etching primer. To be painted with duplicolor silver wheel coating. Going to wrap them with Cooper ST (not STT) in a 30" version. May 29, 2009 Well.... I had hoped to get some of the XJ stuff on the truck today, but last night I contacted a guy on craigslist and picked up this 'chunk-o-beef': Yup, a Dana 44 and driveshaft out of a 91 MJ. The guy was going to put it under his YJ a few years back but found a 9inch instead. $200 bones delivered fairly local. Now I need to clean it up and bolt in. Yaaahhhooo, no more ticking time bomb D35! And I realized it has been a while since I have posted eye candy. Current picture of the truck: Now I will be removing the carpet and prepping for new floors to be welded in, taking off the rusted bed and applying POR15, and getting the stock style replacement bumper mounted up. :banana: Glad things are happening to my DD!!!!

Getting pumped for my 11th consecutive year exploring the summer hills of CO. Going back and camping north of Taylor Reservoir. Great pics of the Bridal Veil Falls. Telluride: "To hell, you ride", via Black Bear Pass

Its never a good sign when the truck comes with a parts truck :eek: Welcome to the world of MJ's. Be prepared to spend too much time/money on the truck! At least you found CC, a great group of folks here.

The guy parting a 98 XJ left those light on the header when I picked up the 97+ XJ clip parts. He said they did not work at all. What a bummer.

Hey Gr8, when you are ready to test the truck out off-road, let me know. I am near Junction City, just a short drive up to Tuttle for the best wheelin' in KS :clapping:

Low washer fluid float. Our 93 XJ has the float, my 92 MJ only has the plug. Both windshield washers fluid tanks were assembled in 92. Looks Like another XJ mod I need to do 8)

As I understand it, if your AW4 has not been regularly flushed throughout its life, a flush will do it in. The MJ is my first automatic so I read a lot when I picked it up in Feb. At 185K on my truck, I was strongly suggested to NOT FLUSH. Luckily the AW4 has a drain plug. I simply drained the fluid and replaced it with fresh stuff while the tranny was hot. I am going to replace the fluid again to get an almost complete fluid change (several quarts stay in the converter when you drain the fluid). If you drop the pan to change the filter, you must pull it straight down as to not mess up the dip stick tube. During my research attempt to understand the AW4, I also found that about 50% of folks suggest not changing the filter and messing with the dipstick tube as the stock AW4 filter is nothing more than a mesh screen.

Have always named vehicles in my family... Past Jeep names: '90 YJ, "Christine", After the horror novel by Stephen King/Movie in the mid '80s, an old Plymouth (IIRC) is alive... The Jeep responded to encouragement. '00 TJ, "Joe Black", The Jeep was black Past family vehicle names: '03 H2, "Tank", I think it is obvious why..... '92 Chevy Truck, "WTT", White Trash Truck, paint peeling off the entire thing and went through a few trannys. My current Jeeps: 03' TJ, "Ruby", It's a Rubicon. '92 MJ, "Rusty", Its a Comanche, what did you expect? Although it may stick after the restoration/save.

This is similar to the stuff I bought from Autozone: Image Not Found They had a shelf full of the stuff. From what I read on the XJ forums (an AW4 is an AW4 no matter mj/xj), this is the type of stuff that is highly recommended for a fluid change, NOT A FLUSH. A flush on a high mileage AW4 will kill it if not done regularly.

On TJ Rubi D44's... Yes. Not sure about the JK.

Have a "Comanche Street" in Junction City, KS. There is also a "Jeep Road" near Abilene, KS. I know that there are always crimestopper ads on the radio about "jeep road sign theft". Been tempted.... but never done it. Not a bad place you have there. Have you found those plates or bought them?

Moab Any sort of Midwest wheeling trip will require driving from everybody... just not that many places to wheel out here!

I am trying to more or less restore my truck as my DD. I want a HIGH QUALITY paint job. My truck has entered the painting process. I anticipate it to be around 3k when done. The bed is at the shop now. I speculate it is about done. I will be getting 98 XJ Clip and doors painted when it comes time to do the rest of the truck. New cab corners will be welded in as will new rockers. I am getting it painted by a local guy who has been around for many years. He painted my fathers 66 chevy show truck back in the day and has done other work for us. With that said, I would never go to a 'chain' paint shop. Stay local and ask around about quality.

:fs1: Went to offer the guy cash for the truck today and he had sold it a few hours before. Grrrr. These trucks are darn near impossible to find around here! Maybe next time. Thanks for the 'how to's' for the D44 swap. Its only a matter of time ;)