87Warrior

I think you made one heck of a find!

Nope. The JCR receiver has a lot of slop when used with a hitch or hitch mounted accessory. You can order an actual receiver from any hitch manufacturer that will be the right size AND be cheaper than the JCR tube ;)

I'm not sure what the question is. A debate? Pick whichever one suites your needs the best. If you want 4.10's go with the 8.8. If you want to keep it Jeep go with the 44. What's the goal? Both axles are a good choice for the MJ. I have a 44 for my '92 and run an 8.8 under my '86.

You might be right indicating early 97 could have the funny HVAC control. Then again, I could be confusing the 97 TJ and XJ. Of course you can swap agate panels in place of a two tones gray or tan. Most 97's I've come across are in fact two tone, which I don't find attractive.

I really am enjoying this build. The detail, the pictures, the discussion. Great job so far. Since you asked for an opinion on the wheels, I say do anything but black. I've never liked black wheels. If you are not sold on the machined finish (I dig it), a dark gray or graphite would look nice.

HVAC has sliding controls and the two tone color schemes are drab. It's just not my preference ;)

#3 is my favorite and my choice. #1 is a close contender, but I'd blow the budget replacing the 'custom' touches I find hideous. (Light bar and associated holes, wheels/tires, tint, stickers, smoked signals and I'm sure the interior needs help) #2 is my last pick. It just doesn't seem clean. Maybe it just the wheels and bumper. 97 XJ also has the ugliest XJ interior of all. I'd still like any of the three, as they all look rust free. That's a win!

Sure. Here is a fresh pic from my cold dark driveway.

There is no fuse for the wipers. Instead their is a circuit breaker. When the wipers on my 86 failed to work, I discovered the two blades going into the circuit breaker were corroded. Light sanding and steel wool cleaned it up and I was back in business. The wipers circuit breaker is a silver colored thing plugged into the fuse box under the dash.

Where is the party?

Sweet truck. That 454 is just icing on the cake.

Exploring some new country this thanksgiving. Hello from Route 66!

Too much. 3,000 Truck 1,000 99 XJ 3,000 Motor build/AW4 Maintenance 4,000 Body work and bed 1,000 Axles (Rubi 44 + MJ 44) 3,000 Parts/Paint/Supplies Crap. Don't let my wife see this! The cost of this build is one reason why it is taking so long. I want it to be exactly what I pictured from the beginning so the wait is worth it to me. On a good note, I did move the truck to my new shop space last week. Progress will commence soon :)

No. Any 86 will require more work as they were not designed for the 4.0l. The swap can be done, at least one member has a detailed build/swap in the Projects section with an 86. There is lots and lots of good reading regarding the swap here. Everybody does it a little different to get the same results, so there isn't a rock solid write up. The truck you start with and the 4.0 you choose will greatly affect how you tackle the swap as well. Regardless, you essentially take everything from your 4.0 parts rig and put it in your 2.5 MJ chassis.

Yup. The blue LED stuff is frustrating and irritating to me. Makes it hard to focus. LED (especially cheaper stuff) also has light hot spots with a quickly degrading light pattern. This is why I have stuck with florescent. I've got 9 fixtures to buy for my new shop (lots-o-light) and will be going with florescent due to the color temp and light dispersion.

Engine, transmission, transfercase, motor mounts, radiator/support, engine bay wiring, fuel pump/sender, rear drive shaft and many under hood odds. It's not very difficult to do the 2.5 to 4.0 swap, especially if you have a donor XJ sitting there. Although, I must ask why you dislike the 2.5l? They are just as reliable as the 4.0l, get better fuel economy and will run down the road as well as a 4.0l. The 4.0l does have more power on tap, but I would certainly not turn down a nice 2.5l truck. Drive it and enjoy it. I had my 2.5l MJ out in the Colorado Rockies this summer and did not notice any lackluster power compared to my TJ 4.0 and XJ 4.0 when going over the passes.

I resigned from the utility field at the end of September, I had put in 7 long years as well. I took the opportunity to do a 180 in my career path and moved into a banking position. I feel much happier and my wife has noticed I am less grumpy. Sometimes change is good ;) No matter what you find yourself doing I have no doubt you'll do great.

Its pretty easy, but no diagram. The basic steps. 1. Drop the steering column. Remove the two braces to the column (above your pedals) to allow the column to drop a couple of inches. Disconnect the speedometer cable if equipped. 2. Remove the top supports. Pry off the defrost vent dash cover at the edge of the windshield. Remove the screws (6 if I remember correctly) securing the dash to the lower windshield frame. 3. Loosen the lower (main) dash support. There are two larger bolts (15mm head if I recall) on each side of the bottom of the dash. Loosen, but don't remove these and the dash will start to pivot downward. 4. Disconnect the wires and cables. With the dash assembly pivoted downward you will have access to the back of the dash. Disconnect any wire, cable, or vacuum line that is holding the dash to the cab. Radio antenna and HVAC vacuum are easy to forget. 5. Remove the lower (main) dash support. Go back to the two large supports and finish removing the bolts. The dash should be loose now. 6. Verify the dash is free. Start wiggling and pulling while keeping an eye on stuff you may have missed that is still holding the dash to the truck. 7. Lift and pull the dash assembly out of the passenger side.

Banker. After spending 7 years in to utilities field I am glad to have rerouted my career. I am now the Real Estate and Records Manager for a bank. The work demand is unlike anything I've done before. Anything from analyzing a budget, meeting with architects, getting codes reset, travelling across the state, removing trees and maintaining a corporate records database. It's a hodge podge position with some slow days but far more exciting days.

My 4.0 overhaul was about $3k. You simply cannot do a rebuild cheaply and expect it to last as long as the factory motor. Do it right or not at all ;)

Nice work so far! Is your battery good? Battery cables good? Is your coil and ignition control module and associated wiring in good shape/corrosion free? I can't really think of anything else that would caue a weak spark on a 2.5 with a new CPS.

The 90 header panel will fit your 86. It will have a trim piece along the top of the grill and headlight bezels unlike the 91 and newer which has one piece grill and headlight bezels.

Sweet! Nice find.

Don, if you have a Google account, Google Drive is a very easy way to share large files like that. If you don't have a Google account, I would be willing to share the file with the club on your behalf.

Maybe I am a moron. I can't seem to download the file. Click the link provided on the tinyupload page and it opens up an "internet speed" advertisement or reloads the page.