87Warrior

Ford recommends 75w-140 these days. Make sure it has the limited slip friction modifier in it. I see no reason to use anything but RTV on the cover.

I believe it is Pioneer Red. My paint guy mixed the paint. He did indicate the paint cost more to mix than most others. Had something to do with the shade of red. Unfortunately the progress has all but stopped on this truck as I have been working extra long hours in preparation for a 30x40 shop to go up. The materials were delivered last week and the crew is set to start this week. Working on the truck is a challenge in our small garage with all of my extra Jeep parts, my wife's WK parked in there and her woodworking projects. The last bit of progress I made was getting the Dakota bench to play nice with the MJ seat brackets. Talk about a royal pain! I have it tack welded together and need to finish burning it in. Sorry, no current photography

I was able to install the shift indicator from my 92 dummy light cluster into a full gauge cluster. Unfortunately I do not know what year XJ the cluster came from. There was no issue with the fuel light circuit board as it did not extend under the tachometer. Please excuse the rushed trimming.

That has been discussed a bit in the past. It wouldn't work too well in my opinion. Folks here are generally willing to ship parts across the county, and world, to help another MJ owner out. I know my truck is made up of parts from the East Coast to the West Coast and Canada. On the other hand, it would be nice if folks could put their state in the subject line. If you are searching for something like an axle or bed, you could quickly tell where such an item is located.

I figured as much. But that doesn't help the poor folks who swear Jeep never built a truck. Do you know if the owner took that picture in Colorado recently? I've got a family member in Salida who swore she saw that exact truck.

For those inquiring minds. JCR DIY bumper with a MJ Valley hitch clamped into position. I certainly would not chop up an MJ specific hitch to make it fit snug to the JCR bumper.

What am I missing here? If the JCR bumper is higher and tighter than the stock bumper - the Drawtite bolt on hitch will still bolt to the frame just fine. It just will not bolt to the non factory bumper at the center of the bumper, right? Correct., it would bolt to the truck. I estimate a stock receiver would hang about 4" below the bottom of the JCR bumper. In my opinion this does not work as the end result would look unfinished. If I feel ambitious after a hot day of work, i'll hold up my Valley hitch under the JCR bumper on my '86.

A factory hitch will not work with the JCR bumper without modification. The JCR bumper sits higher and tighter than a stock bumper. I imagine you could modify a universal hitch to mount below the JCR. If you replace the receiver provided by JCR with an actual receiver hitch (I used Curt) the bumper makes for a solid towing point.

I don't know anything about that, but it is very cool. Nice find!

Congrats!

It seems like most Toyota people don't like them. I think that important to think about as the Toyota fan base is quite solid. I have seen a few reports of the firewall cracking/separating on rigs that were wheeled.

That is like the mud here, just with less slimy clay. Glad to see the truck made it. I had my doubts.... Sounds like your truck may need a new muffler ;)

Yes, you want the 1310 series adaptor.

I took this truck to Colorado over the weekend of the 4th. It ran great and even rode smoother than my TJ on the trails. It did struggle starting above 11,000' but never failed to do so. Here I am on Mt. Antero at 13,200'. I did not climb to the very top as a thunderstorm was rolling in. Another noteworthy location was reaching the top of American Flag Mountain at 12,700'. Fitting for the 4th of July weekend. We did clear a 24" diameter 60' pine from the road on the Cement Creek side of the Reno Divide road. Don't worry USFS, the Kansans did your job! I need to get a NP231 tcase. This dang 207 whines like a cat with its tail in a blender while in 4lo.

I painted the springs with POR15 and Slip Plate. I think the slip plate is almost worn off at this point. Still quiet and still flexy. I did add rub pads to the new leaf as well. For the clamps, I simply bent some flat stock steel and bolted it the the leaf in place of the rivet with a flat topped hex bolt and used a 1/4" bolt with a spacer to hold it together.

I did it. Stock 4wd pack + 2wd main with eyes removed. Netted about 1.5" of lift over the stock 4wd packs. It also doesn't squat as much with the same load.

I am running a set of TJ 3.5" RE coils with 100k hard miles on them up front. These came out of my TJ when I upgraded to Nth coils. The rear is made up of a stock set of 4wd MJ leaf + the main leaf of a MJ 2wd leaf pack and Chevy drop shackles. Overhaul height is somewhere between 2-3" of lift. I should note I am only running Don's old rear Bilstein shocks. Up front I am using YJ Monroe shocks.

The only issue I see with running the RE1600 with little lift is the heim joint/bolt/misalignment spacer clearance to the differential cover. The whole assembly sits pretty far below the trackbar bracket. I ran the RE1600 under my TJ for a few years. Notice, you have to drill the trackbar bracket to 5/8". I had to replace the heim joint every year as it became loose. That same bar now sits under my '86 MJ, but with a TRE at the frame end vs the heim joint. No drilling the trackbar bracket, has the same flexibility and stays closer to the trackbar bracket for us low lift guys. You can find the part number in my build.

I have Don's old Bilsteins on my 86. I can't say I noticed much difference in ride over the parts store Monroes that where on it, besides the extended travel. The ride seems comfortable to me with the backend responding smoothly to bumps and dips. I am fixing to spend the next weekend on rough Colorado Forrest Service roads so my opinion might change. If you have never had the control arms out of your truck, go buy new bolts and a tube of anti seize. More than likely the stock bolt is seized to the bushing and will need cut out. Don't waste your time trying to free the bolt from the bushing. Don't forget to remove your calipers from the knuckle and tie them to the frame prior to trying to pop the spring out. I've never used a spring compressor to install a Jeep coil spring, lifted or not. I do not see why it would be necessary.

The Vanco brake kit is pure bolt on bliss. I have had the 16" kit on my TJ for 5 years and I have the 15" kit sitting on the shelf for my 92. :)

It is official. The rusty truck is headed to Colorado for some scenic wheeling. I hope the stars align correctly and the Renix TBI system runs well at elevation and the 182k mile 2.5 doesn't hate me too much for it. In order to better prepare the truck, I stopped by my tire guy and picked up another 265/75r15 AT3 for the spare. These tires are about the same as a 31x10.5 so I suspected it would fit under the bed. The spare tire winch on this truck had failed before I acquired it. Not knowing if I would like the tire under the bed, I fabbed a mount out of some threaded rod, scrap steel and a little heat. The tire is flat against the frame, yet it seems to hang pretty low. I will see if the location needs reworked after my trip. I then attached the interior light for the topper to the previous owners power supply. Apparently they tapped power from the driver side tail light, but the light still works! I also discovered I probably have a corrosion/ground issue in the passenger side tail light....

Thank you for the review Don. I have been tossing around the idea of using the Quadratec LEDs in my TJ. Decisions, decisions.

Any of you green staters want to head up to American Flag Mountain (off Reno Divide trail) July 5th with a rusty flat lander? We will be starting out in Woodland Park and ending in Salida. Should be an easy, long, day.

...but everyone has a 4.0 :) The limiting factor will not be the power plant but the rear leaf springs with a load. 1 yard of gravel weighs about 2,500lbs (IIRC), a weight no MJ was ever designed to carry. I have no complaints pulling/hauling a heavy load with my 2.5L. It will get the job done, just don't expect it to get it done fast. When picking a MJ to buy, drive train should the the least of your worries. A solid unibody frame should be #1 with a rust free interior and body as #2. You can build these trucks like Legos to fit your needs.

I'd follow your options, in the order listed. 1. 219k? We know the 2.5L is a survivor. Clutch and go! 2. I think about that motor with nearly 200k fewer miles and my mind wants it, along with 4wd. 3. I'd only consider the 4.0L swap if no running 2.5L can be had.