87Warrior

Try Expedition Portal: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/72-Japanese-Heavy-Truck-Mitsubishi-and-Isuzu

If anybody is buying a Fey, shoot me a PM and I'll send you the MJ mounting brackets. I installed my Fey on the 86 and reused the 1/4" brackets somebody had previously installed so I have no use for the Fey brackets. The Hanson bumper is mighty fine and mighty expensive, just like their other bumpers I wish I could buy.

I had the same experience with my body shop. Threw the C2C rocker in the trash. Per direction from my bodyshop man, I ordered rockers from Auto Parts Network (APN). (on the right, obviously) Since I have no body work skills, I let the professional take care of it I believe he used the outer part of the XJ rocker and grafted it into the existing sheet metal.

THANK YOU! Now I don't have any excuses to drag my feet :)

No. The motor mount bracket bolt locations are identical between a TJ and WJ but not the XJ and MJ. The MJ motor mount brackets will not bolt onto the WJ block.

Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately I haven't done much to the truck since my last update. It has collected a lot of dust. My next step is to finish the cab insulation, fit the carpet (I really don't want to do this) and adapt the Dakota seat to the MJ brackets. I have also been unsuccessful at locating the Mopar interior paint/dye in gray and agate. Heck, I can't even find the right color in the right kind of paint from SEM. I would like to at least have my b-pillar trim pieces ready to go before I bolt the seat in place.

Stock 98 Explorer on 8.8 :thumbsup:

The stock Jeep wheel studs sit within the wheel spacer. The wheel spacer is secured using nuts provided by the spacer manufacture. You can reuse your existing lug nuts to hold the wheel to the spacer.

Perhaps they are 1/2 hub centric, meaning the spacer is machined at the hub mating surface? They are certainly not hub centric at wheel mating surface.

You can install a "Cam Bolt Eliminator Kit" to give the TJ/ZJ axle a solid control arm mount. The kit is essentially a few thick washers that fit centered in the cam slot. You don't want to buy the cam bolts. They ran me over $60 8 years ago when I replaced them on my TJ.

Does anybody know if it would be possible to remove the serpentine belt pulley from a replacement alternator and replace it with the V-belt pulley? I am not familiar with their interchange and would like to upgrade my '86.

I've run 1.25" SIDERTRAX spacers daily for almost 50k miles. They are safe if installed correctly.

Is anybody interested in doing a run to the Ozark National Forest sometime in 2015?

I have tried a variety of coils... Skyjacker, SuperLift, RE, Moog V8 progressive, Nth... My favorite, by far, is the Nth degree paired with Bilstein shocks. OME shocks are a close second IMHO. EDIT The coils, starting from the left: Nth Degree - Rubicon Express - Moog V8 ZJ Nth Degree 3" TJ Lift coils (previously known as AEV coils, a true 3" coil) Rubicon Express 3.5 " TJ Lift coils with 100K miles on them (these only netted 3" of lift after years of use and found residence under the '86 MJ) Moog V8 ZJ (these lift a TJ about 2") You can see the Nth and Moog (progressive rate) provide you more spring than the RE for the recognized lift. I realize I am comparing TJ coils, but that is simply to establish a base. Obviously you know that a TJ spring will lift a 6cyl MJ 1" less than its advertised height. The progressive rate coils provide an outstanding ride yet maintain lift height when weight is added.

Don't bother with the TJ air box. It is the wrong size and shape to fit nicely under the hood. Find an air box out of ANY 4.0 XJ and bolt it in. XJ snorkel kits are designed to work with the 4.0 air box. You will have to figure out how to attach the intake to the carb.

It will fit. The bed will hang over the back of the trailer deck. U-haul never mined I was pulling an MJ with a Chevy 1500, both times. 31" tires are at the limit of the tire straps.

Or if you want, you can strap the XJ tank in the bed...

I've been stuck driving a company Ranger of some sort every day for the last 6 years. I put about 33K miles on one a year. I hate every minute I am in the cab of that forsaken truck. My current truck is a 2011 2.3L 2wd.... I like the MJ much better. More comfort, more leg room, fewer blind spots, more low end grunt, smoother engine control, reliable transmission, smoother ride....and this is my comparison to a 2.5L MJ! The Ranger does go down the highway at 80mph a little easier though. That said, the Ranger has never left me stranded (neither has the MJ) over that many miles so it seems it may be a reliable vehicle....

If you look around the bypass valve you can see the vacuum actuator and manually operate it by hand. Really, that thing should just be removed. The only side effect is heat that works when it should.

Maybe I was expecting very little out of this show, but I found it entertaining and watchable. I do agree the characters are little to be desired as is their trail etiquette. One of my life dreams is to drive to and through Alaska. Maybe that is why I found the show entertaining. I am glad to see everyday people rigs on the show, however they generally seem to not be completely built. Really, no lockers in the 90? The Jeep looks like something cobbled together and is ugly as sin. I like the 4runner run by the brother and sister.

Thank you for the kind words! Much appreciated. I cannot recall the center to spring mount measurement. Maybe I've still got it written down on scratch paper in the garage. To find their position, I set the D35 next to the 8.8, set both pinion angles to 0° and attacked both with a sharpie, straight edge, angle indicator and tape measure. First I found the center of each axle then measured over to the perch center. I set the perch angle identical to the stock 35 since I was staying spring under. I did discover the 8.8 housing is offset and the stock explorer perches were pretty close to the Jeep alignment. The 8.8 is sitting 1" back using the Ruff Stuff perch so I could reuse my stock driveshaft.

You made that look easy!

I just order the ZJ parts for a 98 9'er. Be sure to shop around to get the best prices. The ZJ TRE is actually identical to the TRE at the pitman arm on your 86. ;) FYI - Federal Mogul (who makes Moog) recently introduced a new line called "Quick Steer" that is cheaper and has less of a warranty than Moog. I ordered a Quick Steer ZJ draglink for my '86 and it came with a Moog joint pressed into the end. I've only been running it for a few month now, so I cannot speak to its longevity yet but it did look identical to a Moog ZJ draglink I used on my TJ many moons ago.

The ZJ steering (Drag link, Tie Rod, one adjusting sleeve, and two TRE's) is a nice upgrade. The aftermarket Moog ZJ draglink is more robust than the stock unit. You can reuse your adjusting sleeve at the pitman arm if in good shape. If you are looking for more strength, the Currie Currectlync is very nice. I am not a big fan of cross over or inverted T steering for on the road driving. My TJ Rubicon runs the ORO UTurn that I pulled off an axle I bought for my MJ. Hey, it was nearly 'free' so why no try it out? It is great off road, especially when trying to steer the Jeep with the front end flexed out, and is decent on road, but I much prefer the stock style steering and response on the road.

Awesome. I like the truck, but love the story.