Rockfrog

The lower ball joints used a preload bushing from 84-89, similar to what a typical D44 (as in not thebTJ/JK version) uses on the upper ball joint. In 90 this bushing was eliminated and made part of the casting, and the non telescoping upper ball joint was discontinued and replaced with a telescoping ball joint making the lower ball joint's bushing obsolete and unesecary. Some ball joints still supply the bushing though and it was general practice to replace them with the ball joint. I haven't seen a solid upper in a long time. The currently used uppers take into account differences in casting and slight bends, by telescoping out as needed. The older bushing were used to account for this previously. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

Sway bar won't have any effect on death wobble. If you suspect the upper control arm bushings ... Replace them, they will have a large effect. As will Trac bar, lower control arms, drag link, tie rods, alignment (caster and especially toe in) and to a lesser effect wheel bearings, bad joints. It all adds up, and diagnosing is troublesome as by the time you ID one cause, more damage has been done to another. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

Scored a set of near new condition 1989 factory service manuals ... Covers the MJ/SJ/XJ/YJ models. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

The slack shown in your picture is normal if the case is split, as the shafts are unsupported. Actually looks fairly tight to my eye. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

Just wanted to add that I have been running the stock shafts in my 8.25 since new in 2000 (bought it bone stock in 2002, you know back when XJ's had value). Another plus for them is ... Both shafts are the same. Only one is needed to be carried if you wanted to carry a spare. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

I will verify that, having owned a non ABS XJ, and being under a few of both varieties. The 8.25 was also the factory supplied towing package axle. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

I've been beating the piss out of my stock (albeit regeared) 8.25 for years, last three on 35's. Never let me down. I know of others doing even heavier beatinhs and standing by the late model 8.25. I just picked up one from a 2000xj to go into my MJ, I sought it out. I WANTED a 29 spline 8.25. I would put it over an XJ/MJ D44, below a truck D44, and on par with an 8.8 strength wise. They are a large 29 spline, no neck downs, larger 3" axle tube, stiff housing with no history of tubes leaving the housing (take that 8.8 guys!). I get that an 8.8 is an upgrade if leaving a D35, granted. But I don't see it as a be all, end all holy grail axle. And the XJ/MJ D44 isn't the Holy Grail axle either, even though they are usually priced that way. If you already have one, great, keep it and sleep soundly at night. But I'm not paying D 60 prices to get one either. Even the 8.8's go for 450-500+ around here ... And a 29 spline 8.25 is equally as strong and can be found for $75-150 all day since the "experts" think it's weak. Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

The axle retainers bolt onto the backing plates, undo those and pull the shaft free. Bearings and seals are retained on the axle shaft by a retainer sleeve that needs to be cut off.

92-96 were a 27 spline axle, housing was beefier, buy axles hats no better than a D35. 97+ were a 29 spline, mines taken a beating or 12.

I run 35's on my 8.25 on my 2000 XJ, no worries there at all.

You should have had the driveshaft shortened accordingly for the new transfer case. Would have been cheaper and less hassle. The 96+ also use a different slip yoke on the driveshaft than what any MJ ever used ... So one should have been swapped to the new driveshaft along with the associated rubber boot. Make sure the WJ has a gear driven speed sensor on the tailshaft, they may have been Hall effect sensors and tone rings by then. It can still be used, easier to swap the whole transfer case, but you may lose speedometer reading. Plenty of phone apps to work around it though. Upshot is many of the later (WJ and KJ) cases had a fat 32 spline output. Be sure to use the matching output yoke (slip yoke) as well regardless. Again, you may need to shorten the driveshaft ... Usually $40-60 balanced at a driveline shop.

Problem is all the cold air intakes still suck hot air being on the wrong side of the motor. On a street driven truck, a filter and a section of 3" pipe will do the same thing, cost less and make room for other things (relocating items or just making room to work. On a trail driven truck, they leave the filter fairly open to water ingestion, something the stock airbox is better at preventing. Not a whole lot of power going to come from a filter though unless a lot of other things are already in place (freer flowing exhaust, Engine mods, the usual mix) . A new stock filter flows more that any stock Jeep engine is gonna suck through it.

The stock non-abs rear axle for a 2000 XJ was a 29 spline 8.25 ... Well worth the price of admission. The front, meh, unless you get it so cheap. Then pull the knuckles out and swap them onto an earlier HP30 for the bigger shaft joints. I just picked up a 2000 XJ 8.25 for the MJ. Was not looking forward to another hope it survives D35.

If he had a replaced knuckle it would be blatant, the later Chrysler knuckles are completely different when it come to the brakes. They use a replaceable caliper bracket as opposed to the integral brackets of the 90-06 D30 knuckles

The 89 earlier hub will bolt to the knuckle, still uses the same 3 bolt pattern and pilot diameter. What he is saying, is the bearing hub he was given, will not fit inside the rotor he was given. Not a knuckle or even an axle mismatch problem. Sounds like they have a cross reference problem. They going back a year or even two, as I find most parts stores have issues when you get into crossover years. They probably have the Chrysler rotor spec'd for 89 or something along those lines. Gen 1 - 84-89 Gen 2 - 90-99.5 Gen 3 - 99.5-06 You have to take parts listing's with a slight grain of salt. Eagle's got the all the info you need in one place. Try a hub/rotor listed for an 88 or even an 87, I've had to do that with some interior parts for the 88 MJ when they give me obvious 91+ parts that are nothing like what I have sitting in front of them.

The exhaust is a "no crush" stock down pipe to a later model 2.5" from the trans crossover to the tail. Anyway, getting off track, can't hurt but to try in any event.

I've been running one for the last year or two (time flies). Yeah, it made a difference, especially to a tired old renix 4.0 I used a 92 head, 99+ intake manifold, 94 fuel rail and Volvo 746 injectors, a 94 4.0 throttle body, 94 exhaust manifold, and 96 power steering pump. Think that covers most of it. Even with literally shaveably polished cylinder walls, and a noticeable oil burn at cold start, yeah she's tired, I can now spin my 32" ish JK take offs (255/75r17) at will with 3.07 gearing in first. Something I couldn't do with the stock head and intake/exhaust on 235/75r15's before hand. About the only thing I'd change (beside rehoning the damn motor - sudden onset time constraints canned that plan) would be a smaller throttle body actually ... In fact I'm going to trial a 2.5L Throttle body shortly. With the Renix values plugged into a Throttle Body size calculation and a power TQ) peak at 3400 (something I have yet to go past) ... I need a measly 46mm throttle body for full range power. The 58mm stock 4.0L TB pushes the curve further out the line and is actually something I have noticed on the highway, a slight lag below 1800rpm in higher gears where the motor works harder and the TB is open more. I'm going to try swapping a 2.5L Throttle body on for S&G's to see what happens with a 52mm TB in place. If it works, great, if not, swapping back is easy as pie. Been curious about it for sometime actually, might as well scratch that itch. There is a diminishing return on TB size, and with the larger volume of the later intake plenum (IIRC it 4300cc vs 2600cc volume) there is some food for thought there. The GM TPS swap started this way as well, and works like a hot damn for 1/4 the price. Who's to know if we don't at least try. But I am quite happy with the results of the head/manifolds swap as is.

I was meaning width between perches ... Not actual height of the perches. YJ, XJ and MJ all had different spring perch spacings. YJ and MJ being spring under, and XJ being spring over axle. Only the XJ had welded on shock mounts, stud type, driver side faces rear, passenger faces front. Only a Dana 35 and a C8.25 are remotely similar ... But, the C8.25 has "rhino" horns above the pinion yoke, and a more squared case on the bottom that sticks out around the cover. If it looks like a D35, and doesn't match above, then it most likely IS a D35, Chrysler "put that $#@+ on everything". The turdy five was the go to jeep rear axle since 1984 (and even before when it was known as the AMC model 15 though it was then just a car axle).

The stamped numbers/letters on the differential covers have little to do with the axle itself. Just part numbers for the covers is all. The axle tags are what will have information, or find the BOM numbers on the tubes. Without a picture ID of the axle isn't going to go well. Only 4 options though ... D35, D44, AMC 20, or if it's an XJ axle a C8.25. If it looks like your axle with different spring perch locations then it's probably a Dana35, just from something else ... with leaf springs they came in YJ's and XJ's as well. Have you measured the perch widths? do they match the stock axle? the "new" axle may have already been converted to SOA so the perches would be on top. Or, you may have been given an XJ axle, the perch width is different from a Comanche so bust out that tape measure.

Renix rail won't mount up, easier to use the later rail. all you need to do is move the return line fitting, on a Renix it's at the back of the rail ... on an HO it's at the front next to the inlet. if available grab the HO fuel lines back to the crimps at the firewall. If not GM fuel fittings work as well, 5/16" and 3/8" ... and run rubber hose back to the Renix Hardlines ... ran like this for a couple years ... then snagged a set of HO fuel lines when I poicked up a parts 93 XJ, so I used those for a slightly cleaner look. my 88 4.0 uses a 94 fuel rail, 92 throttle body, 00 intake VC and PS setup, 92 exhaust manifold, and Renix ECM (although I did convert to a GM 86-94 2.8L TPS - same as Renix but cheaper and different wire pinout).

or $10 for an ebay harness, be sure to get the ceramic plugs, and ensure that it uses standard relays. The putco uses Honda relays, which some have found difficult to find. I have a Putco on my XJ, and an ebay harness on my MJ ... both are equal in quality (both in wire size/quality and build quality), but the use of standard bosch style relays makes for the win on the ebay harness. Given the $10 ebay price it makes it even simpler, and cheaper than making your own (considering time to build as a cost). In any event, if you have a harness it's only three connections (batt + and two grounds) and mounting the relays. Another plus for the ebay harness I got was it used a ganged relay block similar to the renix relay blocks. Less holes and they stay put (they even mated up to the stock relay blocks if one were so inclined). The rest is just running the harness behind the grill panel and into the headlights. Just did the XJ last week and it took all of about 30 minutes since I re-painted the headlight buckets "since I was", and went "the extra mile" with wire routings.

Loosen the bracket mounting bolts, add the control arms then tighten the mounting bolts leaving the control arm bolts still loose.

probably just slipped out of alignment while working on the other rod.

Notorious? only thing bad about the 4.0L is that it runs damn near forever ... my 88 Renix 4.0L is reliable as a rock, worn out, but still starts every time, has more pull than expected and gets me 500km to work and back each week for the last three years. the PO I suspect never changed the oil filter in about 100,000km going off the amount of coke and crap I vacuumed and scraped out of the block and VC. The only 4.0L I like better is the one in my 00 XJ, although the Renix has several of it's hand me downs. Saddest thing Chryco ever did was Kill it in '06, and try to replace it with turds. And both still get better economy than the newer Wrangler engines ... Ha! But in it's current iteration, it now has parts from damn near every year 4.0L on it. So yeah, a 98 engine will work if you use the right parts and adapt those that don't directly bolt on. I would suggest using the 98 head, the 98 intake with it's far superior belt adjusting arrangement at the power steering pump bracketry. I would also use the 98 valve cover and CCV arrangement as well. But that does also mean you'll need to adapt the Renix TPS to the HO style throttle body, simple enough to do really. That's the only real hard part to mixing the parts. You may need to tap a few holes in the 98 block though, the bosses will be there but may be as yet untapped. In the end a proper mix will get you less clutter in the engine bay and a wee bit more seat of the pants to boot.

If you removed the load sensing valve ... why not replace the distribution block with an XJ Prop Valve ... it the same size/shape but adds brake proportioning back into the system again. Makes it easier when running new lines to the back as well. Easy as pie to swap in, did mine when the rear lines turned to dust, just removed the air box and had plenty of room to work.