Rockfrog

Not going to do the team Cherokee route, too many issues in the past. Just grabbed the S208 again and connected it to the one side. Works fine.

Thought that was for the drivers side. Are the switches the same?

I have a short shaft 36, my long shaft was 35t gear. FYI - my 00 xj rolled out of the factory reading 10% slow.

ok... So of course now the passenger side is acting up... Go figure. Anyone have the passenger side part number handy... Against my better judgement I tried the parts store again... Same damn wrong switch, with the 3-prong plastic connector, dude looked at me like "that's the right part, your truck has the wrong one, my book says so" ... I just walked away, shaking my head in frustration. Thanks

I have one of each shaft length ... Just not positive if they were 34 or 36... I'll check in a minute.

Let me check my stores, I think I may just have a 36t long and short. Both came out of a 93-98 ZJ V8 with 3.73 gearing if you want find something closer.

Another consideration for ZJ/TJ axles is the lower control arm mounts are designed for the Cam bolt style caster adjustments. The XJ/MJ axle is a simple hole with caster adjusted at the frame end. Not a big deal and could be beneficial allowing double the adjustment range... But was worth making mention so you don't get surprised.

Swap knuckles and you can reuse your current stuff. There were two knuckles used... 84-90 91-06 (XJ/TJ) Then three hubs, 84-90 91-99 99-06 (XJ/TJ) 99 was a crossover year with a mid year change. Hubs need to match rotors (they follow the same year pattern as hubs) Ball joints are the same. My front end on my XJ was an 89 housing, 95 knuckles and 01 hubs and brakes ... until I went to WJ knuckles (on the same axle).

Honestly, probably not, we were a less "entitled" generation than what I see nowadays. Not knocking on the younger folk here, but I do see a lot of younger kids that have no understanding of the work=rewards mentality... It's more whine=whatever I scream loud enough for... I see more and more of it. We used to eat them for breakfast and crap a troop when we could... But now you have to bend to the feelings and 'be nice?' I was training kids to destroy with efficiency and blow crap up if it got in the way, why would I need to be "nice" Where is the nice when your leg is 40' away? Or there is a gaping hole where you used to pull the lint from? That the reality of an infantry position, 3.5 second life expectancy in combat, that's the job... That why drill instructors ride yer @$$ and sometime make you do meaning tasks with no where near enough time to accomplish it (although when pushed properly it always managed to get done). Mommy ain't gonna help fix the boo-boo here boys, it a a man up and get to it game with a horrible retirement policy. We did it for everyone else, our section, our platoon, our company, our country... Sadly there is more respect for the service down south of my border... Wish it weren't so, Improvise, Adapt, Overcome...

So just a quick update... Since I put my quad through my rear window, I had the exciting realization that rear Windows are simply not available in Canada. Found one used on the Island here and had it installed last Tuesday. The new window and gasket fits better than the original did... So pretty stoked about that, and the removal of mattress wrap that was my temp rear window. Also swapped out the TJ grizzlies for a set of 5 spoke steel wheels I painted black. Much nicer looking although I ended up dropping Tire size to 225/70r15's now since I prefer round tires and they were the right price. Old tires will go onto trailer duty now. Also snagged a set of Dodge Charger 2325 style 17" wheels so now I'm on the prowl for a decent set of 17's. Planning to paint the rims black, and eventually down the road roll on JK takeoffs. Looking at a 70% set of 245/70r17s when I get home. Should spice things up. Might work on the hood and try some painting if the weather holds. And the drivers door needs more work again... With the pulled hinge welds she sits a bit cockeyed and the front upper corner doesn't seal right. Gonna see what form of magic I can pull from my butt for this fix. And there is still the front bumper, and front alignment again (and again) snagged a RE Tracbar for free so going to work on getting that in on a double shear bracket to center the axle better.

My only regret was getting out too damn early, and not going back in when I did get out. I agree, in one ear and out the other, the Military is not a touchy-feely place ... there is a job to do, and when it gets done it ain't gonna be pretty. My wife keeps saying I don't get worked up about things like she does (sometimes good, sometimes bad, is what it is) ... previous experience prevents me from "getting worked up" about relatively minor concerns, and allows me to effectively focus on the task at hand ... is the way I prefer to explain it.

I would open the dispute, nothing against Jon, but it's just to protect yourself. I have purchased from Jon before, was all good and he kept me in the loop. Answered my emails within a week, and that wss fine with me. As long as I was aware of what was going on I was happy. If he has been having issues, it might be best to start the dispute process as a reminder, it may have been lost along the way. It also gives you both more time to deal with any delays and opens a second line of communication. That's just me ... I usually open the dispute on day 45 regardless, been caught a few times by good people having problems.

Nice. .. have to remember that 8ne for next time.

I used 1/4-20 button head cap screw, 1/4" washers, and nuts. Ground the stubs off and drilled through 1/4" holes where they were. But, I still have to mount the wheel liners, although I plan to cut those down some so they will only be from top center down and back, mounted by push clips.

Or just use the Boostwerks direct linkage kit and eliminate the the convoluted factory linkage altogether.

I threw YJ shocks up front (stock spec Monroe Sensatracs), paired with a 1" spacer and Moog variable rate ZJ springs. Looks like I got about 2-3 or so inches lift and a far better ride. I really should bust out the tape one day. Anyway, they are 3" longer than stock, but need the sleeve pressed out and the barpin pressed in, easy enough in my world.

Swapping the axle will be far cheaper than regearing the current axle, unless the inner bearings (carrier and pinion) on both are shot and need replacing anyway. Unless you are going with something other than a stock offered ratio ... The swap is the cheapest way. Try to get a D30 from an XJ without CAD, that is an upgrade.

You also have to consider the gearing itself... With 4.56 gearing, anything less than a 35" Tire will be spinning a lot faster than normally seen. With a 33" Tire your driveshaft will be spinning close to maximum balance speeds at 60mph... With a smaller Tire they will be spinning way faster than balance speeds. Meaning you may have a rotational runout in the shafts that isn't apparent at normal speeds but is now. I had this problem with my XJ when I regeared to 4.56 and 33's... Had to get things rebalanced again, and still was unable to fully eliminate my front shaft vibes. Just had to live with some vibe. When I swapped to 35's it slowed the shaft speeds down and ended my vibes. A happy side effect. May or may not apply.

The input gear is splined to the planetary assembly, there is no gear pitch to worry about. The 89 input gear can and will swap into the late model planetary. ONLY the input gear itself (once removed from the assembly). Only those parts with a gear face (sun, planets, annulus) are of issue and non compatible due to the gear pitch change. The main shafts are compatible, but to use one in the other requires removal or addition of needle bearing depending on how you swap. That's the simple explanation, but the 231 did not really change much over it production. Other than the aforementioned pitch change its all the same parts. Earlier cases did have a brass synchro, whereas the later case did away with it by casting the 'synchro' into the assembly, but again, parts are still cross compatible by using similar generation parts per component assemblies inside the 'case. Using the 99's output yoke would make it easier, but you can swap the entire rear output housing from the 89 onto the 99 to make it compatible with your current shaft. Front output yokes are the same. Shift lever will be the same XJ to XJ.

You need to grind the stud bases off the brackets or drill them out, your choice. Once they are removed it is pretty obvious what needs to be done. I just reattached them with 1/4-20 button head cap screw and some washers. But I also added the older flares/brackets to the 97+ sheet metal so some trimming of the leading edge was required.

The BWD S208 fixed the issue, parts guy still says his switch is correct for 87-01 ... even though 87-89 look nothing like them. Ooh well, can't fix stupid I 'spose. Thanks for the help. One less issue with Ratmanche now.

So, got a new switch, seems to solve the issue but creates another. The part store had a listing for a switch that will screw in but uses a three prong plug. So we ordered in a 1986 switch (BWD part number S750) which appeared to match mine. It came in and is ALMOST identical ... except the treaded fitting is too large. Looks to be 7/16" thread (maybe 1/4" npt) whereas the stock switch was 1/8" NPT (roughly 5/16" tapered thread) Is the door jamb mounted into a threaded boss or is just a simple hole, drilled then tapped in the body metal. What I plan to do is drill the hole accordingly to fit the new switch.... Or does someone have a proper BWD or Dorman part number to use.

So today, my MJ decides it needs more attention. My Pillar lights are on all the time. Drivers door switch is not, passenger works fine. Headlight switch seems fine. When I open the doors, the lights go full bright as would be expected. I have Euramtec lights with LED bulbs in them. Even with key off the Pillar lights are on at what I would say is a 50% bright level. I hoping my drivers door switch is the issue, I had pulled it at one point cleaned and tested and had it working for a month. Then it just stopped, is it possible for it to leak voltage?

I used a 9/16" gear wrench (box wrench with ratcheting end) and a flex socket with a 3", and 6" wobbler and an extra 3" extension mixed in as needed. I pull the airbox out as well. Of course now I can grab all the bolts with the gear wrench, from above an below since I swapped the HO head and manifolds in and removed the airbox for a cone filter. Otherwise, I still use the same combo listed above. The flex socket mentioned is a ujoint, and socket, all in one piece.