Rockfrog

Find an XJ limited front end ... the have no CAD ... swapped my LP30 in my XJ for an 89 limited HP30 ... $25 axle ... was easier to regear and truss/3 link the axle before putting it in ... otherwise the LP30 was fine.

FYI ... the 3 pin renix connector is just a 3 pin GM weather pack connector ... parts to repair, replace/rewire the connector are available just about everywhere.

I have the complete front clip from a 2000 XJ ... I want to use the wiring harness form it if possible ... Anyone have a link to the wiring pinouts or conversion ... ?? I don't want the easy swap connectors version ... I looking at converting at the harness plug if possible. I googled myself silly and found zip ... mostly covers complete harness swaps when converting the interior as well.

Another problem with CTM's ... besides the price ... is you need to run them on a vehicle with hublocks. If not they wear out quickfast when spun constantly on the street like most jeeps do. Most typical ujoint failures can be linked to the clips being spit out. Generally first a clip gets spit, a cap walks and an ear stretches and splits or the joint fails. Usually when turned tight. The angle causes the clips to pop when they contact tthe "ear" of the shaft. Converting to full clips will make even a weak joint last longer ... but cheap is still cheap. Stick to the spicer 760s.

pulling the assembly and replacing the linkage bushings will help somewhat ... but if you can manually get them to move that much the linkage itself is shot .... I did the bushings on my 88 and now it only has about 2" free play where as before it was halfway up the windshield. A new motor assembly made no difference whatsoever.

The D44 isn't worth the hassle really ... a 29spl 8.25 handles 35s without issues ... easily comparible to a d44 ... Swapping discs onto an 8.25 from a zj is a quick 2hr job.

In my case it was done as the rad, bottle and valve/hoses all had to be replaced ... and I had 90% of thebparts leftover from redoing my XJ. No benefit from it if it all works good. My radvwas literally crumbling away and the bottle was cracked in several places ... it oozed coolant.

Verify axle position as well ... measure from forward rear spring hanger to the lower control arm bracket on the axle ... bolt center to bolt center. Adjust them (with you shims) to match. then move on to Caster ... which will most likely end up at closer to 5.5-6 degrees at 4.5" lift with an HP30. Set your toe in to 1/8" ... drive it in a straight line on fairly level ground for 100' to get to center-ish. Use a Carpenters square to mark the tires front and rear, I use the square against the ground and tire to find the rolling center point of the tires, then measure to center. You end up with a crossed chalk mark at each level center. Take your front/back toe -in measurements there, That should cure any angle related issues ... and you won't be crapping your pants so much ... I know I've been there ... DW at 80kph sucks ... at 110kph it REEEAAALLLY sucks ... you'll get to a point you think you have it cured ... find a bumpy arse road with no-one near and try it again in 10mph increments until you feel confident to hit the highway. I had mine cured .. to a point ... if I hit the right bump, at the right speed, at the right angle ... off she went. That's when i went 3-link anyway and soved it for good, but I was damn close to done. We found the ball joint shot when we swapped, they were new at first lift and DW was taking it's toll ... the more episodes ... the more thing get toasted ... it may scare hell out of you but it's destrying your suspension more each time.

it's that bracket that bolts to the transmission that differs ... the rest is all the same. you could always just go direct link shift and save a few hundred headaches. Then 2wd would be all the way back and 4wd LO would be all the way forward, if you can live with that.

the transmission mounted portion of the linkage are specific to each trans ... inside the cab its all the same.

The only reason they split off at 96 is the 96+ tcases used an externally sealed output housing. Previos cases used an inernally sealed output housing. Its all swappable parts .. either swap output slip yokes or swap the whole rear output housing on the transfer case. As for the AX-15 .. they were always 23 spline have plenty of room inside the output adapter to take any XJ/YJ/MJ/TJ input gear ... the long input gears were found on V8 ZJs. The only concern about input gear swapping is the 1994 gear pitch change. So when swapping 231 and 242 parts about go pre 94 to pre 94 and post 94 to post 94. The gears are easily distinguished by a flatter tooth profile on the pre 94 gears.

The bends on the trac bar make it look right out ... but it doesn't look that far off overall .. you have to go from mount to mount, not the actual visual comparison. The inverted T steering arangement likely isn't helping. Having chased death wobble all over hell and back on my XJ ... it could be anywhere. It all adds up. The extra control arm angles due to lifting compound and accelerate the issue. A trac bar alone won't do it, but anything else out with a tracbar issue will. Have you looked atbthe upper control arms? If they are worn they will cause enough axle shift to start deathwobble. Lower your tire pressure as mentioned ... at 35psi the tires will also feel twitchy enough to start an episode. Try 30 or even 28psi ... heck I run 26psi in my 35's on my XJ. In the end I cured my death wobble with a homebrew long arm 3 link conversion. The biggest change ... lower control arm operating angles and new beefire control arm joints (all are large RE cartridge joints). When we tore it apart we found worn upper arm bushings and a flexing trac bar mount. All added up to wicked ... crap your pants death wobble. On the other hand ... when I bought my MJ the tracbar had 1/2" of pay in the balljoint end ... and not a single hint of deathwobble up past 140 km/h ... the XJ was a death wobble king at 80km/h ...

Well just swung a deal for two 2000 xj fenders and a front grill assembly with harness. Have to do some lightbrepairs on the header ... but for $100 for the front clip it's a good deal. And its white so will match up close enough until I paint it all this summer.

another option is 3/16" brake line ... fits snugly into the rubber elbows and is more durable.

you need to pop the center cap out ... the little center bit that says jeep on it ... the dust cap will poke through the hole. The hub mounting flange specs have not changed from 84-06 (and even the newer 07-14 jeeps use the same hubcenter diameter and spacing just with a different bolt pattern). where does the hub contact with the wheel? I have a different set of TJ wheels on my MJ ... off a 97 TJ, same deal ... popped the center caps out on the front and all was good. This is only an issue on the 2wd due to the dust cap

didn't the 4spd 2.5s get 3.55 gears ... ??? ... so either go back to 3.55 and used pretty much any stock 4.0L automatic XJ axle right up until 01 ... not sure a 3.07 gearing would work for the 2.5L but IIRC it was the fuel miser option of the day ... and 3.07 with an ax4 puts you just under 2000rpm at 55mph ... perfect for a 4.0 ... not so sure about a 2.5. Been a decade since i owned one. or swap in another good ax5 both a 3.07 and 3.55 should be plentiful and cheap as complete axles.

It was 1989 ... the knuckle was changed to the chryco design for 1990. There were two knuckle designs .. AMC 84-89 for XJ/MJ D30s, then 90-06 for MJ/XJ/YJ/TJ D30s. Calipers matched the knuckles, and rotors matched the hubs ... so 84-89, 90-99.5, and 99.5-06 for the rotors and hubs. The 2wd axle is another beast altogether should also be noted but it only varies at the hub/rotor afaik up to 92.

I just went with a set of 92 2dr XJ cloth seats ... was an upgrade from my shredded and severely worn out vynil buckets. Upgraded to Laredo headrests cause I like em better.

All I've ever used to redo black plastic is whatever oil I have handy ... fluid film, wd-40, 5w30 ... wipe on ... wait a minute ... wipe off. Seems to work for me.

Correct ... but when you go from a D35 to an 8.25 you will need to shorten your rear driveshaft some.

I have USA standards in my 8.25 ... noisy ... sure but not whiny ... just some hum ... a bad ujoint was louder. My tires even more so ... my previous d30 was usa standard as well ... until I moved to an hp30 with G2 gears. Even that was never whiny and even with street treads was still not loud, just noisier than stock. Those gear look ground ... as is scored amd worn ... I have some pics of usa standards in my LP D30 I can toss up for comparison.

Going from 27 to 29 spline is as easy as swapping spider gears and shafts ... so don't limit yourself. The switch to 29 spline occured in 96 so they'll be a mixer year. In any event a 8.25 is loads better than a D35. I also like that they used equal length shafts so only one spare for both sides.

Tool? remove panel? hell, I have two ... they are my hands ... start at the inner top and work your way around ... they pop out readily and pop back in the same way with a fist over the retainer. I just finished adding a set of XJ full armrests using nothing more than a screwdriver for the screws in the armrest. Removing the two actuator rods from the door lock mechanism was the hardest part of the event. But still easily accomplish with my fingers. go go, gadget hands! I suppose.

My XJ runs WJ knuckles and brakes on the front with 15x7 Ultra Wheels type 104's ... I used the 99-01 teeves calipers and also run 1 ton TRE's and have just enough clearence to bolt them up ... had to use the external clip on weight's as there was no room for sticky weights.

Cherokee wheels sound like the Icons that came stock on my 2000 ... same as used on the Liberty ... 16x7 ... they were a nice looking wheel, wish I hadn't traded them off.