cracker

I don't think I could trust the stock MJ front bumper enough to flat tow it. Too old and too many peoples lives at stake.

A 95 master and booster (I don't beleive) will have a preference between the two. I don't use my MJ for utility purposes (I have a SuperDuty for that) so I never load mine up other than for the trail. Because of this, I chose to remove the MJ rear prop valve set up and use an XJ standard prop valve. I chose one of the lines going to the back and used it and the other one lays there not used. I had it similar in my buggy and it worked well with 42s so I figured it would be 'ok' in an MJ with 36s. I have seen some people mention to leave the MJ booster in and attached to the diff cover and I have heard of others disconnecting it from the diff cover and 'zip-tying' the adjuster rod up higher (as if the truck was loaded).

What you are trying to replace is not a prop valve. Your prop valve is actually in the back of the truck and has a rod connected to your rear axle. In order for you to install the prop valve from an XJ, you must remove/bypass the MJ prop valve in the rear. Failure to do so can rusult in serious compromises in braking.

I am in Pasadena, Cali.

Absolutely. This is what I had to do for a short while. It sucked but it worked.

I think a 231 with a true neutral IS fairly common ... but not in an MJ. It is my understanding that some time in the mid-90s Chrysler changed the 231 (and the 242) to make the neutral into a true neutral that disengaged the driveline completely. The earlier ones worked as you describe ... they disengage the transfer case from the engine and transmission, but they lock the front and rear drive shafts together so they both spin while being towed. It most be 95+ if it is true. The ones I have rebuilt have been 94 down. Of all the ones I have done, I have only come accross one with a 'true' neutral but due to the barter system, I am unsure as to what year it was out of. :doh:

Turning should not be affected at all. A lunch box locker is disengaged unless power is applied to it. Willy Power to it means from the drive shaft into the locker. I agree with him. Pushing, pulling or just rolling, as long as you do not put power to it, you will not have any problems because of the locker. BUT what tranny do you have as this is what can be damaged by improper towing. BEST BET ALL CASES is to remove drive shafts. CW He has an AW4 but it should not matter when in park. With a proper 'true' neutral, throw the TC in it's neutral position and go. There is no need to pull the drivelines if this is the case. I never recommend pulling both the drivelines. One should be installed in case one gets in a pickle and has to get out of a tight location/spot (backing with a flat towed vehicle just doesn't work). Also, if one does not have a SYE, one may dump fluid out the back of the TC.

Sure, you can flat tow it. I know people who do it all the time. I believe the proper way is to leave the tranny in Park and put the t-case in Neutral. Johnny, the TC needs to have a TRUE Neutral in order to be able to do this. Most 231s lock the front and rear drivelines together when in Neutral. Some of the 231s came with a 'true' neutral from the factory but not very common. If one does NOT have a true neutral, one will have to install a kit like the 2LO from Tera. To check, disconnect each driveline at the TC, and place the TC in NEUTRAL. Spin (with your hand) the rear output and if the front output spins, you do NOT have a 'true' neutral.

Adding distance helps with the angle for sure but it complicates the front crossmember as well as it would hang lower on the vehicle (being more open to damage by rocks, etc.) Limiting the downtravel is (and has been) a decent option in the past. HIS problem is his suspension design. When it drops on the drivers side, the pinion turns down FAST. If he coverted his current set up to radius arms, the rotating pinion problem would not be an issue. I had a similar set (long LCA and short UCA) up a few years back that caused similar issues including my UCA bracket got ripped off the frame (Willy/reason46 was actually there). It is a flawed design that should never be tried again. Adding distance helps with the angle for sure but it complicates the front crossmember as well as it would hang lower on the vehicle (being more open to damage by rocks, etc.). Sure the crossmember can be slightly modified but you still need to consider the full suspension cycle of the front end. Look at rock buggies with the engine pushed further back, a lot of them are running two piece drive lines these days.

I picked up the first half of my driveline today: And here it is placed in it's location (not bolted in): And the front: Notice the angle of both yolks. They ALMOST cancel themselves off and are 2.5 degrees off. I am hoping to feel almost no vibes in 4WD. This was what I was suggesting earlier.

OK, I think I got confused somewhere along the line. For some reason I thought you were going to run a double cardan shaft to the axle. I was going to suggest a non-double cardan shaft, but you are already doing that. :dunce: I'm still not sure why you couldn't have a little bit of an angle on the short shaft if it is only going to be turning at low speeds. Willy Yeah. I was worried I mis-explained that :doh:

I am guessing a big part of your problems are related to your suspension design. From these pics it looks like your upper arms are close to half the length of your lower arms. This is going to greatly rotate your pinion down as the suspension droops which will probably result in binding pretty quickly. I think you are going to need to redesign your suspension, lengthen your upper arms, and move there body side mounting points further back. Willy X2 The pinion rotates a LOT when the control arms are off in length a lot like that

Are you running drive flanges on your D44? Willy Nope. The front end is not spinning on the street. Keep in mind I have about 7.5-8" of lift too so the 'drop' is pretty significant. My TC is clocked so flat we rebuilt the floor to rotate it up so it wouldn't hang below the frame rails. When I mocked up the setup like yours, the CV was maxxed out when the MJ was sitting flat. If I flexed at all it would have exploded. Do you do much high speed wheeling? I'm just trying to understand why the short shaft couldn't be angled down a little bit. I know it would lead to vibrations, but if the shaft is only turning during low speed wheeling maybe it isn't something to be concerned about. :hmm: Is a non-double cardan shaft an option for you? Willy Double cardon is an option but I will be running it at the transfer case yolk. To the axle, a double cardon does not have enough available angle to go the range I need. I am modifying your great idea. I should have a picture to be able to post on Friday but it ill be a two piece like yours. Hopefuly it will work out :)

Are you running drive flanges on your D44? Willy Nope. The front end is not spinning on the street. Keep in mind I have about 7.5-8" of lift too so the 'drop' is pretty significant. My TC is clocked so flat we rebuilt the floor to rotate it up so it wouldn't hang below the frame rails. When I mocked up the setup like yours, the CV was maxxed out when the MJ was sitting flat. If I flexed at all it would have exploded.

I still cannot figure out your reason for the excessive slip. I suspect your math is improper. Long arms match (closer) the length of the driveline and when articulated, run parallel with the control arms. If you run radius arms, your situation gets better as the pinion angle goes in line with the control angles during articulation. When this is so your driveline does not seem to compress as much as it does with a short arm setup. Is the length of your control arms the same as your driveline? I did some 'basic' math and I can't see how you would need more 4.3" with 16" of travel :dunno: Back to your issue, I said I was in a similar boat. We came up with a possible solution to my issue yesterday while at the driveline shop. It is a $180 gamble but I beleive it may work now let me see if I can describe it. After following how Willy (reson46) dealt with a doubler (and to avoid the crossmember), he came up with the idea of using a short shaft and a carrier bearing coming off of the TC. (great idea BTW) Willy’s idea was pretty good as I first looked at it but it doesn't apply to me. With my Klune and my 231 clocked flat, one has to run the short shaft perfectly inline with the yolk on the TC to prevent any vibes. This placed my carrier bearing about 4" higher than the cross member and with the limited travel of a CV, this would not work for me. (I run a LP D44 front axle) After spending some time at the drive line shop yesterday, we decided to run a CV at the transfer case yolk and angle the drive line down to a carrier bearing mounted at the cross member (about 13" on my vehicle). Similar to Willy’s set-up, I will have a NON-CV yolk attached on the other side of the carrier bearing (and the carrier bearing will be mounted at a slight angle on the cross member). This then will place the ‘short shaft’ yolk facing downwards towards the front axle yolk. From here I will have another telescoping shaft with just a U-Joint at each end of which I will have one spare. I was considering using 1330 joints for this to allow for more angle. Forgive me if this does not make sense. I will post up pics in a few weeks to explain this better. Will this work? The driveline shop seems to think so but time will tell. Will this work for you? Dunno. I was hoping something like this could help you get the angles you need. I am hoping this will get me the 50+ degrees I am needing.

Am I to assume you are trying to run a CV? Why do you need 6" of slip? (sounds excessive). Stock CVs are not capable of an angle mush more than about 36 degrees. Sounds like you need to run with no CV and use some larger joints (1330 for more angle or even larger). BTW, I am in the same boat and have't come to a conclusion (yet). I am at 8" and 36s. I am heading over to the driveline shop in a few minutes for suggestions. I am running a Klune and a 231 so I need to work over the front crossmember as well. Another user here has a cool short shaft that he uses but with my TC clocked flat, the angle is at about 36 degrees static.

X2 I just went thorugh a hell of a project to convert a 2wd peugot to a 4wd AW4. Stupid stuff like steering wheel, pedal assembly, and throttle body had to be swapped amongst a list of other things. If it is already an AW4, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, prepare for a bit of work.

Motor mounts are available at all auto parts stores for cheap (I thought $14 or something). 8)

I would have to agree with the OEM brakes being more than lacking when towing something that heavy. I am also biased since I tow with a PSD. :D The first mod I did to my MJ (before driving it) was replace the stock set up with a 2003 WJ booster/master and an XJ prop valve. (I also added 1/2 ton front brakes to it). I can lock all 4 wheels now on 36s with ease if need be. I would suggest this cheap and easy mod to you before attempting a load like that (and also to anyone else wanting to stop well). I don't know if it will actually be able to handle 5K but I know the stock brakes suck horrible.

I hope you mean AX-15. The AX-5 would grenade behind a 350 in about 5 minutes. Nope. I said it right. A frind of mine had no money for his build but he had a 350 engine given to him and his wife bought him a bell housing to mate the AX-5 to the 350. It never gave him problems though (suprisingly) but the engine was old and tired.

Yes and about a million people. You will need many items and need to figure out the engine mounts. I know Advanced Adapters offers a bell housing to place a AX-5 behind it but you will have to look into the available bellhousings for others. An AW4 would be damn hard to make work in there (electronics/sensors would be quite a challenge).

Probably not. If your 'old' track bar was the right length, just measure it out to be the same and install. If not, you may have to tweak the steering wheel to center it.

That thing used to be perfect. I was there when he crunched it up at Calico. That was a sad day. :doh:

This sounds like a statement a troll would make to get a rise out of people. :dunno:

Was the last time you were there when the old white XJ had it's 'incident'? I will try to go in August myself on mine.