schardein

This is great! I would be interested in a Selectrac reproduction. I don't currently have one. I do have these, if there is interest in reproducing them.

IIRC, my axle came from an 89. I got the spring plates and the hat shaped reinforcements. But both pieces are distorted, on both sides. Also, one side the shock stud is bent, so I either have to repair that also, or just replace them. The truck wasn't wrecked, but I paid the place to remove the axle for me as I was working long hours at the time. So perhaps the damage was done then? But based on what I've seen on my CJ plates and some XJ plates, it's not an uncommon thing.

These days my budget allows for new u-bolts on my projects. But that wasn't always the case. I think that the condition of the u-bolt and nut can be a guide here. I've pulled some axles at the junkyard where the nut came loose fairly easy and u-bolts were basically rust free. Others, The u-bolts are rusty and the nut fights you all the way off, screeching every time you turn it using all your strength on a 18" breaker bar haha. I don't re-use those... these days I just cut them off. If the u-bolts are still relatively new, I wouldn't (and haven't) had a problem re-using them. I would re-check the torque after the first drive, and then again at, say, 50, 100 and 500 miles. On a related note, I've seen some factory spring plates that are distorted at factory u-bolt torque levels. I recently replaced the spring u-bolt plates on my CJ with thicker ones from Barnes, along with larger than stock diameter u-bolts (5/8" versus 1/2"). The stock CJ plates were distorted, and I had problems with the u-bolts seeming to get loose and require re-torqing. The larger/thicker parts solved that. I'm in the process of putting together a MJ Dana 44 for my MJ, and the stock D44 spring plates are distorted. I will likely replace them, I see that Rusty's offers a hd replacement. I mention this because if you find the u-bolts seem to require re-torqing, maybe it isn't the bolts so much as the spring plates that are the problem.

!!!!!

MJ Dana 44 down to bare housing for rebuild.

Glad you are home and still with us! You have a Jeep so shoveling snow is optional!

Very common for those end links to break when trying to remove the nut.

Parts #3 and #5 look like the XJ hold down bracket. I've never seen them on an MJ.

These came off a 95 YJ, so maybe it was only the later ones. Factory part number 55029453 if you want to search for them.

Typical move by Jeep to delete the adapter, but never update the placard.

Here is a picture comparing the jack handle from an 88 MJ (top) and a 91 XJ (bottom). The XJ handle will work with the MJ tire winch, but I don't think it will mount to the back wall of the MJ properly. I'm guessing they made the MJ handle longer because of the longer length of body past the rear axle. EDIT: I JUST DID A QUICK TEST, the XJ handle is just long enough to clip in the top clip and be captured at the bottom by the stock retaining bracket.

No, it didn't have that part when I got it. In this thread, it seems that adapter was probably only in the 1986 models:

Yes, my Step Dad was an amazing man. He was gone more than he was home. He would be gone 3-4 weeks, then home for a week. He literally lived on the Sperry Car. It was laid out like this: Driver's compartment, kitchen, dining room, bunk room, engine room, and testing room at the back end. Here is a link to a fleet roster of the cars they used: http://trainweb.org/elso/SRSROST1.HTM Car 148 was named for my Dad.

This has turned into an interesting thread. I am not to wrapped up about if the springs are made in the USA or not, as long as they are good quality. But, I hope they are being honest. When the guy at the General Spring warehouse in KC made the comment about the springs being shipped from Mexico, he wasn't specifically talking about the MJ springs, just the springs in the warehouse in general. But he didn't specifically exclude the MJ springs, either. This comment interests me: We also have extensive in-house manufacturing and modification capabilities. Perhaps they have that somewhere, but I didn't see anything suggesting that at the warehouse in KC.

When I was in grade school and high school, I built scale models. Mostly 1:48 scale aircraft and 1:35 armor. So I totally understand the attraction of scale trains. Also, my Step Dad worked for Sperry Rail Service out of Danbury CT for a long time (not sure, but like 40 years). He railroaded most the countries in Europe, every mainland state in America and every province in Canada. The SRS checked the tracks for internal defects with specialized equipment. When my Step Dad was doing this, it was in a Sperry Car, which looked sort of like a mobile home on rails. I think that have transitioned to pickup trucks with rail adapters now. Technology has advanced. Back in 2016, my brother and I visited the Sperry yard in St Louis. When we walked in, we were greeted with questioning looks. As soon as we said who we were, the attitude completely changed. Everyone remembered our Dad, and remembered us when we were little kids. We were hoping to find our Dad's old Sperry car, but it wasn't there.

I haven't bought a new strap in I don't know how long. I seem to recall that a "good deal" was about $1 a foot. For example, $20 for a 2" wide, 20 foot strap, and $30 for a 2" wide, 30 foot strap. I just looked at Amazon and the prices are all over the place. I have a full recovery set in my CJ at all times, and carry a 20' strap in my Silverado. I don't carry them in my XJ or MJ.

Great story! I have a 79 K5 Blazer I bought in 1988. The story of the purchase is awesome in itself, but suffice to say I was happy driving it home. I said out loud to myself "this is great!" and then the wipers did a single wipe... "swish, swish". Like the Blazer was talking back to me. Now, it had factory delay wipers, and my mechanics brain tells me it's just a glitch... but still, it picked the oddest moments to do it. I picked up a friend on a Friday night, and asked, "should we get some beer, or whiskey? He answered right away, whiskey, and the wipers did the "swish, swish". I'd told him the story of the drive home already. He just laughed and said the Blazer agrees. It happened enough times to really make me wonder....

I just hit the button on a large Rockauto purchase for my MJ D44 build (mostly replacement brake stuff). I always shop around, check ebay, amazon, RA, and local prices. I"ve found that RA always has a 5% off coupon available, and I've never known them to do other sales. Also seems you can usually find single items cheaper somewhere else. But when you have a large order with multiple parts, and all the parts come from the same shipping location, RA can be the best deal.

Are you looking for the Kentrol to get the little plastic cover that shrouds the door pin? Because all the YJs I've seen have that piece stock. Maybe it was only used after a certain year? I just sold a set of the shrouds by themselves.

Speedhut has 20% off their gauges. I've noticed some of their gauges have actually went down in price, others have gone up. Ox Locker is offering 10% off their entire website. I had called them a couple weeks ago and talked to the rep for a while. He said this is the only sale they do. Ordered an air operated Ox for the D44 in the front of my CJ, will be replacing the Detroit Locker. Amazon- Picked up two D44 1310 u-bolt type pinion yokes for $36.75 each, went back 30 min later to get two more and the price had went to $43.

When I bought my 91 XJ, the first thing I did was remove the *faded to purple* tint that was on every window except the windshield. It was a PITA to get it off the rear window without screwing up the defroster grid. Later on, I got some factory tinted windows for the back doors and side cargo area windows from a junkyard XJ. Changing out the glass was a much bigger project than applying film tint, but totally worth it to me.

I was wondering about this as I get closer to putting mine on. What did you do to level the front?

I've got a set of the military wrap springs. I bought them a couple years ago when there was a group buy on here. They are supposed to provide 1" of lift over stock also. I went to their place in Kansas City in person to pick them up. I was kind of surprised, I guess I was expecting a spring factory. It is not... just a warehouse in an industrial district. I'd be surprised if any of their springs are produced in the USA. With that said, the springs look great, and I'm finally making headway to getting them put on. Finished tearing down my MJ Dana 44 today in preparation for rebuild.

I've had customer service related issues with Novak, and I think there stuff is way overpriced. But I will say the CJ LS motor mounts are spot on. Also the NV3550 to Chevy bellhousing adapter plate, and D300 clocking ring worked as advertised.