benjy_26

Hey, at least that Ford will never, ever rub. :)

For an '86 the 3.4L V-6 is a much better choice than the 4.0L. No body work involved, and you can get decent power out of the 3.4L, especially if you keep the EFI. Even better, the GM 3800 Series III ( I think) SC engine should bolt up to any tranny that has the 60 Degree pattern. If you have King of hs Hammers axles, forced induction would be cool as hell! I think Eagle was implying more of a bolt-in replacement. As, for years GM has had/recommended their 3.4L V6 as a replacement engine for the 2.8/3.1 in older vehicles. I6 is probably the best upgrade as far as inspection and such in an XJ. Otherwise, if you are going through the trouble of a swap, why not a V8? Novak makes everything you could want/need to do the swap. I'm sure he was, but it would be around the same amount of work to drop a supercharged 3800 into a MJ/XJ as it would be to go for thr 3.4. They're roughly the same size, you'd still need to do supporting mods, and there's TONS of donors around. Well, around my area, at least.

Besides, with the proper mods, a relatively small, light, and inexpensive engine like the 3800 SC can realistically put out 300hp. To get that from a V8, you'd have to either perform internal mods, or step into GM LS-land.

I don't particularly care for V8 engines in Jeeps. Now, before y'all call me crazy, let me explain. I ljve in FAR West Texas and wheel all over the Southwest. For the most part, the terrain around here is desert scrub land and dunes. There are also a TON of rocky areas for you rockhounds out there. What keeps me from giving a V8 any serious consideration in a small body without much space in the engine bay is heat. It's early February and the temp is hovering around 70 degrees. In the summer, 100+ degree days are the norm. Even while night wheeling, it's still around 85 degrees out. I've seen many a L6 powered XJ and V8 powered ZJ puke out their coolant on a summer night wjile going through miles of deep sand and silt.It'z gotten to the point that some guys are running multiple radiators. Myself, I've removed anything extrenous insidd my ZJ's engine bay, have placed washers on the hood's arms to raise the back edge a bit, and have installed louvers along with the prerequisite aluminum radiator and high powered electric fans. I also use a stroked and cammed L6 with a VERY free flowing exhaust. When comparing my ZJ to hr V8 ZJ's and L6 XJ's, I notice that I have a lot more space around and under my enhgine relative to the body than they do. I believe that this helps me stay cool and operational while some of the other guys are having trouble with their cooling. My other gripe with some engine swaps is weight. I believe that a lighter Jeep is a happy Jeep. I skip the huge, steel wheels, fancy sound systems, mega-light bars and ridiculously over built bumpers in favor of a better power-weight ratio, better MPG, and, most importantly, flotation. In fact, my ZJ is 2 wheel drive with a locker. It can go everywhere my 4WD, modded SBC K5 can go, and can do so with aplomb.

For an '86 the 3.4L V-6 is a much better choice than the 4.0L. No body work involved, and you can get decent power out of the 3.4L, especially if you keep the EFI. Even better, the GM 3800 Series III ( I think) SC engine should bolt up to any tranny that has the 60 Degree pattern. If you have King of hs Hammers axles, forced induction would be cool as hell!

Out of balance.More likely, the slip joint may be worn out. That was the problem with the 2001 XJ I bought (which doesn't have a CAD, by the way). I had a horrible vibration that started acting up around 50 MPH and got worse as the speed increased. I could crawl under the front, grab the aft end of the front yoke, and both see and feel significant angular movement when shaking the yoke (slip joint) side-to-side. I tossed in a junkyard front driveshaft and it pretty much cured it -- enough to get me through the winter, anyway. Oh wow. I've never seen that happen. :-\ Does that come with hard use, or are there better or worse shafts that one has to look for?

Did the 90 model year come with a neutral safety switch? Only other thing that comes to kind is that there's a wire in your harness that's grounding out.

How much power are you expecting and what axles will you be looking at? While Jeep's L6 is a fantastic engine with excellent durability and a flat-as-kansas torque curve if built up correctly, it does have its limits. Personally, I'm running a 4.7 stroker kit from 505 performance in my ZJ, along with blue top injectors, quite a bit of headwork, larger valves, MSD coil and 6AL box, a higher capacity fuel pump, a throttle body "borrowed" from a 5.0 Mustang, 99 intake manifold, a full 2.5" exhaust with a header, electric fans, a high flow intakr and filter, a piggy back ECM from AEM with a wideband O2 sensor and some odds and ends I'm sure I'm forgetting. I love the hell out of this engine and it stomps on a ton of other mills both on and off road, but my buddy's swapped in 5.9 Magnum with some intake, exhaust and valvetrain pieces walks away from it in a standng start. Horses for courses....

No problem, man. :)

Yep. Those should be 32's, but they're narrow 32's. On top of that, the tread is mild, and they're probably kind of light, being that they're biased towards street use. I'd give em a shot, personally. I bet they wouldn't be too bad. ^ this. And Lmao at the person that said you will need 4" - 5" of lift to fit 32's. OP this is how my 31's fit on mine. Pretty sure I could fit an extra inch or two in there..Image Not Found That looks sweet! Right now I'm running 31's on mine with a 3" lift in the front and very slight trimming of the bottom of the flares. Honestly, without flares, I would have left my suspension alone and gotten a lift courtesy of Sawzall and BFH, but I think my MJ will be the first Jeep I own that will remain uncut..... for now

How's the oil look?

Yep. Those should be 32's, but they're narrow 32's. On top of that, the tread is mild, and they're probably kind of light, being that they're biased towards street use. I'd give em a shot, personally. I bet they wouldn't be too bad.

What's the size read on the sidewalls?

Keep in mind not all 32's are created equal. On my ZJ, I ran BFG KO's jn 32 for years with very little rubbing save for thr control arms at full lock. Switched to the KM2's on thr same rims in the same size (on paper) and I hd a lot more rubbing, particularly on the pinch seam and on thr leading edge of my rear fenderwells. I can still spin thr crap out of them, even with a locker and 3.73's. Thank God for strokers. :) What tires are you looking at?

Yup. lol Got it.

I'm running 31's on aftermarket 15x8's on ny 87 and I rub the leading edge of the front flare when turnjng hard under full compression. I'm currently running ZJ Upcountry coils with an Energy suspensions budget boost. I got a bit over 3" over stock. The rear is stock and clears everything. If you arent afraid of a Sawzall, 32's are doable with 2-2.5". If you want to keep the body stock, I think you'll need to go over 4",I'm afraid.

Thanks! I ordered a PCV from my local Oreilley's, and they sold me Masterpro # PCV200. It fit the grommet I bought (meant for an AMC V8), but when I tried to put it into the valve cover, it hit something underneath. Ut seems that the PCV valve that they sold me is too tall for the application.

Awesome. Thanks!

BTW, I have a strong suspicion that the yellow one is an oil filler cap. :)

So, as I continue to tear into the new-to-me 87 with the 2.5 mill, I keep finding little things that the PO has done. I've been trying to get all the vacuum lines replaced, and while doing so, I also replaced the valvle cover grommets for the CCV system. I also planned on replacing the fittings with new units, but I cannot find one of these: I've never seen one of these on any of my jeeps before. Anyone know what it us and where I can get one? It seems to be filled with a wire mesh filter, but it has a pretty large crack at the base. Thanks in advance!

Just lept into my mind.... When I swapped from the T18/D20 combo in the J10, I threw in a THM400/NP205 combo out of a CUCV. It works well, but I did notice that my rear driveshaft is oh-so-slightly angled to the passanger side from the rear output of the 205. This leads me to believe that the Dana 20 has a slight offset. I have had ZERO issues with tuis set up. No broken joints or binding and I have plenty of travel. I just thought I'd mention it in case your TH400/20 combo causes your driveshaft to angle out.

Sounds like you're set! Keep us posted.

lol nah.... yours is MUCH nicer.

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I eyeballed the Monroe load levelers my brother has on his 98 Explorer limited. They look like they'd fit an MJ withot issues. I'll see if I can convince him to flex his Ferd out so I can measure them.