comanche09

:agree: Use the one-piece blue fel-pro gasket when you put the pan back on. Apply some RTV around the front and rear seal areas and corners. My pan was really rusty so I replaced it with a nice fresh junkyard one off a '97 XJ. That way, I only had to struggle with getting the original gasket off the block and chucked the pan.

When I got my MJ, it had serious blowby issues (air filter soaked in oil). So I switched to a '94 H.O. aluminum cover. Blowby and valve cover leaks solved, but the baffle design was very similar to the Renix cover. I still felt I had high crankcase pressure (leaks slowed with the new cover). So I switch to an '97 valve cover. Much more open baffle design and there is a rocker "splash shield" that I feel helps keep oil out of the lines. My little leaks stopped and my MJ now leaks nothing! I am happy for now. :yes:

97+ Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, or Wrangler 4.0L Valve Cover, whichever is cheapest.

In my quest to find a good Dakota bench, rummaging through all the various local salvage yards, I've found out some info that might be of interest for those who would like to do this swap: - It appears that the 2005+ Dakota benches use the exact same bracket system. The 05+ seats are much better contoured (side boltering etc) and have a very nice tough fabric. Adjustable headrests too. Overall dimensions appear to be the same as well. The center storage armrest arrangement is the same, down to the coin holders. - Some 97-04 Dak seats came with a drivers manual lumbar adjustment (not sure on '05+). - Some 97-04 Dak seats do not have the flip out cupholders in the front center of the seat (not sure on '05+, the one I saw did not have it). - Some 97-04 Dak Crew Cabs came with a bench, however the seat backs do not fold forward on these, and no pop out cupholders. I am going to pick up a 07 Dak bench tomorrow. I will post pics when I get everything together. :brows:

IIRC The '89 NP231 has a 21 spline input shaft. The 95 AX-15 has a 23 spline output shaft... the kid is wrong.

You could also try MJ 2wd leafs for -1" on SOA for maybe 4.5"-5" of lift. IMO a pickup should have a little rake. :dunno: 3.5" up front and 4.5"-5" out back for 1-2" of forward rake.

This would be a good sticky thread if they could all be identified. The best I got was grab all that you can and mix and match parts... My swap is a bit further complicated in that I am using the AX-15 with the NP242.

Thanks Oizarod115, I carefully cleaned the IAC about a month ago and it didn't change anything. I was going to pull the throttle body to clean it as well, but stripped the last torx bolt that holds the intake tube on. PB blasted the heck out of it prior too :headpop: Vice grips didn't work, so I gave up until I can get a hold of a bolt extractor... Whats the best way to go about adjusting the idle?

And, of course, the rim width is critical in getting an accurate measurement of the wheelbase ... :banana: :banana: LMAO :rotfl2: Eagle has a sense of humor! :banana:

I did the Herculiner DIY roll-on liner to my MJ. I did alot of research, and from what I read it was the best choice out of the DIY types. I'm not at the point in my resto to drop that kind of money on a coating. NONE of the DIY products compare to Line-X or Rhinoliner. It's true about this, you get what you pay for. That said, I'm ok with the Herculiners performance as I was not expecting it to perform like the spray in liners. It holds up to wood/gravel very well. However heavy steel (ie a rear axle in the bed), not so much. It scratched right through the Herculiner to the metal. To be fair, the axle also dented the bed a little. I wonder how the Line-x would hold up to that?

I was in some serious stop and go traffic today (lots of clutching), following a half and hour 75 mph highway run in moderate traffic (semis were passing me!). Newly swapped 3.55 rear end + 5-speed + 28" tires = :D I noticed in the stop and go traffic that my idle would hang at 800 RPM then drop back to the "normal" 500 rpm after about 20-30 seconds while stopped. Is this normal? :???: I actually like the idle better at 800 RPM, Less worry about stalling out when starting off in 1st gear.

Please bear with me as this is going to be my first tranny swap. :cheers: I've got an early AX-15 (1990) with the narrow Renix input shaft (same diameter as BA/10 it is replacing), but also have a 1995 AX-15 External Slave bellhousing setup. Will the clutch release bearing work with this older AX-15? Or will I have to reuse the original internal slave setup? Or does the clutch release bearing have nothing to do with input shaft diameter? Thanks :bowdown:

Wow, the quoted $90 u-bolts also have to be ordered and the lady claims they are grade 8 through the threads, including the nuts and washers... Hey guys, I got a price on the dakota U-bolts. Around $40 shipped from mopardiscountparts.com. They are from a 98-04 Dakota 2WD (same goes for the spring plates). These would be great for an 8.25 swap (not sure if the Ford 8.8 is also 3" tube). The dak u-bolts at the bottom of the "U" are flattened slightly to conform to the axle better and they are 7" long which help if you are using the mopar spring perches (they are taller than stock) because the 6" long u-bolts were almost too short in my application. BTW, I got the modded dak spring plates installed! I will try to post pics tonight. Thanks all

I had a 2007 Crew Cab 2wd Colorado for a rental once, but it was equipped with the 2.8 or 9L? 4 CYL version. I was totally expecting it to be a DOG. I was shocked at how well it scooted around. If felt like a strong V6. Must have had very steep gearing, but it didn't turn hi rpms on the highway. I even popped the hood to check that it really was a 4-banger. :eek:

Yeah I know they should be replaced, however the dak ones I got are perfectly straight and rust free, unlike my badly bent/rusty originals. My original shock mount plates and doublers are also deformed, so they appear to be one time use as well... The Dakota spring plates are nearly 3 times thicker in cross-section than the MJs and are formed to resist bending. They are thicker than the MJ plates even with the doubler. Hmm... Out of curiosity, I'm going to price out the Dak u-bolts from the dealer. My local spring shop wants $90 for a 9/16 in set of u-bolts. Of course, I could get three inch u-bolts from O'reillys for $7 but they are the same thickness as the XJ ones.

If your AX-15 is a mid '89 to '90 model, you don't need the adapter PB.

Hi all, Just got thru swapping in an 8.25 traclock XJ axle in place of the dana 35 at my buddy place (he has a welder) and thought I'd pass on some info. For one, the 8.25 is significantly beefier than the D35, but most of you know that :brows: - Even with the 4x4 springs in place the yoke ended up hard up against the trans (due to the 8.25 longer snout), so in a pinch, we moved the axle back one hole on the mopar perchs, then drilled a hole in each shock mount to clear the spring bolt/nut. It got me home, but looks silly right now with the wheel set an inch back in the wheelwell. :nuts: - I re-used the XJ 3" u-bolts that came with the axle but noticed they are significantly thinner than the original 9/16" diameter MJ U-bolts- the truck is parked right now. They are thinner diameter I believe because the XJ is SOA therefore do not directly carry the weight like SUA. - The 96 Dakota brake hose I bought had a slightly bigger diameter end fitting for mounting, so I had to remove the holding plate (2 10mm bolts) and open up the hole a bit. After that, it mounted like factory. I was at the junkyard today and noticed a 2000 Dakota that had the SUA setup and some nice beefy spring plates (I noticed my originals and the doubler plates were slightly warped) and nice 9/16" 7" long U-bolts with flattened tops to conform the top of the 8.25 axle it had. I snagged the plates and the u-bolts. My buddy is going to help with fabbing the shock mounts to the dakota plates. The dakota plates should help with the ground clearance too. I will post picks when we get em fabbed together. :cheers:

If it is a Renix AX-15 (I have a 1990) then you can use the same Pilot Bushing (1991 is HO and would require the CJ-5 one).

You got lucky and found an '87 Cluster. That year is the only swappable year for the full gauge old school font. :cheers:

For the 'Manche, ONLY 87 Octane Chevron. And at my local station it is "100% Gasoline". All other stations around me are "May contain up to 10% Ethanol". For my newer vehicles, they get cheapo Sam's Club gas (one of them is flex fuel capable)

Be Careful. On that particular cluster style (old school font), ONLY 1987 Model year is plug and play with Renix 4.0. Clusters '88 and later with -full gauges- are the modern font. So he is wrong on the year. I have one installed in my '88 4.0L, and I pulled it from an '87 XJ Limited. '84-86 XJ's w/2.8L V6 were available with the exact same face style, however it's guts are different and it will NOT swap (I have one from an '84 XJ 2.8L sitting in my garage). Ask for a picture of the back and post it here and I'll tell you if it will work.

CAD Vac Line?

Matt Kapp -USN (Med Ret.) -Current job: Marine Surveyor Mobile, Alabama Truck in sig, older pic below:

4.0 Cutaway 4.0 Exploded AX-15 Exploded NP231 Exploded Axle Ratio Chart Cruise Vac Diagram 86-90 MJ Exhaust 90-92 MJ Exhaust

I had my headliner re-upholstered in the original color. Luckily, the headliner molding/shell was still intact when I removed the original nasty faded/stained and safety pined cloth.