masimmons25

Are you planning to cut the back of the cab out for a pass through? If so I think you will need to add back some bracing due to the cab and front end being unibody.

Anyone ever measure the deflection of the rear frame and bed relative to the cab under flex?

They are not installed backwards. This is a common concern with the aftermarket springs (general spring metric ton reproductions, hell creek springs ect.) The spring is designed this way to allow for load in the bed which will compress the spring and move the axle rearward, at least thats what I have read. As an owner of the general spring metric tons I'm not wild about the apperance, but I understand the reasoning behind it.

I have a '87 with chrome trim, grill and gutters, doing a 97 swap so I won't need them. The upper grill trim has two small dents in it, but you have to get very close to see them. PM if interested.

As has been said the 4bt is very tall and heavy, it has been done though. Better candidates are VW tdi's (adapters available), mercedes diesels ( both om617 or newer and better om606 adapters are available from mercedesdiesel4x4.com), or if your pockets are a little deeper the new cummins repower crate engines look pretty cool (2.8l, ready to run, just need engine mounts and plumbing, and adapters are available).

No, the engine and wiring in mine came from a 91 xj with an automatic and 231, it now has an ax15 and 242, just plugged in

I can't member the build thread or if it was here or over at naxja, but someone swapped in seats from a version of the pt cruiser that flipped forward like this and had a hard plastic back. I don't think it's all pt cruisers but if you found them they are probably narrower and a better fit than captains chairs from a van.

I agree the diesel conversion will take care of any range issues. Part of the project is to have the bed able to convert to a mini camper that can be used year round possibly even on a ski trip; so I have a diesel powered hydronic coolant heater, usually designed for preheating engines, but are used by many people building expedition vehicles to provide heat and even hot water with the engine off. The second tank would mostly be to run that for as long as I want without eating into vehicle range.

This is the best idea I have seen yet for this problem. I'm looking to do this on my lwb tdi conversion project and had always thought I would find a way to route it over the driveshaft, but even if that is possible it would still require that space at the front for the exhaust to go up, going over the gap between the frame and bed seems a lot easier. Stock 18 gal swb tanks are about 6in shorter than lwb 23 gal tanks, think that's enough of an air gap to prevent excessive vaporization of gasoline? If I end up doing this it will be with diesel so I'll have a little extra leeway as diesel doesn't really like to vaporize but it would still be nice to know about the gasoline.

Wow this is awesome, I too would be interested in more info on the build as I'm considering something similar. I'm specifically interested in the weight of the camper and how close to or over gvwr the rig is, and any modifications to the suspension of other components to compensate for the added weight.

Is this the VNT17 I keep hearing about? No. The VNT17 is a bolt on upgrade to the ALH VNT15. The ALH engine was last used in 2003, but still very popular and reliable. The 1Z and AHU engines are older than the ALH by 3 or 4 years and did not have a VNT turbo (VNT = Variable Nozzle Turbo). The older engines used a wastegated turbo, not VNT. The GTC1549VZ turbo is about 2 generations newer than the VNT-17 and was never sold in North America. The GTD1752VRK is 3 generations newer than the VNT-17, also never sold in North America Both of these turbos support more top end horsepower and spool quicker at the low end than the VNT-17. That means a broad, flat torque curve. As an example, later Audi/VW diesels report peak torque over a range of 1750 to 2750 rpms, rather than at 1900 rpms. The GTC turbo pushes enough air to support 200-210 horsepower. The GTD turbo will support 220 horsepower. Both Turbos require some custom work to mate to the ALH, AHJ, & 1Z engines. For the last 18 months, I have been running a GTC1549VZ turbo on my 96 Passat with close to double the stock horsepower and I have been super pleased with the results. Very, very little turbo lag and smooth power to 4500+ rpm. We had to dial back the power because the clutch would start to slip at 313 lb/ft of torque. The tune is now putting out 285 lb/ft with no clutch slipping. Max boost pressure is held to 26 psi, in the interest of keeping the head gasket in one piece. The 285 lb/ft is at the front wheels on the dyno. The H.O. 4.0 puts out 230 lb/ft at the flywheel, not the rear wheels. With this engine for the Comanche, the stronger 12.9 head bolts will keep the gasket in place for more than 30 psi boost. The AHU pistons are said to be a bit stronger than the 1Z pistons also. The larger Jeep 4.0 LUK H.D. clutch "should" support more torque than the stock VW VR6 clutch. All in all, the thinking is that the GTD1752VRK turbo will be able to deliver the same or more torque at lower Exhaust Gas Temperatures in the Comanche compared to the GTC1549VZ in the much more aerodynamic Passat. Sorry for the long winded response. Digging the progress on your build, could you elaborate a little on the custom work needed to mate a GTC1549VZ or GTD1752VRK to a 1z, I did a little searching over at tdiclub couldn't find anything specific.

I was able to get one side installed today, two things one, the center pin used on these was larger than the hole in my spring perch so I had to enlarge it to 9/16ths. This is on a d35 in a long bed. The new pin appears to be 1mm larger in diameter where it meets the perch. So have a drill handy when installing. Two, The spring produced about 1.5in over the stock springs (86 long bed, d35, 4cyl, 4x4) when comparing it to the other side which is still stock, having the different springs on at the same time may be throwing that off a little but I don't think too much. Hope these don't settle too much. Looks like I will still be looking into a shackle. Took some pics but can't post them right now

Yeah, asked Joe and he got back to me immediately, this one was delivered last night, other one should be here tonight. Anyone started thinking about what shocks would pair well with these?

UPS dropped off something for me today too, .......A spring. LOL, hoping the other one gets here later today or tomorrow so i can mabe put them in this weekend. Knucklehead were your springs connected together for shipping or did they have separate labels?

I have seen pics of a few people installing 97+ xj lights in mj beds, requires metalwork, the euro spec xj taillights would work The wiring will be a bit of work too. Mabe disconnect the brake light switch from the stock wiring and run a separate circuit. connect the stock brake/turn to the dedicated turn signal. run the stock tail light to the low element of the new tail and the new circuit to the high element. reverse should be stock and you could add a switch for the rear fog. The only thing wrong is the low element won't turn off when the brake lights turn on or convert the wiring harness to an xj (had to do the reverse of this when i swapped in a 91 xj drivetrain, used a trailer light controller to make the lights work)

Still in

Any idea what the long term implications of not adding the friction modifier are? how noticeable is the difference in the lsd? Sweet build (also like the VFR)

I'm in for $340+shipping a pair. Any idea how the group buy works if we get another 3 to go in?

Wondering the same...from wgat I understand the 3/2 will net anywhere from 1.5-3" of lift depending on how sagged your springs are. No guarantee on lift which is why when I get mine I will be building the front lift after I install the springs. Sounds like these should pair well with the set of OME Coils I want to put in. I was going to go with the Rusty's 4in packs which are $300 and try a smaller shackle to lower a little, if we can set up a deal to get these anywhere near that cost this looks like a no brainer.

Are the "3/2" the 2 in lift spring? If so i would be in too.

I remember seeing a youtube video of a guys street comanche where in order to keep the front suspension geometry like stock he took a 2wd beam cut the ends off it and welded them on top of the center of another 2wd beam, so it would lower it the thickness of the tubes and the control arms should keep stock angles. I think it would still need shorter springs.

Has anyone made the airbags functional during a '97 interior swap? Is this even safe to do, I know the controller said not to install in another vehicle when i pulled one out of a passat. Would the weight difference between the XJ and MJ change the deployment threshold?

Hi masimmons25, Tell us more about your conversion - which engine are you using and what year is it going into. Where are you sourcing the TDI to Jeep transmission adapter? What year Comanche are you converting to TDI Power? You may want to consider just using the A pillar to mount the egt/boost gauges. Then use the stock 6 gauge Comanche/Cherokee cluster to pick up the volts, oil pressure, tach, speedo and fuel gauge. Dakota Digital has a solution for the stock Jeep tach for $85 also. WRONG! Just read post 83 - seems it did not work and there is a simple solution It is mentioned in this conversion thread: http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?75161-Jeep-cherokee-TDI I have a 1z from a '96 passat that has been in the family from the factory, already pulled entire drivetrain, accessories, and harness; also have a 2nd 1z complete engine from craigslist ($200 score!). Its going into an '86 4cyl LWB, putting in a 4.10 8.8 to match the front, stealing the ax15 and np242 from my current comanche. As for adapter I'm going with the the coty one (just the adapter not the whole kit) instead of the gastodiesel because it retains a stock starter and is cheaper. The dakota digital adapter i referenced isnt for the tachometer its for vehicle speed, which the tdi ecu needs in order to run smoothly (or so i have read), this adapter will be wired inline between the stock speed sensor in the np242 and the VW wiring harness, it allows for any speed sensor signal to be converted to the right wave form (sine or square) if needed and to calibrate the pulses to what the ecu is expecting at a any given speed. once this is in place i am going to retain all the other stock vw sensors so the vw ecu is going to think it is still in a passat. from there i may just install the vw gauge cluster (also picked up one from a vr6 that has the trip computer and can be made to work with the TDI) in the xj dash (97+), and add the extra gauges I want. If I don't go that route i may buy the Chrysler cluster module that coty sells and utilize the stock 97+ gauges. Hoping to order the Coty adapter later this week (if they're open over the holidays) and have some progress pics up soon.

In the middle of this swap myself, the tdi's need a speed input to run correctly. I am planning on using one of these. http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=126/prd126.htm This should allow for the use of the speed sensor in the transfercase. I'm thinking of mounting the stock vw cluster then adding some additional gauges somewhere for boost, egt, voltage, and oil pressure.