carnuck

I upgraded the rear brakes in my '87 MJ 2 ways. I replaced the wheel cylinders with ones from an AMC Eagle (same year) which are larger bore and I bypassed the load level valve and went to 1 line. Now I stop the same whether fully loaded or not. Later I plan to put in an adjustable valve between the front and back and put the '93 ZJ front brakes on with discs in the rear.

I'm running the stock line but I moved it down onto the bracket for the load sensor. It gets protected by the 33" spare tire under my shortbox.

I'm 6' and almost 300 lbs (my side of the bench sags perfectly to fit!) and my sons are 5' 8" and 5' 10" and 6' respectively. They take turns as to who will ride "b*@$£" in the back.

I killed my alternator trying to degrease it. Now I have the 130 amp one from work, so it was an upgrade needing done anyways! :cheers:

You can pressure bleed them with a bicycle pump. I have to do that to my buddy's rig whenever he forgets to check the level and runs low. (he needs a new hose but is too lazy to get one. I make him slide under and open the bleeder while I pump up the master) I would put a valve on a spare cap, but his has the tiny breather hole on top I just hold the bike pump over and slowly push the plunger.

On the later models (90/92), there is a small wire next to the battery in a plug of it's own. Don't recall the color of the wire, but it was the lead to the starter. I put a bypass switch directly to it. I also found out that '93 (XJ) had the theft deterrent system (computer key under the dash) that I cleaned with electronic spray and didn't have a prob again.

The design of the Blackstone rads has tubes that are too small and they plug up easily. People will put tap water in to make their pure antifreeze 50/50 and wonder why the system clogs up too. (I run premix because the water is correct PH, with no chlorine or other engine killing chemicals added)

This is an AX15 5 speed coupled to a NP208J tcase (It's far stronger than a NP231 and already has fixed yokes) I had to use a D300 to AW4/AX15 clocking ring (the 7/8" thick one plus gaskets) so it will also work with AW4 to any of the FSJ NP tcases ('80 to '91 NP208J, NP219, NP228 or NP229) I just wish I'd had time to put it into my '87 Comanche before I had to move out of my storage locker (It was big enough to work in) Image Not Found

I run 33" with an SOA and the extra spring stiffness REALLY lets me cruise the corners! I do the ramp from I-405 southbound onto I-520 eastbound (towards Microsoft) at 50 mph when the ramp is clear. I've watched more than one R Honda go off the corner or spin out trying to keep up! :D

They could have been trying to put a newer one in. The part # is different for '91 up for some reason. That might be it.

Too bad Maple Ridge wrecking went away. My sons hit pic a part in Chilliwack a lot.

Now I'm going to REALLY mess you up! Here's a CJ10 for you! Image Not Found Diesel motor no less! Image Not Found

Is your El worth more than $500? That's about what the 4.3 converted XJ is worth with a blown motor. (consider what it costs to replace everything bad and deduct that cost from the value of your car) I'd say if he threw in a good running 4.3 with the deal I "might" think about it.

Caddy TBI uses the same noid light. I have the whole set.

I tripped over the ultimate rear diff. A '70 Valiant Dana 60 from a big block Cuda car! Same bolt pattern (haven't checked width yet) I hear ground clearance is an issue because they are so deep.. Waiting to find out how much he wants for it and the width before doing anything else.

When I replaced my front axle (I undid the old one at the axle), I put the lower arms on first, then put in the new longer coils, then I attached a comealong to the upper control arm mount and attached it back to the trans crossbar to pull the diff back and align the bolts.

A little late to mention this, but when they go bad, I use a 3 legged puller to yank the outer ring off and then pull the inner part the same way. I've spot welded nuts to the face and other things too, just to get the old one off. (disconnect the battery before welding. I prefer disco'ing the computer too, but it's tougher to get to.)

I'd keep the NP228 and if you go to a 258, get a 999 built up to put in front of it. You can get a 2wd one and use the guts of the 904 (output shaft and adapter sleeve mostly) You'll need to get a 4.2L with serpentine belt and run 4.0L fan, water pump, etc (not enough room for a waterpump mounted fan) and rad. You'll need to change the hood to double catch and the rad saddle from a 4.0L rig as well. Why do you want to change out the 4 cyl? Gutless with the auto? I'd convert to 5 speed and have fun (especially if it's fuel injected already) I'd guess 3.73 gears. Maybe 3.55 with the auto. You should be able to just change the axle shafts in the front. (I wonder if the CV joints from a Grand Cherokee with V8 are much stronger? I have a set of those around. Smoother cornering than Ujoint) Definitely a D35 rear. If you look at the left side of the front cover pic, the axle ID tag is still there. You might be able to read it carefully from the back.

Selectrac option was available with NP228 in '86. Only automatics came with them too. The nice thing about the 228 (and 229) is that you can drive them on any surface in 4 hi. My '87 was originally 2wd (hoping to cure that finally next week with an AX-15/NP208 swap) but I plan an AW4 and NP242 (it'll be nice to run 4 hi on the street. It already corners faster than a lot of the Hondas around here) swap later this summer when I have time to have it off the road for wiring swap, etc. Still need a column shift for the auto (I find 904 3 speed columns but they need modding and are crazy priced!) I have too many projects and not enough time to get to them all right now (I have a house to build and a job that takes a lot of my time)

I put the overload leaf from my '84 J10 into the back of my '86 Comanche (I was lifting the J10 8" to match the SOA front I did so I had the old leaves around) That made it match the 3" front coils I put in. My question is for such a little lift, why waste the money on arms and everything else? All I did was front coils and new brake hoses (YJ of the same year) on the front. It's worked fine since '02.

Amsoil synthetic ATF seems to work well in the AW4

I think you meant Spirits and Eagles. They also used them in CJs and DJs before '83. The 2.5 is made of the same parts as the 4.0L, not the 4.2L. They even share pistons, but not rods. BTW, the AMC 2.5L came first (mid '83 in Eagles, Spirits) and the 4.0L is a designed extension of that motor. ('87)

While the bolt pattern is the same on the bell as the 2.8L V6 and later GM 4 cyls (early 2.5 Dukes have the same bell as Chev V8 ), not much else interchanges. If you can find a pre '83 CJ with the 4 cyl with V8 pattern and auto, the 904 trans used can be beefed up to put a smallblock Chev into an XJ.

I've been running my D35 for a couple years and haven't been the easiest on it (treat it like a Metric Tonne and occasional lengthy burnouts as well as "wheeling" my class two 4 mile long driveway near Reiter Trails) with 33"/9.50 tires. If I ran wider tires I probably would have snapped it by now.

When it comes to the AMC Eagle, I know a fair bit more than many. My uncle worked on the assembly line in Canada and I got to see the first Eagle wagon (it was a Hornet wagon mocked up because it still had round headlights) but I was more interested in the V8 AMXs then. I had a '77 AMX that I ended up parting out to put a motor in my '73 J4000. Now I have an '82 Spirit, which is nearly identical to the AMX I had except no rust or suspension problems (the AMX had been hit pretty hard and the uniframe bent) and it's a 6 cyl. Soon it will get Jeep EFI and 4.0L head (already have the parts. Just need the time!) and either a 727 or a newer 999 with EFI flexplate and CPS mounted, or an AW4 conversion.