Dzimm

Why do you think you have to cut your rear axle? If you get new lifted leaf springs you will just have to install those with some taller shocks for the rear. No cutting required. If you went spring over axle you'd have to cut the perches off and reweld them on top. Now I don't think the D35 will hold up too well with 33s. Let's see what others have to say.

Yeah try the sticking out part way and see what happens. Hopefully it works for you.

Just so I can fully understand the problem you are having, is the pump not clicking off at all, like it will just pump gas on the ground? Or does it do like mine and puke gas out when it clicks off?

Holy crap that's expensive. I'm sure it's a good tool but you'd have to do a LOT of brake lines to get your moneys worth. I've rented the cheap auto parts store ones a couple times, and ended up buying one of my own cause I was sick of renting it. After fixing brake lines on quite a few vehicles as well as entirely replacing all brake lines on 3 Jeeps now, I have only had one failed flare. If the instructions are followed on the cheap ones, and you take your time they work just fine.

There are no check valves on the XJ/MJ that I've ever seen. Straight through to the tank. I occasionally have it spew gas out when it clicks off after filling or the pump refuses to dispense and keeps clicking off. This ha ls all happened to both XJs and both MJs I have/had. Try putting the filler spout only halfway in the Jeep, like just far enough in that it stays without you holding it. For some reason I never have a filling issue when I do this.

I'll see what I can find. I may just make something that mounts behind the bumper and wraps over the top to hold the plate.

Thanks but I've got a few of them. The problem I've got is that it mounts on the underside of the bumper but the airdam needs to sit flat along the bottom of the bumper so I have to remove the bracket.

Well dang. Stupid front plate law. I'll have to figure something out.

Very interesting. I wonder if the law requires a non-plate vehicle be modified to meet state requirements. If not I suppose they would require you to prove it was plate free originally if you got a ticket but then you'd still be paying court costs if you could prove it.

I don't think any MJ or XJ came from Jeep without a front plate. I'm pretty sure he only pics on modified vehicles, I've seen new cars without front plates pass right by him and he didn't pull them over but the lifted trucks, offroad bumpers, ricers all seem to have him sitting behind them. I actually read into it a bit after the second time he gave me a warning and there is a bill going up to vote at some point to remove the requirement for front plates in Iowa. What I read was that currently you can't be pulled over specifically for a front plate violation but who's gonna argue with a cop on the side of the road? It seems to me that more and more new vehicles don't have a front plate on them.

That's rediculous. Yeah sell it to someone out of state or sell it to someone in the state with them knowing that's what they are facing. I don't know how exactly their stupid laws work there but could you have family in another state register and plate it? Then "buy" it from them to avoid all the extra fees and crap from it not being registered? What about registering as a classic or show car?

I was unaware the gravel shields were available. Those are still steel I assume? The tuning bender probably makes super nice bends with the soft lines, I may have to get one and try it. I just hand bend mine because it's so easy, just takes a little finesse to not kink them.

Completely agreed.

Very nice! .45?

That's a freakin deal right there. I would absolutely be in but as stated, shipping would be expensive.

Springfield makes some really nice 1911s. Which model did you go with? Nickel and dime stuff always sucks. You can plan for it but still always need something else.

That would be interesting for sure. I wonder though if the extra weight of the newer vehicles would give it trouble.

Just get a spool of copper nickel brake line and run it yourself. Snaking pre-bent lines in is basically impossible so you'll be bending them anyway. Copper nickel is super easy to work with and it never rusts so you'll never change the lines again. A 25ft spool does the entire truck except the load sensing valve. This is the kit I buy when I redo an MJ or XJ. Has all the fittings you need plus some and is only $30. 25 Ft. of 3/16" (4.75 mm) Copper... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01801G45A?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

The problem is the bracket is about 1/4" thick on the bottom and the airdam supposed to sit flush across the bumper. So really it needs no plate or a bracket that only mounted to the front of the bumper. I'm highly debating just running no front plate until the sheriff ends up seeing it.

Progress was made today. Everything is now painted and clear coated except for the wheels. I found the Rust-Oleum enamel clear coat isn't playing nice with the Rust-Oleum enamel paint on the wheels.. I luckily only did one wheel and it only cracked a little bit so refinish will be easy. The other parts took it without issue but the wheels didn't like it. I pulled the spare tire carrier off because I won't need it and shedding the weight will be nice. I also pulled off the rear most exhaust hangar because I'm not using it. I am posting them up in the classifieds if anyone wants them. Much cleaner in the rear end now. I also got the new spring perches tacked in place. Need to find somewhere near by that has a capable welder and can run the beads for me. I also decided to take the bumper end caps off and set the airdam in place. It currently sits 11" off the ground. After tires and suspension it should be closer to 7"-8" from the ground. Need to figure out something for the license plate and I need to decide, black airdam to match the pretty nice black trim, or paint everything red?

I could probably actually get away with that. I'm thinking I may just run bolts into the bumper itself. I don't want to do that but it's the easiest solution.

Did the Street MJs have front license plate holders originally? Looking at pictures there are some with and some without. I'm trying to figure out how to mount the license plate with the front airdam because the bracket is in the way of the airdam sitting flush on the bottom of the bumper. I would go without but there is a Sheriff that goes through town who is a stickler for front plates.. pulled me over twice in the blue truck because it was on the dash instead of the bumper.

Took measurements before removing everything and found the original backlash to be about .006-.007 which is right where it should be. Pattern was also right in the middle of the teeth. I took plenty of pictures so I can reference back during reassembly. Was able to get the ring gear bolts off and knocked the ring gear off. Got the ring gear on the new carrier and torqued up to 55ft/lbs but need to go to 70ft/lbs I learned after finding a Liberty FSM with the info. Many places I read it to be 55 but the FSM says 70ft/lbs so I'm going to go with that. I will also need to get a vise to finish torquing them, I can't get any higher than 55ft/lbs on the bench. I also sliced my hand open when the gear slipped, turns out they are really sharp. It currently sits in the axle as I took a stab at setting backlash but was having some issue, turns out because the FSM had some key info everyone else misses in their "tutorials". Once this is all done, I will do a thorough write-up on the diff swap and setting up the backlash per the FSM. I will also be doing a separate write-up on putting a Liberty C8.25 in the MJ. One other thing I learned from the FSM is that you need to replace the ring gear bolts. After reading into it more, it's like anything else, people say it's fine to reuse them, others say don't because they can back out or break. I even came across some pictures and video of pretty catastrophic damage done from broken ring gear bolts. Since this will be beaten on pretty hard, I am opting to take the safe route and replace them. I ordered a set of Yukon bolts and they should be here by Thursday. I also need to find a vise so I can actually torque these bolts down. I need a vise real bad but can't bring myself to buy one because I always seem to find a way to make due without.

I've been reading that the clutchless designs are prone to breaking in a high torque/stress environment like autocross which is another big reason I went with Trac Lok. The clutchless design lasts a lot longer so definitely a benefit if you won't be beating the crap out of it. I've never driven a limited slip vehicle at all to my knowledge so it will be interesting to see what this is like. The conversion math says my tire is about 24.8" with 3.73 and ax-15. Should be pretty quick to get to speed. I'll definitely be posting about the results when it's all in the truck.

JustEmptyEveryPocket is hitting the nail on the head. His user name sums up what you will need to do as you head down this path. It's rewarding but make sure it's something you really want to do. I'd recommend starting with tires first because you may be happy there if you are after looks. That being said, kits generally come in sizes of 2", 3", 4.5", 6" and some other crazy high ones. You will mostly find 3" and 4.5" for the MJ, any higher and you are going full long arms and lots of money. The shorter ones you can get away with spacers for the front and add-a-leaf or taller shackle for the rear but you'll still need to change some other parts like the track bar, sway bar links, and shocks. Also in case you were unaware, the front portion of the MJ is pretty much exactly the same as the XJ Cherokee so most parts interchange in the front.