Dzimm

I've actually never heard about replacement manifolds cracking, I've always heard people have issue with the flange size being wrong or it being warped causing a leak at the block, which was my concern when ordering cheap. There may be some company that uses the OEM design, which in turn would cause the cracking but I didn't see any when I was looking. Most are a redesign with two flexpipe sections built into the manifold and better welds where the pipes collect. If you look at what's available on the cheaper side, the exact same design manifold price ranges from $60 to almost $200 depending on where you buy it from. The most rediculous price swing for the same product I've seen in a while. It also makes a huge difference by installing the flex section downstream so the entire exhaust is able to move and further reduce the chance of cracking. If you look at google, you'll find pictures of even the most expensive manifolds/headers cracking over time, which to me says the key really is the flex section. The cheapo manifold I got is the same one that has the crazy price range and has the flex pipes built in. I didn't add a flex downstream because I'll be completely redoing the exhaust at some point in the near future so I'll do it then. I've got maybe 1000 miles on it since I installed it so I don't have any real results yet.

I bought a manifold off Amazon for $60 as "open box" and it worked just fine. Had to paint it myself but high heat spray paint is cheap. I'd imagine you can find the rest of the exhaust pipe you need for relatively cheap as well. I've never bought a full kit like your looking at so I can't really comment on any full kits, I've always pieced my exhausts together.

We want all the pics! Such a good looking truck.

I'm guessing 2" is the point where major modifications need to start? I will definitely be doing something for a rear sway bar. I remember seeing HOrnbrod's setup at one time, I'll have to go back and check it out again.

Yes this is the plan basically. I'm collecting the parts for now and plan on switching tires first to see where that gets me. Then moving onto suspension. I've got a few sets of stock coil springs to play with and a set of 3.5" lift coils in the mail from MJXJeepguy that will give me a stiffer ride after I know where I want to be. Bump stops need replaced as it is so those will surely be set to accommodate the drop. There is a video on YouTube of a guy reviewing a lowered MJ, which gave me some good info on front suspension issues he ran into when lowering and how he got around them. The lowered XJ threads have helped answer questions as well. I really would rather not use blocks on the rear so I will be limited on how low I can really go. I want to be just low enough not to worry about rolling it on dry pavement. I'm shooting for 2"-3" drop in suspension for now.

Pete to the rescue! I live three hours from there but will be an hour away from there this weekend. I called and they are going to have them pulled and ready for me to pick up Saturday!

So I'm getting closer to lowering the red truck. Currently I'm working out the rear springs and I've concluded I've got two options and I'm struggling to decide the path I want to go so I'd like your guys opinions. I'm trying to keep unnecessary cost down as much as possible. Option 1: buy XJ leaves and build a pack. Problem I'm having is the cheapest used springs I can find are $100 a pair. Cheapest new springs I can find are $160 a pair with most closer to $250 a pair. This will also make it easier to adjust the ride as I can just swap individual leaves around. Option 2: dearch the MJ springs. I called the only spring shop I could find that does this and they quoted an hour or two at $128/hr. This got me thinking I could just buy a press from HF and do it myself. The nice thing about this route is the only cost will be the shop press and I'll have it for future work afterwards. It seems pretty straightforward but I'm worried about screwing up the MJ springs as I've never dearched a spring before. I'm also worried that dearching will make the spring longer and cause me issues since I was also planning on using shorter XJ shackles. I'm leaning towards dearching myself because it's cheap and I'd get a press out of it. But I like the idea of easy adjustment later on with having extra leaves to play with. What are your thoughts?

Welcome! make sure to start a build thread so we can see your truck and the work you do! Q1 - krustyballer like stated above. Go to the classifieds section here and he's under vendors. Q2 - yes you can keep the wheels. You can upsize your tires once it's lifted but that's depending on how tall you go. If you get larger tires, you must check to ensure your bumpstops are correct to avoid crumpling sheet metal. Q3 - there have been a few threads on here about companies for them. Stock Interiors is the only one I can't think of right now. Q4 - no manufacturer currently produces toppers for the MJ. You'll need to look around at Craigslist or in the classifieds here for leads on toppers (Iirc there is one listed here now). There are ones specifically designed for the MJ but you can use ones from similar sized trucks. You will need to look at dimensions when buying. As for a go to place to buy, not really. Google what you are looking for and search the forums here and it should give you some answers. If you don't find your answers, post your question and someone will know the answer. If you don't know already, the MJ and XJ share basically every part from the A-pillar forward and most parts from the B-pillar forward. Because of this, you can get parts from XJs or search Google using XJ because it will give you more results if you don't find what you are looking for when searching under MJ.

You should check out school/government auctions in your area. Recently there was a school selling off their old tire balance and mount machines around here. Description said they worked fine, the school was just getting rid of their auto program or something like that. They sold for $100 each. I didn't have the money at the time or I would have bought them. I'm right there with you, want to do it myself. Not only do you know it's done right, you also don't have to pay for tire work again.

I don't have first hand experience but I have looked into this myself and talked to a guy on YouTube who made a video on it. The info I gathered was that they work just fine but you have to make sure and check your unit over for any damage to the pivot point and double check that it actually sits level before using it. Most of the negative experiences people have seem to be due to user error or damage to the unit. Some people also expect it to give computer level accuracy which is just not gonna happen. This is the way tires were balanced before machines so it's a proven method. With a little practice and you should be good. You already say you are expecting computer accuracy, which is good but you can get pretty dang close.

The factory did make a rad without trans fittings at one time. Here's the one I pulled from the truck with the Chrysler part number.

. Can't wait to see you suspension setup.

Is there a particular reason for one without? When I replaced mine, I just used one with the tranny lines and left them capped because it was a good price. I didn't look too hard but I didn't see any rads without the tranny lines when I was looking.

In the past I've put some around the very edges of the wheel to avoid salt creeping behind the wheel but I'm not sure I like it there. By putting antiseize behind the wheel, there is no friction between the rotor/hub and the wheel so the only thing holding the wheel on at that point is the nuts. If the nuts are slightly undertorqued, the studs stretch, or the nuts back off just a thousandth of an inch, you greatly increase the risk of studs snapping because of the wheel slipping and putting a shear stress on the studs. Bolts can't take very much shear stress. Bolts squeeze/clamp stuff together, the friction between the objects is actually what holds them together.

I work in plastic injection molding and I continually have issues with people overtightening mold clamp bolts. We have preset torque wrenches for the proper torque for the bolt size but they have this thought that an extra half a turn past the click will make it tighter. No matter how many times we tell them to not overtighten the bolts, nearly every bolt we find is overtorqued. We finally had a mold fall out of a press last week because the threads in the 6" thick steel platen (mold mounting plate), pulled out causing the clamps to fall off. Luckily the mold was relatively light (~600 lbs) and it fell onto a conveyor belt so nobody was hurt but it's a great lesson to use as a teaching tool for proper bolt torque. The lesson here is that when using a torque wrench, be sure you are using it properly. As far as on lug nuts, I've used a torque wrench a few times but usually just snug them up with the 4-way with no sort of antiseize. I live in Iowa and never have issues with rust on the studs or nuts. Usually it's the wheel being rusted to the rotor or hub that's the problem.

Budget model. https://store.bleepinjeep.com/product/flux-capacitor/

He's a picture I pulled off eBay. 4hi full time is the only full time gear. 4lo and 4hi part time should be the same as the 231 case. 2wd 4wd hi part time 4wd hi full time N 4 lo part time

The 242 is basically a 231 but has full time 4wd as well that can be used on all road surfaces. No advantage for an offroad only rig.

Buy the LS just to have it or flip it at the very least. I would swap it personally.

Cat converter was my first thought as well. I would be testing things before replacing.

15 seconds in and immediately realized something was up with the video. Forgot it was April 1st.. "Mattel had the tooling already so they produced AR-15s" Waiting for parts of the video to be used in anti-gun arguments...

Interesting, copy and paste the first link and it says page not found. Use jpdriver1's link and it works..

The pans are slightly different. The biggest difference is the floor bracing. You will need to reuse any bracing that is there as new pans don't come with it. Most aftermarket pans need modified to fit properly from what I've seen people talk about. Classic2Current Fab is the only name I can think of, but I have no idea how they fit. I replaced nearly the entire floor in my 95 XJ with the sheet metal off an old washing machine I picked up off a curb. If you've got the Fab skills, it's not hard to build your own pans and costs virtually nothing.

I've got permission to add any tools I want! Helps we own a house together and have most of the "normal" young couple registry type gifts already. Amazon has a deal where if something is on your registry and nobody gets it for you, you get a huge discount on it so I will be taking advantage of that for sure! Updates will come, hopefully sooner rather than later. Free time is hard to come by right now.