DJM/78

Thats because concealment of a firearm is a major responsibility , often times having the weapon makes situations more unsafe . I can't say I know a hole lot of even 21 year old guys that NEED a concealed handgun permit , there are so many laws put into use protecting criminals that there is almost no use for them anymore . All these fuggin tree huggers around here call the cops at just the sight of a handgun . Bunch of namby pambies called the police when a local OFF DUTY police officer was seen loading his pistol in the trunk of his car before heading out to a MANDATORY shooting practice . He was later mobbed by police being completely surrounded by squad cars . Ended up on the news that the guy was all within his legal limit and no charges were filed . What a waste of taxpayers dollars , I hope the fuggin tree huggers realize how are country was founded . ( With open mouth and rifle in hand ) . As soon as they take the rifle , there goes your freedom .

Yeah thats a little high for an 88 but you can't really complain when there are fewer and fewer MJ's laying around . I paid 2700 for mine and proudly do it again . I searched for the perfect MJ for almost a year before buying . Sure there were enough 500 $ MJ's laying around but I wanted one near mint condition and ready for restore .

U joints are a great start but a thunk or knock can come from almost anywhere . My problem was mostly steering but the most noticeable clunk came from the track bar bracket . They tend to loosen overtime , more common with a mild 2"-3" lifts with the stock bracket , I ended up welding mine , dammed thing came loose like three times .

I agree , 4 links are good for crawling but you loose almost all of your load bearing capability . Go with custom made springs and be done with it . I lost a little load capability with the SOA , so I'm going with a custom spring rate thats real close to stock for that smooth ride . This way you can still use it as a truck was intended and you have all the flex you need . If you want something fast , just go buy a motorcycle . Todays street bikes ( rockets ) run flat out 9 sec quarters right off the showroom floor , not to mention how easy it is to break the 200 mph mark with some upgrades . All for under 12,000 k , New !

Very cool , Looks like it came that way from the factory . The old grill was soooo cleeen though , I wish mine was that nice .

Its nice to see someone taking advantage of the many XJ's that are around here . The guy down the street has about two or three a week that he sells , next week he buys more . Its like a revolving XJ lot . Still can't get his hands on an MJ though ....he,he,he Next time you get your hands on a late model two door let me know .

:doh: .....and here I've been using those famous Colorado boogers the whole time .. :brows: Works good for rubber hose lube as well ... :ack:

The key to a good exhaust system is proportional to the size of the intake/exhaust ports coming out the cylinder head . Also the aspiration of the motor , weather its turbo , supercharged or natural aspired . In race bikes allot of engineering and R&D goes into finding the perfect exhaust size , tapper and bends even the type of material they are made from can make a difference . Too big and you loose precious back-pressure , gobbling up all your low end , Too small and you run into the air flow being restricted , again loosing power mostly from the high end . Also just replacing mufflers and pipes do nothing but sound better , find a kit or have a shop custom make a complete exhaust kit , Headers , Pipe and mufflers . To get the full benefit you'll need to something with the air intake and for a stage 1 finale , I'd upgrade the injectors and adjust the air fuel ratio accordingly . I'd probably ask any of the Jeepspeed pre-runners what they are using or what might be a good manifold/pipe size thats perfect for all around driving . The race teams have allot more experience and trial by fire know how than I could shake a stick at .

:agree: Yes I'll upgrade the booster and master later , however NEW stock brakes work just fine , even with heavy wheels . I would advise the discs in the rear thats just a major improvement right there . Stock calipers and rotors are cheaper and I've noticed that they last longer . SS brake lines also firm up the pedal , feels like there is more control under load .

You better take picks ..... :fs2: I'd like to see what passes you end up taking .

Being that its a new manifold , the paint should stick much better than trying to clean an old one . However I've been using some of that ceramic paint from Dupli-coat . Still holding up good even on the tie-rod . Probably have to do it over now and then . Looks good there CW !

I ended up using the RE mono tubes , the Bilstein were on back order at the time and I found out that the RE mono's are just re-badged and coated Bilstein's . Great ride if I must say , super smooth on the highway .

IMHO , if your going to go SOA leave the stock packs alone . They ride just fine with the SOA . Giving the perfect amount of lift to get a very small rake . Anything you load in the back will easily level it out at 5.5" . I can't stand sag , I would rather have a small rake and be able to level it out with load , knowing your going to be putting all kinds of stuff back there anyway .

:agree: They even sell the 50/50 mixes already to go up here .

Glad I'm finally learning to help people on here , up till now I've been mostly useless as far as tech , but I'm getting a crash course in learning not to use the BIG hammer all the time . :no:

Cool , thanks Jim .. :thumbsup:

I would listen to all the good advise on this thread . Just my two cents , I would do a complete tune-up . It never ceases to amaze how much power dry heat and altitude effects your motor . All the time people come up here with nice 4x4's soon finding out how much power they loose being tuned for sea level driving . Don't get me wrong the MJ puts along just fine but don't expect to be doing Indy 500 speeds on the highway and the higher you get over the passes the more you'll have your foot mashed in the gas . Depending on your gear set up , you should do just fine . Heat is probably going to be one of your biggest concerns so get that coolant flushed go ahead and buy new hoses if you don't already carry them , get an alignment and check the brakes for abnormal wear , just to keep the friction at a minimum , new belts are always a plus to have as well .

I haven't tried the stock offset wheels but it looks as if there would be enough room . The knuckle is a Tera-Flex high steer 1 ton kit , just comes with the knuckle . Rod ends and links are all Tera- HD . I believe they were the tapered version , with the TRE there were no clearance issues , knowing that I relocated the sway bar . For that I used the Tera sway relocation brackets . Rods were custom made from .281 wall dom to fit . I don't know it does look close . :dunno:

Would you possibly have the guts to a passenger side door w/ manual windows , I need the whole lock and handle @$$. Might even be easier to just swap a door , but I know how much of a PITA it is so I'm looking for 92" style hinge and handle .

All the guys on NAXJA are snapping them up , I've actually seen quite a few these last couple of months , just tool'in around town all stock like and everything . What are you trying to start down there , an MJ museum .... :brows: I hope none of your trucks were damaged last night in the hail . :shake:

Looks good mkbruin , Don't get to see your builds very much . For the price your better of finding a complete kit with everything you need . The Comanche specific RE HD super flex 5.5" kit was the cheapest/best I found 1100 .$ everything included . The only thing it didn't include was the SOA kit and the SYE kit , yes you still have to address steering , axles and drive shaft . No you don't have to do a SYE or re-gear the axles but your going to down the road anyway . My advise is to do it right the first time . I have had 0 problems with this lift . It rides better than my 2" lift ever rode . IMHO , I've had no regrets with the new RE track bar end and the short arms . They have refined them over the last two years . Long arms are the way to go if you got the chedda' , which I will be doing in the distant future .

Alright CW , I'm going to start with 18-14 ga. .Last night I took the tail light out to see what kind of template I need to make . The Idea is to replicate the boxes for XJ's from JCR , Bedside would cool but I'm going to focus on the boxes for now . Matching the body lines and using a rounded edge on the corner will be my main goal . Sorry guys I get all huffy puffy trying to motivate myself , I just threw 1/4" out there , just sounded good . After looking last night there is almost no room for 1/4" anyway , so the plan is to use a gauge metal that fits flush with the bedside . I may have to play with a couple of different thicknesses of metal to see what works best . Guess I will have to make friends with a CnC stamp machine . I have a CAD program but its set up for another industry . So most of this is going to be trial and error .

I haven't looked at it that much but what would you guys do ? Is 3/16 still too heavy . I'm still toying with the bedside idea as well .

:brows: I'm sure it is but I don't want to remake them , in case they get friendly with a rock or a tree .

:clapping: I'm kinda thinking something along the lines of the old Discount tire commercial " Please feel free to bring them back any time " as the old lady throws the tire through the window . Thats what's going on in my mind right now ....