EUREKA

I see. I'm generally not too informed on truck payload capacities. What I really want is to correct what I see as deficiencies in the truck. This truck is primarily a daily driver / work truck. But I often work in remote areas with muddy, rutted dirt roads. I once snapped a factory ZJ track-bar getting to a worksite. I would like the best possible compromise between excellent on highway performance, and lightish off-road performance. And I am willing to overbuild to that end. Judging from my past XJ's and ZJ's the factory brake systems are pathetic, once the vehicle is loaded, and you are going over hills. And honestly I've hauled heaping loads to the dump in my metric ton Comanche that made me feel that the brake system is inadequate. And just looking at the tie-rods, well those are not 1-ton tie-rod ends. I do not care one bit about the law, at least not in this regard. I haven't settled on a tire size yet, but I will be re-gearing. I definitely want to dual brake booster upgrade. I'll have to look into this. I'm not sure I want to upgrade the shaft in the Dana 30, rather than replace the entire axle but I'm open to it since I will never have giant tires or really rock crawl with this truck. Rear axle will be the Dana44 from my metric ton Comanche. I need to find a disk brake conversion for it. I recall looking into the WJ brake conversion for my ZJ in the past. Is it the "best" option for upgrading the front brakes? I am very interested in an over the knuckle / high steer upgrade. I would want to keep on road performance in mind. Any recommendations? WJ control arm upgrade is new to me. I will def look into that. The t-case upgrade are really for fun, plus I "have to" do the sye anyway, so I figure I might as well throw in a couple upgrades.

What do I need to do to make my truck worthy of the metric ton title? I'm not a big fan of the inverted y steering set up to begin with, and it is clearly not beefy enough. I also want to upgrade my front brake system to something appropriate for a truck that may carry a 1 ton payload. Should I go with steering and brake system conversion kits, or is there an axle out there that I can swap in without a major fabrication project? WJ front axle? I already plan to upgrade the planetary gear set, and chain size in the t-case. Thanks again for the help!

After taking a look today I see that you are right.

I am definitely interested in a larger than stock tank in the spare tire location, and I happen to have a long bed. Maybe the 42 gallon tank from a '98 Suburban is for me.

I was thinking today about how silly it is to have the fuel tank on the drivers side, and the exhaust on the passenger. I understand the the tank is convenient close to the fuel door that way, but when driving alone the weight of fuel adds to that of the driver. I know this isn't a racecar, and being perfectly balanced probably isn't all that important. However I do have the bed off and this would be the time to do any major changes. I'm also completely replacing the exhaust system so I could have it run straight back on the drivers side. What have I overlooked here? Availability of custom fuel filler hoses from the tank to the fuel door? Interaction of fuel filler hoses and exhaust system? Have many people relocated the tank to the spare tire area? I don't see anything using the search. What about fuel capacity upgrades? I would love to increase my range.

Made a dolly to store/move the bed while it's off the truck. All I had to buy was the castors. Works great. The bed sits up on one side and is strapped to the dolly with ratcheting straps.

Yep, both have factory AC.

I appreciate you thinking about these factors! Eventually I plan to re-gear the axles and install Eaton Detroit Truetrac soft lockers. I know they have a mixed reputation but I had them in both axles of my ZJ for over a decade and absolutely loved the way they perform in and off the road. I had heard that the front coils of the metric ton editions are stiffer. I will definitely be swapping those to the 91. The HD cooling is news to me. I'll make sure to check into that! The 91 came with an aftermarket aluminum radiator that looks like a major upgrade over stock.

Absolutely. I have to decide if I want to spend my time doing that, or sell the the 88 as a project for someone else. I have some other goals for this year and would like to free up the space. It would be nice to continue owning two running Comanches but I also own a 64 el camino and we are starting a family in the next couple years, I can only own so many 2 seat vehicles.

Thanks for the replies guys! I am convinced that swapping parts from the 88 to the 91 is the way I want to go. Neither of these MJ's have and significant rust.

I have two MJ's. 1) 88 4.0, metric ton edition, column shift 2) 91 HO 4.0 pioneer edition, floor shift My goals is to build one MJ with all the features I want. HO 4.0 Dana 44 and metric ton springs Column shift Would it be easier to swap the rear axle, springs, bed, and column to the 91 from the 88, or to swap the HO 4.0 from the 91 to the 88? I understand there are multiple versions of the Renix to HO swap and I would want to do whatever version results in the best performance. I already have the bed off of the 91, and on a "dolly" I made to store / move the bed. Thanks in advance for the wisdom!

Somwhow I never saw this post. If you still have them I will happily buy them.

Got the bed removed today. It was easy. Thanks for the help!

Thanks for confirming that. I'm excited to get the bed off and move the project forward!

Looks like I ave everything ready for the bed to come off. I found a video by "Bleepin Jeep" on youtube that was helpful. Lifting one side, it doesn't feel very heavy at all. Could two larger guys remove a long bed?

Thanks. I've never seen a search feature on forum that actually worked before.

I want to swap the bed from one of my MJ's to the other. 88 metric ton long bed > 91 long bed. (The 91 is also getting the springs and rear axles from the 88.) Are there any threads that address removing an MJ bed? I just want to get an idea of what I'm up against. Thanks

Yes, both are stock automatics.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that, makes sense though.

Oh you better believe I have already been daydreaming about that badge going on my 91. I can't imagine selling it.

Thank you, that's exactly how I'll do it!

I didn't think of that. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do right. I'll have to check the gear ratios in the front of my 91 (probably sock) and the rear of the 88 Metric ton (for sure stock). Both 3.55?

It is in beautiful condition too. But if I swap the Dana 44 and springs over to my 91, I can have a HO 4.0.

Yes both 4wd.

I'm considering swapping the rear axles between my MJ's. I have an 88 Metric Ton edition with a Dana 44 and a 91 with a Dana 35. I'm eventually going to have to sell one of them. To ease the pain, I though that I might keep the 91 but swap in the Dana 44 from the 88. Any major challenges to this swap?