DesertRat1991

Tucson in the house! Welcome neighbor!

Well crap, fellas... I learned something today. Distorted thread nuts -- never heard of such a thing. I bought all new hardware when I did my lift. I thought the nuts they sent me were out of spec so I didn't use them! Didn't look right at all. lol

Guys. Those guests aren't real people. The majority are search engine bots/web crawlers scouring the site for indexing purposes. A lot of the traffic on this site is artificial. Take the metrics with a grain of salt.

The Crown Automotive kits will have everything you need for an overhaul except wheel cylinders and the self-adjusting assembly. Kit includes rotors. If the cylinders aren't leaking, you can reuse them. For the self-adjuster, disassemble and re-lube before reusing. Pro tip: Find a 20% off Harbor Freight coupon and spend the $10 bucks for their Drum Brake Tool Kit. It's not necessary, but the multi-use pliers make life easier.

Getting rare out here too, even where rust isn't an issue. But I did stumble across this gem a week ago. '87 Wagoneer Limited... 4x4, bucket seats, vent windows, chrome everywhwere. She must have been quite the looker when new...

OP, Are you CERTAIN there isn't a gasket between the manifold and y-pipe? I've never done exhaust work on an OBDII XJ, but I can tell you that on the older models, the taper on the end of the exhaust manifold is actually a removable crush gasket made of metallic-fiber mesh. After a few years of rust/dust it tends to blend in with the manifold, but it needs to be replaced when doing exhaust work because after it takes a set it will never reseat quite the same. Looking online, there does appear to be something round between your manifolds and y-pipe but I can't find a part number for it: Advice: Grab a chisel and give a LIGHT tap on the widest part of the taper (the base end). If you can dent it or flake it, then it is a crush gasket that needs to come off. If there really isn't a gasket, then your next best option, short of custom fab work, is to pack the $#!& out of the joint with exhaust sealing compound. Crude, but thats what the stuff is made for, and it should get you past inspection: Versachem Exhaust Joint Sealer

How many MJs could there possibly be left in Alaska? How many of those had D44s? How much would it cost to ship an MJ D44 from the lower 48? How much does it cost to ship a complete lift kit to Alaska? How much does a clean, unmolested MJ go for in Alaska? I doubt you could reproduce the truck for less than 6k given your location. The biggest red flag though, as online car adds go, is this part: "D30 front(needs a little tlc)." That could mean anything. Get details. Inspect gears and tube seals.

Thanks for the heads up. Rough Country F/R SS brake line kit inbound.

Been very pleased with the IRO adjustables. They're good up to 6" of lift and have the same "You bend/break it, we replace it" warranty as the C4x4. Under $300 for the CavFab set is a damn good deal though.

Have you tried fitting your 31" tire in the stock spare location? How'd it go? I've got a 30" tire under the shortbed and there's barely any room left. I would guess an inch or less. Haven't had a chance to try stuffing a 31 up there myself.

Spicer certainly built them. Don't know what countries they were sold in though: http://drivetrain.estoreseller.com/DanaCatalogs/x510-9.pdf Dana 44 Fronts: 1982-84 Wagoneer, Cherokee Disconnect STD Track 1982-84 J10, J20, Wide Track Cherokee Dana 60 Rears: 1978-79 J20 Pickup 1979 J20 Pickup 1980-81 1/2 J20 Pickup 1982-85 J20 Pickup 1982 1/2-84 CJ10 1985 AM 720 1985 CJ10 1986-88 J20 Pickup Dana 70 Rears: 1985 CJ10A Military Jeep

MT Leafs and 5100s... "soft and smooth" are not the first words that come to mind. The 5100s do their job well but with an empty bed you are going to feel it. These trucks don't have enough @$$ to really work that setup like it needs. With 255/70s, adding a bed cap, loaded tool box, full size spare, hitch, and stock bumper improved the ride quality greatly. When changing lanes at 80mph the truck stays planted and rebounds nicely. The setup does a pretty good job of limiting body roll too considering there is no rear sway bar. It's a rather... "sporty" experience. If you want 5100s, and your bed is empty most of the time, the 170/60s would be a far better option.

It's aluminized piping. If you punch in your vehicle specs on their website it should pull up all the part numbers you need. Click the part number, then the "Tech Specs" tab.

I like the downward tilt. It's nice because it provides some additional clearance between the pipe and the plastic OEM rear bumper corners. It also directs the sound downward instead of at your neighbor's bedroom wall. You want quiet? This is how you achieve quiet. The Flowmaster 50 is quiet, but not silent. Very similar to stock just a bit deeper. Very comfortable in the cab too. The difference between FM40/FM50 is that the FM40 is a 2 chamber design and the FM50 has a third chamber to eliminate droning under partial throttle.

So I failed my equipment inspection for not having a catalytic converter installed. I soon realized I was going to have to cut all the old piping out because Backyard Bubba snapped a stud of the CAT support bracket, then just said "Screw it!" and stick welded the downpipe, bracket and cat-delete sections together. Ugh. New exhaust went in this weekend. Walker piping, cat, and Flowmaster 50. Found a replacement support bracket at the local U-pull. I was very impressed with the fit of the Walker piping. Everything snaked together properly with no modifications other than trimming 3" off the forward end of the tailpipe section to accommodate the FM50. The sound is great, nice low rumble at idle with no drone in the cab while underway.

"Hack job" seems a bit harsh. I don't see any widow makers that need fixing, just lots of cleanup work. Run some self tapping screws through those front brake line brackets and clean up that rat's nest of lines/tubing on the rear axle. The front lift components are decent enough. The Rough Country dampers are obvious. Those are RC swaybar disconnects too. That looks like the Rubicon Express track bar bracket, can't really see the bar itself but it looks adjustable. The rear shock setup is questionable, but functional. Although they probably won't last long off road. What's your shackle set up look like? If she tracks straight and stops decent I would put this in the "wheel it till it breaks, then upgrade" category.

Interesting! I have a glovebox lamp?? Had to go look. Sure enough, a tiny bulb, pointing backwards into the box that I would have never noticed. Burnt out, of course. For you guys that know your trucks came with an OEM rear bumper, is it listed on the sheet? My truck didn't have a stock rear when I got it and I don't see a rear bumper on the sheet. And anyone know what "belt moldings" are?

If that's really what you need, then why not move up to a 16" wheel? Something like the TJ Moab in 16x8. There are dozens of options available in 265/75R16, which is esentially 32x10.5. Even dedicated winter tires like Blizzaks.

That there is your intake flywheel. Stores momentum to keep the air in the airbox circulating when you stop at a red light.

Fairly certain that's the rear diffuser for the steering wheel.

Does JCR lurk here..? lol...

Rotopax, brah. Finally, a place to mount our ROTOPAX so everyone at the mall can see! I do wonder how much weight JCR claims it will support. Seems like throwing anything heavy up there would be terrible for your CofG. In the end, I think this will end up being a very expensive mounting rack for offroad lights.

This is nicely optioned truck. Can you post a close-up of what's on top of your roll bar? If that's the factory adapter rail that converts the roll bar from 2 light mounts to 4, then that is a VERY rare option.

What did you trade for the Comanche?

Thank KB. I believe you would have, as your customer service is outstanding. We're all good.