Garvin

You will need to grab a cross member, transmission mount and trans mount to trans bracket from a Comanche with the AX15 originally in it. The AX15 is about an inch taller so the cross member has a drop to compensate for that. You might be able to get away with adding a small transfer case drop to compensate for it but you still still need the trans mount to trans bracket. For the transfer case...Your NP231 won't fit due to the 21 spline input (all AX15 equipped vehicles with the NP231 and NP242 have 23 spline inputs on the transfer case). You will also run into another issue where the transfer case is clocked differently on the Wrangler than the Cherokee (the 6 holes for the transfer case are in a slightly different spot raising the drivers side of the transfer case up higher). I have heard of people not having issues with this and have heard of others having to bang the floor up some to clear the transfer case. Make sure the AX15 has the bell housing on it as I believe the BA10/5 will not transfer over. Making noise going into 5th means the syncros are going bad in that gear, you might be better off looking for one that is in better condition if you have the time or atleast talking him down in price. I'm not sure around you but I see AX15's around me going for $200-$300 for good working order ones, sometimes a bit lower if someone is looking to unload it.

The plugs are the same (swapped in a trans from an early '94 into my '90 years ago). The main issue is the rear spline count. The '88 has a 21 spline output shaft while the '93 has a 23 spline output shaft. You can get a newer ('91+) NP231 or NP242 to swap in in place of yours and that will solve the spline issue. The other thing you can do (which is what I did since I had a SYE in my 231) is swap in just the input planetaries from a newer one. The issue with that is it has to be a '91-early '94 as in mid/late '94, (from what I've heard) they swapped to a different cut on the planetaries so they will not mesh with your inner gears. Just a FYI, you'd have this same issue with the AX15 as all AX15's were 23 spline.

I would say the transmission is easier. You have to disconnect all the bell housing bolts and torque converter to do either. The trans just needs the trans lines, shift cable, electrical connections and cross member. The engine you would need to disconnect all the electrical connections, drain the fluids, pull all the hoses, motor mounts, fuel lines, etc...

Another way I've had luck with is to jack up on where the tie rod connects to with a floor jack. Unless there is something seriously binding on the front end, there shouldn't be anywhere near enough pressure on the knuckle to damage anything.

I've done a ton of searching and sizing and the '86 rad is the only one that will fit without doing work to the front end, a CJ one is close though. I chose to cut up the front end some to fit the newer open style in there (you can see in my build thread) but that requires a good bit of work and welding. I would swap the whole system if I were you. I only did the radiator on mine and the system seems to flow in a different direction to the heater core. The system ended up getting so much pressure in it that the cap exploded and burned the hell out of my arms and chest (have coolant burn marks still on my skin). What you can do is just buy a newer coolant bottle (think I got mine from Advance Auto for like $25 or so with it taking a day to come in) then just run hoses to the heater core from the respective spots. You don't need to put a heater control valve in there as the newer Cherokee's deleted that anyways (just make sure you plug the vacuum line). If you want to retain the electric fan sensor (controls the fan based on coolant temp), you will also need a thermostat housing and the switch, then just wire that into the old two wires. To make it a little easier, the parts you would need for the complete conversion: radiator from '92+ Cherokee, open style coolant overflow bottle, thermostat housing, electric fan switch, and 4-5 feet of heater lines (I believe they are 5/8").

Mainly is for more filter to clean the oil. Unless you're doing a lot of heavy towing or wheeling, the regular filter is usually fine for you. To the OP, a bunch of us when I was in tech school decided to do oil changes and cut the outside of the filters off just to see how dirty it was. After seeing a Fram vs Wix (I was running the Wix), I swore against Fram and have never bought or installed a Fram filter since then.

The guy I got my old XJ's Dana 44 out of said it came out of an '89 and I've read they were available from '87-'89, and some made their way into the '90's. I'm not saying they're right or anything, just pointing out what I was told/read.

Are you running any lift? Unless you get the MJ D44 or AMC20 then the D44 and Chrysler 8.25 are the same amount of work. The XJ's you will want to cut the leaf perches and shock mounts off then weld on new perches on the bottom, then just use the mounts on your leaf plates for the shocks. If you do go that route, find the '97+ Chrysler 8.25 if you can. That one has the stronger 29 spline axles. Since you're not into heavy off-roading, I would stay away from the Ford 8.8. While that axle is stronger than the rest, it requires a lot more work and parts to get it in there.

If you want to set up your own gears, there's a TOTW (Topic Of The Week) on Pirate4x4 from a while ago that goes into it. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthre ... light=TOTW I've set up gears by feel in a few different axles so far and have yet to have one go bad. Unless the pinion says to add or subtract shims, start with the original shims and go from there. Your best bet would be to see if you can rent a dial gauge (with magnetic base) and buy extra bearings to use as setup bearings (open up the inside of the bearing slightly so they slip on the carrier and ring gear and you can slip them back off to add more shims). If I remember right, the D30 has the shims under the bearings on the carrier and under the inside bearing on the pinion. One thing I forgot...If you can get an inch/lb torque wrench too, then you can get everything perfectly in spec. Differential.com has all the specs that you'd need for the axle, just scroll down the link below and find the Dana 30 under the Dana Spicer heading. http://www.differentials.com/specsi.html The first time might be a days job but I've gotten down to rear axles being 2-3 hours (from rolling in to rolling out) and the front is another hour or two beyond that due to having to pull EVERYTHING apart.

Setting up gears is meticulous and time consuming but you don't need expensive tools. A simple dial indicator and torque wrench will get you the numbers you need. If you search online, you can get the range of numbers those have to be between. If you're using the same carrier, most of the time you don't need to even re-shim anything. When my buddy and I did his 30HP, we put in 4.10's with the new carrier and the stock shims worked perfect (not saying this will always work but I've seen it turn out this way a few times now).

87-96 should fit, 84-86 have a different upper core support so the brackets on the header panel are different (the header panel, itself, might be different also.

The only thing I don't like about the metal one is the 90 degree bends. If you round those bends then it would look better and perform a hell of a lot better.

The trans you have is a Chrysler A904. From the looks of it, they used that from '84-'86 in both the I4 and V6 engines.

As stated earlier, you want one for the older engines. Advance Auto has a BWD one (part # WT398) for $15.39. Not sure what stores are around you but any one should be able to cross reference that number. http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp ... 0043425___

There's nothing really wrong with the Rusty's parts except the price, I have never had an issue with their products. With that being said, if you want to find replacement brackets that are a good upgrade, Ballistic Fabrication is a good option. The first option of the link below is the mounts you want. The only issue with Ballistic Fab is you might be waiting a week or two for the parts to come in. Also, if you search Pirate4x4.com, you should be able to find a 10% off coupon someplace to add on to the savings. http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/XJ- ... _1542.html You might want to think about just replacing that bracket vs fixing it as the mount holes are all cracked and broken also. Unless you really beef them up, it'll end up just breaking on you again later on down the line.

Short answer, yes it will fit. The front of the Comanche and Cherokee are pretty much identical (The frame from the upper control arm back and the body from the quarter panel back are the only places where they really differ from each others).

I've never had an issue with RRO, I ordered their high steer kit a few years ago and got to me in a week. When done correctly, long arms are just as safe (if not safer) than short arms with the drop brackets. They also offer a much better ride quality (for 6"+ lifts) and better flex. Right now I'm running at a measured 8.5" lift. What I'm running right now is a custom built 3 link front long arm system, Rusty's 8.5" front coils, Rusty's Offroad front shocks, RE trackbar for 8" lift with drop bracket and double shear end, and drop pitman arm on the front with the stock 4wd leafs converted to SOA and the IronMan4x4 adjustable 2-3.5" shackles on the rear (cranked all the way down to about 2" of lift). The PO of this truck put on extended brake lines even though the truck wasn't lifted when I bought it. I'm planning on going down to 4.5" Rusty's front coils, matching shocks, a quality track bar for that lift with double shear end, stock pitman, and keeping with my 3-link long arm for the front and stock 2wd rear leafs (in SOA configuration) and custom shackles on 37" tires later on (pretty much when I can find someone that has the smaller lift to trade). I would stay away from spacers and blocks, but I prefer to do things once the correct way and not have to worry about it later.

Make sure the area is really clean when you weld it and put a nice bead down, it shouldn't break again. Those brackets are just stamped metal and can be easily welded together (I've done it a few times to fix broken brackets).

It all comes down to how much trimming you want to do. I'm building a low COG Comanche and am going 4.5" on 37's, but I'm not afraid to trim. I had a Cherokee on 8" lift on 36's and could easily go down to 6" lift without rubbing at full flex, but I trimmed the hell out of that Jeep (I can attach a picture if wanted but the rear is completely different).

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I'm more than happy to pass on my knowledge. :wrench:

Adding a four link is just a simple fourth arm. If you plan on doing just the three link, you will need hard joints on all 6 ends. You can get away with the stock joints on the axle with a four link. I have my 3-link build in my build thread if you wanted other ideas.

Jeep Forum also http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/rock ... e-1233168/ From the consensus on Pirate, it's his fault and not RK's. Atleast that's what I read around all the bashing. :rotfl2: Glad you're okay though! Next time try to be a bit more careful about swapping everything correctly. I made the mistake of only doing that with half my cooling system and ended up with coolant stains on my skin.

2dr flares are the ones that fit the MJ, the 4dr won't fit correctly. The difference is the rear flare is cut on the 4dr so it's a two piece with one going over the door while the other bolts to the quarter.

The question comes down to what do you plan on doing with it? If it's an off-road truck, I would just do the single stage. If it's a daily driver then I would think about the better paint job. My Jeep is an off-road truck so my buddy is going to paint mine with a single stage black then we're going to two tone it again with either Raptor liner or a single stage maroon (assuming we can find the correct color).

The 8.5" is meant for the 8" lift so that little bit shouldn't make a difference in the track bar length. What in all do you have on the front of your Jeep? I have a slightly heavier engine (Chevy 350) and winch mounted to a custom 1/4" front cross member (no bumper yet though, still in the works) and my coils measure out at exactly 8.5" of lift. Also, a bit softer of a spring is an understatement (SJ is 240+ lb/ft while Rusty's is 180 lb/ft).