mkbruin

JK needs extensive mods (its a lot wider) TJ is bolt-in. YJ needs mounts welded in.

I can't resist. What is the story behind this? http://forums.motivemag.com/showthread.php?4435216 "Every now and then we come across something so foul, so disturbingly stupid, so "WTF were you thinking," that we begin to question the legitimacy of our love of cars. This epic DIY failure is one of these moments. Posted to a friend's Facebook page, Car Lounger, papaskot, deemed it necessary to share with the rest of his automotive clan this DIY failure and in doing so, leapt into a rabbit hole so deep there's really no end in sight. We invite you to peruse our idea of what must have gone through the troubled mind of this enthusiast. Just be sure you learn from his mistakes."

So, mine will turn on if you angle them and shake a little (bad contacts most likely), but will not turn on with an open door. What am I missing? All fuses are good, the door sensors are plugged in....

Put the front axle on jack stands and block the rear. Have a friend or family member sit in the cab and cycle the steering back and forth. Look for play or movement at ANY joint. Both ends track bar. Both ends control arms. All TRE's. Steering box. If the aluminum spacer behind the steering box is cracked (common failure) you can get DW (as well as clunks when turning). If the steering box is bad, you can have play that can cause the DW. If the track bar mount at the frame is wollowed, DW. If caster angle is off, DW Re-torque EVERYTHING.

SOA will match the front, moe or less (within an inch). Any difference can be controlled by height of the spring perch, larger diameter axles (upgrade to d44, 8.8, 60's, 14b, etc) or shackle. My personal preference is for either a T&T Customs Y-Link or RE. I have never been a fan of running a 3 link on the street. If its a trail-only rig, go for it. But again... just my opinion. T&T Customs makes some of the most BEEFY parts you can buy for very reasonable prices. DO NOT DROP-PITMAN, unless you are also dropping the track-bar. drag link and track bar should be at the same angle or you will have BAD issues. All you should need is the trans-crossmember with mounts and the y-arms. I would beef up the steering with better parts, your adj trackbar should work still, check your brake lines, maybe look into limiting straps.

D35's are throwaways, and you should never spend more than $100 for one. Ever. If yours is bad, a ford 8.8 or dana 44 swap may be in order... or grab another 35 out of a Cherokee and burn in new perches... although you should also be able to locate a few MJ's in the pull-n-save for a direct bolt-in swap also.

Don't forget the driveshaft length issues.

I also ran slip-yoke at 6.5. I also started with a factory rear driveshaft. Driving down I25 at 65mph I hit a gentle riser, the rear lifted enough for the factory DS to come out of the transfercase. Needless to say, when it hit the ground (at 65mph) it instantly grenaged the rear axle. There had been maybe 1/4inch of threaded yoke contact. This is dangerous, and I was extremely fortunate to get off the highway without an accident. I had a brand new shaft custom built at a local drag racing shop (at least twice as thick as stock... it was BEEFY) for $100. Again, goes to my point of doing it right for the safety of yourself and others around you. As to driveshat angle, if the rig has a CV the pinion needs to point directly at the t-case. If still running slip-yoke, pinion needs to be parallel to the t-case output. You may not feel the vibes, but they are there and will eat bearings/seals/etc. With a bolt on, 'keyed' solution, you cannot properly account for these angles.

Not true. With a six inch lift you aren't going anywhere until you've had a new driveshaft made. Mine took three days for to be custom made. Nobody will have same-day turnaround. As for Motion, I can respect ANY vendor that suports a forum and is willing to stand this firmly behind their product. That being said, there are different pinnion angle requirements based on whether you have gone SYE or not. If you don't adhere to the rules, there will be massive driveline vibrations. Your keyed kit cannot compensate for the difference here, or even smaller angle differences such as sagged springs. SOA lifts, while "easy", open up multiple bags of worms and completely change the game when it comes to forces applied to various components. If yuo are going to go to an SOA setup, take the time to do it correctly. Doing it right includes setting a proper angle, and welding in new perches. Perches are $8/ea. Someone to come weld is also cheap. When it comes to safety on your rig, please don't cut corners. This is for the safety of you and others on the road around you. Do it right.

Go SOA, but forget the bolt-on stuff. Its really not hard to burn on new perches and do it right.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=587186 have fun!

Long arm will give you a better ride, more stability, and better flex off-road... but it will be more costly to set up. Hell creek makes great rear leafs, if that's the route you are going, I can't speak about coils. I used RE 4.5" ZJ coils on my MJ and it worked PERFECT with a spring over in the rear. The key thing to remember, is that no one company makes the best of everything. RE sells a great LA kit for the front, but you will need custom work to SOA the rear. T&T Customs has an amazing LA kit as well. 5.5 SUA will be difficult to achieve. No lift company is going to have the rear driveshaft you need, but they may be able to sell you a SYE of your choice if you want to go that route. There really is no set, all-in-one solution to lifting an MJ.

Mine used to lean several inches... really made getting the track bar back on after a run a PITA. There's not really anything you can do about it.

So, what's your tricks? fill at the upper radiator hose? Fill at the upper heater hose? Fill from the temp guage sending unit (do you remove the unit altogether, or just the hose?)? I hate these closed systems. But, factory radiator cracked and am gearing up to put in a replacement. I want to make the re-fill as painless as possible.

If you want a cheap rebuild, look at Certifit. http://www.certifit.com/locations.aspx?PageType=Catalog I have used them to rebuild XJ's, YJ's, TJ's, and ZJ's... all with very good results.

So, my temp guage is wandering back and forth. At highway speed, temp drops to 1/4, in stop and go it can raise up to the red, but while in that same stop and go it will bounce around between the red and the 210 marker. Perhaps bounce isn't the best descriptor. Moreso it moves/slides, but its always on the move either up or down. '88, 4.0, closed system. Might do a radiator swap. Am seriously considering new hoses. How about a replacement reservoir? I remember something about a volvo cannister working... Whats the best way (read: cheap) to effectively refresh the cooling system?

does $100 seem high to anyone else? I may just pull them altogether...

I see more and more posts lately that begin with "this is my first..." So, I think there should be a post detailing the must-do safety tips. Here's a few to start out with: 1) Jack points. -Do not use a jack under the center of the rear differential. First, this puts stress on the housing. Second, it creates an inherrently instable situation where the jeep can teter to one side or the other. Third, the jack can slide off the differential in any direction, to either side or front to back. -Do not use the LCA mounts as a jack point. The LCA's will move as the suspension cycles, and the jacks can slide off as a result. Additionally, the welded LCA mounts are not that strong, and are prone to fatigue/crack and can break or rip off of the axle housing. -Always always always use a good quality jack stand any time you are under your vehicle, no matter how quick the repair is. It takes 30 seconds to drop a stand under the frame rail and lower to rest on the stand. Your life is worth the 30 seconds. Harbor freight sells el-cheapo 3-ton stands that may look good, but have extremely shoddy welds and some even came with rust around the welds when purchased new. Make sure you get a good quality set. 2) Recovery Others can chime in more, but here's a brief mention: -do not pull from control arms, axles, track bar, steering components, or factory bumpers. Use only hard-mounted recovery points such as properly plated/backed/mounted hooks or D-rings. -do not use straps with hooks. When they break, AND THEY WILL, the hook becomes a metal projectile traveling at or above highway speeds. -when using a strap, or watching someone else use a strap...do NOT stand anywhere near the line. All it takes is for a mounting point to fail, and you are standing next to a high-tension whip. http://jalopnik.com/5629380/extra-has-s ... mers-3-set "Witnesses say Cedillo was sitting in her car as a truck towed another vehicle at high speed in the other direction for filming. The cable on the truck snapped and hit the windshield of the woman's Scion and then "sliced through her skull." She was helicoptered to Loyola hospital where she underwent brain surgery." Well, that's just a few beginning tips for those not yet fully familliar with the XJ/MJ or 4x4 scene. What other tips do people have for those not yet fully immersed?

Anyone have a link to replacement Pioneer decals? I am looking to replace/refresh the ones on our '88 since we are prepping to sell... I looked at the Jeep Stickers site, and saw the Eliminator decals, but didn't see anything Pioneer.

Thanks. We are scanning the craigslist 'parting out' ads looking for something to bolt on, but have access to a welder if we absolutely need to cut and burn one in. We are going to be selling this one once we pass emmissions, so we don't want to throw hundereds of dollars into it if its not absolutely necessary.

That's good to know. At least it *should* be the same on any renix era engine. On mine, its header, into a small section of tube with several sensors flanged at the bottom, then straight pipe down, bending around, and heading backwards along the passenger side to the exhaust. I can't believe there isn't a cat on this, and that it never was found with inspections before now. anyone know the the system on a 4 cyl was the same as the 6? Or, at least reasonably close?

:D

So, the '88 failed the E-test today. Just over on HC (3.1 @ 3.0 allowed) and failed visual for catalytic converter. Sure enough, took a look, and there isn't one on there. Strange that its passed the last three times, since we have never made any exhaust mods in the last four years that we've owned it. Anyways, my old '89 had a different system than this '88, both 4.0 and manual trans. Can anyone post up pics of the factory exhaust system? Routing, cat location, etc? We are probably going to pick up an exhaust with a cat from an individual parting out their car and just burn it in at some point before the muffler, but if we can find a full system from a MJ or a partial (front half?) from a XJ we may jsut bolt/burn it in.

I haven't looked at the Ballistic brackets, but have done my research on the TNT stuff. That's what I am using whenever I decide to do another build. Are you going just brackets, or full-truss with brackets?