kastein

holy crap! Looks like it's sorta becoming a siamese dually tire.

I want more pics of the front suspension on the MJ, with that much lift I am expecting the worst :(

Most cops *Hate* to operate outside of their comfort zone. They'll grab the tint meter at the beginning of their shift, and look for ricers with blacked out windows, or go after the guys with covered license plates, equipment issues, etc, but steer clear of stuff they don't know (IE: big asses military trucks :yes: ). I'd be more worried about seeing a Statey who'se used to dealing with big rigs, he knows the rules for them, and may try to bring you (assuming non-commercial use for your truck) into compliance with their rules. I'd also worry about the out of state temp plates, I don't know all the rules for those, but the way the insurance/registration laws are written in Mass, I'm sure there's something they could complain about. Good luck man, I haven't been to any Jeep or car shows this year yet, but if you end up bringing that thing to one, let me know, I'd really like to see it. :yes: :yes: :yes: Assuming it stops looking like it'll rain by 3pm or so, I'm bringing it to the Foxboro car show tonight actually. A couple of NAXJA guys usually show up with the XJs and park on each other's tires, no one else in the lot has any idea how to respond to that. Assuming I can manage to get it into the lot without running anything over, it will be there, and they will be attempting to park on 42" tires. EDIT: and yeah... out of state temp plates worry me a bit. I need to talk to my insurance co today and see what they think about registering/insuring it. EDIT2: seeing as the sky is nearly black and it is dumping rain at garden-hose rates, I did not go.

Just drove it across town for the hell of it to drop off a tent we were gonna use on the trip... :rotf: Drove by 5 Worcester police cruisers and a statey, got no reaction from most, wasn't pulled over or lit up by any of them. Got my new phone working on my wifi, though not on the cell network yet. I'll take some pics tomorrow morning and see if I can't make imageshack work from my phone.

down south that truck shouldn't be so rusty... unless it was originally from somewhere else, or was driven on the beach a lot. That sender is really gross - you're sharq on NAXJA right? This looks familiar :thumbsup:

Front bumper I would never pay over 50, probably not over 40, but I'd drop 75 on a good quality rear bumper for an MJ in a second - I was expecting to, but ended up with a much better deal because a friend of mine was awesome about it. Remember that you can also get front bumpers off any 84-96 XJ, and there are a bajillion of those in the yards.

Don't use liquid electrical tape, it'll keep you from ever pulling the connector apart again. Get yourself a huge tube of dielectric grease (basically special-formulation silicone grease) and a can of contact cleaner. Pull every connector under the hood apart, one at a time, clean them out with contact cleaner and then pack them with dielectric grease and reconnect. A large syringe can help a lot to get the grease packed into the terminals. See if you can't find a way to waterproof the TPS better - they love to go bad. I've been looking into building a fully sealed, Hall effect sensor based one, but haven't gotten anything concrete together yet.

If that 44 was not welded and had 3.55s I'd give you some decent cash for it :(

I got this in an E-mail from a fellow Mil-Spec truck collector that spent many years in the military . . . in I'm Chat he told me: i hope this help's under stand your truck . . . :ack: it sure confused :hmm: and educated :smart: me :thumbsup: Mike It's getting updated / semi restored. You are indeed correct, it has a badge or stamp somewhere on the IP that says it was reman'd to an A2, I forget when. Spent some time working on it last night, was more working on functionality than figuring out what I had - put an entire large size tube of red EP grease into it (yow, this thing has a lot of grease fittings!) and I *think* I got the temp gauge working again, a connection was loose. Nearly drove it to work this morning to find out, I'm going insane from the curiosity. Also tested out my headlights, turns out both low beams are toast, going to have to find where I can buy new sealed beams for it... hmmm :hmm: and added new non-rusted bolts holding the mirrors in place. It's definitely confused and educated me too! Heck, exactly a week ago (well, exactly in an hour or two) I didn't even know I was actually going to buy this truck, and was just thinking "ah the heck with it, I'll toss in an offer and see if he takes it or makes a counter-offer I can deal with." and a few more :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: for having the brass balls to own THAT in an apartment complex, with one parking spot. :banana: :banana: hahaha, my neighbors think it's pretty funny. I moved in two months ago and there are "no automotive maintenance" signs in the parking lot, and security cameras :fs1: One of the other guys owns a delivery truck, I fixed his lift gate for him a while back, he came over and asked for help while I was messing with my 98 in the parking lot across the street (no signs or cameras there! I just clean up after myself.) I've fixed cars for 2-3 other people too, people just drop by while I'm working on my junk and it's usually an easy fix. Yeah... this city is a strange mix of ghetto and preppy/bro/flatbiller. I want to get out immediately but in the mean time I will settle for simply making things very interesting for the local police... they have no idea what to think when they see me fixing a 5 ton camo cargo truck in a parking lot. it's not really that big a deal... it's just a number. I have learned more fixing my own junk with NAXJA's help, and helping others fix their junk by researching for them, than I ever expected to. Heck I didn't even know what a d30 was or what transmission I had when I showed up last year, all I joined the forum for initially was so I could download the d30 pinion seal replacement FAQ PDF. I still haven't replaced that damn d30 pinion seal :nuts: fixed just about everything else though, and somehow ended up with another 3 vehicles

hahaha... so true. Not everyone I know calls me nuts and I don't have any pics or cards yet :dunno: gotta look into that fleet insurance... :hmm: I'd rather get a driveshaft marked 92MJ40LAW4231D44 :dunno:

It's even better... I live in an apartment in Worcester and have one allotted parking space. The MJ with the assortment of random stuff in the back lives in my parking space, I move the 96 XJ and 98 XJ around a bit every few days in parking spaces at a nearby strip mall, and the M54A2 (so far) gets parked in a parking lot next to a construction site. Once I get the temp plates off the M54 and get it fully registered I will probably park it at work and hope they can't figure out how to tow it :rotf: I really have to install a fuel pump disable and a battery kill switch, I figure that (plus the fact that very few people will even be able to figure out how to start and drive it, and those are the ones I don't really have to worry about) will keep it sitting where I want it to. Once I buy a house I'll probably have around 1/4 to 1/2 acre of land.

Mine sags, flaps, and swings in the breeze... the 1/8" folded stock "reinforcement" along the bottom edge rusted out long ago, and I can flex the center of the bumper up and down with two fingers. There are rust holes all over the bottom of the back of the bumper. Fortunately I got an almost perfect bumper off a friend of mine (who is building an offroad-only rig and was going to build a custom heavy duty bumper anyways) and will be stripping it down, strengthening it, and repainting it. My plan is to remove the 1/8" stock reinforcement and cut away just enough sheet metal that I can put in a section of 3x3 0.250" stock instead, add a recessed rear receiver at the center, and then replace the end mount tabs with some custom ones made from 10" wide 0.250" bar stock I got. Basically this is what I arrived at after buying all the material to make myself a stock lookalike hitch, then realizing I could get rid of a brewing rust problem (the stock reinforcement bar collects salt/sand/water) and gain back some ground clearance all at the same time.

Nope... my old one doesn't anyways. Switching to a new one tonight (if I have time to convert my contacts list over) which has a camera of sorts. It's not *actually* a Mack. That's just what the government person slapped on the title when it was demil'd. It's not really in mint condition - decent amount of rust (nothing structural) plus some repairs I need to do. Still, it was an "unknown unknown" truck (PO got it as part of a package deal with a deuce he wanted, and had only driven it about 15 miles when he sold it to me, he knew nothing about it and therefore probably know even less!) that had been sitting since about Christmas, and it made the 550 mile drive home with only a "minor" setback. Some pics from the CL listing so you guys don't eat me alive before I get home :D :nuts: EDIT: when I rolled the driver side window up for the first time I got a surprise, found a sticker on it that said the person who bought it off the government paid $13531 (if I recall correctly, last few digits may be wrong.) I think I got a pretty good deal. For reference - the floor of the cargo bed is 55 inches off the ground if I recall correctly. The top of the front bumper is around waist height and I'm 6 foot 4. The roof of my stock-height 91 2wd MJ is about even with the bottom of the bed side.

No idea really... holding the title right now, haven't looked carefully at the plates on the truck. It's VIN 3396 (which is the serial number off the vehicle, really, but that's how they handled it, try putting THAT into a VIN decoder! :rotf:) and is titled as a 1990 Mack truck. Odometer disclosure exempt by fed law, unladen weight 19122 GVWR 39122. That's about all I know right now. Rebuilt at some point from a straight M54 to an M54A2. I'll get unit numbers off the bumper and see what the nameplates tell me when I get home tonight.

dunno but I see plenty of space to build one :D

huh? :nuts: brand new car? what's that?! I only own old beaters and cheap vehicles... and will always keep it that way, even if my paycheck is ten times as big as it is now.

:eek: um, why? you can pick up a decent digi camera for under $50. I had a nice one, it got stolen. Then I bought a complete piece of crap that took grainy, blotchy, washed-out looking pics and used it for a while, then it also got stolen (or I lost it during my move, I'm honestly not sure.) I really don't care about the second one getting lost/stolen, I cared more about the memory card + pics and the pair of rechargeable batteries that were in it honestly. I haven't gotten around to buying a new one. Oh it does... :rotf: Uses: * tow rig - my XJs and MJ fit in the back no problem. I have to leave the tailgate down to get the MJ into it, but that's it. I will be much less nervous thrashing the XJ knowing that I can just winch the carcass into the 5ton and drive home at the end of the day... and tow a friend's broken rig home at the same time. Even with a rig on board and another in tow, I'll have more than 7 tons surplus cargo capacity plus ~15 tons towed capacity remaining. All I need to do is build a set of ramps and get a winch or comealong and I'm in business. * part-out rig - I'll be able to pick up complete turd XJs that can't be driven for ultra cheap on CL and part them out without them ever leaving the vehicle, then drive the shell to the scrapyard and get paid for it. * moving - never talk to uhaul again * cancelling my AAA shortly * when I buy a house, I'll be redoing a roof and all the drywall internally and probably building a chimney. Shingles, drywall, bricks, cement, and demolition waste are all very bulky and heavy. * my dad bought a bunch of land up in Maine and is building a house, I figure it'll probably help out with that.

When's moving day? I now own the 5 ton cargo truck... for a sense of scale the MJ fits inside the back... should make the job easier.

Yow, that is pretty sickening. I can demolish a triple whopper with cheese, king size drink, king size fry, and a large milkshake in under ten minutes, but 4 quad stackers AND the other stuff? holy cow.

Washed it? :nuts: :D When I say I "washed my car" it's because I took it across town and drove through the huge mud puddle that forms on a dirt road every time it rains. I guess I just have a strange sense of humor

I don't own a camera... got it back to Mass though! Cliff notes: Broke down halfway, a belt let loose and shredded the tach cable, then shredded the other belts, overheated, got it running again and drove it home. Full story: Started driving down around 8-9pm Friday night in the MJ, with a friend (Chris) riding shotgun so we could get both vehicles back. Nine to ten hour drive... add in an hour of random 15 minute naps so I could keep it on the road. We arrived around 7AM. Suffice to say the previous owner is an AWESOME guy and I wish there were more people around like him. I showed up to find a pair of manual transmissions with d20s behind them sitting in his yard, a 97+ XJ on 30s, an entire stack of axles, a J10 with no drivetrain and no bed, a CJ on 2.5 ton Rockwells and 38s, a couple spare engines, a stack of tires none under about a 36, and about 50 spare driveshafts for anything from a deuce and a half down to FSJs and XJs stacked in an open front shed. Screwed around in town for a few hours getting food, looking at the truck, etc. Owner was nowhere to be found and didn't answer his phone. Around noon, he showed up with ANOTHER J10, beat to hell, glasspacks, with a set of 48 inch supersingle boggers on deuce rims in the back. Apparently he was expecting one more email from me and thought I bailed on the purchase, and just happened to be around. So we spent a while going over the truck. Temp gauge didn't work, I figured there wouldn't be a problem so I said screw it, who cares. We took it out for a test drive... good lord that thing hauls. It doesn't go very fast, but the butt dyno sure says it does, mostly due to the insane torque and M/T. Oh, it has a straight pipe... no nothing, just head -> header -> turbo -> big @$$ pipe. Straight 6 LDS465 engine that leaks less oil than my MJ. Problems we found and fixed - one tire had absolutely no air in it. The steering box bolts all had about a turn to a turn and a half of slack in them. The 1/2" rivets holding the steering box bracket to the frame had stretched, so the bracket had about 1/16" of play in it. We ground/pounded the rivets out and put in 1/2" grade 8s instead, steering was MUCH improved. Let's just say that death wobble at 40mph in a 20 thousand pound vehicle that rides like it doesn't have any springs is interesting... :scared: So around 4PM we finished going over it and headed for a notary (after calling around for 45 minutes to find one that was open on Saturdays past 4 AND had temp plates) to get the bill of sale squared away. The result was that I have till the end of August to actually register the thing... it's got PA temp plates on it! We get ahold of Jack (the guy I bought my MJ off of) who was on his way back from an airplane festival in Wisconsin. Met up in Pittsburgh and got some food with a couple friends from the area. Did some practice driving stick in the Macy's parking lot at a mall (yes, I mallcrawled in a 5 ton camo cargo truck.) Then he headed off and Chris and I started the drive to Rausch Creek. As soon as we were on the highway we switched vehicles so I could get a bit more stick time... It started to rain around when I got on i81N. Did I forget to mention that I don't have a roof on it yet? That was interesting, driving along I81 in a truck I'm not used to yet, with no roof, in a pouring rainstorm, in the dark. Halfway there, I lost the guy in the MJ (who had been tailing me to make sure we'd have parts, tools, another vehicle etc in case of a breakdown, since the M54 was an unknown truck at the time.) So I doubled back and tried to find what the hell happened, I figured he fell asleep at the wheel and I'd be picking up the pieces. Turns out he somehow lost me at a tollbooth and thought I got behind, so he pulled over to wait for me and then fell asleep for a couple hours by accident (we were both running on about an hour of sleep since Friday morning, and it was approximately midnight Saturday/Sunday by this point, so I'm not really surprised.) When he woke up he figured I was WAY ahead, and my phone was dead AND broken, so he hauled @$$ to Rausch and hoped for the best. I finally got to Rausch at approximately 5AM. It was STILL raining, so I got in the passenger seat of the MJ for a couple hours of sleep... woke up around 8AM (still raining.) I figured what the hell, we're AT Rausch, I might as well find out how this thing does, so I got a sticker for it and headed for the new property. Sorry, no Rock Creek pics, I figured I should take it easy since I had another 10 hours of driving to do and still wasn't sure it was going to make it. We hooked up with a couple guys with huge tubed-out Broncos who were heading for the new property. They were doing reds/blacks and the trails were way too narrow, so we split up. You know the washed out, ditch filled area at the downhill end of N4? The M54 went straight through that... I barely had to steer. Just pointed it and hit the pedal and it went. Halfway back up N4, it suddenly stopped. Wouldn't even crank. I feared the worst... but after a few seconds of head scratching I realized that a manual transmission, non-computerized military turbo diesel would only behave that way if it didn't have a battery. Sure enough the negative battery terminal had popped off... pushed it back on and it started right back up, so we headed for X1 and X4. You don't realize it driving an XJ but those trails are darn narrow AND darn short. We were eating trees every single time we went under them, they kept hitting the hood. Got about half a mile down X4 and nearly busted the mirrors off, so I had to reverse back out of it... Trail carnage: 1 hood latch completely destroyed (tensioning spring blew up, so the latch just flops around now, it's a CJ style one just much larger); battery disconnected (reconnected and kept driving); d30-carrier-sized chunk of granite wedged between rear dually tires (had to beat it with my 4lb hand sledge till it broke and fell out.) Figured at that point I was pushing my luck, so after a quick checkup we hit the road again. Made it as far as that really long hill / pass in NY on i84 and suddenly realized I had no air pressure (thus, no brakes - they're compressed air over hydraulics instead of vacuum over hydraulics), no tach, no alternator... :eek: FAWK!!!!!!!! :grrrr: not good at all! Not only that, when I tried to stop, I discovered the parking/e-brake was worn out too! It worked when I left Rausch, WTF! :eek: It took me about a half mile to stop with no air assist with both feet on the pedal pushing as hard as I could. Pulled over at about mile marker 23. The truck IMMEDIATELY overheated to the point that it blew the oil fill cap half off. Having been used to 4.0L engines that don't like overheating, I feared the worst... Turns out the air compressor belt got eaten pretty hardcore, whipped around the engine compartment and shredded the tach cable, then had the decency to jam itself into the fan/alt/water pump belts and shred them as well. The entire engine was WELL above boiling point, it was raining still and the manifolds and valve cover were sizzling. We didn't have any belts to measure and buy new ones, nor any idea of how to put them on, nor much of anything... and this is why smartphones are awesome. My phone was dead (battery) but Chris' phone was still working. So we googled a bit (still on the side of the road) and found the NAPA part numbers and the specs (36 degree V-belts, 47.38" and 51.36" long, .47" wide at the top) and headed to the nearest town to hit up Advance Auto Parts. They didn't have any of the 47.38" ones but we managed to get some of the next size down and made them fit by adjusting the alternator all the way in, squeezing the belts over the pulleys, and then adjusting it back out a little. Had to "bump" the air compressor belt on because there is no adjustment, you're supposed to unbolt the front of the compressor pulley and use a massive wrench to unscrew it from the shaft. I don't have a massive wrench so we said XXXX it and bumped it on. It started up... and not only that, it ran great still! Apparently they make military head gaskets out of unobtainium. Drove it the rest of the way home and passed the hell out at about 1AM (having had 4 hours of sleep since early Friday morning.) Woke up at 9AM, showered and drove it to work...

Holy crap, didn't know that! Now I almost feel bad about the price. I offered him 2500 via CL, as I had no idea what it was worth (said that I was open to negotiations and honestly didn't know if I was insulting him or not, and to choose accordingly.) He accepted. He got it as a package deal with the deuce he wanted and it's been sitting since then, apparently. Had a friend of mine test drive it today and it started up on the first crank (been sitting for years) and shifts great! He said the steering is a bit loose and it needs some paint, but otherwise seems good. I'm just hoping I don't get pulled over driving it ten hours from smalltown PA to central MA.

Let me know when... I'm still in for helping! If all goes well I will not be using the MJ to help though, I'll have a 5 ton military cargo truck by then :D

Friend of mine is test driving the 5 ton RIGHT NOW, says it started up on the first crank and is driving great. Looks like I'm about to buy the most expensive vehicle I've ever owned... 2500 bucks for it, spent 2400 on my rust bucket 96 XJ that I should not have paid more than 1k for. This is gonna be AWESOME!

That, plus it's got a 14 foot bed... which *might* fit the MJ in the back! If the guy accepts my offer (or we settle on another mutually acceptable counter-offer) I will be driving ten hours to southwest PA with a friend, getting it running (he says it ran great last time he had it going but it's been a few years) then driving both vehicles back. Should be a heck of an adventure.