coolwind57

Yes, I remember that feature in past vehicles. Was actually a great thing. If you found you didn't have fluid left in the reservoir, then you didn't have to drag your wipers across the windshield without the lubrication from the fluid, avoiding unnecessary surface wear or scratches.

Yea man, that old gear oil looks pretty contaminated. Compare that look with what you're putting back in there. Sure makes you feel good after doing an oil servicing, doesn't it?

Euramtec is the way to go. I've got them in mine. They're so close to the original design that I seriously doubt that anyone would see them and accuse you of "molesting" your original truck. You'll put them in, enjoy them and never look back. Like I did. If I remember correctly, you will need to take a sharp blade and remove a little bit off the mounting hole in your trim panel. I've never had mine to pop out ever. Wiring wasn't a big deal....just cannot remember exactly what I did but it was super simple.

Hey Jack, I had a similar situation. Went through seemingly everything before I found out that it was simply my Neutral Safety Switch (NSS). The crazy thing is this--I had replaced my NSS only 2-3 years ago. The NSS was at the bottom of my list of things to go through, and low and behold that was the issue. Try replacing yours. They're not so expensive. Good luck man if you haven't fixed yours already. Let us know if you got yours up and running.

NICE! Fun to watch.

Oh, I was thinking that the Mac's tank was a replacement pressure bottle. My bad. It's been several years since I did my conversion. And I'm old. The water neck adapter on the top radiator hose is still a much cheaper option.

When I bought my truck, I had looked into the Mac's tank and just couldn't pull the trigger with that high price. I decided to convert to an open system, which to me simplified dealing with the system in my tiny brain. Instead of replacing the radiator with a later one with the filler neck, I kept "closed radiator" and installed an aluminum filler neck adapter in my upper radiator hose. Pulled a junkyard recovery bottle from a later XJ and made it all happen lickety-split. Might be something to consider. No real issues with that critical purging of air from the system. Takes out that failure-prone bottle/cap from the equation. Give you a modern-type coolant system that may be easier to troubleshoot. I remember being quite surprised that Jeep had used a closed system--this was the only vehicle I'd ever bought from that era that had such a system.

Plug and play? No resistors needed?

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Makes sense. By the way, did your 87 come with the Dana 44 or did you put it in?

Was definitely sticking with Rotella for sure. Rotella T6 is suppose to have plenty of ZDDP. I'll probably go ahead and go to T6 here in a couple hundred more miles. Hopefully, my engine won't develop leaks all over. The old guys used to say that switching over to synthetic from dino causes leaks, but I'm not so sure if that's really a thing nowadays. Thanks for the input, fellas. I was reading to use straight SAE 30 "Break-in" oil. I used Lucas brand that I ordered from Amazon. I seem to recall that I started and ran the engine for like 20-30 min or so and I think I then dumped the SAE30. I filled with Rotella T4 with a bottle of ZDDP additive and ran for 500 miles. I could be wrong, but I think that's how I did it. Regardless of whether or not I did it this way, I did ask the machine shop guy for his concurrence and he agreed with what I had read and planned. Different ways to skin a cat. Thanks for the input.

Last year I had an engine built. I bought a freshly bored (.040") 1993 block and had the machine shop go ahead and fit as a short block with upgraded pistons and all block components. I had them install a Comp "RV" camshaft and had extensive cylinder head milling to the 1994 HO 7120 I had bought, installing modern Hemi springs in order to match the camshaft lift specs. Anyhow, I've got a little over 3,000 miles on the engine presently. I broke the engine in with 30wt break-in oil. I changed to 10W30 Rotella T4 and I added some ZDTP additive, which I think I ran for 500 miles. Replaced the oil with another round of Rotella T4 10w30 and again added some ZDTP and have run this to present day, 3K miles. By the way, I have no worries about zinc and catalytic converters....I don't have one. The end goal was to at some point go to T6 Rotella synthetic and reap the benefits of the good zinc content for our 4.0s with the known sweet tooth for zinc. For those of believing in and using Rotella products: I'm curious of when you guys would do the switchover to T6 (and maybe even would you). Should I hold off for a few thousand more miles? Should I transition to T5 synthetic blend and then later go to T6? At what mileage would you go to T6?

My lift hasn't changed since I've owned the truck.

I've not looked back. No issues since I did my mod.

Can't disagree with that. I've got the 22mm all around, but it would had been nice to not have to add the elbow grease.

Yea, like I said above, the drag link that I bought was a non-MOOG part...I just can't remember the brand name. The MOOG drag link was not available from RockAuto and was difficult to find. A local parts store showed them, but they were like a couple hundred dollars to get one if I recall correctly. It was a temporary hurdle, but it all worked out for me. The video is a really good guide, regardless. Thanks for supplying good numbers for the next guy.

This young fellas makes some really good XJ videos. I had a tie rod that was going out so I looked into this upgrade. I followed this video, and ordered the same MOOG parts that he had listed and had a pretty decent experience. The drag link was the only non-MOOG part. I bought all my parts from Rock Auto and they arrived earlier than expected, maybe 3 days, I think. Here's some note of what you may run into as an MJ owner: 1. Once assembled, the drag link adjustment did not allow me to adjust the centering of my steering wheel. There were few threads remaining and the outer tie rod end and drag link end bottomed out in the adjustment collar. When I compared side-to-side, I did notice that the drag link was curved just slightly different than my original MJ, just after the steering damper bolt. The adjustment collars were also a bit longer. The outer tie rod was a bit longer as well and had threads began further from the movable joint. I made this all work in the end by removing (cutting) 1-1/4" from the threaded end of the tie rod. All good and it took care of the problem. My steering damper was maybe 3 years old so I left it, pending it's performance after the upgrade. No issues, so I've chosen to leave it on and not unnecessarily replace. 2. The outer tie rod ends takes you from 11/16 (I'm pretty sure) to a much larger 22mm. And the biggest thing is the inner tie rod is larger and solid instead of stock hollow tube with interior threaded ends. This upgrade adds an adjustment collar (same as the one of the drag link), so adjustment has you turning the adjustment collar instead of trying to rotate the entire inner tie rod tube. I liberally applied lots of anti-seize on all threads throughout this set up. I took her to an alignment shop and paid I think $150 for a life-time alignment. No surprise that they're recommending adjustable upper ball joints to get it all completely dialed in. Night and day difference? Naw, not really. It does feel a bit different and certainly more stable, especially considering that I had a bad tie rod end. It's obviously a much more rigid, heavy-duty set up for sure. I do really need to work on the steering system a bit more. I want to get the time to drop that stock steering box spacer and get that area more stable. Best of luck if you fellas decide to upgrade as the video and I did.

Dude, you got a Dana 44.... Darn-near a Unicorn even if it's not a factory Metric Ton model. It took me several years to find a MJ D44 for my truck. I'm not seeing anything crazy in the two pictures you posted. I'd love to see several more pics. From what I see and hear you describe, you got a FUN one to work on. Baby steps and you'll have a kickin' ride.

We use washers all the time in Aviation to make up the difference. The use of varying Washer thicknesses can be quite the puzzle to solve when you're torque specs are tight and that damn hole just does not want to line up.

Well, I'm definitely not a fan of the Gladiator, but to each his own. They build them as they see fit for the market, I suppose. I toy with the idea of selling my Comanche because it is so limiting on interior space. I've got a family of 5 here, and the only time I really take my truck out is when I drive it to work once or twice per week. We have a popup camper for family adventures, but I can't pull with the Comanche because we can only fit two. Absolutely love this truck, but you'll notice these days that the single cab pickup is darn-near extinct. Times are changing and not in favor of my tastes.

He did a good job putting this together. I do wonder if they'll introduce a Comanche one day like they did the Gladiator.

oh. Only an hour away from me....

I had this once. Turns out it was my rear windshield. Had developed a leak and when it rained, it all ended up in the passenger floor board. Have a quick look at your rear windshield.

Page 5 of one of my write-ups shows what I did to delete a few things. Something for you to have a look at. Might get you some ideas. Good luck, friend. It's about half way down page 5:

Man, I know neck pain. Currently on Short-term disability from work due to neck surgery. I suffer pain and stiffness as I write this. Neck issues is no joke, man. I plan on doing extra strengthening of this sucker as soon as I fully recover. Shame about your truck, my Brother.