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4.56 gears would be my vote. I run 4.56 with metric 33’s that run almost a perfect actual 33” diameter.

Once you go LS, you won’t go back

Well, I guess just to add to the conversation, after having built many a 4.0 and stroker variations thereof, an LS swap is my go to and I don’t look back. That being said, the best bang for buck was a stock 4.0 bored .060, with an edelbrock head, decked down for an .038 quench and about 10.75:1 compression ratio. That engine build was a few grand but less than my other strokers. With 4.56, my aw4 and 33’s, It performed admirably. But still no where close to a true LS swap. I’d like to try forced induction as well on a 4.0 as it would be a good candidate. But ultimately, it’s a tractor engine with a terribly outdated design. I don’t mean to disparage it to much but realistically, you don’t really notice an extra 40hp on a 4.0 given the power band. And you can sink a ton of money into them with very little to show for it. Even at 300hp, still feels like an anemic boat anchor. Forced induction, gears, or an engine swap would be my go to. And gears would by far be the most cost effective of the three.

9” and HP44?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an HO XJ/MJ without ac. That being said, the engineers who designed these harnesses had a propensity towards over complication of wire routing. The actual circuit connections are quite simple. Once you have the ac hvac control deck and wiring connector, splicing in what you need shouldn’t be a problem. Basically you get an AC select signal (don’t recall if it’s ground or 12v + but it comes from the ac control deck) that goes to the ecu. The ecu then sends out an ac request signal that goes through the AC pressure sensor. The ecu then has a compressor trigger output that will go to the ground terminal of a 20a relay to kick in the compressor. Ultimately, you could bypass some of the computer controls of the AC but you will loose some features such as idle kick, and provisions to turn off the compressor with different engine parameters such as wide open throttle and engine overheating conditions or whatever logic the ecu is programmed with for ac control.

Do you hear a “click” sound when you press the power button?

The shallow depth speakers are not bad at all. Lots or oems used them. They tend to be a bit limited on excursion but that’s not universally applicable. BMW tends to run 4” door speakers and sail panel tweeters. But their speaker placement is normally much higher up on the door than our trucks. The higher placement is very good for stereo imaging and has the added benefit of getting the tweeter and woofer closer together in a 2 way component setup. For the Comanche, the knee panel tweeters were a decent attempt at getting the tweeter and woofer closer together but the aiming is quite bad. A properly designed coaxial speaker such as a Morel integra is a great fit in the stock door locations as they properly recess the tweeter to get it in the acoustic center of the woofer. Provides a nice wide stereo “sweet spot” with a single source driver. 97+ corvettes also have a neat subwoofer module in the door which could be an interesting retrofit candidate depending on depth. As a side note, a speaker’s impedance doesn’t determine how loud it gets — that comes down to its sensitivity. One clean watt of power usually lands somewhere around 85–95 dB depending on the speaker. Doubling the wattage doesn’t double the volume, and even “1000 watts” is usually just a quick peak at a narrow frequency for a split second. It still won’t come close to doubling the SPL compared to a solid 200‑watt amp. A lot of manufacturer specs lean pretty hard on marketing, so the numbers can be misleading. Honestly, a good speaker with 5 clean watts behind it can sound surprisingly great.

Neat part! Now we just need a full length version

Interesting find. I didn’t know there were other oe applications that could work. I went with a borgeson shaft that has the collapsible portion

I’d suspect you may need a new synchro hub/sleeve and it may be wise to replace firs gear and reverse. There is also an updated 5th gear kit. You have the option to just buy a new or rebuilt ax15 which may be the easier bet. The ax15 is a fun but tedious rebuild process

I’d go LS. Modern and efficient. I’ve done many gen 1 and 2 GM engines too and like the platform. But I’m done with carburetors, distributors and any version of throttle body injection. Plus I do look at the resale value of what I build. 350 swaps tend to be bottom dollar in the world of v8 swaps. It’s nice to have a matching numbers engine for certain clean restos. But when you’re already engine swapping, go for the most well supported platform imo

I’ve been toying with the idea of more power Trying to decide between some nice heads/cam/tune package and keep it N/A or going with the Edelbrock C5 supercharger system. The existing heads and cam are good candidates for supercharging though I may upgrade the retainers to titanium for some weight savings. NA I should be able to get around 425-450 whp but supercharged opens up even greater gains. Kinda on the fence as I like the idea of a clean smooth stock idle I can get with a supercharger but then again, the bolt on simplicity of heads cam is also appealing. If I went heads cam I have a good combo in mind that would keep a fairly smooth idle and solid midrange torque gains. Transmission should be good for around 500lbft of torque but I’m sure something would be the fuse if I get serious traction

I’ll definitely echo the above regarding por15. Get it everywhere you can on the back side of joints. For the back window, that one can be a genuine pain. It could just be that you have some seal failures (it’s urethaned in place). But, the cab corner seams near the bottom corners of the window are also terrible leak spots. On my last MJ I had to cutout and repair the seam with new metal due to hidden rust. You may be able to get away with some por15 there as well. But the source tends to be the corners of the window frame in the cab. The factory seam sealer shrinks and leaves open gaps where water finds its way into those pinch seams. Pulling the rear window is a good idea. Personally, I’d have it professionally removed then replaced since the trim can be difficult to remove intact.

I’d imagine only a small group of club members know what Superior axles and gear was. But they were the leader in axle shafts, gears and install kits. Revolution axle is what’s left of their operations. Significantly higher quality than the plethora of copycat parts from the likes of Yukon, Ten Factory, Alloy USA, Motive, Dana SVL etc. They are as close as you’re going to get to genuine OE gears. Their axle shafts are up there with Moser and Dutchman.

https://revolutiongear.com/revolution-gear-fits-jeep-dana-44-87-up-mj-and-xj-97-06-tj-w-dana-44-r-rear-axle/ Both RH and LH available. Excellent quality axle shafts. Also have the drilled access hole for your backing plate nuts which is very handy

Yep, always a possibility. I’ve wheeled that way for years. But I also keep a close eye on my tires and air pressure and only get quality tires. I wouldn’t run some crazy trails that would split my sidewalls, but I’ve aired down to 10psi or so and done some fun trails with them. It’s all risk management I suppose, but I’ve drifted away from the idea of an absolute need for a spare tire on recent builds. Had a 2022 wrx that we bought new and had no spare. Just a pump and some patches. Our beemers have no spares either but they do have run flats.

Personally, I ditched the spare and have an onboard air system with a patch kit. Quite a few new cars have done the same.

Revolution axle has the replacement shafts you need

Rear disks are nice for mud and can be a performance upgrade, but not always. 10” drums have significant shoe to drum contact surface and more of a true emergency brake vs just a parking brake.

Keep in mind that you could also go with the wilwood big brake kit for the D30 with the 89- knuckles. The D35 rear kit can also be made to fit the MJ44 with a couple of extra parts and some simple adjustments

Truetrac and similar lsds are great for street use and give excellent traction while still allowing differential action

Truetrac is a great option with nice street manners and decent trail capability. Gentle on axle shafts too. Otherwise a selectable locker is great. Lunchbox lockers are finicky on the rear.

The 8.8 is narrow for an MJ and has an overgrown pumpkin of a center section. The disk brakes on it are petite. A JK 44 is a great axle. KJ 8.25 with disks is a good width. But a stock MJ 44 with a disk swap is golden. And the MJ 44 is a very strong axle.

All depends how you wheel. A D44 in an MJ can easily handle it. My 8.25 is handling my LS with zero issues. Unless you’re running racing slicks with a weighted bed, you just aren’t going to get enough traction to kill anything. Exploder axles are a bit on the narrow side among other shortcomings …

Let me know if interested