ghetdjc320

I don’t mean the same part number. I mean the same flange pattern.

Refinished the truss and welded it in place. Also welded in some new flange nuts to replace the old stripped out frame nits for the bumper. Turning out excellent. Sanded down the whole back of the cab then prepped it with some mineral spirits in preparation for a coat of epoxy primer. After epoxy priming I’ll use some kitty hair resin filler to smooth out and metal work. Next will be a thin coat of Rage to smooth out any imperfection. Block sanding and then some 400 grit in preparation for 3 coats of base and 5 coats of clear. I’m using the door opening as my blend edge.

Finished the rear suspension this morning. Cutoff the old shock tabs which were welded very poorly and we’re barely holding on. Put on some new Ruffstuff curved tabs for better clearance and strength. Finished extending the sway bar links and getting everything dialed in. Note the sway bar is sitting a bit high at the moment but that’s because the bed isn’t on the truck. Once the bed, tailgate, hilift, tonneau cover etc. is all bolted back on the sway bar sits level with the leaf spring. The bottom of the old shock tabs were welded to the axle so water could not escape.

Try tightening the fittings first. If you have to reflare you will need to make a “double” flare. The flare has to fit the shape of the seat that it will be screwed into. If you look carefully at eagles picture you will see the conical seat in each outlet/inlet of that prop valve. This is what te flare should look like when finished:

Agreed. Looks like a normal setup. To the OP: tighten your those flares or reflare if necessary and you should be good to go. Everything else looks fine.

I’ve done it and built several of these combos. We also have a write up on these in the DIY section. What questions do you have? Edit: some info on the rodeo/passport rear

Had to extend the end links on the sway bar. They sent me two identical sets that were too short so I extended and welded additional length into each one. The links are made from a long grade 3 bolt and L-56 mig wire has nearly the exact same tensile strength and yield. gave it several passes and it’s quite solid. Plus it’s just the rear sway bar so it doesn’t need to be bulletproof. Next I removed the remnant of 30 year old bumper bolts from the frame and retapped all the threads. Tried drilling them out but after going through 5 cobalt drill bits I had to finally blow them out with the plasma torch. Next time I’m going to start with the plasma torch. They were completely fused to the threaded hole on the frame. Also sprayed the entire inner frame as well as the leaf springs with fluid film black. I have a shutz gun specifically for this stuff along with a couple of 360* wand extensions for reaching down in through the frame rails. Hopefully I can get another 30 years out of this before having to deal with any more rust again. But I’m pleased with the end result. All rust has been eliminated and the entire frame have been coated with DOM16. Any bad body seams have been repaired are resealed for zero water intrusion. Doing some custom work as well which I’ll post when I finish this up.

Second and third coats of chasis coating are now done. Working on installing the Addco rear sway bar now.

I noticed no one has replied. Only suggestion I have is to pull off your drum and see how wide the pad is. All the non c-clip Dana 35’s had 10” brakes. Same mounting flange as the Dana 44 also.

X2 I have this kit along with their track bar system with cross brace. Very high quality parts and it will eliminate any play.

Agreed, this should be a simple fix. Leave that prop valve alone and try tightening the fittings first. If that doesn’t work you may need to replace the fittings and re flare the line. You have the newer style copper nickel line which is fairly easy to flare properly. Once the leak is fixed you will likely have to bleed the whole system. just make sure the master cylinder never goes dry. If it does you will need to bleed the master first.

So the original MJ system didn’t have an actual prop valve up front. It had a distribution block full allowed full pressure to all lines. The rear line then went to the load sensing valve at the rear axle. This valve offers proportioning of brake pressure so the back doesn’t lock up before the front. It’s pretty common to delete the rear valve. If you have a TJ proportioning valve it should work fine. If it’s leaking, it may just need the line re-flared. The prop valve itself rarely fails. Keep in mind though that you never want to let the master cylinder run empty when you work on the brake lines or you’ll introduce air into the system.

Awesome! Thanks for the follow up. Very helpful for future troubleshooting

Disk front drum back? The stock MJ system has unconventional to say the least. So we need to know what you currently have in the truck. Especially the distribution block below the master cylinder. Can you take some pictures of your brake components? Master/booster, existing prop valve, existing distribution block, and rear axle line where the old load sensing valve use to be

I run the adjustable wilwood valve. Works great. Here is some general brake upgrade info:

Iirc I had 10x2.25 on my 88 YJ. All the non c-clip Dana 35’s have the same (edit: flange pattern) as the Dana 44. And all are 10” brakes until 90 when they made it a c clip axle.

Progress.

There are several body plugs that could serve as drain plugs but aren’t ideally located for drainage. Keep in mind that the MJ has additional floor bracing that is spot welded and has a good tendency to trap water. So although the floor can be drained try to never get it wet or you’ll be dealing with a lot of rust. These trucks just have a lot of seams that are spot welded and seam sealed. The lizard skin looks like a great product (I’ve been wanting to try some myself) but I’d still put down some POR15 or similar over the entire floor. Good idea to clean up and reseal some of those overlap joints also.

A TJ Brute is probably on the top of my list for Jeep’s. Even better with a 2.8 Cummins or similar

Treating and refinishing the frame now

Well I was just planning on fixing the rear window leak lol.

I’ve got 2 MJs now and after having lifted one SOA with 6” front coils and all the accompanying mods for a great smooth driver, I’m going to just get the other one to stock 4x4 ride height. If I was going 3.5” or more agin I’d go long arm front and rear.

Yes they will. The explorer has very small disk brakes and even 15” alloys fit fine.

The scrambler reminded me more of an eldorado or even a wagoneer with those long unbroken pieces of sheet metal. Not my favorite truck. This black jeep reminds me of a bobbed tail avalanche with that giant plastic piece behind the cab. To me, the brutes looked the best for a converted truck. VS If they did it right they should have had this:

What are you working on that needs a harness? Engine, body, tranny, what year and what engine.