ghetdjc320

Floor complete. Por 15 on any surface rust, and extra screw holes welded closed. 4 coats of epoxy paint.

Removed the remaining dynamat. It like trying to remove melted mozzarella cheese from a pizza lol. replaced a couple of more rust spots with some fresh metal. Seam sealer then epoxy primer coming up next.

Iirc one of those torx screws is a pin that holds the lock cylinder in place.

Nice clean new metal. Just finished applying all the seam sealer now.

The replacement pans are for an XJ which doesn’t have the upper brace with the seat mounting stud in it. The pan is fairly long and needs to be sandwiched under that upper frame casing.

More work. Had to make several patch panels for the inner rocker panel and the floor pan where it curves up to the firewall

They fit pretty well for aftermarket pans. The designs are definitely XJ. There sure are a lot of ways to increase the unibody strength that become apparent when the pans are out.

Progress

Yeah for sure! Interesting stuff

Just remove the knuckles from your existing 86 axle and hold on to them. You can discard the rest of the housing though. If the 98 axle is a 6cyl auto it likely has 3.55 gears.

I’m not sure how well the market will pick them up. It’s true there will eventually be no more but even the aftermarket stopped making them. People wanting to drop $1k on a big brake kit don’t typically modify a D30. They go with a bigger and stronger axle. Not sure but I doubt these knuckles will ever be worth much. Even Vanco had stopped using these knuckles when they were available o the aftermarket for $50/ea new and instead made an adapter bracket for the 90+ style. They use a similar style aftermarket knuckle now. There is also the WJ swap.

Do you still have the stock load sensing valve over the rear axle?

I’ve got a couple of pairs of those knuckles now. Put some up for sale before but no one wants them. Most don’t know what can be done with them. Seen so many just trashed. To the OP, your front driveshaft may need to be rebalanced since it will turn all the time now. You’ll also need to eliminate the old vacuum lines running to the front axle. Keep in mind also that a gear swap from another D30 will require a full gear install. You can't just leave the same bearings and shims on the ring and pinion and install it on the new axle. It may be close though. Be sure to check all the specs such as backlash, pinion depth, bearing preload and contact patterns. Used gears can be finicky when swapped to another housing. What ratio is currently in the 98 axle? And yes, you will need new brakes. Here is a really nice kit with quality components: https://www.shop.blackmagicbrakes.com/XJ-4WD-90-98-Front-Black-Magic-Brake-Pad-Calipers-Rotors-XJ-477-14258021-14258022-67022.htm

True words. Endless rust. Drivers side bracing is out now. Will revive all the bracing from the passenger side then whatever is left to remove of the old floor pan. Next I’ll clean up the unibody rails on each side and prep the metal to weld. I’m not putting those top braces back on. Only thing I will need to reinstall is the brace section that holds the front seat mounting stud. Lots of cleanup to do but coming along nicely. Here is a sample fit:

Project started

I see a lot of dents and body damage on this thing. Still a great price though if someone wants to start of with something to build.

There are many compound curves on the tail corners that need to be matched to look right.

Very true. I’d love to find a clean Grand Wagoneer but they are’s very hard to find anymore. In the late 90s early 2000s they were quite plentiful and cheap. IMO MJs are more collectible than almost any other regular production Jeep out there. It just still really is bothersome to seem them as beaters out there. I think we’re gradually turning the corner on seeing people beat on their MJ’s but it’s a painful process when you know there are so few left. Oh well, it’s what has to happen to prime the market. I’m not looking to sell at all but eventually I think we are all going to realize we own very valuable collector trucks and that the market will eventually be much higher than the prices some currently view as ludicrous.

It would be nice to see them in the hands of people who actually care about them. From what I’ve seen, the less someone pays the less they appreciate what they have. If we don’t sell then they won’t end up in anyone’s 80’s themed collection. If we do sell, it’s good to have a healthy market.

To my fellow MJ owners, why do you want the value of your trucks to stay low? This is a supply and demand market. What will it take for an MJ to be worth 20k+? Another 30 years?? These are collector cars now. The few beaters that are left out there will hopefully either be parted out or be restored. Either way, value is going up. If all MJ’s were for sale for 15k+ then that would raise the price floor.

I did something similar to what @Jeep Driver mentioned except I retired the oem relay box to handle this. I ran 2 fans set to come on and run continuously when the engine is running and the 3rd fan kicked in at 195 or with AC on. Worked very well that way.

Yeah, MJs and XJs are much more refined in the aerodynamics and interior comforts than CJs, YJs and TJs. Now those are more akin to bricks. If you have a beater truck then it will be loud no matter what. I hate seeing beater MJ’s but hey, they help my resale value since they already have a foot in the grave. That being said, you can get the interior of an MJ very quiet depending on the effort and expense you are willing to put into it.

Same here. Takes a lot of time to go over everything but mine is super quiet even with my magnaflow.

I’m not sure. I had safelite put mine in and they didn’t have any issues. Took them maybe an hour or so. I can take some pics under the gasket though if it would be helpful.

Very good info there