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The cost to benefit ratio is not looking good for this swap to be done correctly. I think I’ll just go pickup some newer XJ doors

Makes sense. I’m partial to the quick rebound valving in them but ultimately, unsprung weight will play a big factor there along with overall vehicle weight with accessories/cargo. I’d didn’t like the finish on the ranchos. They rusted quick. Ran bilstein 5125’s for a while as well but never could get decent valving in them. I’m thinking custom valved shocks for the next go around.

Will do, I’ll post up once I get a final cut figured out. To far I’ve taken out about 1.5x5” section. Looks like the casting is about 1/2” thick. I got some flat 1/8 aluminum stock to bridge the gap.

Stripped out the engine bay and started mocking up where some accessories are going. Also started welding up unused holes in the inner fenders and firewall. Prepping the engine bay for refinishing before final install. Starting to get a punch list a mile long of items to tackle. Started modifying the quick draw bell housing to provide more firewall clearance. Also modified the passenger valve cover by removing the cast in boss closest to the firewall and trimming off some excess material around the coil bracket. Just trying to gain a bit more clearance between the area around the heater hose connections and the valve cover.

I swapped to the larger 97+ XJ glass and picked up a set of prp belt line moldings (the ones that go horizontal above the door panel and above the door handle inside and out). I don’t have an oem XJ unit to compare it to but the trim is coming out about 1/2-5/8” short. I can start searching online for used oem ones but just want to verify the overall length if anyone has one lying around or on their 97+ XJ

Rancho 5000x series are a good overall ride.

To add some info here: 3.07 and 3.08 is the same ratio when it comes to axle gearing. 3.07 is the number you’ll find most of the time. Your axle is the same as a YJ and XJ of that same year. Grab the 3.08 ring and pinion along with an install kit from revolution. Cal the to make sure they send you the correct kit. You can just ask for one for a YJ wrangler if the same year as your MJ since they will probably be more familiar with the YJ. For a Dana 35, I’ve seen whole axles for sale here and on FB cheap. Depending on your location, perhaps post a wanted ad and check your FB listings. Out of curiosity, how much are they wanting to charge for the repair?

Matches the MJ rear better plus helps prevent larger tires from rubbing. I do think it looks a little better too. Never liked how “tucked in” the stock stance is. Of course, adding .75-1” to each side is minimal but that coupled with the larger tires fills out nicely. I’m using custom BORA wheel adapters to fit the JL slotted wheels so I was able to even out my track width to about .25” difference front to rear. My goal on this rig has been an LCG type build so the KJ axle was a good fit.

Those 8.25 gears and locker were a chore. I much prefer shim style axles now. The adjusters make it very difficult to set your backlash then preload without something moving. Took far too many hours. My homemade side adjusters tool broke on me and I had to rebuild it. Then the gas regulator in the welder froze shut. What a chore. Had to grind 2 teeth on the ring gear to clear the cross shaft due to the much thicker ring gear. After all was said and done, here are my results: Backlash 6 thousandths .005-.008 is the factory spec. Pinion preload 20 in lbs 10-30 factory spec for a new bearing Pinion shim stack .031 which was only .003 more than the original which is ideal. Pinion depth centered the pattern between root and crown Backlash centered wear patter between heal to toe with a slight bias toward the toe I filed and feather sanded .008 off of the side of the main cross pin to provide exactly .010 off end play on the axles. The end play was too tight when first installed and the spider gears didn’t want to turn smoothly. ARB suggest finding a different sized c clip but that’s not really an option. The ever so slight filing made for a perfect fit between the ends of the axle shafts and the main cross pin. Happy with the end result but wouldn’t want to do another 8.25. Also, I had a chance to measure the actual WMS for the KJ 8.25 axle. Rotor mounting surface to rotor mounting surface is 62.5”. Add perhaps a 1/4” for the thickness of the rotor and that would put you at 63” on the dot. So the liberty axle is between 1.5-2” wider than the stock axle. In my book that’s ideal for the rear of an MJ if you’re keeping a stock front axle. JK and JL width axles also look good but require a bit more lift to get the best stance imo.

Trouble I keep having is figuring out where to mount a good oil cooler. Been looking at the chase bays unit. It is purpose built as an engine oil cooler vs a general fluid cooler. Seems like a decent unit

Sounds similar to the MJ/XJ train coolers, more of an oil temperature regulator to bring oil up to temp and keep it within the same range as the coolant. For my build, I just want to shed some Btu's and don't want to add any more load to the radiator. My outside temps don't vary at all and will be constantly warm. Don't really need to bring the oil up to temp, but I will be towing about 2200lbs through some decent grades occasionally. I'm thinking a good quality oil cooler with the thermostatic adapter would be nice.

For reference, this is the newer arb design for the 8.25. What I noticed was the c clip retainer design. It used to be an open c channel that was very difficult to get the c clips in and out of. This new design fully cages the c clips but allows them to be removed by sliding it to one side with the cross shaft removed.

Haven’t set blacklash yet but happy with pinion depth. Set crush sleeve to 20 in lbs rotating torque and swapped on a new 1310 yoke from Tom woods

Took 5 attempts to get the pinion depth correct. Backlash will help set the toe-heal placement. Ended up with .0031 shim stack. Factory shim was .0028. Pretty close.

Setting pinion depths on the 8.25 is quite a chore. Made a pair of setup bearings for the pinion. Going for the 3rd try now. Pinion too deep in this picture

I’d want to shed some btu’s and get the engine oil on its own cooler perhaps with a thermostat. The stock cooling system has a hard enough time handling a 4.0. Not sure if I’ll do this or not though. Would need to find a good location and the right sized cooler thats actually designed for engine oil.

Never seen an engine oil cooler in the radiator on a gas engine Many L series (LM/LQ/LR etc. Don’t know of any actual “LS” model engines that came in trucks) truck applications came with oil coolers from factory. A correctly installed oil cooler is not a problem and is a sound add on for heavy engine loads such as towing. As with so much of the aftermarket crap, poor design, copy cat, imitation, bargain bin products and poor installation ruin the reputation of many sound concepts if there are contaminants in your oil, you need to change your oil (and possibly find the cause of your contamination). Used to see gas in oil on many supercharged Kawasaki engines. Ultimately, you had to just change the oil more frequently as gio tends to be a side effect of forged internals combined with high cylinder pressures. But many performance engines come with an engine oil cooler

I had installed new o rings when I did the new pan. I am still considering doing and engine oil cooler though. Just can’t find a good place to mount the cooler. Also installed a new rear cover and gasket while I was back there but didn’t do the barbel.

Ordered up some odds and ends. Crossmember with skid from stinkyfab offroad along with their upper control arm mount and track bar bracket. I wasn’t too pleased with the Barnes 4wd parts that i installed.

No real mods planned. I just wanted to do all the reliability upgrades that have been developed in the last 20 years. The trunions, new lifter trays and lifters, ls2 water pump etc. I was considering running 243 heads and the ls6 cam but ultimately decided against it as the power band would have moved a bit out of my ideal range. Surprisingly, the 241 heads have considerably better exhaust flow than the 243’s and the C5 cam was made specifically for these heads. I’m trying to balance this build from an engineering perspective. Between the engine, tranny, t case, axles, brakes and steering, just trying to get everything on the same level if that makes sense. Something along the lines of what could have been a factory style build if that makes sense.

You can use the tach adapter from Dakota digital. It will adapt pretty much any engine configuration with any gauge input. Obd2 dashes are a pain to deal with as you need to get the canbus signal from the ecu

USA21651 and USA21653 are the part numbers for 1541 bolt in shafts. Look for an 89 Cherokee. Also reach out to revolution axle. Pretty sure they have the shafts as well

A gear driven limited slip will be good for those axle shafts. Also, you can get 1541 axle shafts for your non c clip axle on rock auto. You must have found some pretty old info out there as superior axle has been out of the game for a long time. Revolution axle is the new superior after it was dissolved/reorganized. I remember having long discussions about the 35 on Jeep forum back when the 8.8 was the latest fad. In a nutshell, your plan is sound. Just grab some 1541 shafts and a trutrac or similar and have at it. A good stout diff cover never hurts either. At 4.88 gears, that should be pretty easy on that ax5 tranny.