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I didn’t. They have some type of coating on them. I didn’t want to remove the coating just to apply paint. If the coating ever starts to fail, I’d probably cover it with some clear coat. That way I can keep an eye on any rust that may try to form

I ordered the spectra premium on rock auto and it has the correct sump.

Made me go back out to double check

I think it’s a boostwerks kit. Bought it new off of another club member a few years back

Of course! The body color starts at the lower control arm mounts. That’s where it transitions to raptor liner.

Jewelry box refinished. Also found a few more places to seam seal where there were small gaps in the panels between the wheel wells and inner fenders.

I'm not sure about what to do with the XJ 44 yet. Yeah it was a neat XJ that was buried in the yard. Shoot me a text if you want the details on where it is if you want the front axle. There was a Comanche in the yard also but it was utterly destroyed. Salvaged the badges and cab side trim vent covers from it though. Also got a pic of the vin

Very nice survivor. I would expect more if it was a short bed with bucket seats. Those will fetch a higher price. As it stands I’d estimate 10-12k. There was a 40k mile eliminator recently on FB that went for around 11k iirc. BAT will catch the right kind of buyer though and would be your best bet.

Also, for reference, many have referred to the 97+ for seals as being superior and there is a nice difference. The bulb portion of the seal has a small lip that faces out towards the door to provide a slightly better seal. As I can’t source any nos 97+ seals (if anyone reading this happens to have some, I’d be interested in some possible trading) I’ve been looking into alternative seals that aren’t application specific. Aftermarket seals both for 96- and 97+ tend to be made from a tougher material and don’t have the breather holes that the oem’s did. Therefore, many of these just don’t fit well and make the door very difficult to shut and align properly. Here are some dimensions that may be helpful in the future to sorting out some good door seal alternatives. The actual mounting edge on my can is about 3/16” in most places. Something with a grip range of 1/8-3/16 would be ideal.

Making a few mods to the engine bay before refinish and fina engine install. Finally got some weather that will be decent enough to paint with soon. I cleaned up a newer XJ windshield washer tank and installed it on the fender well. Also got the newer pdc and bracket mocked into place. Just have to finish sealing up a few more holes in the inner fender then will get everything painted.

No it originally had a d35. The 8.25 width, disk brakes, strength and price made sense for the swap. XJ and MJ 44’s were tough to find when I was looking. I know every once in a while one pops up for sale though. I was in the junk yard though the other day and saw an 87 XJ buried in the back. Sure enough it had a 44, so I grabbed it. Also noticed the D30 front was a non-disconnect axle. I didn’t investigate to see if it was an abs or np242 model or not. Neat find though. Very muddy axle but actually pretty clean under it.

Picked up an XJ 44 along with a pair of newer 97+ doors along with some odds and ends the other day. Definitely going to use the newer doors once I saw the internal bracing and overall design. I can't quite bring myself to go with the newer dash though especially with that airbag steering wheel. IMO the 97+ doors and center console match the stock dash nicely provided the colors are uniform. Also picked up a 97+ console with an np242 bezel and shift gate.

Yeah, it's taking some serious mods to get these to work. I almost feel it would be better to remove the bolts that are fiberglassed into the flares and mock them up flush. Notch needs to just get their act together and get the bolts aligned in a jig so they can keep their positioning consistent enough to create a mounting template.

I’m suspecting they may have mislabeled my notch flares?? It almost seems like the drivers side should be on the passenger side. The difference between each side is only very slight. Here are some reference pics. Already had to drill several holes with the step bit about 3/4”. Have a couple of spots I’ll have to weld the inner and outer skins back together. Just not getting the fit of the “legs” on each side the way I want it. There is one “leg” of each side flare that is about 1/2” shorter and according to the labels Notch put on the inside of the flare, that slightly shorter leg will end up going towards the front with the slightly longer to the rear. Not sure if this is correct or not?? It’s almost impossible to get detailed pics from anyone who has installed these on an MJ These remind me of trying to mock up some cheap body kits on a civic back in the day The only thing I like so far is the wheel well opening is about perfect for these 33’s at low lift.

I can live with the glove box not dropping fully.

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.