Smokeyyank

Did it kill your approach angle? Out of curiosity did you run the sliders front and rear? Always interested to hear more abut the sliders...

T shirts and hoodies!

Look at the TOTM on Pirate for XJ leaf fronts. It's been done a lot of work for little gain though.

I bought my Grabbers through them on eBay. Saved me a good chunk of cash roughly $200. Part was I used their promo for $100 off $400. No issues took them to Costco to mount

Ugh, I wish. It would take someone with some programming skills to get it dialed in right. I know someone was able to swap in a AX15 behind one but the CEL is always on. At the point might as well get the XJ and be done. Stroke it. Swap in some WJ seats FTW!!

Wife has a KJ. I personally hate it. No power and just isn't comfortable. I did think about doing something with it to make it a little more offroad worthy but cost isn't worth it. Really I wish there was a WJ that had aw4 and the 4.0.....

Overland has the 4.7HO standard. So 265hp vs 235 of a standard 4.7 and also about 40 more ft/lbs. Also has quadratrek II with Varilock axle in the rear. Has a standard 1" lift with the upcountry package. Some extra skid plates and rock rails. Tranny on those are decent the 545rfe is pretty solid. Not AW4 solid but way better than the 42re on the 4.0, that is garbage. Yes I agree most of the drivetrain is less than ideally compared to its unibody brethren but dollar to dollar for what an XJ is vs the WJ its a tough sell. If emissions weren't an issue I'd agree about a swap. Diesel WJ would be sweet.

Exactly, looking for something sub $4k and I know XJ's are all over in that range WJ's are as well. Just trickier finding a Overland or limited 4.7HO.

More than likely either will retain stock gears. Which is also another reason I'm finding a WJ more attractive with a V8. If I was going to build something up I'd go XJ. This would be more of an Overland type rig. Not looking for anything really past 31's and 3" for lift. Just enough to get off the trail for camping and have some fun. We tent camp a lot so being able to have space for our gear is another thing. The XJ was fine before and if I had a rear tire carrier (as I had a spare 33" in the back taking up space) would probably suffice for now with my daughter.

Long story short, I want to get back into a Jeep to have something for camping and road trips. I just sold my BMW, not parting ways with the MJ, but kind of stuck with figuring out which direction to go. I'm debating on either a WJ or XJ. Right now I'm driving a loaner WJ from my dad it's the 4.0 and while I love the 4.0 thing has no power in the WJ. I will admit it's a lot more comfortable and spacious than my old XJ and a big reason I'm looking at one. I've done a decent amount of research on the WJ to know the common faults. I asked the NAXJA peeps and obviously they are impartial to XJ's. So what advice do MJ peeps have? Choice would either be a 98 or 99 XJ OR a WJ Overland or Limited with a 4.7HO. Thoughts?

Dropped in the new pressure bottle and Volvo cap this past weekend. So far everything has been holding steady and temps have been perfect. Quick question about burping the system. I read a few post to see what needed to happen since this is the first time I've had to deal with it. I raised the rear of the truck, filled the bottle up to the post in the there and run the engine with the heat on. It got up to temp I capped it and drove it around a bit. Re checked level was fine. Is there anything I missed or need to follow up on?

I used a durango box and WJ pump on my XJ. Worked great. It's kind of a bolt in but you need to make sure you reinforce the steering area. It ripped my unibody apart on my XJ. Made turning effort A LOT easier though. I went through Rockauto and picked up mine from Lares. Easy upgrade well worth it IMHO.

I just ended up getting a new bottle and cap from rockauto it was $30. Next spring I'll probably just convert it and upgrade as much as I can.

I'd go with a 8.25. 8.8 is a great swap (ran it on my XJ) and will get you 31 spline shafts and a factory LSD downside is they are bigger. 8.25 is a great axle. Dana 35 is as useful as a boat anchor. 8.25 can be had for cheap. I picked up my builder 8.25 with a KJ disc swap for $100. Depending where you are will dictate a lot of the cost. In CO everything is gold plated so it pulls a premium unless you are hunting for good deals. I'd probably say about $100-$300 for a used axle and parts to get it under a MJ.

Cool good to know. Maybe I just start with a bottle and cap for now and hopefully that gets me through till spring and I can do a full swap.

Well as of this morning the pressure bottle cracked along a seam in front. Spewed fluid all over. So should I just get another pressure bottle or upgrade to a open system? I'd prefer to go open but an easy fix would be a softer hit on the wallet right now.

My fault not overflow, pressure bottle. Ideally I want to swap to an open system. Pressure bottle is filled less than half currently.

Thanks for the info. I'll update a sig. My guess has been rad is going. Its a 88. Don't know when the radiator was replaced I can ask YELLAHEEP as he's who I got the MJ from. Not sure if he would know but I'll ask.

So over the past 2 weeks the MJ has been creeping up past 220 and there is rad fluid that is leaking close to the overflow. It does it once and then goes back to normal after I turn on the heat for a bit. I have no idea the last time any of the cooling system was serviced. Is it time to upgrade the cooling system or it it simply a bubble? I know the closed systems are tricky.

I run Grabber AT's and really like them. Had KO's on my XJ and loved them too. Grabbers I got for less than $350 brand new so the big reason I went with them. Check discounttire's ebay store. Sometimes they run promos for $100 off.

Rockauto for pretty much everything stock wise. Upgrade wise it just depends on what. It's not a JK so can't really just stroll through Quadratrec and get the JK starter package. Anything in specific you're looking for?

WJ swap is going to get you the best overall upgrade up front but it's $$$. It gives you waaayyyy better brakes and steering geometry. If that's not an option I'd just go straight V8 ZJ tie rod and stock parts for the rest. I personally wouldn't drop the coin on a OTK or other "upgrade" steering system. If you want to upgrade the box the durango box and WJ pump are nice. Ran it in my XJ world of difference over stock. For gears I'd go at least 3.55 or 3.73. Honestly your best bet would be finding 95-99 preferably 97-99 XJ axles from an auto, freshen them up and swap those in. Will have the deeper gears, bigger u joints up front, no CAD and a 8.25 for the rear. If you're not running SOA in the rear you will just need to weld perches under.

Ironman4x4 makes a fullbelly link setup for XJ they did have a SEMA MJ that used a lot of the same parts. https://www.ironman4x4fab.com/product-page/xj-front-rear-4-link-system Other is stinkyfab http://www.stinkyfab.com/trail-proof-crossmember-t-case-skid-jeep-xj-mj/

Yeah mine it has to go around. That channel in the seal is about 1/2" of window going in it. I get what you're saying about not having to but there just is no way I can unless I cut the seal to allow it to "slide" in vs wrapping around. Since it will be needing a new windshield I'll probably just see if I can get the glass guy to hammer it out. Thanks for the info though.

Also not sure if it matters. But the seal I'm using was from the slider window. Not sure if it would be a different size than the regular window.