AZJeff

Oil pressure on an engine running normal motor oils (10w30 and the like) will NOT rapidly fluctuate. Yes, it will go up and down as engine speed changes, but advancing the throttle from idle to 2000 rpm and holding it there should cause the pressure to climb (with a slight delay) and hold. Likewise, releasing the throttle from 2000rpm back to idle should cause the pressure to drop, again with a slight delay. If the oil pressure is "bouncing around" with a mechanical guage, something is wrong with the oiling system (assuming you have confirmed it with a second guage). If the oil pressure is rapidly fluctuating with an ELECTRICAL guage, then the issue is either (1)bad sender, (2)bad guage, or (3)varying voltage being supplied to instrument cluster. Mechanical oil pressure guages do NOT need bleeding to get accurate readings.

I had Brown Dogs in my last XJ, and I can say this: at the time I installed them, Brown Dog offered both rubber and polyurethane bushings for the mounts. DO NOT used the poly ones unless you like not being able to see anything clearly through your rear-view mirrors. Even the rubber bushing versions transmit some vibration. Owing to this, when I put new mounts in my MJ, I went with OEM type.

I agree with MiniBeast. A compression test is something I would do right away. Another thing you might want to do is send off an oil sample to someone like Blackstone Laboratories to have a chemical analysis for presence of coolant in the oil.

You should start by getting a shop manual with the wiring diagrams for your model year of MJ. Then obtain a multimeter, if you don’t have one, and use it to start chasing down the lighting circuits. There are links on this forum to where you can download the manual.

Glad you got it assembled. A word of caution, though: it’s not a good practice to stretch out the flexible brake line to the extent seen in the above photo, as it can weaken the line and cause cracking.

My MJ is lifted about 3.5 inches, and it had an aftermarket adjustable track bar that had the ball/socket joint on the chassis end like the OEM type. It worked fine, when adjusted properly. But it used the standard OEM track bar bracket, and the coil spring on the driver's side would occasionally rub on the bracket, and make any annoying "sproing-ing" noise. I replaced that track bar with a Rough Country track bar and bracket that uses rubber bushings on both ends. The important part is that the track bar bracket is not designed like the OEM one, and adds clearance near the spring, thus eliminating the weird "sproing" noise when the spring flexes. As far as your tires wearing on the inside.....do you have wheel spacers attached to the hub flanges to increase track width? That can cause the axle housing to flex, and cause your wheel camber to become negative, and increase tire wear on the inside of the footprint of the tire.

Lots of XJ guys think the best solution to the floor pan being "waterproof" and easy to clean is to put truck bedliner on the floor. If applied correctly, it certainly is very durable. Of course, the downside is that it makes the vehicle have no insulation against heat/cold on the floor, and no soundproofing. That's OK for a trail rig, but if it's also a daily driver, it might get kinda old to hear all that road noise when traveling at any speed.

In order to sucessfully paint those pieces, (which are made from stainless steel, as others have pointed out), you will need to scuff up the surface a bit to get good paint adhesion. A "Scotch Brite" pad works really well. Unfortunately, that would make them less valuable if you decide later to sell them.....

I concur with this approach. The tables that are out there don't achieve the level of precision needed. (At least they didn't for me, as when I used them, I had WAY too much caster.) Once I spent the time to use the angle finder and tape measure, my MJ drove MUCH better, and with the corrrect caster, the pinion angle on the front diff. was in the allowable range, and I didn't have that weird noise coming from the front drive shaft.

About the only way that situation could exist is if the coolant level was below minimum prior to the overheat.

The door “cardboard” can be replaced by hardboard commonly called “Masonite” that is found at lumber yards. Replacement “watershield” material can be fabricated from 3mil thick clear poly sheeting, and attached using the special “sticky caulk” that comes in rolls and is available on Amazon. Using the poly and the special caulk allows the shield to be removed/reused without damage. That’s an important feature for owners of older Jeep’s😆

When did you do your conversion? I did mine about 2 years ago. I wonder if you did yours more recently, and they addressed the parking brake issue.

It's odd you state the above in red. I put this same kit on my 1989 with the D44, and I found two issues with the Teraflex kit: 1. the spacers used to preload the wheel bearing were oversized for the axle tube, and needded to be turned down in outside diameter slightly. 2. I bought the parking brake cables they recommended, and they did NOT fit correctly into the bracket that supports the caliper. The tines on the metal clip that retains the cable sheath won't snap into the bracket because the bracket casting is too thick. I called Teraflex, and they claimed they had never heard of this issue. When I asked the guy to check his stock, he admitted it was an issue after he investigated, but had no suggestion for a fix. I ended up making my own retaining bracket that solved the problem.

I have a similar setup, except my lift is about 3.5”, and I get about 18mpg on the road. In town, it’s about 13-15🥴

I have been sidetracked helping my son redo the cam phasers and timing chains in his F150 with a 5.4L engine, but I got time to take some pics people were asking for.

My MJ developed the infamous popping sound near the steering box that I have traced to two issues: 1. The upper/front steering box mounting bolt is pulling through the outside wall of the “frame” rail. Adding a washer did not spread the load enough to prevent further damage. 2. Upon disassembly/inspection, a previous owner welded up (nicely) a crack across the top flange of the frame close to this same mounting hole, and the crack is slowly reappearing. My plan is to weld in a tubular spacer into the mounting hole, and the weld a plate on the outside of the tube to spread the clamping load of the bolt. I am also replacing the cast AL box spacer with a steel one. For the top flange of the frame, I will stop drill the crack, and reweld. Then I will weld on a bolster plate that extends Several inches fore/aft of the crack area. Any other suggestions to avoid further issues? I am no rick crawling with this thing, and I only run 32” tires.

As others mention, those are aftermarket. They are made of aluminum, and I would bet are just installed with big (currently rusty) sheet metal screws. if you want the most durable cosmetic result, clean the alumnium up with a wire wheel and scotch-bride pads, and paint them with an epoxy paint. Use stainless steel fasteners to re- attach, and put a thin piece of plastic between the aluminum and the painted surface, to prevent abrasion of the paint once reinstalled.

I followed Dzimm's advice when I put the Dakota tank on my SWB MJ, and he is pretty much spot on. I will add, though, that you cannot directly use the tank mounting that the original MJ steel tanks used. You will need to devise a mounting to make sure you avoid any potential interference between the new tank and the propeller shaft and rear axle. In this mounting method, make sure your mounting system pulls the tank towards the "frame" rail as well as upward, and you won't have any issues.

Ty-wrap is a brand name like Kleenex. And when I was in the electronics industry, we just used that term generically for all brands of wire ties.👍

That's a good list, but I have some added ideas: Dress your wires as neatly as possible, and keep them from vibrating or chafing against sharp edges. I like to use "Ty-wraps" (nylon wire ties) to hold my wire bundles together. If you need to protect the wire harness beyond dressing, I am a big fan of the corrugated wire looming that is used on many newer cars.

ZJ cables might work. Not guaranteed....just a suggestion.

Unless you are planning on having your Jeep judged to "concours" standards, replicating everything the way AMC/Chrysler did it isn't always the best solution. There are some things that can be done to our MJ's that are just plain better than the original factory approach. A notable example is the wiring for the headlights, where the OEM approach not only resulted in really poor lighting, but eventually can result in your MJ becoming a rolling road flare.

I don’t understand the issue. I can get a wrench on the “nut side” of the track bar bolt to hold it while you torque to spec. The “flag nut” is a production convenience. It’s not mandatory.

These are VERY good points. I didn't realize the OP's engine was modified to generate more HP than OEM. The fact is, the OEM cooling system is designed around OEM power output levels. An engine that puts out more power than OEM will need a larger-than-OEM cooling system. Given the fact that the MJ/XJ already barely has space for the OEM cooling system, this could be a challenge.

Quite frankly, I have never had a problem with the OEM type setup used in the later MJ/XJ's. The engineers designed the system to work at temperatures up to probably 120-130* with the vehicle stationary and the AC on. There are a few caveats to achieving that performance though: everything in the system MUST be performing LIKE NEW. That means: --clean coolant with 50/50 mix, --a radiator that isn't all corroded internally --a pressure cap for open systems set for EIGHTEEN pounds --and a mech. clutch fan that locks up properly I will say one thing, and that is I am not a big fan of the plastic end cap OEM-style radiators, and I replace those with all metal ones. Otherwise, I run the OEM setup. Here in PHX, my MJ gets toasty hot under the hood when it's 110* out. In fact, it gets so hot that I cannot touch the front part of the hood when I open it for more than 1-2 seconds without gloves. It's fun to watch me pop the secondary latch, and then shuffle my hands over to the side of the hood to get away from the heat from the radiator and avoid burning my hands. In spite of this, I have scanned the thermostat housing with an infrared meter, and never seen the temperature climb above 215* at that point.