OldSch88L

You got me there, bud!!! I never thought about that. I got what I believe to be a Rough Country 3" lift right now, because of the stance, silver springs and shocks, and tubular lower control arms up front. They ride a hair on the stiff side, which I always guessed was because they were tuned for the weight of a 4.0 MJ. So I figured that those Ranchos might help me find a happy medium. But after I read your post, I did a quick google search and couldn't find any info about what that adjustable knob controls; the official Rancho video only says it controls "dampening"...

Here you go!!! ax15_np231tcasereclocktemplate.pdf

Just let us know when you'll officially be back to making those switch plate bezels; I'll need some as well... Back to the topic, I'm sorry than I can't give an immediate opinion, but my MJ is in storage for the winter, as I'm gathering parts for a new lift, and I got me some Rancho RS9000XL's adjustables. I figured that with everybody's varying definition of a "good" or "confortable" shock, varying leaf springs condition and overall truck setup from one guy to another, I might as well get me a shock that gives me some options to get it right. I should have it buttoned up by this summer to give an honest review about those shocks.

Well I got a 4-banger, and most lift springs seemed to be made for the weight of the 4.0, and I plan on a BaDadFab behind the stock bumper winch mount, so the winch's weight will be inboard, instead of hanging away from the body. So I don't plan on extreme sag up front, but I do have 3" lift coils up front right now, and I want just a bit more once all is said and done.

Really? Good to know, as all the people from the posts I found had ordered the 5 leaf Metric Ton springs with the military wrap. On a side note, I used the "secret" part number for the military wrap springs made exclusively for CC members, the the person from General Spring that got back to be had absolutely no clue what I was talking about...

Well, I took advantage of Black Friday to buy most of the parts for a 4.5" lift. When I got to Rusty's, their site said the 4" lift leafs were sold out. I tried many times to reach them both on Facebook and by email to know if they'll have some more or if it's being discontinued, and can't get any response. I guess the quality of their customer service is the same as their products, huh? So I searched a lot over here about the General Springs MT leafs. Most people say it lifted their truck, but the amount of lift is all over the place depending on who you talk to, and how they measured it. Also, most of the measurements where taken before the springs settled in. So all of you who had these for a while, could anybody give a realistic measurement based on the agreed method from this site (I.E. top of axle tube to frame rail IIRC)? I ordered RE 4.5" coils, which I read where soft and don't exactly net you 4.5 inches of lift, and I'll also eventually have a winch up front, so I have the feeling that I don't really need over 4 inches of lift in the back...

I painted my grille, headlight doors and moulding with the leftover paint and clear I used to do my wheels, which was Dupli Color wheel paint in Graphite, two coats+clear IIRC. I did paint over the previous color without primer which might come into play since the parts were black before. The overall match is close enough for my taste for the time being.

Oh and the old GM door buzzer modules look awfully similar, but I haven't tried one yet, so I can't confirm.

We all know the classic joke, that AMC stands for "All Makes Combined" right? Well it ain't too far from the truth... Yesterday, I watched Doug Demuro's lastest GMC Typhoon video (the one with the red truck, the white truck was the first video from years ago), and while on the interior tour, I recognized a bunch of parts, also seen in XJs and MJs... Glovebox latch, defrost switch, steering column, late-model wiper stalk, and seatbelt buckles IIRC. I also know that GM vent window latches will also work on our trucks, and I think somebody also used Blazer/Jimmy courtesy lights as an alternative for B-Pillar lights? Feel free to add to the list. I felt the need to pass this on because I'm sure other people are in the same situation as me, where it's easier to find old GM products in the junkyard than Cherokees and Comanches...

Either wide or narrow bearing shafts will fit on the t-case; you just gotta have the right bearing for it. As for the two from Allstate you mentioned, my bet is the 17860 is the one for you. The other one looks like the rarer, medium lenght shaft (they did a short for manual transmissions, a long for AW4 autos, but I can't remember what transmissions the medium was for) according to the overall stated lenght.

https://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/np-nvg-input-gears/

Novak Adapters still list 23-spline, early style short input shaft, although pricey. You could give them a call.

Wrong. If you want a later style input shaft in your early style '88 transfer case, you need the late-style input shaft, late-style planetary gearset, AND the late-style ring gear. Failure to do so will cause damage, ask me why I know... I tried just swapping an early type input shaft and planetary set in a late style t-case... It made a loud gear noise; only ran it like 200 miles before taking it appart. I finally swapped the early ring gear in the case, and kinda solved the problem; the short time I drove it has worn the gears a bit, as there is a really faint gear mesh noise left. Swapping the ring gear is a huge PITA and I don't recommend it, as it is pressed in the front case half. You're better off finding a late model front t-case half to go with that late input shaft and planetary to convert your early style 88 case.

I used to be a big fan of DED, but thought it was getting boring and repetitive lately, IE put a hacksaw to every vehicle and put on HUGE tires ans top dollar parts, turning pretty much every vehicle into a one-off dedicated off-road toy, instead of a daily driver. Their builds were getting farther away from what we "common mortals" have budget for. Some of my favorites episodes are the Willys wagon YJ frame swap, Dodge airport thug build, cheap truck challenges, Wagoneer revival, and the AMC Pacer build to name a few. However the Blazer K5 rescue, the lawnmowers or bikes episodes, or any episode focused on that "Clampy" junk pile are big let-downs for me. Just my 2 cents, but you could see it coming; as content seemed less and less in each episode as time passed, they also seemed to be running out of new ideas, and finally, the hosts seemed to have lost that on-screen energy that they once had. Don't get me wrong; it sucks that they got cancelled, but sadly I can't say that I'm surprised

A big part of plastic components I encountered during my body shop days was PP (polypropylene), but I can't say for sure for vehicles as old as MJs. However, you shoud be able to find "Universal" plastic welding rods; they're usually black with fiber in them. My boss didn't even bother identifying the kinds of plastics to use the right rods, he just used the universal ones all the time. The universal will work when you're not sure what you have, but you'll always get a better bond with the same kind of plastic.

Just wanted to know if somebody else made complete sets, I.E. front to back, unibody stiffeners other than T&M Metal Fabrication? Others just seem to offer XJ front and mid sections for MJs...

Well, like Pete said, bad gas for sure for starters. Modern gas is such garbage, it blows my mind, no pun intended. I now work at a tool and machinery rental store, where I wrench on anything from excavators and Skyjacks to chainsaws and snowblowers. All our gasoline equipment (both 2 and 4 stroke) are fueled with super unleaded, as it's the only grade that doesn't have ethanol (yet), and for extra peace of mind, we add some fuel stabilizer during the winter when business slows down. We aslo fix customers' equipment, and of course they use regular gas, no stabilizer nor do they run it once in a while in their downtime. Sometimes, one season is enough to cause problems. As regular gas dries up, it leaves a yellowish, powdery gunk that clogs everything, and junks carburators in my case. Even after dismantling and an ultrasonic bath, they never run right again. So, flush your tank and add fresh fuel, super unleaded if you plan on letting it sit again. Change the fuel filter. Replace or clean the injector. As for the backfiring through the throttle body, I'm leaning towards stuck valves. I'd take off the valve cover and make sure no rockers are loose as you spin the crank with a ratchet through a complete cycle.

Finally added a bit of lighting; Hella 450 fogs on the bumper, and 550 driving lights on the sports bar!

Steering stops, sorry about that!!!

Oh and that's on a 3" lift by the way

In any case, you pretty much have to adjust the bump stops... I have 31s on 15X8 Ravine wheels, and I swapped in WJ lower arms to stop the rubbing. It worked to a point, the tires don't rub the arms anymore, but they now rub the sides of the sway bar!

Eagle is right. I have those Level II Alcoas on my '98 Ranger and tried putting them on my Comanche, and it's a no-go. The center bore is a bit too small. You might get away with spacers or some carefull machining. Also keep in mind they are 7" wide versus 8" like some Jeep wheels; making 31s look like balloon tires with bulged sidewalls compared to a squared-off look on a 8 incher.

Nice, that'll be exactly what I need! I think I saw one on ebay. Thanks!

Nice craftmanship, and I really love the stance on that truck!!! On a side note, on that front end picture of your truck, are these Hella 450s or 550? I want some of those as well for my truck but I can't decide size-wise between the 450 or 550...

And by the way guys, don't neglect your steering intermediate shaft... It's crazy how a hair of play in the shaft will feel like lots of play on the steering wheel! It feels like a whole new truck now!!! And on another side note, if you want to replace the intermediate shaft, do yourself a favor and don't attempt to remove the steering box to take the shaft out. A good shaft won't collapse except in an accident, and your steering box bolts will most likely be seized either because of rust or electrolysis to the spacer,and you'll be in a world of hurt. Instead, take off the lower dash (not even a dozen phillips screws), the two steering column to dash bolts, and the two column to firewall bolts. Then unplug all connectors attached to the column and take it out. Took me about 30-45 minute start to finish to replace the intermediate shaft that way.