Incommando

Maybe I am misunderstanding this: If the front wheels are on the ground you should not be able to turn the front drive shaft no matter what position the transfer case is in IIRC. Even if the CAD is disconnected and the left side outer shaft could spin freely the driver's side would still be "engaged" and have the weight of the truck on it I think? (Thinking is not always my strong suit). It would take both sides of the front axle being disconnected via locking hubs or such to allow the drive shaft to spin fairly freely. Even jacking up the front so that both wheels were suspended would require you to spin the drive shaft hard enough to move a wheel via the diff on any vehicle lacking locking hubs that were unlocked. I *think* that our unit bearing front ends without such hubs means that even with CAD one axle shaft is always connected to a wheel and the front drive shaft always rotates when the vehicle is in motion no matter the t-case position or CAD activation. From what I have read this may not be common but is usually due to a linkage issue when it occurs. The t-case is never actually placed into 2hi no matter what the position of the shifter might indicate. The 231 linkage is notoriously crappy & the net offers several ways to upgrade it or replace with either home built stuff or aftermarket. Continuous body flex and or rust can also move the tunnel mounted pivot point ( #14 below) enough that the linkage does not engage the range selector properly. As 2hi is a position at the furthest point of the action it would make sense that it was one that was affected. This would also cause the 4wd light to stay activated as internally the t-case is still in 4hi. I would crawl underneath and manually manipulate the range selector ( the metal rectangle on the post that sticks out of the t-case on one end and is the terminus of the t-case side) to see if that would shift the t-case into 2hi. I don't know if this will help at all but good luck. Image Not Found

Unfortunately the D30 front has a habit of bending. That is why companies offer internal and external trusses for the tubes and even the "c's". You see many of them trussed even if it is with home-made trusses. If someone did a Duke Boys "hold my beer and watch this" flying MJ stunt the axle may be bent. A hard landing would cause a bend that would create the cambered condition you describe. I know of no adjustable ball joints just " off set" ball joints as mentioned above. Here is a source for such ball joints in .5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 degrees: http://www.jegs.com/p/Specialty-Products/SPC-Jeep-Dodge-Offset-Ball-Joints/755170/10002/-1 At $78 each x 4 I would think about finding another front axle if that turns out to be the problem.

JKs are 65" WMS IIRC.........at any rate they are way too wide. The KJ is virtually the same at 60" wms-wms. The JK is a completely different jeep and never used the 8.25. The difference between the KJ & late XJ 8.25 is the suspension mounts and they have to be removed anyway. The axle in the KK was the "corporate 210mm." While I believe that this is a new designation for the corporate 8.25 I have not confirmed that or whether there are internal differences

Barnes has 3" as well... look under the D44 listing. Rocky Road has pulled some shady stuff. As a rule I do not recommend them. Me members here who tried that specific kit have had issues with it as well.

What means "double sheer" pertaining to a track bar? :hmm: I'm using the Teraflex bar because you can adjust it like a drag link w/o removing an end . Instead of a TRE on the body side they use an open hole kind of like the loop end of a shock so it is supported on both sides by a bolt passing through it.

Avoid that kit at all costs. You can get cheap factory style perches or high quality longer ones from Barnes or Ruffstuff. It just requires a touch of welding. The AMC has 3" tubes IIRC and not 2.75" like the other MJ axles. A simple swap kit from Barnes 4wd gets you a great & complete kit that is much beefier than stock.

8.8 probably has a slight edge in strength and factory discs are the norm. 29 spline 8.25 & D44 are probably a wash but the MJ/XJ D44 has unusually small axle tubes that may give the nod to the 8.25.

Having just done this swap a couple of weeks as long as it was properly aligned it would be fine.

The '03-'07 Liberty KJ version ( the '02 had standard rear drums) would be a score. I am not sure about the '08 and up KK versions. The KJ may have a few more brackets to remove but that wouldn't be hard

I actually went with the double sheer Rubicon Express track bar and bracket in the end. Looks beefy and was easy to install.

The only direct donor is an MJ D44. Easiest conversion is XJ D44. No other D44 is an easy or cheap swap. Both of those are wildly over-priced so swapping in a 29-spline XJ 8.25 or Explorer 8.8 are great options.

My '88 SWB also had the towing package and D44 without the metric ton group. Nice score in that the axle was even from a LWB so you didn't have to screw with the shock mounts.

Thanks for shipping that stuff to me so quickly. You sent far more than I expected and I appreciate it.

If you run a longer length of regular tubing you can use a light tension return spring clipped around the hose and attached to the body that will allow the hose to droop when needed but will pull it back up at ride height so it isn't dangling. This works with longer brake lines, too, but you may have to use a stronger spring.

This. They are cheap, plentiful, and strong. You will need to move the spring perches as the only main obstacle. A D35 making noise isn't worth the price of the gear lube to inspect it IMHO. Around here you can get a complete 29-spline 8.25 for around $100. If yours is 2wd and/or you are never going to push it really hard a 27-spline version will still be a major improvement over a D35. I literally could not give away the D35 I just took out from under mine for free despite trying on local boards and CL. I will need to haul it to the scrape yard. Same with the front 2wd beam axle and 2wd AW4.

Renault was better? :-) The MJ/XJ is a child of the Renault era. Renix = Renault-Bendix. The Daimler era was arguably a little better but still.... In the last 35 years Jeep has been owned by one European company or another for much of it. Compared to Renault even Fiat doesn't look too bad IMHO. I still think there is room for all of it, like a Grand Chero Overland, as long as the models that will eventually wind up in our hands second or third hand continue as well.

Black electrical tape over the icon in the dash :)

China is too big of a market to ignore. This level of luxury in a JKU may never reach the US. If it does and sales of these help continue the sales of the less luxury/more rugged versions then it is a win.

What's "rusty" in some parts of the country is darn near mint condition in ours. I used pieces cut from an XJ door skin to fix my '88.

The u-joints are 1310 for both.

Kobe Bryant called a Ref a "f%*-jng fag&t" on national TV and got a pass

In case anyone actually does this: The only lift of any worth for an '11-up Patriot that I am aware of is the Rocky-Road lift: http://www.rocky-road.com/jeep-patriot-lift-kit.html While I am not usually a fan of this company their kit was used by Mopar on a factory show Jeep. With their lift you can run up to a 30" tire with the proper rim. You may need to pound the pinch weld in the wheel well flat for some combos. This is fairly common in Liberties, as well. You can order a lift from CRDSTU and have it shipped from Australia but it will run about $800 and only get you 1" of lift on a newer 4x4 Patriot as they sit taller from the factory than the earlier models.

Although I paid $400 for my MJ I will entertain bids starting at $4 grand via PM

Too much for you and too much for me. BUT just right for the buyer and the seller. So if the money changes hands, that is the true value of that particular truck at that point in time. Like I said before, this is Ebay, we shall see if the buyer flakes and it is listed again. Yeah these things often don't sell to the actual winner and the actual winner may be a schill to get a list of interested buyers to market the truck to after the sale to the "winner" falls through as Horn brood mentioned.

The Olds Bravada is also a Trailblazer. The thing is that the Captiva is a "new" model for 2014 in the US. Here is a strange one: the Buick Encore is built out of a Chevy Sonic