Backpacker

Hello all! I am finally headed back up to Alaska to reunite with some of my Comanche parts and start up work as a mechanic again. I'll be shipping up the MJ since she's not quite good enough to make the trip at the moment. Excited to have her there, but oh my goodness the salt is GNARLY, and will be worse this winter. I'll hopefully be welding in floor pans and stripping down the underside as soon as it arrives since I'll finally have a lift, and I figured that's as good a time as any to try and do some protection and prevention. Does anyone have advice for a non-permanent solution to undercoating? I want something on it for the next year or two until I do the final paint and real undercoat (very loose schedule obviously), it's really just to buy me time until I do it right. Best idea I could come up with is putting linseed oil into a weed-killer sprayer and then going over it with some rags but I am worried that it would not last. In addition, anyone who has had experience shipping vehicles PLEASE SHARE, I would love advice for how to prep the truck for transportation before I fly out. Thanks!

Edit: I can not for the life of me flip my picture right side up, file shows the right way up everywhere but on CC, If anyone knows why that would happen please do let me know Hi all! This one is a little rambly so apologies in advance. And sorry I disappeared for a little while there! I have really been struggling to find the motivation for my truck lately. I am working towards a full restoration, but I can't even seem to get myself to even work on the little stuff these past few weeks (leaning on months). My friends XJ, which is pristine and gorgeous, has kind of made me realize just how far I am from being even close to done. My truck is admittedly better off a lot of other ones out there nowadays, but it's so far from where I want it it to be (with some LARGE issues)I just struggle to even want to work on it. I still love the truck, and WANT to see it to fruition so badly, but I just can't make myself pick up the 3/8s for some reason. How do you all deal with the slumps? And does it get any easier if it's not your daily? I hope this is relatable and not looking like me being lazy, although it is certainly possible lol! (My truck and friends rad XJ added for reference) (My truck also looks a lot worse in person, also for reference)

Apologies to all who want pictures of the louvres, they are with my rollbar being stored in AK until next season. They came in an unmarked box with a bunch of other parts, which I just stuck into the shop I work at to finish up my restoration process there next year. I will update this thread with pictures as soon as I am able.

Love the J series trucks, sweet turbines!

Thank you!

Parked beside a gladiator today while getting a spare ignition key cut (surprisingly difficult as most places have employees that have never seen a key without a plastic fob before ), and realized the size difference was even more than I initially realized! Anyone else have fun pictures of their old jeep trucks beside new ones?

That all makes sense. I am fairly sure my rear springs are sagging so I do want to do new packs rather than just shackles. I guess the "metric ton" rear leafs are stock height, with the Chevy shackles gets you 3", but where are the metric ton leaf packs from?

Is there any chance you could send a picture of what your truck looks like at 4.5 inches? I am trying to see how it sits and if it looks tall enough to be on the top half of a moose rather than the bottom half. Also curious if you know of a set of leaf packs at 3", I have not been able to find anything but add a leafs at that height and I would like to just replace the whole packs rather than do drop shackles.

It is, I actually ended up figuring it out last night! Just took a lot of tracing and youtube.

Hi all, in the midst of replacing my vacuum harness I have discovered that with the previous owner adding their own cold air intake they cut out a lot of the connection points. Is it ok to just plug these hoses or do I need to find a way to route them to something? And is there a list anywhere of stuff that can just be deleted/plugged without harming the motor or performance in any way?

I'm 20, took a while to own my own vehicle because I had access to a lot of older jeeps that I could drive, I picked the MJ as my first car that I bought and owned. I really need the clearance because I spend half my year in a pretty rural town in Alaska, and need the ability to not die if I hit a moose, which requires a little bit of height. I don't plan on doing extreme wheeling like a lot of people, but I do need to get down some dirt roads and up and down a pretty rocky dry river bed for work, which also takes a pretty fair bit of clearance if I don't want to bottom out, my friend has a hilux with 2 inches and has difficulty making it through that area. I have been looking around and if I combine a zone offroad kit with a pair of new leaf packs I can do 4" for under 1000, unless I get their more expensive shocks. Do you have any experience with the zone offroad shocks, and is it worth the extra couple hundred bucks to do their 800 series? Sorry again if this is wordy and poorly articulated.

Just checked Zone Offroad, looks like I can get a pretty complete kit for even cheaper. Is it a better brand?

That all makes sense, thank you! With the long arm up front, what did you end up doing in the rear? I could consider shelling out a little extra for front suspension, just worried about finding leafs for the rear that match stock MJ shackle width.

There may well be a heater core check valve that leads in through your firewall off of your thermostat housing. I just had to replace mine because it broke while I was replacing my valve cover gasket. If it were not opening or only partially opening it would severely hinder your heaters ability to do its job. Just something to look out for if replacing the heater core doesn't solve the issue.

I do seasonal work in AK half the year, I am in NC for the winter so shipping shouldn't be an issue. I also much prefer doing my own work, and am on a tighter budget so I would like to avoid putting it into a shop. I am looking for 4" or 4.5" so that I can have 32s and not worry about rubbing or cutting up the body, would that be too much for the ZJ coil and spacers? And is there any benefit to using a shorter coil and spacers over a full coil?

4.5" is really the max I am looking for, I'd rather do 4" but I can't find any MJ specific kits at 4" under $1000. I'd also like to keep the leafs, I like the older look/feel quite a bit.

4.0 / AW4 / 4WD / D30 Front / D35 Rear / Shortbed Pioneer Build Date Unknown Current Location: Cary NC/Healy AK (6 months out of each year) Status: Daily driving project, extensive restoration plans ahead Notes: Column shift, bench seat, holes drilled for a sport bar (may or may not be original, did not come with truck), rear window louvre marked AMC (may or may not be original), holes drilled in bumper for foglights, looks like the right distance to be factory, but no lights came with the truck.

I don't have any pictures on my phone, I'd be happy to take some tomorrow in the light of day. If I recall correctly I have 30 or 33 psi last time I checked, whatever it said on my doorjamb. Pretty sure the rear shocks are shot based on how the leafs bounce when I go over stuff, feels just like the CJ7 I dailied previously when its shocks went out.

I unfortunately have a mystery lift from the former owner that does not ride very well. I have a fair bit of experience driving old jeeps so I don't mind it too much though. I am in the process of welding some armor right now, but I don't plan on wheeling it too hard or very often, just need the clearance for roads in Alaska. I need new shocks and was planning on just doing a budget lift while it is apart so that I know what is under there. Rough country is very tempting because of budget, and it has leafs made for the stock MJ shackle width which seems like it would make things a lot easier. I am also trying to track down a Chrysler 8.25 for a new rear axle, but I've been having some trouble.

I think this is how I reply, please do let me know if it is wrong. I actually have a fair bit of experience riding and driving old jeeps that don't ride so great, including but not limited to my family 51 Willys pickup, a CJ3B, and mostly an 84 CJ7 (my former daily). I don't care too much about the ride, just want some more ground clearance for the roads in Alaska. Plus my shocks need to go so I figured I'd just go ahead and do everything while it is apart. I am looking for 4.5" so that I can run 32s with no worry about rubbing, since I won't ever be cutting my fenders. Would that be to much for just spacers and longer shackles?

Hi all, pretty new to CC and the mj/working on cars in general. Bought an 89 MJ as my first car about a year ago, and have just done the basic upkeep like brakes, oil changes, and stuff like that. I Replaced my heater core check valve, most of my hosing, and the valve cover gasket to stop what I hope is my last oil leak this month, lol. The next step right now is my shocks, as they are shot. I would like to go ahead and do a moderate lift while it is all apart. I see a lot of people ragging on rough country, but with my very limited budget they seem to be the only reasonably priced rear leafs made specifically for the MJ. As long as I don't plan on doing any real crawling or difficult trails, would it be reasonable to just do their shocks/coils/leafs until I decide to upgrade to long arm or something of that nature? Sorry if this is way too wordy, just trying to give a full picture of what's going on. Also attaching pictures of the Jeep if anyone is interested. Edit: I guess my real questions are: Are there any real issues with rough country besides riding poorly on the road, such as poor quality control or bad experiences with the parts in general? And if so, are there other budget friendly complete kits that would require minimal modification of the parts or body?