bmyohn

It is well below NADA value :dunno: NADA has the average retail value at just over $5,000

Here's a pic off of my rig. Ideally, when welded on you will not have a shim in place like I do, but when I had the welder weld them up I forgot to mention he should compensate for the 4* shim.

It eliminates the use of a u-bolt...what that means is that on stock setups a u bolt wraps around the axle and on the end of the u-bolts is a plate that sandwiches the leaf springs in place on the perches. What a U-bolt eliminator (UBE) does is it takes away these u-bolts and uses 4 grade 8 bolts that hold the leaf spring in place on the perch. What's not pictured in this write-up is the top plate that the bolts attach to. Essentially this setup is arguabley stronger then u-bolts as well as a safe way to lift your vehicle (safer then blocks). They can be found in a 0.5", 1.0", and 1.5" lift flavor. Clear as mud?

I just removed the wiper motor from my MJ because I plan to swap in a new motor from the donor XJ I plan on finding this spring. Man what a PITA getting that motor out of that small space and pulling the wiper arms off 23 year old spline's suck. But your writeup did help me get it started. Thanks!

JF is Vbulliten

I've bought from Motion many times. On my last purchase I bought a CB radio mount that attaches behind the driver's side tail light. I couldn't get my CB tuned in right and called MO customer service. They talked me step by step on rewiring my CB. When that didn't work fully, Rebecca contacted numerous Radio Shops in Bloomington on my behalf to get my setup working correctly. They have gone above and beyond all my expectations everytime I have dealt with them. This company will definitely be getting another order from me in the future. -Brendan

Good choice with the UBEs. I have some on my XJ soon to be transfered over to the MJ and I love them.

1989, MJ, Sport Truck 2.5L 4cyl / AX4 / N/A / N/A/ D35 / SWB Build date: 12-89 Current Location: Bloomington, IN Status: In salvage yard Notes: No tail lights, intake maifold, exhaust manifold, interior is torn apart, bed is clean though Current owner: JB's Salvage - Bloomington, IN

I just got my Comanche undercoated at Ziebarts with their sound deadining application. For $180 and lifetime warranty against the product chipping off its not a bad deal. It's plenty thick and should last a long time. I am contemplating doing it to my DD as well (2001 Dodge Rams 2500 CTD), just to see if any noise is actually reduced, the MJ isnt running so i can't really tell the benefits from that. But for a rust preventer, when applied correcetly can work wonders.

Got the bed removed today as well as the gas tank. Overall the bed is in alot better shape underneatht then I was expecting. There isn't any rust on the underside of the bed, but just a little bit of rust on the shock mounts on the frame. But nothing a wire-wheel can't take care of. The plan is to wire wheel off the rust on the frame, take it to the power-washer and get all the grime off of it. Maybe hit it with some primer then take it to Ziebart's to get the under-body covered. On to some pics: (overall, it is pretty clean) Gas tank has some surface rust, but should clean up just fine. Anyone want to turn this into a 6x6??

I definitely get where you're going with that. My only two big concerns would be the trans and TC. The axles will be coming out of my other XJ (D30/Ford 8.8"), and depending on the condition of the interior which I haven't seen yet I may swap seats over too. But then again the longer I wait the better the deal I will find, ideally I would love to find an XJ with a manual transmission to swap over. I just have to find the right deal and I'm in no rush to get it done

I think that I am going to do the swap on my own. I just started as a shop hand in a marina and the techs that work there that I've known for a long time said they could help me rebuild the motor into a stroker at some point. If I got the machine work done they would help reassemble the motor with me. So i'm not too worried about the mileage on the motor (but the trans may be an issue).

Quick update: Today, I got the dash and all wiring pulled from the interior. Also pulled the driver's side door. I also noticed some more rust underneath the padding behind the pedals, but it isn't too bad. I also have a lead on an $800 - 1999 XJ with 242k on the clock, the owner is supposed to email me pictures of it soon, so well will see if we have donor vehicle in the next few weeks. Up till then, I am going to try and get some front floor pans ordered and get the rest of the engine bay washed up so I can get it painted up.

Man you were right about those defroster screws, they are a pain. Rather then fuss around with yanking the dash down and trying to unscrew those bolts, I am just going to pull the windshield since it has a crack in it and needs replaced anyways. Thanks for the quick list, it helped a bunch!

I am in the process of removing the interior out on my 88 MJ and I am having some trouble removing the dash. I was wondering if there was a write-up floating around on how to pull it out. Thanks! -Brendan

Are you guys sure that's a stud? You can kind of see on this pic or my 4.6L, that I have a bolt going into the head there, the same with my 2.5L

Got a few things done today. The motor and transmission have been pulled, it was much easier then I thought it would be. When you don't have to stop and take pictures of wiring harnesses and label every connection point, pulling a motor is much simpler. I got the airbox and vacuum lines removed from the driver's side of the engine bay. The passenger's side has been cleaned up too, including the blower motor. Apparently at one point there was a mouse living in the blower motor because it was packed full of newspaper shavings and cotton material. (That's after I cleaned most of it out) Bye, bye old trusty 4cyl Things aren't quite as much of a mess when there isn't any coolant in the block. But the transmission oil was so nasty and black it almost looked like motor oil. Here's how she's going to sit until I can get the rest of the engine bay cleaned up, dash removed and the rest of the wiring torn out.

Its a little under 3 hours it looks like

definitely an 8.8", if it's got disc brakes, which it looks like it does in the pic it should have 31 splines

Year: 1988 Make: MJ Model: (not sure) Image: 2.5L / AX5 / N/A / 2wd / D35 / shortbed Build date: Sticker is un-readable Current Location: South Central Indiana. Status: Currently a project, but will be streetable eventually. Notes: Grey interior, bench seats, rubber floors, 4 speed manual. Current owner: Me, Brendan Yohn

I figured I would start up a build thread on here since I'm getting ready to tear into my MJ that I just picked up. As it sits it is a 1988 MJ short-bed with the 2.5L 4cyl motor, 4 speed, 2wd. I picked it up for $425 with two full size spare tires on rims. My plans for the project are as follows: Fix rust on floor boards Swap 97+ front clip Fenders Doors Interior Swap in 4.0L with full 97+ wiring harness Convert to 4wd Swap the axles out of my XJ (D30 HP (trussed, locked, 4.88s)/8.8" (locked, discs, 4.88s) Body work/paint job Bedline interior and recarpet Cut out rockers for 2x6 steel Etc. Who know's how long this will take to fully accomplish but it's a list of goals I'd like to see happen to this thing. But here's some pictures of how it was when I bought it It sits behind my apartment for right now, so I have slowly begun removing body pieces that will be replaced by 97+pieces. So today I got the front header assembly removed, bumper, front valance, both fenders and bracketry that hold the fenders on, I also pulled the front radiator and fan assembly as well. Tomorrow if everything goes as planned the motor will be pulled, so over Thanksgiving break I can start to completely clear out the engine bar, scrub it down real well and repaint it. Here's what I have done so far today. (If anyone needs fenders, grille assembly, radiator, etc PM me and we can work something out) -Brendan

Brandon, I went throught a similar situation not to long ago with my 8.8" in the rear of my XJ. I actually had the cross pin bolt come loose, and the cross pin slipped out and snapped in half, taking out teeth on the ring and pinion. No matter what I had to do I had to regear the rear end. So I figured I may as well upgrade if I'm spending the money to regear the 8.8" again. My dilema was what locker to go with. Lunchbox lockers are cheaper, full case lockers are stornger. Both have their pros and cons, you mostly have to decide what works in your budget. One special note about lunch box lockers is the carrier type. Many lunch box locker manufacturers do not make LB lockers for LS (Limited Slip) carriers, which is statistcally what you have. So your number of options are severely limited. When searching for my lunch box locker the only manufacturer I found that made one that works with LS carriers was Powertrax No-Slip made by Detroit. It was a litte pricey, but you can install this yourself in your driveway with basic hand tools. If you want to spend the extra money go with the full case locker, but for my budget and application the Powertrax made the most sense for me. At the time i DD'd my XJ and I loved having it back there on the street and made world's of difference offroad as well. Best of luck, -Brendan

Herculiner is good, I've used it on the floors and on the rockers of my XJ. I don't have any complaints, other than if you use it in an exterior application after about a year the herc. will fade. But in an interior application it holds up well and is very tough -Brendan

Another 88 here. Most for sale around here are 87/88