DirtyComanche

I'm very interested in how #2 works. I've been looking for another set of 2dr XJ seats, but they're pretty hard to find if they're actually in okay shape.

Might have been random. Not likely, but it could happpen. Nor is it likely that it was a 'Dodge hater.' You would have to be pretty much insane to sabotage a person's truck just because you didn't like the brand. So yeah, if the only person he pissed off was that guy, kinda makes it likely it was him... I find it odd the water sensor didn't pick it up before it detonated the engine. I guess a FASS with a water block filter and a locking fuel cap might be a worthwhile upgrade for the next one. The FASS is a good upgrade for any diesel, IMHO.

I have to disagree. The factory had so many problem with the donut spares and limited slip differentials that they long ago stopped using the donuts in vehicles with a limited slip. The limited slip vehicles always came with a full-size spare. The size difference causes rapid wear on the clutches. This would not be a problem with a TrueTrac, gear-type limited slip, but I don't know how that type would react to different size tires. Probably one tire size difference wouldn't be an issue, but a 33 with a 31 or a 30? I would be cautious about trying that. I meant to add "assuming you have open axles" for the 30" or 31", I wouldn't try that with a LS. Not even a Truetrac.

A 32" spare isn't an issue if you have open axles, or even if you're just limping a short ways with a LS axle. You could even go with a 31" or 30". The XJ donut spare was tiny, maybe 24", and there was no issues using it with the factory 28"ish tires as long as it was just to get you to the next town. I rarely find the need to change a tire on the road. Blowouts are just not that common, and a leaking tire can be limped, and having a basic plug kit and a cheap 12V compressor will take care of almost all road damage. And you know what, I have a BCAA (AAA) membership and I'm more than willing to use it, and I recommend anyone that owns Jeeps get one... Offroad is a complete different matter though, if you're going to wheel it or even just run around on the gravel I would recommend a real spare.

Any idea who makes this?

It's a rod. It goes to the diff cover area. There's a stud for it there. 95% of ones I encounter have been disabled either intentionally or not.

It's a clamp on, yup... As to how it's held up, well, excellent so far, but I've only driven it on the street and gravel roads. I rolled my DD pickup, winter hit, and I didn't have this thing quite done so it got shoved beside the shop while I fixed my MJ up to drive instead of the rolled truck. Lots of guys run them though. Personally I'm still a little skeptical of it, but everything was so tight that I couldn't commit to a mounting location and it seemed like the best way for the time being. If it slips I can just weld it on. That said, the other downside of running the ram that way and connecting it to the midpoint of the tie rod is that it makes it more likely to bend the tierod. I don't think I'll have a problem, but it could well be an issue.

It will 'work' even if it's the wrong one. It just reads incorrectly.

I wouldn't be confident that any part on a used vehicle is genuine. Many, many stories of people buying something with a "whatever locker" and "whatever axleshafts" and "professional gear setup with quality parts" etc etc to only take it apart and realize it's a welded stock carrier or a lunchbox locker, Motive gears with a terrible pattern and .030" of backlash, Sung-Lao bearings, and a set of stock axleshafts that have been broken and welded previously or have twisted splines. If you can't see it, assume it's not right. And IMHO used offroad parts are worth pennies on the dollar. I don't know what you did to them, and often what has been done is even worse than what I could have imagined.

What happened sucks and is inexcusable. But why scrap the truck? I've seen complete common rail engines (turnkey complete) for only $4-5k. I've got two VP44 complete engines and I'm porbably going to try to get $2500-3000 for them. The rest of that truck is way too clean to give up on.

I always worry. The thing is 18 years old. If a guy like me owned it there's almost a 0% chance the factory engine is in it.

I want to say as early as late 98 they could show up... I've seen them (fail) in 99s personally. One of my apprentices has a 99 TJ with one right now. It's cracked. He ran it until it wiped out the bearings. We're going to fix it at some point.

I think there might be an outside chance that is an 0331 head and it belongs in the trash. Junkyard head from something that looks like it drove, bolt on, change oil, drive happily into the sunset.

I think I'll put it here and see how it works out. If it gets bashed up, I'll build a guard. Did you have high steer arms on yours? No high steer. Just flipped to the top of the factory arms. But the whole thing is built super low, maybe 3" of lift with 37s. Kinda the only picture I have showing it assembled, and it's a terrible picture. Image Not Found

Thank you sir! Honestly I haven't done much research into long arm setups. I hear they improve ride quality but they are more expensive. I'm not planning to do much off-roading with this truck so I don't know how much they would benefit me? Maybe something I'll consider further down the road. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Mostly it would be for ride quality for you. And depending on how it's set up it might actually handle better. Drop brackets might be a good option for you too. They excel everywhere but offroad. Okay, they're not terrible offroad, they're just not perfect.

I wound up building a skid/guard for my ram, I think I mentioned that before. Yours is high enough it might not really need one, even in that location. Make sure you can route the hoses properly too, it wound up being a headache on mine but it worked in the end. If all else fails, yeah, just put it on the diff cover, not the best solution but it's only one problem instead of a bunch of problems...

Figured as much. I might actually have one in storage. I should look for it.

I'll admit I was at least partially wrong. However, having a bunch of Aussie reps get bent about this has little value to me. They have everything to lose by a comparable product being offered for cheaper. Even the comment that "there is no Lokka dealers because their pricing does not leave room for a dealer" is telling. I can get a Spartan for the same price as an Aussie. I can get a Lokka for less than either. The Spartan is the best of the bunch from the standpoint of quality, so why pay the same for 2nd place? I also don't know anyone who has broken a Lokka. And I know a lot of people running them. Why? Because they're a lot cheaper (and just as fast) for us to get out of Oz than it is to get an Aussie or Spartan out of the US. Now, I do know people that broke their carrier while running a lunchbox... Which is normally the real failure point if you're abusive with that design of locker. That said as always, my posts are my opinion, you got exactly what you paid for with them, and the warranty ended before my fingers left the keys.

Where did you get a new fusebox? Or was it a junkyard pull? Mine is destroyed (clutch master) and I would like to do something about it...

Gonna order a Zip... As soon as my Yukon guy takes my money.

SBC priming tool should work. Or throw some oil down the hole and slam the disty back in, as long as the gears are wet it will probably prime...

If the switch is bad you may well not get power at that fuse.

It was buy them or completely waste money on replacing garbage 260x ujoints, or not be able to drive the truck. If they blow up they blow up, I'll order something else if it happens.

The CV shafts I bought are an alternate P/N to the ones that you have. There was factory CV shafts for early XJs with the NP228 or 229 or whatever it was. Rare. They were very small. And not good at all. There was a P/N on Rockauto for a CV shaft that fit 84-89, and I was concerned that it would be a direct clone of that early CV. Thus I bought the ZJ ones. As per the usual, more research might have answered some questions ahead of time about how the ZJ shafts would fit in a Renix era axle.

Is this it?http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=43525&cc=1181472&jnid=426&jpid=1 Looks like the right one to me!