DirtyComanche

FWIW: I have/had dual ford taurus AUX fans (the littler ones), and they will fit an XJ/MJ well enough. Other than the rad had to go about 1.5" foreward, and the studs on the stock mech fan pulley have to be shaved. I used the smaller ones because the fit the stock rad better without a shroud of any sort. And anybody who thinks they don't work as well as the mechanical fan... They pull WAY more air for the most part. Yes, they won't pull as much as when your motor is at 4-5Krpm, but do you have it there all the time? Well, some people do, but I won't get sidetracked. The point is at idle I can have them CRANKED and keep the motor cold no matter what. Granted, it doesn't make as much heat at idle or low RPM as it does at a higher one, but that's another debate too. Anywho, regarding the stock elec fan, don't use the horrible existing wiring. In my XJ, I'd go outside at about 5:20 in the morning in the middle of winter, the temperature would easily be about -35 C, fire up the motor and the fawking fan would come on. EVERY time. Stupid POS. I pulled it for the winter becuase of that.

Yeah, blew by that deadline. Next weekend? It's really close. A little more playing with the cooling system and it is done. Buy a few dollars more in electrical connectors and fuse holders and I'll have the wiring done. Throw on a few more DG clamps for the liquid propane line, and it's done. Then weld a bunch more of the cage. Then I just need to book it in for the propane to be tuned and certified, and it should be trail ready. I think I can actually get the propane close enough to make a run on it before then, but we'll see. Oh, IDK what I did with my camera, so not really taking pics...

You CAN cut them off so it doesn't even look like they ever existed. Which is a hell of a lot easier to do on an XJ. But it is possible on a MJ. You just have to be handy with a drill and a grinder... Mine are all gone other than a peice of steel that is flat up against the frame. I could take it off, but it isn't worth the effort on my truck.

The ignition system works way different. Which is probably part of the reason? I'm not a spark plug guy. I ran champions since I bought the truck. The same champions that is. I bought some NGKs for this 'rebuild' because the store didn't stock champions. And I wanted to set the gap for propane (which I didn't actually do in the end, I just threw them in. I will regap after I talk to the propane guy)

Round earth? Or egg shaped? BS! We all know it's flat. NASA photos of it being round are photoshops - a conspiracy by the governments of the world to make use think we aren't the centre of the universe.

That grille is worth a bunch. I'd ask why you want a 60 rear? Most of them are 30 spline junk (strong as a D44). And they have a weaker R&P then the 14B. And the 14B carrier is BEEF. Oh, and detroits are hella cheap for a 14B. Man up and shave the 14B. There's a reason why a lot of the comp guys are running them now.

Once you shave a 14B, it's one of the strongest axles for the size.

They look sweet. I actually liked the old style BFG M/T in the visual department. It's just a classic off-road look. Anyways, if all it is is an updated tread design, it will (IMHO) not make up for the shortcomings of that tire. That is, in an off-road situation. They're a pretty good compromise tire.

You could get away with just a new steering setup, but the OTK conversion costs very little and will raise the steering 1.5"~. It's a cheap mod for what you get.

Tell rusty's you want to run it OTK, and they will ream the DL/TR attachment point the other way (or perhaps it can be flipped, with the JCR setup you MUST tell them or it will not work). Then just drill the knuckles and tack/weld in those little cone flipsert things. Then looks at your track bar to DL angle/length relation and decide if you need to move anything (upper TB brack, lower bracket, TB length, pitman arm, etc). You can fudge on it, the only way to tell is to drive it and see if there is any bumpsteer. If you have steering problems before the install, check your ball joints and steering box while it's all apart.

Yeah, the 4.0 was a very large engine for that size of truck. How times change.

I had a thread on it. Where it was discussed a bunch. I still have an AW4 lying on the floor of the garage waiting to go in :roll:

It's just a beefier version of the stock setup, which is fine. If you think the stock design was intelligent. Which, IMHO, it isn't. It'd work fine for many applications (I'll say up to 3"), but beyond that it'll just be problematic. Just like the stock setup. I know of somebody with it, and it was not money wisely spent. The RK setup looks horrible. Seems they attach the DL to the TR below it's centre line to try to keep the angles the same as stock. Looks like it will bind and screw up. Besides, I spy heims. Not friendly on a street driven setup.

IMHO, the currie kit should not even be considered. It's a peice of $#!&. IMHO. JCR's setup is tried and proven. And uses better TREs. I know, you think 'who breaks TREs?'. I've seen it. It sucks. Besides, with the small TREs a good hit on the tie-rod can bend the threaded portion of them. The rusty's kit actually looks good, but I'd definatly consider it lighter duty. However, at least it solves a bunch of the problems with the stock steering. Either way you're going to want to run it OTK. So, I'd say either way you get to do some drilling and fiddling around to make it work. Yes, the rusty's would be easier as you'd just need the inserts.

Not too amazing. Just look around. There's lots of looneys out there, and oddly enough they manage to reproduce. I suspect 'Superman' will have an interesting childhood.

Linky no worky. :cry: At least for me.

Good work.... Where'd you buy the alignment bar/pucks? Oh, if I was you I'd have built a full floater. But that's me. http://www.bc4x4.com/tech/2002/ff9/

The $#!& hit the fan. I'm going wheeling on sunday. Okay, yeah right. Gotta weld the cage, run all the wiring (uh-oh), and plumb the rad. I got more hose on order, it WILL be here tomorrow or I will finially be reduced to the mental equivalent of a vegitible. And I'd better do something with the exhaust.

I think they're crazy to think the world hasn't already ended. Why is it that humans are fascinated with the concept that they do not control their own destiny? I think we're lazy, and would really like the excuse.

I figured it was worth a shot. I like to think I started my conversion (and maybe even finished it) before it became a fad. Now it seems everybody is either doing it, or wants to. There was a time when it was 'the thing' to put front leafs on TJs. Mysteriously enough, you don't see many of them around anymore. I think that front leafs can work well. And I think it's probably better to have front leafs and rear coils than the other way around. However, with the XJ/MJ platform you have perfectly good provisions for coils right from the factory. So why not use them? Well, there is cost. Which link suspension isn't actually much more - if you have the fab skills to make a front leaf setup. Sure, you have to spend a few bucks on coil springs, where-as most guys can pull leafs from a junkyard. And there's a few bucks for the good flex joints. And a few more for link material. But as a whole, it really isn't a lot more. I have way more money in my steering setup than my suspension. And again, way more in my axles. Another thing about links, is I think many people are scared because it isn't 'simple'. Which is probably a notion spawned from hearing people (me?) talk about a bunch of gibberish like anti-squat/dive, roll axis, instant centre, etc. Or from not having looked at enough designs to fully understand them. I hate to say it, but if you follow a general forumal for you link lengths and placements, and leave a little adjustability, you don't really have to worry about doing the math part. And almost all link suspensions are actually quite simple once it is all boiled down.

My street handling is horrible. If I was to do it over again, I'd probably do it right. I mean, 0* caster and a very strange steering setup doesn't make for the best driver experience. And horrible shocks don't help... If I was driving it a bunch, I'd definatly not do front leafs. But that's me. In all my experience, a half decent coil setup will outdrive leafs anyday. Oh, there's hidden costs. Highsteer (you need it anyways), longer driveshaft, new shocks, more steering components, etc etc. Ohyeah, I have waggy fronts. Sits maybe at 8, 8.5". Who knows. It could be made to sit down a lot better. You'd jsut have to notch the frame. Which is actually a good idea. But front leafs are a toyota thing. Not a jeep thing. Mine are going to be changed...

They're all the same, AFAIK.

It was a pile in other ways too. The 231 was an update in almost every way. How'd you do that?

An AMC 20 is easy to ident. It's got a big, perfectly round cover, with bolts all the way around it. There's lots of aftermarket for it... It came in the CJ for many years, so pretty much anything you want can be had. I think a guy can even buy a full floater kit for one... Truss the $#!& out of it if it is one. They have weak tubes. And they like to spin too.

FWIW, hamsters have a great power to weight ratio.