DirtyComanche

One thing I noticed with the new injectors is that if you lug the engine down way low, it is able to recover from it much better, and it has more grunt in general while being lugged. So that is certainly a worthwhile improvement. I tracked down some 2dr XJ tilt forward seats, just gotta clean them up and swap the brackets. The guy I got them from was parting out several XJs, I didn't have much time but I did manage to snag the center console brackets out of the same rig. My console was put in without them, basically it was just held by the screws up front and the seats. IIRC the MJ rear bracket isn't exactly the same as an XJ one, but it works well enough. Brackets: So at least my console isn't flopping around anymore. Of course I'm just going to have to pull it back out to replace the inner shift boot, whenever I track one down that isn't destroyed.

Yup, 12-15 in-lbs of preload, 6-10 thou of backlash. Having to really hammer the carrier in is a good thing, it sounds like you've got it right. Just avoid the first drive being a long stint on the highway, it's going to make some heat the first couple times its driven. And I suggest using a decent synthetic oil. The factory normally shimmed between the head of the pinion and the bearing, so some install kits come with those shims.

That's really bringing a new meaning to 'base model'. I have no idea though.

The race is the easy way if you don't have setup bearings. But yeah, add .005 and see how it goes. I'm thinking it will be more than that, but it's always a guessing game. Make sure you get the pinion preload in spec, or if you can't that it's just on the tight side and then take it easy on break in. Likewise, carrier bearing preload is your friend, unless you use a case spreader and hammer the carrier in it's pretty much impossible to have too much.

You need a whack more pinion depth. Are you shimming under the race or the bearing?

Where did you pick up the carpet? And what did you paint the interior with? It's looking really nice.

It goes under a non-critical bellhousing bolt, I can see you have them in the picture... I think on the other side though. None of my stuff is set up like that though.

You could try swapping it but my gut says it isn't the problem.

TPS adjusted correctly? IAC is actually functioning? Throttle is actually closing?

Does it currently work? There apparently isn't much difference between them.

Use a wrench with it on stands like that. If it really won't go, something is broken. It should come out of 4wd with very minimal force, only the spring pressure on the detent ball will be holding it at that point. At that point if it still won't go I'd take the linkage off the tcase (14mm nut/stud holds it on, IIRC) and try shifting it with a wrench on where the linkage attaches (has two flat spots to mesh with the linkage), if it's still bound up the problem is likely in the tcase. With my home built linkage I can shift it with only one finger on the lever.

beds kinda trash, didn't bother me to drill through bondo. No loss then.

Nice Dodge. I've had a couple of those. The last one tried pretty hard to kill me. I recommend replacing the ubolts in the rear if it's had a lot of miles, or been abused.

This is the wrong subforum. Somebody might see it and move it. Your transmission issue might be as simple as the clutch needing to be bled. Or it could be way more complicated, such as worn synchros or the clutch is worn out or assembled wrong. More info would help with diagnosis, such as if it happens only when stopped, or moving. Also being an 89 you might have the terrible Peugeot BA-10/5 transmission, which any minor issue with it is a likely sign of imminent total failure. Your brake problems could be a lot of things. I'm guessing you couldn't fully bleed it since one of the bleed screws is broken off? Also, there is a funky bleeding procedure because of the load sensing valve in the rear, it is posted in the tech section and somewhere in this section I believe. Beyond bleeding them, I'd guess that your hoses have gone soft and are ballooning under pressure. Or it is actually leaking, just slowly. The line behind the fuel tank is notorious for rusting, and the wheel cylinders can weep if they get old, so those are two places worth looking. You can make the closed system cool properly, but it is hard to keep it working because the expansion tank is a piece of junk. Running hot is normal, it is a 195 degree thermostat and the temp sender is in the back of the head. So seeing over 200+ on the gauge is not at all abnormal. Also the gauges are notoriously poorly calibrated. Another common thing is the fan clutch wears out and no longer functions, plus often if there is an aux fan it no longer functions either, so they're things that are worth checking/repairing.

I threw in a set of Volvo 746 injectors today, since I wasn't really able to do anything else useful. I guess they made some sort of a difference in regards to throttle response, nothing earth shattering there. It did seem to clean the idle up a bit. I popped the cap off the disty and realized I must not have looked at it since I bought it, it desperately needs a new one and a rotor, so I got those ordered. I did the plugs and wires though since I had them on the shelf.

I don't see how a proper body shop could possibly fix all those panels for $3200 - the guy with the Chevy better fight that. $8-10k seems reasonable to me.

Maybe 500km on it now. 200km on gravel/dirt/some abusive stuff. Everything still works fine.

Why did the head gasket go (a second time at that)?

Might look into a 67-68 Camaro fuel tank... It's a promising shape. Edit, the picture I had was not of a Camaro tank... Hmm, going to have to try to find out what. 2nd Edit, it is said Camaro tank, but only the Holley EFI verison. And it isn't cheap. At all. http://www.jegs.com/i/Holley/510/19-101/10002/-1

All the threads that said it fit were regarding the Peugeot, at least that I saw... I mean, it would work, it does look like it is exactly like the one that is in there, minus the one I have is destroyed. My understanding is that the one for the AX-15 is slightly different, or is moved back just a bit, but I don't have anything here to compare to. Might be more of a junkyard item.

Just realized you said you are a welder, I read that as 'not a welder' the first time. So you should have no issues doing the work required to swap the rear, and I'm sure you could figure out how to stick a bracket kit on for the front.

The platform does share a lot with the XJ Cherokee. Up front they're pretty similar. The rear is obviously not, most importantly for you the suspension and axle mounting are not the same. Your rear axle is a D35 (I'd assume at least) and the front will be a HP (high pinion) D30. The D35 is a turd, the D30 is okay within limits. You should figure out exactly what you intend to do with the truck, and how big of tires you want, etc, before doing anything else. A crawler can be pretty hardcore, same with Jeepspeed, however both could be built using a D30 front (most Jeepspeed stuff retains it due to rules, AFAIK). The rear really is useless, but the options of swapping it should be tailored around determining if the front axle is to be swapped or not. Most common rear axle swaps are the XJ/MJ D44, the later XJ Chrysler 8.25, and the Ford Explorer 8.8. Only the MJ D44 will bolt in, all the others will need minor fab work (remove and install new spring perches, shock mounts, etc). These swaps are well documented and you can have the axle set up to go in the same day you pull the old one out. Swapping the front is a whole 'nother ball game. You need to have decent fabrication skills, or at the least be wiling to drop money on a bracket kit and know or pay for a decent welder/fab guy to put them on. There also isn't a lot of clearly good options for a front axle. The Wagoneer D44 is common, but it's a bit of a turd being LP (low pinion), and it's not an ideal width IMHO, plus it is 6x5.5 bolt pattern (can be converted to others, but can not be made into the stock 5x4.5 pattern). I think for a D44 I'd look for at some of the older F-truck axles. However, for the work to swap one in, you're already a long ways to swapping in a D60 for more bang for the buck. However, going to a D60 front has downsides, it's big and heavy and only justified with much larger tires. Also to consider, the older D44s aren't a huge upgrade over say a newer D30 out of a JK, as Dana made some major general improvements to their axles when they went to the JK stuff (and some other newer stuff, like the Superduty D60). Or just straight up pay to play and buy a crate axle set up to go in an XJ/MJ/TJ. The economics of this are generally pretty terrible though. Like I said, figure out what you want the truck to do, and then it can be answered as to of what options are probably best for you.

To clarify, I mean the one over the hole in the floor. Not the one on the transmission, or the one in the console.

My inner shifter boot is completely falling apart. I need to adjust the cutout for the shifter a bit anyways (Peugeot to AX-15 swap problem). Is there another application boot that works nicely and can be sourced? Something generic even? Maybe something a little larger since I'm going to have to hog the hole out a little?

Very different... I'd have down turned it and dumped it into wheel well or just straight down rather than cutting the bed, but that's just me.