aemsee

I was trying to balance the cost of rebuilding with what I could get for my 88. The 88 engine only has 90K on it and runs great. There are other parts off the 88 I was planning to scavange as well, like full guage cluster, working dome lamps, chrome trim etc.

I just bought a pair off e-bay from moonlightrider4u. They were pretty cheap. I'll update when I receive them.

Did the tear down today. Motor is toast. Would need a bore job to save the block. Not worth putting that kind of money in it. Just gonna make my 88 a donor truck. It's too bad as there was actually very little sludge or build up for 160K. Looks like the PO got stuck or something and just overheated the snot out of it. Also cleaned the carbon ridge of the top of the cyls with some high RPM and chipped the edge of the #4 piston, I'm sure the rings and/or ring lands are broken, but didn't go that far. Anyone need a boat anchor? I will also have a 90K AX4 to get rid of as well after the swap. Shifts good and is quiet.

It is a white slippery substance that is fun to drive your Jeep in, similar to MUD, but easier to clean. :chillin:

That was just mother natures way of keeping their mind off the Bills. :D

I see cherokee rocker repair panels listed on e-bay. Does anyone know if these can be cut down to work on our trucks?

Thanks for the info and the 4banger link. I'll have them run a locator at work to see if someone has a MOPAR performance one sitting in inventory they want to dump cheap. :D

Pulled the 2.5 out of my new 87 today. Tear down will be wed or thur. Anyone running a aftermarket cam in their 2.5? I don't know how much more a cam will get you with the renix TBI but figured I'd ask. Thanks,Joe

In NYS you would probably be ticketed for hunting from a motorized vehicle. :nuts:

Thanks for the interest irish, but in 87 they used the AW4 tranny, which is a big reason I went for it. They are basically bulletproof. If it did have the 2.8 option I would definitly go the EFI route. Even the EFI 2.8 out of a Camaro/Firebird would be a huge improvement. I think that engine family is one of GM's best, and I detest GM as a rule :D . I'll be pulling the 2.5 today/tomorrow and tear it down to see if it is rebuildable. After I get it running and on the road I'll need to spend most of my attention on the body as i don't want the NY salt to do any more damage to it. It will be a DD for a while so nothing more than a 2 or 3 inch lift. I do have a new 4.0 block and head and everything to put it together but that will be down the road as I'm also in the middle of finishing the rebuild on the 304 in my Hornet. Waaaay to many projects going at once. If I am able to rebuild the 2.5, you can bet it will be painted AMC blue!

The PO gave me the stock bumper, so I'll put that on for now. Then when I have a chance I'm gonna try my hand at fabbing up my own design front with hooks and a receiver mount. Something that doesn't stick out too much.

Well, picked up the "new" MJ a couple of days ago. Mostly what I expected. A little more rot in the rockers than I thought from the pics, but the floor is super solid as is the rest of the undercarriage. Now I'm pulling the 2.5 to see if I can rebuild it. Lots of blow by and some rod knock. PO said the engine was on it's last legs so no suprise there. BUT, it does have the 4.56 gears so that is a really good bonus. I'm getting rid of the Smittybilt front bumper, and probably the non-Comanche roll bar that is in it as well. It doesn't fit too well. Here's the new 87 and the old 88

Sorry, but I very strongly disagree. Death wobble has exactly NOTHING to do with noise, vibration and harshness, and there are NO degrees of death wobble. Either you have death wobble, or you don't have death wobble. Period. What I was trying to get across in the rest of my statement is that alot of people who THINK they have DW really don't. This is what you are also saying I believe. Do you agree that you can have a tire or road induced shake in the front end, that isn't classic DW? I worked for years on Jeeps at the dealership level and dealt with many front end complaints and never really understood DW until I felt it first hand. Once you experience it there is no forgeting it. BUT, if you have only read about it.....kind of like trying to explain how cold it is in Canada in winter to someone who has always lived in the Bahamas. They know what cold is, and have felt cold but don't really comprehend the degree of cold without being there. And I AM NOT saying Rundel doesn't have DW, or doesn't have control arm issues. Or any other issues for that matter. Just simply tryng to establish if it is DW, or just a shake due to a bad stabilizer and some bad roads. I guess that we really need to hear back from Rundel for more symtoms and parameters before doing any online surgury. "The problem is that it's a harmonic," I guess I'm lost on this one. I always figured that harmonics, or in this case dissonance, had everything to do with NVH. :D

Is it just the cluster or is it all the dash lights? Could be a bad light switch, or even just turned all the way to low?

Welcome. My all time favorite Jeep is the full size Cherokee. Used to have a 79 but it dissolved in the NY salt.

I've worked for Jeep for so long that I remember doing PDI's on new Comanches. Heck, I remember doing 'em on new Scramblers and J10's.

Do you have the harnesses too? If you ar going to have drivers side control of the pass window than you will also need the harness that runs from one side to the other. Let me know if you need factory wiring diagrams and connector pin outs.

I'm more curious as to the cracking in the rear frame. If the truck is in such good shape, wouldn't it be better to have the frame welded and reinforced? I don't know production numbers, but 92's seem pretty rare to me.

Are you going to use a donor XJ? Seems that would be the easiest way to do it. On a side note, we got our first 4dr Wrangler in today, and it had power windows. Just something wrong with that. :D

I was actually going to put a smiley at the end of my last post. I don't get offended easily on the internet. Hey, I used to belong to JU. I am not trying to start an argument but, I have "cured" (OK, masked) DW in mostly stock XJ's with a good aftermarket steering shock. I understand the whole concept of NVH and the various factors that are involved, and that there are varying degrees of DW. I had bad DW in my ZJ with 3" lift all due to Timberline tires. Changed tires and DW gone. And that most people that think they have DW have never really experienced it. Road surface induced shake in the steering on a XJ with a blown out shock is much worse that one with a good stabilizer. I don't consider this true DW, and that is kinda what I was trying to find out more info from Rundel for.

Just a note, A steering stabilizer MASKS Death Wobble. DOSEN'T CAUSE OR FIX IT. If it goes away after replacement, you haven't fixed ANYTHING! You still have worn parts SOMEWHERE, your just masking them. CW Hey, thanks for yelling at me. I appreciate it.

What kind of steering shock are you running? Is it new? Since it seems to be road induced in your case I would look more at steering and suspension components than tires or wheels.

The o2 sensor was just telling you it was rich, as if you didn't know. Check for vacuum at the MAP sensor. It is a small line and it is easy to plug. No or low vacuum at the MAP is interpreted as WOT by the ECM and it goes full rich. It also needs to have manifold vacuum, not ported. Lots of time the rubber plug at the TB swells up and allows vacuum leaks to the line. Also, after it has been running, shut it off and watch the injector to see if it drips. You can also check for drip while it is running. Should be a nice cone spray with no dripping. How many wires did the coolant temp sensor have that you changed?

Nice that ya got two sets of turbines with the deal. I'm heading to PA on thurs to pick up my new 'manche

Looks like the axle in my Hornet is 41" from inside of spring pack to inside of spring pack, and about 51" from backing plate to backing plate.