matt89mj

I find that very few companies make lifts for the MJ. It is rather aggrivating. The only other option that I have found, depending on how high you want to go, is to get the RE kit for the MJ. It puts a SOA in the rear with the stock springs and 5.5" coils up front. But that is a lot higher than you want to go with yours, so I guess you would almost have to go with AAL. Skyjacker makes a kit for the MJ specificly and it has AAL also. My 2 cents would be go with Rusty's if you are only looking at 2 to 3". He makes a good kit, the wife has a 4.5" kit on her XJ and it goes anywhere she wants it to and flexes very well. You would be happy with one of his kits. Matt

The only complaint I have with the disconnect on the YJ is that sometimes it won't come out. It only happens once in a while but on occasion I have to pull the vacuum lines and that will let it come out. I agree tho that it is a good axle, if you upgrade to the bigger 297x u joints. It would allow for a Lock right or a spool up front with no adverse affects for on street driving unlike the non- disconnect axle. The only way to put a spool there is the $1000 manual hub conversion. And unless you have no choice, that is WAY too much money. The only reason I am putting a non disco axle in my MJ is because I already have it and don't want to go searching for one. :D That and it is being converted to 4wd. If it had the disco axle in there I would just put the cable select in there and be done, with the 297x upgrade at the same time of course. Matt

I found out that if I click to post a reply it lets me log in right away, but if i just log in it makes me do it twice. Tried it at work and it does the same thing. But at work that could be the network security settings screwing that up. Oh well, I will just live with it. :lol: Other than that, everything here is working great. Love the site. Great job. Matt

Well I am sure you have heard of the 6 degrees of separation. We are all connected to each other by only 6 other people. Not sure if I beleive that or not because I don't know anyone in China so. . . It is neat that we all seem to find out that we know someone in common somewhere.

Yes very true, but we all know how long they lasted. :-D It would be different for me if the Jeep already had a 2.8 and then I would probably just put a 4.3 or a 3.4 in there, but it didn't so I really don't want to. That is why I am looking in this direction. Thanks for the measurement information. Matt

That is why. Keep it Jeep, that is my way of thinking. A V8 would be too much for the trails from my experience, and just putting another 4 in there would make it a dog on the street. I already have one like that, my YJ, don't want another one. The 258 is one of those engines that you don't see on the road much anymore and they are good strong engines. With some good tweaking you can make em better than the 4.0l in stock form. I don't want the typical Chevy swap, absolutely refuse to even think about putting a Ford under the hood. The 4.2 isn't a common swap, and since the mounts are the same for the 4.2 as they are for the 4.0, it would be a fairly simple swap. That way I can put any trans after it, and any t-case. I would probably put the T5 that I have sitting in the shed with who knows what for a tcase(have not decided on that yet). They never put the 258 in the XJ/MJ chassis, they started with the 4.0l. So it would be different and a little unique. I was just hoping that someone on here would have some input as to what it would take to make it work. That is all. Thanks, Matt

You will have to make sure you get a lot of pix for those of us that won't be able to make or won't have a running MJ. :lol: Matt

The general contractor that built the house my parents used to own out in Harborcreek is a Cass. Don't know him that well, but he did a good job with the house. :) Might bump into them more often now tho, I am going to be attending Penn State Behrend in about a week and a couple of days. Back to school for me. Matt

Not sure either, but when I log in the first time my user name shows up in the active user list. I will play around with my settings and see what I can come up with. It is probably something easy that I am overlooking. Thanks for looking into it tho, Matt

Thank you for all of the input. My only hitch with putting a Chevy motor in there is that I, for some reason, can't bring myself to do it. Don't know why, perhaps it is the CJ owner in me, but I just can't bring myself to put a Chevy under the hood. Just my opinion, not talking bad about doing it, I just don't want to go that route. The 4 cyl is a good strong motor and yeah it would be the easiest swap, but I am looking at getting more power because it is going to be a partial DD once it is all together. I must say tho that the write up about doing a 3.4 swap is very interesting and pretty cool reading. Didn't know that there were so many similarities. The main reason that I was looking at a 4.2 is I like the 4.2. You can FI them or TBI them, put the 4.0l head on em. According to clifford performance the kit that they sell for the 4.2 that has a aluminum 4.0l head and a cam will give you close to 120 more horses. That doesn't include what you would gain from the FI or TBI upgrade. I guess I am getting a little in over my head here. But I am going to look into what it will take and see what the best option is to put 6 cyl power in there. As of right now putting another 2.5 in is out, for now. Guess I am just looking at something unique, that no one else has around here. Then again a Comanche in stock form fits that bill. :lol: Thanks again for the input, Matt

Millcreek. Used to live out the Harborcreek way till I got married and bought a house. Didn't go to school out there tho, went to Prep. Parents wanted me to go there when we moved to Erie between my freshman and sophomore years. Still have some friends out that way too. Matt

Hey guys I am having an issue with having to log in twice every time I visit the site. It wouldn't really bother me but I don't see the new posts on the left side because of that. Had this happen before on other forums and can't remember if it is a setting on my machine or if it is a server thing. Here is what I have just in case you need to know. AMD Athlon 2800+ Windows XP No firewall (except on the router) Norton Antivirus 2005 TIA, Matt

Well this weekend I should be able to post up some body work pix. I am planning on getting the body work started on my 89MJ. Gotta pull the rear flares off and clean up the sheet metal on the bed under them. Matt

That is correct, this is all on an 89 MJ. The only problem of picking up a donor vehicle is that I am running out of space for Jeeps and Jeep parts. :lol: I do have some other options, but would really like to put a 6 in this Jeep. At least knowing that the front clip is longer gives me hope that the sheet metal swap will work. After I get started on the body work I will take some time to take measurements from the MJ and compare them to the XJ's that my wife and I have. Then I will make the final decision, based on what I find. It is times like this that I am kicking myself for selling that 2.5 that I had about 6 months ago. :roll: Thanks again, Matt

OK, easier than a cheby swap. Didn't realize that a 4.0l or 4.2l swap would be that involved. I had a feeling the motor mounts would have to be moved, but a new front clip. Holy crap, didn't think they were that much different. I guess the only way that would make a diff is if I wasn't putting a 97+ front end on it. I knew that the 4.0l heads flow better, I plan on that in my CJ8. I guess the main reason I am looking into the 4.2 swap is because I think I will be able to get a free block with a 4.0l head. I would have to build the motor but the block is solid and ready to go. At least that is what the guy is telling me, I have not looked at it yet. That is why I posted here, to see if it would be worth the effort or not. I know I want 6cyl power in the MJ, it is a truck and I plan on using as such. Don't get me wrong the 2.5 in my YJ is a strong runner, but on the street I wish I had more power like the XJ with the 4.0l. Any advice in this is greatly apreciated. I really want to get started on this project. And this weekend will be the official start, I am going to rip the flares off and start on the body work. I am probably going to start taking the interior out of it too. Thanks for the input so far, Matt