Jax MJ Luvr

I recall reading an article on the web months ago about how you could swap the intake manifold from a 6 cyl grand cherokee in place of the restrictive one normally on the I6 commonly on Cherokees and Comanches, I couldn't find the site that had it, curious if anyone has links or info & details on this. It's been something I've considered doing as I fix up my MJ, or at least have someone help me do it haha :)

cool, I appreciate all the advice. I do recall when I had it in for the smog check, they said that the fuel mixture was running a bit rich. Not sure if that would cause other issues related to what's already being experienced. I still am concerned about the fan not ever turning off though... once the engine warms up, it'll click on, but never turn off... ever... until I shut off the motor... my previous 94 Cherokee never had that problem, so it makes me wonder if maybe the temp gage is functioning at all or if it's just a simple electrical issue... hmmm... anyways, it's out in Colorado, so any work on it and diagnostics may end up having to be by a mechanic out there, since all I can really do is just ask my dad to take it into his trusted mechanic for a check up and diagnosis. here's a pick of my baby after I replaced the rusted doors :) Image Not Found and the nice oil leak puddle below :P

well I bought it for a whopping $996 , it's the 4.0 HO, it has the metric ton package, so a nice D44 in the rear, it's been my project truck for about a year... I've been driving my reliable Scion for the time being, but now that the wedding is coming up soon and we're looking to start the family, we're trying to cut out whatever long term expenses... so I'm selling off the car and just fixing up the MJ once and for all and make that my new reliable vehicle ;) There's no rust on the frame, the bed is banged up, but fixable, the interior has been redone, so far just did the basic full fluid changes when I bought it over a year ago, but no major tune up yet... leak oil like crazy, idles rough, the engine fan will come on and never goes off, but never overheats either... the last bit of advice I got was to have the "bottom end" rebuilt if I planned to lift it, otherwise I risk blowing out the motor... I suppose I can just have a real mechanic go over it with a fine tooth comb and find my real problem spots, but with so many miles I'm hesitant to lift and do what I really want with it in fear of blowing out the motor with so many miles on it... I'm not sure what it can really handle safely... so for me... an ounce of prevention... so to speak... I suppose I ought to call my dad and get a reliable, honest mechanic to give it a good once over maybe...

OK, so I'm not very grease monkey inclined. So I'm the dork that'll probably end up having to pay someone else to do it, but my 92 MJ either needs to be rebuilt or swapped out. I'm fishing for advice as to my best route and/or bang for the buck. I live in Jacksonville, FL, my Jeep is still in Colorado Springs, I moved out here last year, but had to leave my Jeep with the parents. I plan on flying back to either tow or if there's enough life in the engine, drive it back... it has just over 220000 miles in the old gal. She flutters and conks out after the 1st start, but runs like a champ on the 2nd start. I finance "credit challenged" people for cars for a living, so I have a bunch of dealership hook ups that can get me a good mechanic, but heck, if someone is nearby me, I'm willing to put in my own labor and learn how to do it with guidance of course. Any and all help/advice is appreciated.

i made the mistake of doing that when I bought my 1st Cherokee years ago.. the tires would rub on the lower control arm like crazy and the rear wheel well would punch the tire on any articulation... so obviously the trimming in the well would be needed along with the fenders, just my 2 cents ;)

interior was all gray, but had tons of scuff marks and tar here & there around the doors. I gutted all the interior panels, cleaned them up, color matched them & repainted. Interior looks almost brand new. I snagged a carpet kit online for $80 and installed it for now. I think I may ultimately just take out the carpet and rhinoline the interior, since this will be my truck for camping & offroading anyways. I'm designing a good sub-enclosure and tinkering with which panels I'll leave and which I'll trim. I always have to have a good sound system in it, since I owned a stereo shop for a few years and always have to put my own little touch into any vehicle I own ;)

no leaks, it was the leftover beer in those bottles & cans leaking out into the carpet... if I could only describe the stench to you hahaha I left the carpet out a few days and looked all over just to see if there was a leak anywhere, it's surprisingly all sealed up nicely. And yes, I'm just winging it for now. The truck bed itself has all sorts of tar & roofing adhesives splattered around, I don't know how to get all of that stuff off. There's some indentations here & there where heavy stuff was just tossed in and stretched & dented the sheet metal on the inside of the bed. If I can get it all stripped, resealed, and a liner put it, it night not look too bad I suppose... any advice on what to use to strip all that gunk out? Or what type of place to take it to to have it cleaned up?

true true, probably what I ought to do :D I'm flying back to Colorado in the next few weeks, debating whether to risk driving it back or just trailer it with a UHaul. Hmm, decisions, decisions. Denver, CO to Jacksonville, FL I hated the drive in my car, I can only imagine the horrors of taking a UHaul or the MJ hahaha Dang you're way up in PA, I better find a place locally to help on doing the bed up like you mentioned. I'm so tempted to yank the long bed, pick a shortbed from a yard and just chop off the extra frame hehehe, I'm probably just babbling crazy talk huh?

Well bought my '92 MJ for a whopping $990. It has 223,000 original miles on it. Here's what it looked like from day 1 when I drove it to my buddy's house. Image Not Found Some damage to the rear passenger side of the bed's underside. Image Not Found It also had a ladder rack in the bed that hung all the way over the front cab, I quickly tore that out, I'll never need it, but now I have extra square tubing for whatever later on. The 1st thing I decided to tackle, aside from changing every fluid and filter in the vehicle, was to clean out the interior. It smelt horrid on hot days. I must have pulled a dozen beer cans and just as many bottles out... notice I didn't say they were empty... some were half full or still with who know what remnants in it. Pulled out the bench seat and carpet left much to be desired. Ripped out all the carpet, still moist with who knows what. Did I mention it smelled!! DOH! Rust! Fortunately just surface rust, bust out the wire wheel! AH! Much better, it cleaned up very nicely and I resealed and topped it off with matching Rustolium color. At least it's a start so far, I think I'll clean up the dash some, rip out the drooping headliner, and put in a real stereo system ;) Simple things for me; for now. More to come...

haha, already fixed the rear breaks... minutes after I looked at the pic, I went out and fixed it :) quick & easy, but that was back last April. Yay no rust, that was one of the things that cinched the purchase for me... that and the D40 and the fact that it only cost me $990 for the truck. It was win win for me, I was so happy with my buy I'll make a few posts with the work I've done on it in the projects section.

wow, great info, Thanks for the link on the prior post, I must have missed it ;) I'm actually flying back to Colorado in January to either drive or tow my MJ back so I can get back to work on it. Still debating whether my MJ at 220k miles on it, if I should drive or tow it.. hmmm.. :D Look forward to making more posts and learning as I go.

I've got a '92 MJ with the Metric ton package, it's got over 220k miles on it, gotta love that straight 6... it's HO of course. The damn thing still runs good to my amazement, always conks out on the 1st start, but turns over just fine on the 2nd start and keeps on going. ANYWAYS, my issue is that the bed is just tore up, the top rails look a bit off with some nice dents, looks like the guy who owned it before me either go hit in the passenger side rear or backed into something. from inside the bed you can see the frame cross members, seems like heavy stuff was just toss into the bed over the years, I only had a shot from the underside when I was showing off the D40 teehee ;) here's a pic i had showing the dent from either backing into something or someone bumping the prior owner. You can see the outlines of the frame below the sheet metal, wish i had a pic of that before I left. I need to know how difficult it would be to either scrap the entire bed and salvage another one, or drop it into a body shop and let them work their magic, maybe make it a flat bed... I know I don't have the knowhow or skill to do it myself, but I don't have anywhere near the resources I did when I was in Colorado, since all my 4 wheelin' friends are still back there and they were my reliable sources for fixes and education on Jeeps. I'm now living in Jacksonville FL, so if anyone is nearby and knows the lay of the land for resources, salvage yards, offroading clubs/groups, I'll take any ifo you can dish out, since I love camping and offroading and want to get my MJ built up so I can do it all over again :D I'll toss in a thread for what I've done to it so far, get those who give a darn see my plight ;)

I have a 92 longbed automatic with the metric ton package... in the process of converting from 2WD to 4WD :)

I agree with a prior post, since this seems to be a very common mod, which I'm still wanting to do, just haven't found the right buckets. I'm nearly done with my carpet and mini center console, I absolutely hate the bench seat. Thanks for the extra info and links :D

personally, I'd just lay a new bead rather than pull the whole thing out.. just take your time and it should come out neat without any problems... quick fix if you already know that's the source of your leak.