Keyav8r

If you have the same front axle and wheel/tire combination and your left tire moved to the left with the lift, your right tire also moved to the left even though it may not look like it did. The track bar length is constant, so as you lift the body above the axle the track bar pulls the axle to the left (driver) side. Disconnect your track bar and roll the truck forward and back and forth a few times (don't drive it that way) and note if the tires line up better in the wheel wells. Be careful disconnecting it as it probably has some preload on it due to the lift.

I got my BA-10 shifter apart by clamping the lower part in the vise and bumping the shoulder on the end of the upper part with. 2x4 and a 32oz. ball peen hammer. Popped right off - OK, after about 3 or 4 healthy whacks it popped right off. The end of the lower part of the BA-10 shifter is square and the upper part has a square hole, so I don't think it would come off by a twisting motion. However, the AX transmission shifters may come apart that way.

Those are good looking seats! What did they come out of?

From the build info and photos, it's an '86 with column shift automatic and indicator on the column, correct? Hard to tell by the angle of the dash photo, but it looks like your cluster may have a tach. I think a cluster from any Renix MJ or XJ would work with the exception of the 4 cylinder/6 cylinder tach issue. (Unless there is some '86 ONLY thing that I'm not aware of.) Some of the gurus on here may want to jump in and clarify/correct my assumption.

Why not use the stock inner seat belt anchor point?

haow? Where's spellcheck when you need it?

Thanks for the link. Had to try it twice to get a report. Probably operator error. It's interesting that the history on my '88 starts in 1995 with a "Registration Event/Renewal" in Lebanon, KY (with no mileage recorded) and stays in KY until I brought it to AL in 2012. According to the original owner's manual in the glove box, it was sold new in Thornton, CO. So, there are seven lost years in the truck's history. I'm curious haow it got from Co to KY. Based on the two recorded mileage events, it appears that it has the original cluster in it and the actual mileage is under 200K. The speedo cable was missing when I bought it and the odometer shows around 196K. The last recorded mileage was 190,344 in early 2011and it hasn't had any significant miles on it since I bought it in early 2012 and started the rebuild. I'm planning on swapping clusters to one with a tach and may try swapping speedos in the clusters to retain the original odometer reading (it won't be entirely correct but wil be more accurate than the 240K plus on the donor cluster).

Picked up a chrome front bumper with factory fog lights at the local P&P. Also got the harness with the fog light connectors. Thought I also got the switch, but can't find it. Anybody have the switch and bezel for sale?

1ton87 - Did you say filter or filler? AFIK, there should be a filler cap (as Cruiser54 said) on the valve cover and two hose connections. One hose goes to the manifold to pull vapors from inside the valve cover into the manifold and one goes to the air filter box to provide clean air to replace the vapors pulled into the manifold.

Put the flat stock on the new seat sliders, sit it on the MJ brackets where you think it should be, clamp it in place with vise grips or C-clamps, sit in it, slide it forward and back, re-adjust where it's clamped, sit in it, slide it forward and back, re-adjust it again, etc., etc. Then when its where you want it (clearance on door panel and tranny hump/console confirmed) bolt or weld the flat stock to the brackets. Also, make sure your flat stock doesn't interfere with the seal adjuster handle movement throughout the seat adjustment range. I don't have MJ brackets, so I had to fabricate and re-fabricate and modify some brackets for XJ seats using 1-1/2" angle. They're sturdy but heavy. May refine the design again at some point if I find some other type seats that look good and after I've driven with the current mounting long enough to see if it feels right.

Sounds like a plan to me. You may have to cut your 1/8" sheet/plate to clear the seat adjustment mechanism (handle). Depending on the space between the MJ brackets and the seat sliders you may want to use 3/16" or 1/4" sheet/plate for better strength and less flex. An option would be 1/4" f lat bar front and rear attached to the "new" seat sliders. I've got XJ buckets on fabricated brackets that work OK but i'm not 100% happy with them. Would like to find some two door buckets that complement the gray interior and allow the use of an XJ or ZJ center console.

Don't know about the normal seat bottom height as my old bench is long gone and my XJ seats on fabricated brackets may not be the same height as stock MJ seats. BUT, if you have the MJ brackets you can easily adapt almost any seat to them with a little fabrication. Something as simple as some 1/4" flat bar bolted or welded to the brackets and bolted or welded to the seat sliders can work. If the sliders are bolted to the seats, you can just take them off and use the MJ sliders in the same manner.

Good work, both on the MJ and the way you handled the interview!

Buffalob - did you build that bumper or is it an available product? That's exactly the bumper I'd like to have. And, have to ask, where did you get the bed rail caps? Sorry for the thread jack - but I just had to ask!

What Geonovast said!

I made my first tour of the Alabama with a business associate who had served as an engineering officer aboard a battleship. Like having Rembrandt as your own personal art museum tour guide. You really don't appreciate the firepower until you look into the breech of one of the main guns and see the size of the shells and powder charges.

If you're trying to pull one at a yard, while you're under the truck dis-connecting the cable at the transmission remove the cable retainer on the engine side of the firewall and pop the grommet out of its hole. This will give you more slack to pull the gauge cluster out of the dash far enough to get your hand behind it and remove the plastic clip on the cluster end of the cable. Don't gorilla it as that will break the plastic fitting (it may break anyway, but you'll have a better chance this way). The Dorman part number that is specific to many MJ speedo cables is no longer available, per the Dorman site, although the photo on your link looks like it has the plastic clip at the speedo end. If that's correct, $20 is a good price. I've heard that there is a year model break that used a different speedo end style and that a 4WD cable will work on a 2WD truck. Some of the MJ gurus can chime in and clarify or correct me if I'm mistaken.

What year?

Look for holes in the firewall first. It's got to get in the cab somehow. Put a trouble light in each side of the cab, look from under the hood and under the truck. If you don't see anything that way, hang the light on each side of the engine shining toward the firewall and look in under the dash on both sides. Check the gasket between the exhaust manifold and the down pipe and check the manifold and pipe for holes. When I got my MJ i had the same problem. The manifold had been patched after the flange broke off and the speedometer cable was missing. Exhaust gases came form the leaking joint through the hole for the speedo cable. I put one of those muffler wraps around the joint, reinforced with a few warps of good old baling wire, and taped over the hole. Exhaust gas gone! I'm putting a new manifold (and complete exhaust system) and speedo cable in as part of the re-build to fully fix the problem

Hope you have good luck finding some. They're pretty rare.

Hear, Hear! Well and briefly spoken, Sir Tyler!

Search RMS replacement for some tips on doing it right. When you drop the rear main cap loosen all of the other main caps. That will provide a little more clearance to get the old top seal half out an the new one in. Do NOT use a steel drift pin, punch, or nail to drive out the old seal. If you do, you WILL scar the seal seat and have a worse leak than before. Use a brass rod and be patient. If you start getting frustrated, crawl out from under the truck and take a breather. I bought the Fel-Pro double lip seal and the blue Fel-Pro one piece oil pan gasket and highly recommend both. Check your CCV system for blockages to make sure you're not pressurizing the crankcase and forcing a leak. BTW, did I mention be patient while replacing the RMS?

'13 Mazda 6 w/full power, '05 Silverado w/power stuff, previous BMW Z4 w/power, previous Lexus 300 w/power, previous '01 Sierra w/power, etc. just want to have one vehicle that I can work on without owning a ton of electronic testing equipment. MJ is simple enough for my simple mind. And, it says JEEP right there on the tailgate! But, I do understand burnout. Fortunately, some passage of time usually brings us back to things we enjoy. I used to really be into flying and at one point just kind of tired of it. Lately I find myself looking up when piston engines go overhead. Give it some time and if it's really what you like, it will draw you back.

Unless I get it off eBay. Hmmmmm!

"This product no longer available." Don't need one at the moment, but thought maybe I should get one while I could - but, apparently, I can't!