over2land

Well where the 2.5 Bell from the Dakota can be used, the AX-5 to AX-15 adapter kit from Advance Adapters can be used. I can't' speak to the Pontiac 3.8 BP, but if the Dakota parts can be used then look to AA if you don't like chasing unicorns.

Since this thread is kinda hi jacked anyway... Cool score Kastein. I've looked at deuces and 5s for years, haven't had the guts to pull the trigger. My M715 sees so little use and it drives me crazy. Any way they guy who looked stuff up for you could be persuaded to look up either my M715 or M38A1? I'd love to know the background on them.

Cool thread. I'm from NJ originally, my first car was a Jeep, as were 17 Jeeps I had in the following 11 years of driving. They were all CJs or YJs, with one TJ and one M715 for flavor. I never even looked at the XJ/MJ or any unitbody Jeep for fear of cataclysmic failure due to rust. Plus, at the time I left NJ, XJ/MJs were about the same price used as YJs/CJs. I was in CA for a year, and since I'm a bit of a junkyard dog, I quickly realized the plethora of XJs and MJs in the junkyards here. I wanted something different, so I decided to look for an XJ or MJ. My price was 500 bucks. The first thing I found was an '88 MJ 2WD Eliminator. I went to look at it. After jump-starting, it ran, and drove, so I picked it up. Took a bit to get it going with all junkyard parts, and I was hooked. Easily knocked down over 20 mpg, and could haul parts for all the other Jeeps in relative comfort (compared to my M715). Unfortunately within a year of getting it, building it, and driving it, I had an engine fire which led to stripping all the wiring etc out of it. While it was stripped I started missing a Jeep that could haul and be locked up, so I went looking and picked up an XJ. I'm on MJ 3 now and XJ 2. I still have that first MJ in process of a 97 conversion and I'm still hunting that elusive 92 MJ.

Ya, what he said. Technically, it is a TJ-L.... if you talk to someone inside Jeep/Chrysler... but most of us know it as an LJ.

Start hunting SoCal. I trip over them down here... And I'm up in Reno pretty frequently when it isn't winter (I refuse chains, so don't run 395 a few months in the winter)

I've done I don't know how many Jeep axles over the years.. Dana 30s, 44s, and AMC 20s... I've both done them with a case spreader and without. Technically, what was said about preloading the bearings upon new bearing reinstall is correct. Once the bearings seat in, you effectively lose .010 or something (its been a while since I read a manual) worth of shim, hence the preload. The preload is supposed to make the setup stay where set for longer, resulting in longer service life for the gears. That said, the gears I set up that have gone the furthest, and are still on the road, are over 80,000 miles (on a 44 rear), I didn't use the spreader, and they still look good. Nowadays, I'll only take the spreader out if it is a rear axle on a daily-driven Jeep. And even then, only if I think the guy is gonna stick with those gears for way over 50,000 miles. I've not used it on any of my own Jeeps in a long azz time. It makes the whole setup process easier, that's for sure, especially if you are a bit rusty at the time. The thing with the Dana axles, is with the shims behind the bearings, it isn't a huge deal to just line it all up and dead-blow the carrier back in the housing.

I have the Duratracs on my XJ, and my girl's LJ. I have the Silent Armors on my Dodge Ram I have the new MT/Rs on my Jeepster and my YJ And the old MT/Rs on my MJ and my other YJ. While this might make me seem to be a huge Goodyear geek, er, well, I guess I kind have become one. I had the old MT/Rs on my XJ, and liked em, so I put em on my YJ. I knew all about the weird wear and helicopter noises at higher mileage, and figured with rotation, no issues. Well, the XJ had a bent axle so that went out the window. Then the new MT/R came out, and I had the Jeepster with dry rotted tires, no brainer. And, I liked the MT/R with Kevlar enough over the old MT/Rs that I put it on my other YJ. The Jeepster doesn't get driven daily... the YJ more so, and after 10K miles I noticed the new MT/Rs are starting to get loud. Not as loud as the old ones were, and maybe I should have rotated more... but anyway. Then it came time to put new tires on the Dodge (which spends it time in Reno, NV), and I didn't want something as aggressive as the MT/R, but I liked the kevlar idea, as it was to be driven on the ranch a lot, and I didn't want to worry about burrs or anything, and they have done fine, no punctures, no rips, even with a full bed and driven across many ditches and stream crossings. However, I need 4WD a lot more than I would like. So, when it came time for my girl's LJ (which is in NJ), the Duratracs were available, with a more aggressive tread pattern and tread blocks that overlapped more than the MT/R (likely quieter) and the same kind of construction I'd already abused. 8K miles later, no complaints from either of us, and we are both stoked at how the LJ does in snow both on-road and off. So when it came time for new tires on the XJ, rather than go back to MT/Rs, I went to the Duratracs. The XJ sees more mud and high speed desert than the LJ does. In the desert, no problems at all with the tires. In the mud, for an AT, I'm still happy. Sure, they don't clear out like an MT/R does, but they are quieter on the road, and I picked up 2mpg over the old worn MT/Rs that were on the Jeep (which went to my MJ to replace the dry-rotted tires on it)

I had heard 4.5-5.5 inches, depending on what pack was in there, what axle you were using, etc. I know on my 88 with 6.5 inches, I still had to trim the bottom corners of the rear wheelwells to keep the tires from hitting at full stuff. I was hoping to keep this one lower than my '88, and still clear bigger tires. On the 88 I went with Alcan springs, and they worked awesome on- and off- road, but it wouldn't carry a load anymore- not like the stock leafs did. On this one I was willing to give up some flex and ride (as well as save money) by just going spring over, but I was really hoping to end up at more like 4.5 inches of lift. I know I can swap an XJ shackle in it and lose some height, but that alone won't get me from 6 to 4.5. I know I could pull the leafs apart and mix and match there, but I really like the leaf pack's performance as-is now.

going for 33s or 35s on a simple spring over. Preferably eventually 35s, but for the time being likely just 33s I want to keep it low, but spring-over (which is higher than I'd wanted) is the affordable option to me right now

How long have you been running it like that? I'm wondering if I can just cut the inners entirely out, sounds like you are close to the same strength I'd be at.

Did you have to trim the sheetmetal inner fender?

I tried searching, but no luck. I'm going to trim my fenders to fit bigger tires, and was wondering if anyone had trimmed the inner piece of sheet metal out of the bed. I also was unsuccessful at finding a picture. It looks to me like the in-board section of the rear inner wheelwell is single-thickness. However, it appears that the outer section is comprised of a top (visible from inside the bed) section and a bottom (only visible inside the wheelwell) section. I'm thinking of cutting that bottom section out entirely so I can go higher on my trimming and thus, clear bigger tires. Will I end up with structural issues from doing this? Anyone do this and have any real-world experiance from living with this mod? Thanks

Nice yard find. Does that MJ have the bed light switch in the dash? I'd be all over that if it did. My new truck is missing the switch and the light, and while I think I can get a light off something else, but that dash switch is eluding me.

Didn't that thing first hit shows in '05 or '06? IIRC, that was a snapshot to the future a la the JK. However, the outside firm in CA that built it modified so many parts in so many minor ways that for Chrysler to build it as it sits wasn't profitable. Very few actual box stock JK parts made it onto that concept.

:D That was one of the first things I changed. I had one laying around, so it went on as I was putting in the radio. Rob L. LOL, gotcha