Minuit

:yeah that:

Alright I take it this is something that people want. Any suggestions on which section a thread like this would belong in?

Any other opinions?

I've had some bad experiences with aftermarket Jeep parts, and I know pretty much all of us have, and I'm not a fan of wasting money on parts that suck. Maybe we should have either a thread or a section dedicated to reviewing MJ-related parts? If such a thing came into existence I'd be happy to curate it (table of contents, etc.)

I have been disappointed with my 97+ door seals as well. They make the door excessively difficult to close (I have to slam the door twice about 10% of the time and I'm not being gentle anyway) and fit poorly, so poorly that I believe them to be causing wind noise. They also push the door out of alignment visibly when the door is closed. If they weren't so d@mn expensive I probably would have gone back to the old style ones by now - at least they're better than what was in there. OEM 97+ door seals may be better, but the old style door seals were in my opinion better than the poor quality aftermarket 97+ seals sold by the likes of Team Cherokee and Rockauto. I may try to grab a set of good condition 95 or 96 door seals out of the junkyard next time I go.

Yep. If the original holes are usable still it uses those too.

I think sometimes they even give them out for free. If you're working on a Renix, a meter, even a crappy one, is invaluable.

Gotcha.

I was referring to #1 in your diagram, the swively GM-style lug wrench :thumbsup: I've still only seen the setup mine has. Was that lug wrench only on XJs? No idea what #3,5, or 11 are either.

The only thing missing from the above pic is the clip for the jack rod, which goes on the D-bracket on the back of the cab. I've since got one, but I don't have a pic of it installed. Odd that my lug wrench is different from Don's diagram - were there different sets of jack tools offered? My owner's manual talks about a swiveling lug wrench thing like that, but I've never seen one.

So pretty.

I've always had an interest in these, don't think they ever made it to 'Murica though. Definitely not something you see every day. Like a tiny, Russian XJ. Bet it would be a blast in rallycross. :thumbsup:

That's something I've thought about and I may end up dropping the rear as well as a mild (maybe 2" at the most) lift in front. I don't want it completely level but it's significantly taller in the rear than the front, and I'd like to level it somehow by a couple of inches or so. When parked on a flat surface it looks like it's sticking its @$$ up in the air and I want to get rid of that look but keep it roughly stockish height. I still haven't done enough research or mocking up to make a real decision, though. Also, follow up on brakes: I don't know how I drove this thing for 3 years the way it was - and it definitely was like that when I got it. I didn't have any clues to make me think anything was wrong, since the rears bled fine and there was visible brake dust any time I took the drums off. It stops way better, and the pedal feels way better. Imagine that. I wonder whose idea it was to design the rear prop valve so that it could bolt up two ways that both seemed correct - but one all but disabled the rear brakes. :thumbsup:

You got me. You're absolutely right. I just went out and fixed it. Stops 100% better now. You'd think I'd have noticed something was off all this time, but nope. Thanks man!

It's very pretty on the outside (the interior bugs me in the same way Rob said - curves and the old school interior do not mix.) but I'm not sure what the benefit over a regular old MJ is. It looks like an XJ-sized MJ - not that much shorter or more maneuverable. Also what's the deal with the "trough" at the front of the bed? It looks like it's about the size of a toolbox. Does look cool though, but I still can't figure out if I like the Wagoneer front clip on it.

If you're trying to remove the column indicator wire from the column, just push (or is it pull?) the clip off.

My actual content:mindless rambling ratio has gotten a little bit too high, so it's time to go over my plans for the conclusion of this build. Once all of this is completed, I'll be as close to "done" as you could possibly imagine. - Locate and rebuild a rear axle. The D35's health has not improved recently. I've put it off for a while, but the time is coming to find its replacement. While I'd love for an MJ D44 to fall into my lap, the more likely candidate is going to be a 97+ Chrysler 8.25 modified to fit like a factory MJ rear end. I can get these at my local junkyard for just south of a hundred bucks, so it will probably be the most cost effective solution even after modifications. I'm looking to have the donor rebuilt (not something I feel comfortable doing myself) and converted to disc brakes while I'm at it. A limited slip solution is not out of the question. Provisions for a rear sway bar will be added. Projected cost: $500 after rebuild and disc brake conversion (using factory parts either from a KJ or ZJ) - Rebuild the rear suspension. During the process of the above swap, the rear suspension will be rebuilt with new bushings, new spring pads, etc. The rear suspension as it is makes a lot of noise - nothing disconcerting but it's obviously worn out a bit. The springs themselves are in good shape and are within a half inch of factory ride height still. Projected cost: $200? - Lift the front. Currently the truck has a disgusting rake on it. A lift of either an inch or two will make it look a lot better. Projected cost: $150 including any possible changes to correct alignment. - Overhaul the brakes. There's nothing wrong with my brakes (at least, not after fixing the prop valve), but they still aren't anything to write home about. I have a dual diaphragm setup waiting to go in, and maybe I should stop being lazy and get it done with at some point. The proportioning valve can also go away. Projected cost: Nothing. I already have the parts. - Deal with the driveline vibration. This one is really annoying. I've pretty much narrowed it down to somewhere between the transmission and rear end. It's one of the last things wrong with this truck. With it gone I'd have one hell of a highway cruiser. Projected cost: $200 for a new driveshaft if necessary. - Continue upgrading the interior. I intend to upgrade the interior while keeping the same theme it has now - black trim, with seat covers that match that of the current bench. I have a set of bucket seats that need to be joined to brackets, the appropriate steering column, and one of the seat covers. I need an uncracked lower dash panel, another seat cover, a console, and the hardware to convert the AW4 from column to floor shift, as well as carpet. Projected cost: $300? - Make it quiet inside. I intend to fully sound deaden the interior. I haven't made my mind up on what product exactly to use. I like this company's line, but I still need to do my research. Not planning on half arsing this. Maybe I'll finally put some speakers in the doors while I'm at it? (the observant followers of this build will notice that I've had holes in my door panels nearly since I've had the truck) Projected cost: $300-500 - Do something engine wise. A stroker is in the plans for much, much later but for now I need to know if I should keep sinking money into the current engine. It runs superbly but the look of the cam lobes didn't fill me full of hope and it's also got a chip knocked out of the RMS area. It seems to have an appetite for timing chains. Projected cost: Not even gonna guess. - PAINT! The factory clear coat is failing. It looks nice in pictures but from most angles you can see flawed paint. The truck will be repainted in the original color, the bodywork made perfect and the stripes will probably be remade also. I won't be happy until this truck looks just like it did the second it rolled off the lot. Projected cost: However much it takes.

Hard to tell for sure, but those look like the standard 3+1 springs to me, which would make it a non-metric ton. If you can take a picture of the leaf springs we could tell for sure.

I wish I was in the MJ game when that happened. I sure would like to pick through pristine stuff that people just didn't want anymore rather than the "275k is low mileage for a junkyard XJ" situation these days. That still doesn't excuse C4C though. Not even a little bit.

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: So. Much. Want.

Another vote for imgur. As long as you ignore the "social media" part of it, it's a simple and reliable image host. I've been using it since the beginning and all of my pics still work with no changes.

That's a D44 alright. Other than the rust it looks pretty solid. Looks like a few people before you have tried to fix the rust and probably just made it worse.

I've noticed that even the XJs are starting to thin out too. I used to have about 10 of various trim levels to pick from on my monthly JY run, down significantly now. Tons of Grands still though. I wish my normal junkyard would wait a little longer before crushing stuff. :banana: 1500 posts! :banana: Maybe eventually I'll make one worth reading...

:yeah that:

Factory head gaskets prior to about 1993 or so are known to leak oil. Not usually badly but sometimes they can get pretty bad. This is non-pressurized oil draining back down, not your rings or anything internal. There is a revised head gasket available with silicone (I think) in it that corrects this.