mfpdm

Thank you for your service and welcome to the Club. I'm an East Coast guy so yes this offroad area does not touch me the way that it does those that can enjoy it. I'm proud of my profession but don't normally need to reference it to make a point. However, I have been in Uncle Sam's employment, Defending the Rights laid out for this Great Nation, for the past 23 plus years and counting. The last 5 years I've been dealing with research and development of new technologies and dealing directly with the training centers across all services. So I think I know just a little bit on the topic. I'm not a ground pounder; I belong to the yacht club. All the Armed Services have been taking major cuts and closures of facilities since the end of the cold war. Yes we still have a lot of real estate but you have to take in the big picture with some of these areas. They need to have sufficient buffer zones and safety areas to facilitate the different types of training. This keeps not only the civilian population safe but also allows the services to conduct uninhibited training without the influence of public surroundings. It's kind of easy for the Navy; we just go out to sea. Being an Army brat, my father, 30 year veteran of 3 wars not counting our current war, would take me out to Fort Bragg to watch the exercises out there. They had miles of empty space, but it only takes one misdirected howitzer round landing in your front yard to realize why they have so much space. This fight as stated before would be different if it was land owned by a public company or individual and the government came in and took it. They own the land and now have a need for it. It's just like if you rented a house and the owner came in and said, you have to move I need my house back. Bottom line is, you would move. I think everyone should stand up for what they believe in. And yes the government should be made aware that areas for legal offroading are becoming extinct. However I don't think there will be a mutual solution in this particular issue. The guys wearing the stars obvious believe they need this space for the troops and they don't always tell us lower ranking people why. :cheers:

Wow, that's a keeper. Welcome to the club and nice find. :cheers:

Welcome to the club! 03 TJ drive train in an MJ, hmmm, looks like a perfect opportunity to do the complete 97+ XJ makeover including interior or if you have the skills, put a TJ dash in. Either way the wiring will be easier. Would make a sweet custom MJ for a DD. :cheers:

I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking along those lines. Yea I hate to see a good spot taken from the offroad community, but this is for a good reason. Our boys need all the traininng and skills they can get. And if this area can help save one life, it's worth it. :USAflag:

Not to get off topic, but you didn't find out about the brakes because you backed into the rear of the garage did you? :eek:

You caught me. No I still have to get grade 8 nuts (that just sounds weird saying that) I just threw those in to give an idea about the nylon lock nuts. :cheers:

Your correct, the fine threads do have more holding power. They didn't have a fine threat in the inset hex heads, at least where I bought them. From taking the old ones off, they really don't seem that they really need the holding power as much as they need shearing strength. You figure once they are clamped down by the U bolts, they are just there to keep them aligned to the perch. :cheers:

The bolts I got are 3/8 by 2 1/2 in. I noticed when I pulled the old one that it was just barely long enough and a little small for what I would expect to hold the pack together. The new one fits through all the springs and sits into the perch fine on one side but may need the head ground off a little on the other. This may not be the case once I get the D44's new perches welded on. I'll get some bolts for the for the ends and if I come across some sleves, great, if not I guess it will do. As far as the pads, Wow. At $12 a piece that would be $96 plus shipping to replace them. I think I'll look around a little or pull some from the JY and clean them up. Thanks for all the help. :cheers:

Ok, so I'm cleaning up the leaf packs and have a couple of questions. 1. The bolt in the middle that holds them together and sets in the spring perch on the axle was pretty bad off. Can I just replace it with something in grade 8? Was thinking of this. ( OLD on top) It's a insert hex head and nylon lock nut. 2. My packs did not have the bolts that go on the ends to hold the pack together. Was it just a bolt on there or is it a sleve and bolt? 3. I'm missing a few of the plastic square pads on the end of the springs, where can I buy these? :cheers:

That can be fixed :brows: I couldn't tell for sure if it was a YJ from the picks. It looks like it had a hump in the hood like the CJ's but the finder flairs and doors are YJ. Also hard to tell from those pic's but it is a dually rear, right?

Ok, seeing how my other, "next jeep project thread" got cut short by the seller. Here is the next project. Click Here A 6 cyl diesel dually jeep. This thing has got to put out some massive torque. Think of pulling the driveline and putting it in an MJ or think truggy. I would love to know what the axles and gearing are under it. :cheers:

Man what a crock. I was just on there a few minutes ago. I bet someone flashed the cash at him. :brows: Oh well, I guess the thread is dead. :cry:

If you do a search for SCCA you'll find about 10 or so more threads with other stuff like this. :cheers:

It seems most of the questions that has been asked on this is about selling just the turbo diesel. The white xj would be a good candidate for a total custom project.

I found it interesting that the 2.5 with AX4 got better mileage than the 2.5 with an AX5. I figured the extra gear would pull better highway mileage at least. :dunno:

This would be great if you lived close and had room for all of it. Would definetly make for a fun project and you could recoupe alot of the cost by selling what you don't need. Check this out, Click Here Ahhh, so many jeeps, not enough money, time, and space. :cheers:

I looked at their site but they don't show the underside of the MJ. Seeing how it hooks to the pinch seam on the XJ and cab of the MJ, I was wondering about the part that's under the bed. Also I may be wrong, but I though the mount's going to the frame looked kinda of small. I'm sure it is strong enough, however I expected to see a little more beef. They still look great and I'll give them some consideration when the time comes. :cheers:

Just when I thought my project didn't need anything else, you post this. Those are sweet. How bout some pic's from the under side. Like attachment point's. And maybe a couple with the door open. Then a few with a couple of bikini clad women hanging on them. Ok maybe I'm asking to much. :D I do see TNT's concern about if the slider would bend up and block the door. Could these be mounted inverted, slider pointing down. I know, that would decrease side ground clearance but not by much. :cheers:

Looks great. We had our's painted to match the truck but I may have to try this on the spare set to see how it would look. Again nice work. :cheers:

I'm the one that feels ashamed. Over a year and I can't roll it little less drive it. I wish I had your know how and ability to get it done. It is difinetly the slowest build. The problem I have is for example; I wanted to paint the frame, but wait, I need to remove the bed, but wait, there's no room for it in the other garage, I'll need to move things around, but first I'll need to put the new casters on the folding trailer, now there's room, but then I need to move the donor, beds off, now then I need to POR-15 some spots, but first I need to get the leafs off, oh look at the leafs, I should clean them up and paint them, no wait, get the POR-15 done first, oh crap I need to wipe down the frame with something, (ding dong) oh look its the Fedex guy with my front driveshaft for the TJ, I should put it on, but I need to get new yoke straps from the parts store. Well it's 11:00 pm now and I've got nothing done. So you see I have an issue with prioritizing my projects. Thanks for all the comments though. It helps me at least feel good about what little progress I make and drives me to keep going. :cheers:

The bed rails kind of looks like the old toyotas. They got to do something with the front. A big brush gaurd or something.

Yep. It's getting the works. 2wd to 4wd, 2.5 to 4.0 , manual to auto, 231 to 242, and D35 to D44.

Wow, that's sharp. Do you have a full side shot to get the overall look? :cheers:

Ok, just making sure they were not from an xj. Looking at the back you shouldsee this in the middle of the seat between the seat bottom and seat back. If you pull forward on the seat back you can see the hook. Stick a screw driver in between and pull it towards you. This should release the seat back. :cheers:

Where in relation to the seat is the knob your pulling located? Towards the seat bottom or up by the head rest?