TNT

'94 XJ, 4.0 HO, AW-4,and 3.55 gears with a 8.25 limited slip. All stock except for the 3" of lift, 31"BFG KO tires and a K&N airfilter. I just got back from a hour of playing. :D I even found a unplowed 1/2" mile long road with about 12"-18"of snow on it to play in. I prefer an auto in snow because a stick can cause you to spin easier when you lift off the throttle due to the extra engine braking. I do shift it manually most of the time. I have also had the same XJ for 10 years so I'm totally in tune with how it handles. :brows: :cheers:

Parallel wire the hot red wire from the harness connector to both lights. They will be grounded by the housing bolt. Do both your yard lights have inline mercury switches? If so, be sure the hot wire from the connector is hooked to the switch input. You could use a wire eyelet under the mounting bolt to insure a good ground. I would also run it with the power lead to the other light. You can also replace the bulbs with brighter ones. I also replaced the bulb in the Chevy extendable light. I was able to double the light output on all three lights. On my '95 XJ I had to add a ground strap fron the bodt to the hood on eliminate radio interference. :cheers:

The plan if I kept the 231, which I didn't want to do, was to redrill the AW4 to clock the case flatterish. It can be done. But, the input for the 241 is too long. The clocking ring is money... So the first plan would be to see if I can viably shorten the 241 input, or swap the 231 23-spliner I have. I kicked around the idea of a box4rocks, or madrooster, or whatever... I don't know if I can make it fit well, and if I actually want one. I'm going to try this driveline in my XJ first, and the rear axle is staying in the mostly stock location I'm more opposed to buying one because they cost money, and I question the strength of a 241 behind one. Yes, the 241 came stock behind a cummins... That doesn't mean they don't break them. At the same time, it's not like this setup should be much weaker than an upgraded D300. You can get one here for $55.00 http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9096802 Here is a DYI4x4 link for one for $62.00 http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9096802 It shows a good view so I bet you could duplicate it. I hope that might help. :cheers:

They will swap and it is way stronger then a 231 case. You will either need a hack amd tap or a different style HD SYE. Dodge used a 23 and a 29 spline input shaft on a Cumins powered trucks. The input might also be longer so you might need a clocking ring, It will add the needed space and allow you to rotate the transfer case to increase ground clearance. If no spacer is needed you might be able to redrill the trans adapter to clock it higher. Start getting that baby ready to swap. Your 231 would make a good box for rocks underdrive too. :brows: :cheers:

Removing the swaybar induces oversteer. The other XJ I sold ran no swaybars and the rear end would start sliding way before the front. I don't think I was ever able to slide the front on dry pavement. The rear would start sliding so soon I would have spun before I was going fast enough make the front end too slide. I slid the rear end many times with it. My XJ I drift has the largest front sway bar, ZJ Up-Country V-8 front springs, 1.75" spacers and a ten year old R.E. 3" add-a-leafs. It handles neutral and is very balanced. When pushed hard in turns it starts to drift the front and rear at the same time. It handles better then most of the cars I have owned. :cheers:

Mine never looked that good after it go a reman long block. I build them to beat not keep pretty. :brows: I've slowed down, no more mountain biking, motocross, enduro, or street bike racing. No more motorcycles at all. No more snowmobiles or quads. I gave up musky fishing(I've caught 5 over 50"), sold the boat. I gave up 75% of my offroad 4x4 time, now it's easy rides and campfires. Quit being a Mopar Master Tech to work in parts. Now I probably won't work again. I'm hanging a plow on the MJ so I don't have to snowblow but still have a reason to keep the MJ. I still go fast and have fun with the MJ and cars. Too many crashes.When I worked on a pick-up another tech racked it sliped off a hoist leg and hit the rear spring perch directly on top of my head. Worked as a tech for 15 years. I have lifted stupid heavy $#!&. Played as a line backer or full back in school. I could have avoided this, I've crashed at over 100mph a few times and couldn't count all the other crashes. I had my 1st motorcycle at 6 years old and by the time I was 11 years old I had a Maico 450. It was self inflected.... :nuts: :cheers:

My first car was a 310hp 4speed 3.90 geared Cutlass that won tons of cash street racing. :chillin: I drive everything like that. You should have seen me in my 11 second '71 340 4 speed Çuda. I miss that car... I had a '05 SRT-4 ACR that ran 11.94 in the quarter and could hit 162 mph at Road America. :brows: Autocrossing it was a blast too. :D I'm building some rice besides my MJ. I have a '92 Prelude that will have over 400hp, be made to autocross and do some serious track time. ;) I have a buddy who is going to build me a 442ci big block using a 400 block/440 crank stick shift '70 Dart with about 650hp next winter. Drive it like you stole it. :cheers:

Thats the light. How do you keep yor engine compartment so clean? Mine never looked that good. Hopefully the the 4 level fusion will help my lower back. I already have a 4 level neck fusion. When its all said and done I will still have eleven badly degenerated discs left. Eight are in my mid back and they won't touch that area. My neck fusion now has caused the disks above and below it to degenerate enough to eliminate most of the feelings in my hands. All of my discs are degenerated some. I'm told my back is one of the worst cases of wear and tear he has seen in a person that is only 42 years old. They only fix the areas that block the spinal cord and risk severing it. It will never get better, they just keep increasing the pain pillls... Such is life... Now you might understand my signature. I'm going to try to finish my MJ and a Honda Prelude I have. After that I'll be selling about half of my tools and giving up building my own $#!&. If I knew years ago what I know now I would have lived a different life. But I would have missed out on a ton of great memorys. I do what I can while I still can. Thats why I drive the way I do, It's one of my last things I can do. Sliding sideways and driving like I stole it is my motto. Wow that was a long drug induced post.... Time for more meds.... :cheers:

Cut the red boot off and throw it away. It traps dirt and water and will shorten the seal life. Shock boots and stabilizer boots suck. My first Rancho stabilizer lasted a year, I was amazed at the amount of dirt and mud was packed inthe boot. The replacement one is 10 years old and has over 100,000 miles on it and is still like new. I had the same experence with my Rancho shocks too.

I go out to 'Jeepmobile' everytime in snows in my '94 XJ with 3" of lift a rear traclock and 31" BFG AT KO's. I have spent over 3 hours on back roads doing slides at speeds up to 45 mph in the last week. I can't wait for snow and will be going out in our below 0 weather for about a half hour or so tonight yet. WOT 0-45 mph fishtailing blasts are awesome. This isn't Tokyo, but I have been drifting for 25 years in the snow. :brows: I spend more time sideways in the snow on back roads then going straight. I climb on the huge snow piles and just love blasting in snow. :chillin: I drift my XJ on dry pavement too. It's a blast doing a dry pavement drifts coming out of a 25 mph rated 90 degree turn at 55 mph. I do 4 wheel drifts in fulltime 4x4 and 2wd slides on dry pavement all the time. Í'll hang the back end out sideways or 4 wheel drift at 60 mph almost 6-8 times every day on my trip to work. :yes: Rain is just as much fun. :thumbsup: :cheers:

Looks like a good start. :yes: I think I'm just do leafs on mine since it will mainly be my winter beater/snowplow rig now. I have a HP44 and a 9" rear axle already. I will be using springs with military wraps at both eyes. It will also have a bobbed, dove tailed flatbed that might also be a dump bed. In this picture is your rigs full weight on the suspension? If so the shackle angle is too steep which causes a poor ride, limits droop and can cause the spring to invert or kickback so the shackle swings up instead of forward bending the spring. The shackle should be at about 45 degree angle at ride height. The frame shackle mounts should be moved back to correct the angle so it looks like this \ . If it doesn't have weight on it make sure the angle is correct under load. You also might want to use some anti kickback shackles just to protect the springs also. Military wrap springs with wraps at both eyes do a great job of extending and protecting the spring so they will last longer. With 42" tires you should probably rework the front of the inner wheelwell to allow more clearance and up travel when stuffed. You will need to relocate the battery, use a cone style air filter set-up and probably move a few other parts. Here are a few pictures of what I did with the inner fender. Stock picture of the inner fender. Image Not Found The start of the inner fender. Image Not Found From the side looking down under the hood. Image Not Found Under fender view closer showing more progress. Image Not Found Here is a view with the raised flare showing the rear inner fender seam folded outward as much as possible. It will also get a inner fender liner. Image Not Found I even filled the gap at the bodyline on the flare. Some weld in rockrails will eliminate the gap below the flare. Image Not Found I will be tapering the front of the flare and the front of the fenders to gain 2 more inches of clearance. I have cut some of the header panel for more clearance too. My frame will be plated on the inside, outside, bottom and top to the firewall, from there back the inside, outside and bottom of the frame will be plated. The plating will be done using 1/8"steel plate and 1/4" steel plate by the steering gear. Hopefully this will help you out some and give you a few new ideas. :cheers:

Can you post a pic of how your underhood lights are set up Tim? Not right now. I took them all off of my '95 XJ and haven't installed them on the MJ yet.... It's still being torn down so I can swap my '94 XJ engine, trans and finishing the interior. Right now my back is trashed so my projects have no ETA. I'm getting another 4 level back fusion done again in a couple weeks.

It is just a thin magnet that covers the entire base. I didn't know it was a magnetic base until I set it on steel...

About 88-95 C/K1500-3500 pick-ups. Easy find, way longer wire lead and way smaller then the stock one. ;) Be sure to grab the wiring pigtail with a few feet of wire too. :cheers:

I can't let this one go, especially since you offered...so tell us, how do you know? I only ask because I hate clocksprings, especially the ones in small 2 and 4 cycle engines that use recoil starter assemblies. I've been owned more than once by them..... :oops: please share your experience with them, so I can laugh at someone else's misfortune other than mine, for once ;) Jeff Well, the one that I finally decided to try and repair had been jammed by the PO, and after examining it for awhile I drilled out the 5 rivets surrounding the edge of the case, grasped both halfs and pulled hard. The damn clock spring emerged from all sides of the newly created opening and several loops actually sprang right out at my face. Having no idea that the thing was possessed and wanted to slice my nose off (or worse), I abruptly yelled everyone's favorite adjective and threw it towards the ground, which only caused the evil spring to expand even further. When it finally finished flopping around like a beached fish, I grasped it firmly and finished the eviseration. After carefully examining the parts, I noted the clock spring had been contained in a steel circle that had several pieces of steel across it. I re-seated the bent end of the spring, and then proceeded to cut the $h!t out of my fingers trying to feed it back into the "cage". Eventually, I managed to restrain it in the correct position, which could be compared to herding cats. Compared to that feat, the rest of the re-assembly was anticlimatical. Now that I have done it, I will gladly re-build anyone's underhood light that wants me to do so, but understand when I tell you I will wrap the damn thing in a blanket first when I take it apart.... I have a factory light, but have found Chevy pickups use a extendable light on a cord that is long enough to walk all the way around the rig. It's much smaller, has a magnetic base and has a handle on it to roll it back up. It mounts to the fender and has a switch on it to turn it on and off. It also has a swinging latch to hold the light in place and any junkyard should have one. :brows: I use the Chevy light and two mercury style underhood lights. The mercury lights are mounted about two feet apart so they light both sides of the engine bay.

You could do what a some spring makers do, get rid of the bolt and use a BFH to hammer the tabs over so they just bend over the top of them spring pack. Just use another c-clamp to to hold the sides of the retainer tight to the springs. In the picture the spring wrap is bent outward and needs to be bent tight to the spring to keep the leafs from spreading out. My fix would be to cut the retainer at the middle of the bolt hole then weld and flat stock on to extend them. Then I would use so a 3/8" bolt with 2.5" long sleeve and leave about 3/4" space between the main leaf and spacer. I have found this works out good for me. It improves my flex and wheel hop hasn't been an issue.

It was good for a laugh... But there is cheaper entertainment easily found.... :rotf: I could build that myself with better parts, stronger links, a better mounting set-up(crossmember) and still have extra beer money left over after I was done. :cheers:

I did it to my '95 XJ back in '01 and loved it. I want the ability to keep it in 1st gear also. I hate when the trans upshifts out of 1st then bogs the engine and shifts back down. Locking the converter on steep descents in 1st will be nice.

The following is Jeff A's wiring diagram to hold 2nd gear and disable the torque converter lock-up. I used that had one wire hooked up differently somewhere diagram on my old '95 XJ. It always worked perfect for me thou... :nuts: I plan on changing Jeff's design for my MJ. The design will hold 1st or second gear and unlock or lock the torque converter manually or work just like stock.. :brows: I'll post a "how to" when it is done and tested. Here is the following one Jeff made. :thumbsup: :cheers: Image Not Found AW4 Auto Tranny Mods By Jeff A. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am aware of a number of different methods to modify the AW4 Automatic Transmission in Jeep Cherokees. These range from a switch to cut power to the Transmission Control Unit, to a switch box to take the place of the TCU which allows full manual control of all gears and torque converter lockup. For my modifications, however, I came up with two criteria that had to be met. First, I wanted to be able to manually put the tranny in 2nd gear which is all but impossible in the stock configuration and I wanted to be able to shut the torque converter lockup clutch off when lugging up a gradual hill. This ability allows the engine to gain rpm's without downshifting to a lower gear. It can allow you to make the hill without downshifting. As for 2nd gear access, I mainly wanted that when in four-wheel drive low range. Sometimes 1st is too slow and 3rd is too fast. The transmission will automatically shift from 1st to 2nd with the shift lever in the 1/2 position at approximately 4500rpm and will down shift back to first quite violently without any warning as you slow down. With these two criteria in mind, I examined the factory wiring manual, the factory service manual, and all the information I could find on the web. I came up with a relatively simple and safe method to accomplish my tasks. As for shifting, the tranny and TCU use a set of solenoids (Sol1 and Sol2) to shift between 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears. They are turned on and off in a binary manner to affect the shifts. 12V is applied to Sol1 for 1st gear, 12V is applied to Sol1 and Sol2 for 2nd gear, 12V is applied to Sol2 only for 3rd gear and 4th gear has no power applied to either solenoid. My 2nd gear modification uses the fact that when the shift handle is in the 1/2 position, Sol1 is energized automatically and 12V is switched to the C8 input of the TCU. I am tapping off C8 for power to run Sol2 through a switch. In this manner, my switch will only have power running to it if the shift selector is in the 1/2 position. Therefore, if I am in 3 or D positions and accidentally operate the switch, Sol2 will not be energized and the tranny will not do any gear switching. I have also included two diodes to provide protection to the TCU. One of these diodes will not allow power to be applied to the output of the TCU that runs Sol2 (C15). The other diode protects the TCU 1/2 input (C8) from seeing voltage when it shouldn't. The green LED and resistor are run off the other switch pole and provide illumination to indicate that the switch is on. As for dropping out the torque converter lockup clutch, I used the brake input to the TCU (C10). In normal operation, the brake switch is engaged and this line is grounded. When the brakes are applied, this tie to ground is broken by the brake switch returning to its Normally Open position. I broke the line going to C10 and installed a switch. When this switch is operated, the TCU senses that the brakes have been applied and shuts off the torque converter lockup clutch. Again, the Red LED and resistor provide illumination to indicate that the switch is activated. Just for your information, I tried simply breaking the drive for Sol3, which operates the lockup clutch, with a switch, but the TCU didn't like seeing no load and would operate erratically. I even tried to install a separate resistor load, but this didn't work. The brake switch is a better solution anyway. One thing to keep in mind is that the tranny will heat up quite rapidly with the lockup function turned off, so be prudent in the use of this switch. The actual wiring changes were made at the input to the TCU and a harness with disconnect plugs was built to run to the console where the switches and indicators are located. As an update to this writing, I would suggest locating the indicator lights in a different position as they are frequently blocked by my hand or "stuff" in the console by the parking brake handle. These modifications are working quite well for me and I recommend them wholeheartedly. Parts List I got all the parts for this modification from Mouser Electronics (800) 346-6873. Quantity Item Part No. Price Each 2 S1, S2: DPDT rocker switch 629-GRS402216 $1.21 1 LED 1: Green Cylindrical 604-L483GDT $0.18 1 LED 2: Red Cylindrical 604-L483IDT $0.21 2 LED holder 593-CLP126 $0.05 2 Solderless 2.2k ohm LED socket CNX310220 $0.77 2 D1, D2: Diode 583-1N4007 $0.05 Jeff A. :cheers:

The following is Jeff A's wiring diagram to hold 2nd gear and disable the torque converter lock-up. I used that had one wire hooked up differently somewhere diagram on my old '95 XJ. It always worked perfect for me thou... :nuts: I plan on changing Jeff's design for my MJ. The design will hold 1st or second gear and unlock or lock the torque converter manually or work just like stock.. :brows: I'll post a "how to" when it is done and tested. Here is the following one Jeff made. :thumbsup: :cheers: Image Not Found AW4 Auto Tranny Mods By Jeff A. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am aware of a number of different methods to modify the AW4 Automatic Transmission in Jeep Cherokees. These range from a switch to cut power to the Transmission Control Unit, to a switch box to take the place of the TCU which allows full manual control of all gears and torque converter lockup. For my modifications, however, I came up with two criteria that had to be met. First, I wanted to be able to manually put the tranny in 2nd gear which is all but impossible in the stock configuration and I wanted to be able to shut the torque converter lockup clutch off when lugging up a gradual hill. This ability allows the engine to gain rpm's without downshifting to a lower gear. It can allow you to make the hill without downshifting. As for 2nd gear access, I mainly wanted that when in four-wheel drive low range. Sometimes 1st is too slow and 3rd is too fast. The transmission will automatically shift from 1st to 2nd with the shift lever in the 1/2 position at approximately 4500rpm and will down shift back to first quite violently without any warning as you slow down. With these two criteria in mind, I examined the factory wiring manual, the factory service manual, and all the information I could find on the web. I came up with a relatively simple and safe method to accomplish my tasks. As for shifting, the tranny and TCU use a set of solenoids (Sol1 and Sol2) to shift between 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears. They are turned on and off in a binary manner to affect the shifts. 12V is applied to Sol1 for 1st gear, 12V is applied to Sol1 and Sol2 for 2nd gear, 12V is applied to Sol2 only for 3rd gear and 4th gear has no power applied to either solenoid. My 2nd gear modification uses the fact that when the shift handle is in the 1/2 position, Sol1 is energized automatically and 12V is switched to the C8 input of the TCU. I am tapping off C8 for power to run Sol2 through a switch. In this manner, my switch will only have power running to it if the shift selector is in the 1/2 position. Therefore, if I am in 3 or D positions and accidentally operate the switch, Sol2 will not be energized and the tranny will not do any gear switching. I have also included two diodes to provide protection to the TCU. One of these diodes will not allow power to be applied to the output of the TCU that runs Sol2 (C15). The other diode protects the TCU 1/2 input (C8) from seeing voltage when it shouldn't. The green LED and resistor are run off the other switch pole and provide illumination to indicate that the switch is on. As for dropping out the torque converter lockup clutch, I used the brake input to the TCU (C10). In normal operation, the brake switch is engaged and this line is grounded. When the brakes are applied, this tie to ground is broken by the brake switch returning to its Normally Open position. I broke the line going to C10 and installed a switch. When this switch is operated, the TCU senses that the brakes have been applied and shuts off the torque converter lockup clutch. Again, the Red LED and resistor provide illumination to indicate that the switch is activated. Just for your information, I tried simply breaking the drive for Sol3, which operates the lockup clutch, with a switch, but the TCU didn't like seeing no load and would operate erratically. I even tried to install a separate resistor load, but this didn't work. The brake switch is a better solution anyway. One thing to keep in mind is that the tranny will heat up quite rapidly with the lockup function turned off, so be prudent in the use of this switch. The actual wiring changes were made at the input to the TCU and a harness with disconnect plugs was built to run to the console where the switches and indicators are located. As an update to this writing, I would suggest locating the indicator lights in a different position as they are frequently blocked by my hand or "stuff" in the console by the parking brake handle. These modifications are working quite well for me and I recommend them wholeheartedly. Parts List I got all the parts for this modification from Mouser Electronics (800) 346-6873. Quantity Item Part No. Price Each 2 S1, S2: DPDT rocker switch 629-GRS402216 $1.21 1 LED 1: Green Cylindrical 604-L483GDT $0.18 1 LED 2: Red Cylindrical 604-L483IDT $0.21 2 LED holder 593-CLP126 $0.05 2 Solderless 2.2k ohm LED socket CNX310220 $0.77 2 D1, D2: Diode 583-1N4007 $0.05 Jeff A.

Mine looks like that when I change over from the blue washer fluid to the yellow washer fluid I use in the winter time. The yellow has a lower freezing point and is a deicer. Who knows it could be that or P/O was a few cards short of a deck... :nuts: Right now mine looks like I pissed in the bottle... :rotfl2: :cheers:

MJ flares can be raised as needed. Front XJ flares are the same size. Gaps can be filled by adding a piece of another flare to the flare you are using. I have played around with MJ/XJ flares and it amazed me how well it looks. Here is an idea of what can be done on a MJ. :brows: Side view Image Not Found Fit at front body line Image Not Found Fit at rear bodyline and filled gap Image Not Found Tire coverage with 33x10.50-15 on 15x7 rims with 4" of backspacing Image Not Found Another view showing the 11" of clearance over the 33" tire with 6" of lift Image Not Found Here are some pictures of what can be done to the rear of a XJ. Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found Here is a picture of a front flare I only raised to the first body line. Image Not Found Here is some pictures of how I fill the gap. Large [/img] Image Not Found Small Image Not Found Image Not Found I found MJ/XJ flares are easy to work with. I would think they can be adapted to work on an Explorer. :cheers:

Looks great compared to the before pictures. Nice makeover. :cheers:

Waiting for the new pictures, are you upgrading your PJ's too??? :cheers:

You have those service manuals and the parts catalogs on the disc I gave you...... :yes: