Bounty Hunter

CAD- Central Axle Disconnect (it's found on the pass. side of many jeep front axles, controlled by vacuum). XJ's (Cherokee's) make great donors, just about everything with the drivetrain is a direct bolt-in from similar years. A non-working ebrake could be as simple as adjusting the rear brake shoes, or replacing worn brake shoes. Otherwise it could be bad ebrake cables, which are an inexpesive replacement from the parts stores. XJ ebrake cables are quite a bit different. Both longbed and shortbed MJ's use the same ebrake cables on both sides.

Approach angle will likely be the same, as the spring hanger will have to be in the same position the shackle was in to provide the same steering geometry. You get a smoother onroad ride, but you lose traction while offroad. The tire will move slightly rearward as an obstacle is encountered and the spring compresses, unloading traction from the tire. In stock trim, the tire moves forward as the spring compresses and improves downforce and traction on the obstacle. Give and take, you want a better road ride or more traction offroad? The right way to do this is to sleeve the frame behind the axle to hang the shackle from, merely bolting a shackle hanger below the frame doesn't cut it. Mounting the shackle too low will greatly reduce your ground clearance, FUBAR's the steering geometry, and is downright FUGLY.

I'd like to swap a bench into mine for the same reason, and adding a center belt. Don't see swapping that direction very often.

Or it's another one of thousands of ebay/internet scams out there.

How do the 2wd and 4wd AX15's differ at the tailshaft? Is it simply a bolt-on slipyoke in the 2wd model that can be removed for adding a transfer case? Or does one need an entirely different tranny for 4wd? Reason I ask these questions, you may not be able to go to the AX15 and 2wd and be able to use the same tranny for 4wd.

Beautiful................country for sure :shock:

Any close-ups of the, err, uh,........truck :oops:

5.5" or 6" coils in the front is a good match for SOA in the rear with stock springs. It'll fit 33" well but may take some trimming for 35" tires. I'd guess the 20 is worth about $100, maybe $150 tops. It's a strong axle but very underrated and unpopular due to the bad rap of CJ AMC20's.

Pete, how far down would your bumper need to be in order to use the tailgate? Considering 2"x4" stock, may have to make some drop brackets if possible.

Rusty's makes a XJ Bpillar hoop that attaches to the seatbelt upper mounts. Might be something to start with.

You'll have to check for clearance issues at the radiator and at the firewall, the 2.5L engine bay may not be long enough for the 4.0L. Worse case scenario is you'll have to swap out the entire radiator support assembly for the 4.0L setup.

In a situation where a non-disco axle would not have bent?

I agree, i've seen these fail on non-disco axles. Another reason the cast mount makes the disco axle a viable option.

I hadn't noticed that at first glance, sweet :twisted:

The FSM is the way to go. I've got a link to one online if you want to send me an email at bountyhunter@sija.org , it's for the '88 like yours and mine.

Don't use a TJ D30, it's low pinion and a weaker R&P setup than the HP D30 in XJ's. Then swap in 297x shafts if it doesn't have them already.

I like the color.

$125 here, PO let it go to a shop for what he owed in labor, then I paid the shop bill. '88 4wd 4.0L shortbed auto :D

I'd do a full length AAL, just one. Get it from another MJ or a donor with the same or more arch as unloaded MJ leaves. There are a lot of 2.5" wide donor leaf packs out there. You can cut eyes off the main leaf if you want the longest possible AAL.

SOA, 5.5" coils, and 32" tires:

Simply shift the AW4 with a switch like what's sold over on the Naxja forums. You control torque converter lockup manually as well.

2.5L manual is generally 4.10 gears, but Jeep often interchanged the 3.73 and 4.10 without much reason.

Yes, it's much easier to swap out the entire axle. Consider going to 3.73 from a 2.5L auto, as 3.07 to 3.55 isn't much of a jump to justify the time and money.

Yes.

What maintenance can be done?