onebigmj Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Last winter I bought this 87 sportruck for $350. I had been trying to track the owner down for a year and the finally put a for sale sign and a # on it. It had been sitting in a field for about 2years when I got to it. threw some gas in it and jumped the battery and it fired up and drove it home. Its a 2.5 with about 179k on it and was an Ax4. This is what it looked like when I brought it home. Only a little rust on the drivers floor. Other than that none, anywhere. Lots of dents and scratches and minor problems. Here you can see where the previous owner tried to pry the hood open when the latche broke, ruining the very nice original hood and fender. here's an interior shot. Seat is junk, floor mat is junk, all the plastic is junk. The guy I bought it off tried putting a "system" in it and hacked the inside of the cab behind the seat to put two junk subwoofers in it. Random wires everwhere that went to nothing. All kinds of good stuff. A more recent pic of it. I thought the clutch was going out of it so I figured It was a perfect time to start swapping in the Ax5 231 combo I got off Smithe1811, thanks by the way. When I pulled the trans the clutch was like new but there was a rats nest in the pressure plate. I was to busy to take pics of the work I did and when I finally did go to take some pics my camera gave up the ghost. After I got the old trany out I got caught up in other projects and it sat for about 4months till I got sick of looking at it. In the last month I got the floor fixed and sealed inside and out the new clutch in, the trany and transferecase, converted it from manual to power steering, and a bunch ofter stuff while working 50hrs a week. Its on the road again but still need to do alot of stuff. Need to get a shifter and linkage for the 4wd swap in the new to me axles and lift, interior etc. Its on the road again for now so that makes me happy. My 2008 colorados gonna collect dust now. I have to take some pics of it tomorrow to show what I've done. I'll keep taking pics when I make progress. here's what the truck looks like as of today. You can see the smittybuilt bumper I bought off a comanche club member. Some pics to show how the floor turned out. You can see the the new to me Ax5 and 231. Still have to do soa on my rear axle so I can install my lift. Approximately 6in. Still need shocks and tires to. here's a pic of my trimmed fenders with my "new" bumper. Not exactly what I wanted but not bad for $40. Update. Finally got my 4wd conversion done. Would have been quicker but I wanted to paint everything before putting it together. Unfrotunately my camera broke and I didnt get alot of pics. I needed truck parts more than a new camera. I was going to use a set of axles with 4.10 gears out of an 88 comanche but I decided to go with 4.56 and a wagoneer axle without the CAD and front and rear aussie lockers. Glad I went with the 4.56s , I don't think my fourbanger could have turned the 33s without them. My lift ended up higher than I expected so I'm gonna need to get drop brackets for the control arms. Hopefully that straightens out some of the issues I'm having. I got a couple bad pics with my cellphone in a carwash. Hopefully I can get some better ones tomorrow. As it sits the truck has about 7in of lift with motionoffroad lts shocks. Dana 30/35 with 4.56s and aussie lockers. Now I need to staighten out all the other issues. Some lights don't work, no horn, the window seals leak etc. The truck isn't really roadworthy yet but for the first time in a while it moves under its own power. Sorry if everything I wrote sounds clumsy and not well thought out. Thanks for looking Got some new pics of the truck cleaned up. Made alot of progress. Started replacing my exhaust manifold gasket and ended up doing my timing chain too. I think the previous owner put a motor in the truck and messed up the wiring to some sensors. Got the wires straightened out, replaced the map sensor, the coil, the intake air temp sensor, and the plugs and wires. It made a huge difference. It doesn't fall on its face under acceleration, idles smooth, runs great(for a 2.5) and is much quieter. My friend has a wrangler with a jasper 2.5 and the motor in my truck is quieter and runs better. Here are some pics. The truck looks much better in the pics than it actually is. You can see how far the tires are shifted to the back of the wheel wells. Badly need drop brackets for the control arms. here's a pic of my rearend and my shock setup. I know dana 35 blah blah blah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLHTAZ Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Good work. Glad to see another one saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithe1811 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Good to see it out and about Jordan. Maybe next time you make a parts run up here you can use that instead of stuffing half of a comanche into the back of/on top of an XJ.The truck looks awsome though, keep it up! Erik :beerhead: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Glad I went with the 4.56s , I don't think my fourbanger could have turned the 33s without them. I rolled my MJ for awhile with 33's and 4.56's (AX5, 2.5 as well). It's functional, but brings the suck on the interstate. Like a mule in 4LO, though Then I swapped a 4.0 in, and had too much gear for the highway. Now I'm on 35's and it's just about perfect..... Good job on the swap :cheers: Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebigmj Posted December 25, 2008 Author Share Posted December 25, 2008 Thanks. The 2.5 is pretty unimpressive but it will do for now. After I get it driving a little nicer and get a chance to enjoy it where gonna drop a 318 in it. Was thinking about a 4.0 but decided on a v8 instead, hard to beat the sound. Nice job on your truck by the way. Reminds me alot of mine, except nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drahcir495 Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Wow, you got a lot done on one page ;) . Too bad about the original hood and fender :nuts: . The PO obviously was not a member of CC, or he would have read the "what to do if you hood latch breaks" sticky. MJ looks great and love the black interior :cheers: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebigmj Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Small update. I was talking about doing a 318 swap in my truck but another option just turned up. My friend just rolled his 96xj not one hour after we finished setting up the gears in the frontend so I get the 4.0h.o,ax15 np231 and all the asociated wiring, column, etc. and the dual diaphram brakes all in excellent working order. It will definetly be a project. Here are some pics of the jeep. I'm sure your all saying cut off the roof and cage it but the jeep is shot. A huge section of the unibody has already been replaced and the floors are gone. Gonna find a good body and throw the axles and longarms in it. Just started tearing it apart. I'll get some pics when I make some worthwhile progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 4.0 swap, physically is an easy job but there's a few things you need to address (frame horns, fuel lines, radiator, etc). Not sure on the wiring issues you may run into, but you may need to swap the XJ interior harness from the 96 and graft it into your MJ cab harness to make it all work. If I can help ya, lemme know. My swap was Renix/Renix and was super easy...but not so sure on Renix-to-HO. You are guaranteed to love the dual-diapraghm booster, too. Probably the best mod I ever did to mine..... Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebigmj Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 4.0 swap, physically is an easy job but there's a few things you need to address (frame horns, fuel lines, radiator, etc). Not sure on the wiring issues you may run into, but you may need to swap the XJ interior harness from the 96 and graft it into your MJ cab harness to make it all work. If I can help ya, lemme know. My swap was Renix/Renix and was super easy...but not so sure on Renix-to-HO. You are guaranteed to love the dual-diapraghm booster, too. Probably the best mod I ever did to mine..... Jeff What about the frame horns needs to be changed? I was considering doing the renix swap because I have a truck with all the parts but I figured I'd give the H.O swap a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 regardless of Renix or HO, you need to grab the frame horns from the donor vehicle....the 2.5 ones are different than the 4.0 ones. Unlike YJ/TJ's, the XJ/MJ horns bolt onto the framerails (not welded). All the necessary bolt holes/studs are there to swap them on, just bolt them in and go :yes: Oh, and also grab the 4.0 motor mounts....the 2.5 ones look similar but they won't work. They are too short. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithe1811 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 That sucks, is that the guy that came to pick up the interior with ya? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebigmj Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 That sucks, is that the guy that came to pick up the interior with ya? Yeah that has him. He was talking about getting different jeep anyway so its not to big a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithe1811 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 hes ok though right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebigmj Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Well plans just changed. The kid decided that he doesn't want to sell me the parts. I'm not quite sure why but I'm hoping I can still get the 96 brake booster of him. It's not a huge deal and I'm sure he has his reasons. I think I'm going to go back to my original plan and put a 318 in it. I already have a line on one out of a 93 grand for $80. Also thanks 87mjeff for offering your advice. I really do appreciate it and sorry for wasting your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdesigns Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Hey man, whats the specs on that XJ lift and your MJ?? They both have a nice rake to them,, more so on the XJ... I like the raked look better for some reason... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebigmj Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 The mj has about 7in with short arms soa in the rear with 1.75in blocks, the xj has about 6 with an ironrock longarm on it with 4.5in leafs and a shackle. They both actually sit lower in the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onebigmj Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 Small update. Got a set of RE drop brakets on the truck and adjustable upper and lower control arms. Got a new set of wheels to but I'm not sure if I'm gonna keep them or not. here's the most recent pic of it as it sits. Gotta sell my car then its going under the knife again. Never ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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