1990 Rebirth ('97 Conversion)

[Rockdrummer93]

My question is do you know how much lift you actually acquired. I'm going to do SOA on mine and 35s, but still not sure what size coils to order. I see people ordering coils from 5.5 to 6.5 when doing SOA, and I see you used a 4.5 coil with the spacers. And do you have to use 2WD leaf? mine has 4WD leafs, will that be more or less lift then a 2WD leaf?

 

I know you didn't ask me, but here's my set up for some reference, it sits with a 1" rake.

 

6.5" Rustys coils, RC drop brackets, stock control arms, 4wd leafs, C8.25 SOA and RC shackles(they're about the same length as the MJ ones.)

 

I have 6.5 in the front and 7.5 in the rear.

 

Thanks

[Rymanrph]

The AW-4 is longer than the AX-15 as well, so if you swap for the longer slip yoke and go from there...you'd probably be better off. You might just save yourself 500$ on parts you shouldn't need.

 

You're right and that's why I had to swap in the first place. I found it in my spares box, so I just have to swap it over and see if its going to work.

 

Since I had to remove the dash and heater box to replace the evaporator core, I wanted to see if I could figure out why my floor area (lower part of the cab) would get so hot while driving. I have insulation on the floor itself, so I couldn't figure out why it was getting so hot. I'm not sure if this is the only reason, but something I found while removing the heater box is that my opening in the firewall had a large gap where the '97 gasket didn't fill the original hole. I'm not sure why I didn't notice how large it was when I originally installed it.

 

I still had my original heater box so I pull the gasket off of it. Its bigger but the holes for the evaporator core are in a different spot (the heater core holes are correct). So I decided to cut both gaskets up and make one. If I were doing the '97 swap again, I would probably take the time to swap this portion of the firewall as well.

 

 

Its not perfect, but I hope it works better than what I had before. The heater box is back in and the dash is reconnected. Now I just have to plug everything up and make sure it all works.

[Rymanrph]

Here is what I started with:

 

 

Here is the longer slip yoke installed:

 

 

It gained me about 5/8". I'd like to have a little more coverage on the splines, but I took it up the street. I'm not convinced its completely cured, but it sure seemed much smoother. I also worked on my exhaust to keep it from rattling on the transmission cross member. I obviously got the dash and heating/ac system back together. I replaced a tie rod end on the drag link as well.

 

I'm headed to the pull a part tomorrow to pick up a couple needed items, but I think I'll take my tape measure and see if I can find another longer slip yoke.

 

I also picked up some Chevy drop shackles today to hopefully even out the rear and re-center the wheels in the flares. I didn't get time to install them, but today was still pretty productive.

[Rymanrph]

My rear pinion seal was leaking like crazy after the gears, so I took it back to the shop. The yoke wasn't spaced correctly, so it was interfering. The shop quickly made a spacer and all should be well. I asked him to take a look at my pinion angle and he said it might actually be a little low at the moment, so I'm going to install the new shackles this weekend and hopes that they rotate the pinion up a bit more.

 

I also was able to see the axle at full droop on their lift. At full droop, the drive shaft is just at the end of the splines. Until I get a longer shaft, this truck will only see pavement. With a little luck, I think I might be able to use a stock shaft from a long bed Comanche (if I can find one).

 

Although, if I still have vibes after installing the shackles, I may not have a choice but to get the SYE and CV drive shaft which I'm trying to avoid since it will be over $500. I'm ready to move from the spending/wrenching phase to the driving/wheeling/enjoying phase.

[Rymanrph]

As I've stated before, my wheels are no longer centered in my fender flares in the rear as you can see in this picture:

 

 

When I went back and looked at my mock up, the wheels were centered.

 

 

These are the same springs just sitting on a different axle. How is that? Is it even possible to install the springs backward? :hmm:

[shelbyluvv]

These are the same springs just sitting on a different axle. How is that? Is it even possible to install the springs backward? :hmm:

 

You can. It will shove the axle back about a foot though.

[Rymanrph]

I checked at lunch and my springs are definitely installed the correct way. I guess they are just worn out and really flat.

[Abyx]

Are you running a Cherokee drive shaft?

[Rymanrph]

Are you running a Cherokee drive shaft?

 

Yeah, I'm running a 2wd auto XJ shaft. I measured yesterday and its about 40.50" from u-joint centers. I have about 1.5" of splines showing on the output shaft at ride height. Looks like this might be a good replacement:

 

swb,_4.0,____aw4,__________np231,___d44= 41.25"__d35= 42.35"

 

Now I just need to find one.

[Rymanrph]

I got the perches on this weekend and it leveled the truck out nicely. I think my vibes are a little worse, but I don't know if that's because the pinion angle changed or because my drive shaft is that much shorter now. I'll get some pictures this evening.

 

I thought I'd make a list of all the parts that are still original to the truck just for fun.

 

Hood

Cowl

Power Steering Box

Drip Rails

Interior Plastics (A pillars, rockers, one B pillar, rear cab piece)

Brake Proportioning Valve

Tail Light Bulb Sockets

Some Brake Hard Lines

Rear Leaf Springs (SOA now)

Rear Bumper Mounts

Cab

Bed

 

I think that's about it. With everything I've swapped out, I could probably just build another truck.

[Rymanrph]

Here is a picture of the stance with the new shackles installed. Not a huge difference.

 

[Rymanrph]

I had the week off, so I took a ~2 hour drive down to Carolina Driveline. I wanted to get their opinion on what would best suit my truck. I could have talked to them over the phone, but I wanted them to look at my truck, my drive line angles, etc. and really have a "professional" opinion for whatever that's worth. The result is this:

 

 

The slip will stay on the yoke at the transfer case, but there is a double joint and then a regular single joint at the axle end. I also ordered some smaller shims that should be here the first of the week. This wasn't as expensive as a SYE for the 242 and should cure my vibes.

 

On another note, I want to set fire to my transfer case linkage. I have the 242 so I can use it on the street, but almost every time I try, I can't get it to go into gear correctly. If its in 2wd, it will go into part-time 4 hi, but then won't go into full-time 4 hi before hitting the gate. I can go into neutral, but hit the back of the gate before it will go into 4wd low. If I adjust so that I can get into 4 low, then I can't get it back into 2wd. Oh and it likes to grind between gears randomly too. Is the Novak cable shifter really worth $170?

[ryno56]

Are you sure you have the right gate for a 242? What you describe almost sounds like trying to find 242 gears in a 231 gate.

[knever3]

On another note, I want to set fire to my transfer case linkage. I have the 242 so I can use it on the street, but almost every time I try, I can't get it to go into gear correctly. If its in 2wd, it will go into part-time 4 hi, but then won't go into full-time 4 hi before hitting the gate. I can go into neutral, but hit the back of the gate before it will go into 4wd low. If I adjust so that I can get into 4 low, then I can't get it back into 2wd. Oh and it likes to grind between gears randomly too. Is the Novak cable shifter really worth $170?

 

 

 

I bought the Novak shifter cable for my 242. The installation instructions are very good and the build quality is excellent. That said I have the same problem as you are having WITH the cable shifter installed!! I had the normal linkage in the Donor truck and I tossed it because I didn't want to mess with all the brackets and busings. After grinding gears and not finding the right ones I finally pulled the transfer case and inspected the internals. I found the shift fork pads were GONE and the range fork was chewed up beyond repair. I ordered a new range fork and pads from Morris 4x4 (which are awesome to deal with by the way) and I got it to shift great (manually) afterwards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only problem I had was I coudn't get the selections to line up with the gate pattern. Also I can't seem to get the entire range of the selections to work properly, mainly if I adjust the cable jam nuts to their respective limits I can either have 2wd or 4low. I can't have both! I called Novak and they have never heard of that before. They wanted me to take pictures to send them to troubleshoot. They seem like they will fix my problem but as I see it the cable doesn't have enough travel for the 242. Either that or the cam that mountss to the shifter on the case is the wrong size. If it were shorter there could be more travel.

 

I can give you an update on my situation and take pictures or video so you can get a heads up on the fix and your next possible purchase.

[Rymanrph]

Are you sure you have the right gate for a 242? What you describe almost sounds like trying to find 242 gears in a 231 gate.

 

Yeah, I pulled the whole assembly from a JY XJ. I swapped a '97 231 handle on it, but I can't imagine that would make a difference. I assume the handles were the same for the 231 and 242.

 

After grinding gears and not finding the right ones I finally pulled the transfer case and inspected the internals. I found the shift fork pads were GONE and the range fork was chewed up beyond repair. I ordered a new range fork and pads from Morris 4x4 (which are awesome to deal with by the way) and I got it to shift great (manually) afterwards.

 

I'm afraid this might actually be my issue. One day last week I drove about a 1/4 mile in 4wd with the rear drive shaft removed. A couple times I experienced what I can only describe as a slip. I wasn't moving very fast, but it made an audible sound and lost acceleration temporarily. I just put it back in 2wd and re-installed the drive shaft. I'm afraid that internally, it has some major issues.

[adam518]

I bought the Novak shifter cable for my 242. The installation instructions are very good and the build quality is excellent. That said I have the same problem as you are having WITH the cable shifter installed!! I had the normal linkage in the Donor truck and I tossed it because I didn't want to mess with all the brackets and busings. After grinding gears and not finding the right ones I finally pulled the transfer case and inspected the internals. I found the shift fork pads were GONE and the range fork was chewed up beyond repair. I ordered a new range fork and pads from Morris 4x4 (which are awesome to deal with by the way) and I got it to shift great (manually) afterwards.

 

 

The only problem I had was I coudn't get the selections to line up with the gate pattern. Also I can't seem to get the entire range of the selections to work properly, mainly if I adjust the cable jam nuts to their respective limits I can either have 2wd or 4low. I can't have both! I called Novak and they have never heard of that before. They wanted me to take pictures to send them to troubleshoot. They seem like they will fix my problem but as I see it the cable doesn't have enough travel for the 242. Either that or the cam that mountss to the shifter on the case is the wrong size. If it were shorter there could be more travel.

 

I can give you an update on my situation and take pictures or video so you can get a heads up on the fix and your next possible purchase.

 

I Installed the Novak cable kit in my truck, but I have a 231. Initially, I had the same problem. I could adjust it to get 2wd or 4wd low, but not both. After some playing with it for a bit, I finally was able to get it adjusted properly and now have positive shifting al the way from 2-hi to 4-lo. I will say that tiny adjustments made a big difference...at least for me.

 

BTW, I had problems with my install, though different. I called Novak and it turned out I was also the only one to ever have a problem with their install. Later, someone commented on my build thread that they had the same problem, called Novak and guess what...it seems as though they were the first one with the problem...I suppose they forgot about me. It wasn't a big deal to fix, but is seems like a common theme.

[COFFMAN]

Looking good Ryan, How do you find the long arms.

 

Give us the drum man

[Rymanrph]

Looking good Ryan, How do you find the long arms.

 

Give us the drum man

 

I couldn't really tell you yet. I just ordered some tow hooks today for recovery purposes and I'll be taking the truck on its maiden off-road voyage hopefully in a couple weeks. I'm anxious to see how it does.

[JeepJohn]

Your MJ is looking great! Love your attention to detail. :bowdown: Too bad They never let a MJ equiped like that from the factory.

[sherpa]

I couldn't really tell you yet. I just ordered some tow hooks today for recovery purposes and I'll be taking the truck on its maiden off-road voyage hopefully in a couple weeks. I'm anxious to see how it does.

 

If you have it up and going next weekend I'm taking a small group to URE. Would love to see it in person

[Rymanrph]

Before I take the truck to Uwharrie next weekend, I wanted to get it all clean. I actually put some fresh undercoating on the frame rails today. I've been meaning to do that since it was painted.

 

[Comanche County]

So nice, such a cool truck!

[huricane4]

My favorite Comanche! So beutiful

[heralue]

Sweetest MJ i ever seen !!

[Comanche County]

But where are all the dents and scratches? :dunno: