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My first Pick'n'Pull experience


terrawombat
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I've been telling myself for weeks that I need to check out the local pick'n'pulls to see what they've got. The only time I ever went to one was with my Dad when I was much younger and I think we were looking for a drivers mirror for his GMC Sierra. This was the first time that I went to one with my own agenda. The task was simple, obtain the following parts for my MJ Pioneer:

 

Seat belt buckles out of an XJ (for my bucket seat conversion)

Center console and all mounting brackets

Full gauge cluster

Sun visors and clips

Power/Comfort trans switch

 

The place I went to is called Junkyard Barbie in Morrisville, PA. They stayed true to their name and painted their office pink. I pay the $1.00 admission and talk to the guy for a bit and then check out the map of the yard. I knew I was in the right place when the map was labeled, "Fords, Chrysler, Imports, SUVs, Trucks, Cherokees." They had a whole section devoted to Jeeps and although this yard isn't that large, they had about 9 XJ's to pick from, most of them in the '88 to '95 year range and one '97+. They also had an '83 Wagoneer, but the axles were missing, although they left the rear springs. I thought I read somewhere that those springs can be used on our MJs - I'll have to look into it further.

 

 

 

As I was picking through the XJs getting my parts, I took a little break and scanned the yard when I turned around and saw this:

 

 

An '89 (I think) MJ SporTruck 2wd w/4.0L and 5-speed. The interior was pretty much all intact minus the B-pillar lights and best of all, the headliner was there and in GREAT shape. I was running really short on time as I had to meet someone an hour south for a possible addition to my vehicle fleet so I didn't get too much. I'm going to go back and try to pull every MJ-specific part that I can. The tailgate and rear bumper were gone as was one of the headlights. The other headlight was there but had a small chip. I'm going to take it anyway as it's relatively minor and can be used as a good spare. The passenger B-pillar plastic had a big crack in it, but the drivers side looked good. The interior was exceptionally clean and I'm thinking about yanking the vinyl floormat if I get that far. Someone pulled the D35 rear, but then just left it sitting behind the truck, but I think they took the shock mounts. The paint on the truck still shined and was a lot better than mine - only a couple spots of fading - truck only had 141K miles on it...too bad. I'll also grab the VIN when I go back to add it to the registry.

 

All in all, a fun day that was prematurely cut short. I rushed and missed a lot of stuff so I'm going to try and go back Saturday. What I did get was:

 

MJ headliner

Sunvisors

Sunvisor clips

XJ center console

Power/Comfort trans switch

97+ front door weatherstripping

Rear plastic piece that goes between the B-pillars

Full gauge cluster

XJ seat belt buckles

Rod that goes between the rear axle and load sensing valve

As many interior screws as I could throw in my toolbox

 

They charged me $60 for all of it, which I thought was decent - mainly for the good headliner. That was my favorite snag of the day.

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It may be a Cryco 8.25 from a nearby XJ, but I didn't take a long time to look at it. I'm going to tape the rear diff. cover plate labeled picture to the top of my toolbox so I know what to look for. One thing I'm certain of - it wasn't a D44. When I go back I'll take another look. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to pick it up if it's an 8.25 in decent shape considering I have a D35 waiting to blow up on me. Plus, someone did all the hard work of pulling it out!

 

Was it possible to get a D44 in a 2WD 5-speed MJ?

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It may be a Cryco 8.25 from a nearby XJ, but I didn't take a long time to look at it. I'm going to tape the rear diff. cover plate labeled picture to the top of my toolbox so I know what to look for. One thing I'm certain of - it wasn't a D44. When I go back I'll take another look. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to pick it up if it's an 8.25 in decent shape considering I have a D35 waiting to blow up on me. Plus, someone did all the hard work of pulling it out!

 

Was it possible to get a D44 in a 2WD 5-speed MJ?

 

Anything is possible. JeepcoMJ found a D44 in a SWB 4.0L auto 2WD. Few members have found them in the 5 speed flavor in '91/'92.

 

Rob L.

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Oval is D35. Round is M20. Stops sign (sorta) shape is D44 (looks like a bigger brother to the front diff) and I forget the Mopar shape other than the tubes are HUGE (I recently got one for the Eagle I am building. The hubs on it are already spinning)

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You need to remember too, that being a junkyard, it COULD be completely unrelated to the truck.

 

Yes, this is true, but the spring perches were placed right about where MJs ones are located. I'm going to head back there one of these days, possibly even before work, to grab a few more items that I missed and I'll be sure to take my camera with me.

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If it looks like it's hiding a basketball, it's an M20. Note the curled up lip around the outer edge of the Chrysler cover. That's how I tell it from a D35 at quick glance.

same, another good way is that an 8.25 has a flat lower lip on the housing casting, so the casting sticks out from behind the cover at about 5 and 7 oclock.

 

You need to remember too, that being a junkyard, it COULD be completely unrelated to the truck.

 

Yes, this is true, but the spring perches were placed right about where MJs ones are located. I'm going to head back there one of these days, possibly even before work, to grab a few more items that I missed and I'll be sure to take my camera with me.

spring-under or spring-over perches?

 

if it's spring under it may have come from the MJ as a stock app or it could be from some other dodgemobile (I think a few dodge SUVs use the 8.25 in a SUA config, not sure) while if it is spring-over, it was either from an XJ or was from the MJ but installed aftermarket.

 

EDIT: http://www.allthingsjeep.com/atj11127.html best junkyarding tshirt ever

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It may be a Cryco 8.25 from a nearby XJ, but I didn't take a long time to look at it. I'm going to tape the rear diff. cover plate labeled picture to the top of my toolbox so I know what to look for. One thing I'm certain of - it wasn't a D44. When I go back I'll take another look. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to pick it up if it's an 8.25 in decent shape considering I have a D35 waiting to blow up on me. Plus, someone did all the hard work of pulling it out!

 

Was it possible to get a D44 in a 2WD 5-speed MJ?

 

My truck is a 2WD 5-speed mj with a D-44 :yes:

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Went back today - axle was a D35 from that MJ. Thought they took the shock mounts, but they were under the truck - took those as my shock mounts are busted on my MJ SporTruck. I'm actually not sure what was taken from the thing since all of the parts were there...

 

Got a set of 97+ mirrors in good shape, cruise control from a '98XJ and the steering wheel buttons. A bunch of misc. 97+ interior parts for my XJs. Also went to another yard down the street that had TWO MJs in their yard. Didn't take anything from either, but there are some decent parts on them if anyone needs maroon or tan interior pieces. The one MJ had a very interesting paintjob...

 

 

Maybe I should have held out for this headliner? LOL

 

 

The other had some sort of battering ram device attached to the front. The outside of this MJ was beat to hell

 

 

 

Both MJs were 4-cyl. 5-speeds. I think they were both 2WD.

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