Lots Of Questions On 1986 Mj

[SBpunk]

Hello everyone its been awhile. Got caught up in the JKU phase but now that I'm over it I'm searching for another MJ. There is one within driving distance from where I live but its a 1986 with the 2.8 motor. Its an automatic with column shift and not sure on the axles. Anyways I had a few questions.

 

1. Is the column shift going to interfere with swapping in an AW4 floor shift trans?

2. I'm assuming if I grab a 98 XJ I can swap in everything motor and driveline wise with the exception of the rear drive shaft? The output shaft on that late of a model AW4 should be a differnt size right?

3: Will the transfercase (not even sure which one it is) bolt up to a newer AW4? Just asking incase I grab a 2wd XJ for parts. Or were the transmissions different in 2wd than 4wd?

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions but I'm just trying to see if its worth the 3 hour drive to go look at it. Thanks

 

 

 

[onlyinajeep726]

I don't believe the transfer case from the Torque Flite tranny will work on a newer AW4...  Besides, the NP207 is okay, but a 231 is much more favorable.  Also, if you're swapping everything from a donor XJ, you will need one that is 4WD because the 2WD AW4 and 4WD AW4 are different.  On an '86, you will likely have to smash the firewall back some and the headlight buckets will have to be modified to accommodate the 4.0L radiator (which means cutting, welding and fabricating brackets to hold the rad in place).  The tranny cross member will also have to be custom bolted on because the '86 wasn't pre-drilled or pre-studded with places to bolt to for the different drivetrain packages from '87+.  The wiring harness from the XJ will have to be swapped to the MJ.  Since the one in question is a 2.8L, you'll have to find an MJ fuel sending unit or fabricate an external one to work.  There's a lot of information out there on the web for this kind of swap, so I'd highly suggest doing your homework before you start.  I did a 4.0L/AX15e swap on my '86 to replace the 2.5L/AX4 I had.  If you decide to pursue this, here's some links to my build with lots of pictures.  Naturally, there will some differences but good luck you to sir. 

 

http://comancheclub.com/topic/39492-the-truly-custom-86-mj-custom/?do=findComment&comment=397509

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/86-comanche-dd-159524/index3/#post2533898

[SBpunk]

Yeah I did a little research and decided against it. My fab skills aren't that great. Looks like I'm. Continue to wait for an auto comanche lol. Thanks again.