Got the new gold one running. It needed a leaf (got two full leaf stacks and new rear shocks) and a head (got a Clearwater reman). Just got it buttoned back together after a few weekends of work and a few weeks on stands.

Hoping for a winter of no surprises (knock wood).

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I got my Rusty’s 8.5 inch lift arms attached yet the geometry of my control arms seems way too far off. My pinion angle is too high to get my springs attached. Any ideas on how I goofed up?

'97 Sport 4.0 AT is the Jeep in question. I'm planning a lot of work, but finding time is an issue (I work and it's a daily driver between 3 people in the household). So was thinking about doing this next weekend as just some basic maintenance to keep it going till I have more time to do the harder work:

• Replace pinon seal (because it's leaking - has to be done, see my post here from a month or two ago).
• With that pinon seal replace, I was thinking of popping the diff cover off to clean it out. So fresh gear oil (75w-90, I don't tow, it's like 90/10 split on city/4x4'ing) and new cover seal and plug (because I feel like I will destroy the one there, so might as well get a replacement now).
• ATF drain and refill. It's never been flushed or the filter replaced, so planning to drain, fill, drive 2 or 3 times at least before I drop the pan, replace the filter and seal.
• The basics, oil change, air filter change, new wiper blades, wiper fluid.

I did top off the power steering fluid 2-3 months ago, seems ok still. I also changed the serpentine belt, but still get a squeal if I turn on the A/C while the engine is cold (no sequel after 10-15 minutes of running the engine). I did refill the refrigerant when I did that also.

Any other basic fluid changes/flushes/top ups that I should be looking to do?

My G won’t start until I get one that actually works

I run 15w-40 rotella T4 in the warmer months, and rotella T4 10w - 30 during the colder months. I was thinking about putting in either ATF or seafoam and driving it a few hundred miles to clean it out, it has a sticky lifter that you can only hear in the colder months and i guess unsticks its self after the engine gets to operating temps. I guess my question is, what would be beneficial of the two? Would it be beneficial at all? How much should i use, or should i avoid doing that all together? 252k on the clock. Its a 1996.

Going from 1-2, when I release the clutch it feels like the transmission is moving around or something. There’s no way to make it a smooth shift. Every other shift is fine.

Any ideas?

After having to start over on my front axle again, I decided to do the WJ Knuckle Swap while I had the axle out. There are a million ways to do the knuckle swap as you all know with small variables with each component. I decided on the Core 4x4 high steer kit as I am a big fan - I use their long arms and shackles currently and have always had nothing but awesome experiences with them. So I reached out and built my kit as I had some of the parts already. In the end, the brakes are a HUGE upgrade and the steering is a beautiful thing. For reference, I am running 15" wheels with -19 offset and had to shave just a lil off the top of the calipers - so yes you can do this with 15" wheels. The only remaining issue is my sway bar end links. I have the steering box brace so I have sway bar drop brackets - and with this swap, I had to relocate the axle side sway bar brackets with the Clayton Offroad relocation brackets. This now has me needing really short endlinks to get my sway bar angle right again and be done. A steering stabilizer, since it's rarely discussed with this swap, I have figured out that I could add I wanted, but I don't think I need it really. Now that I am done, for anyone that has thought about the WJ Knuckle swap, the hype is real. The brakes and the steering upgrade is for sure worth it! The ease of adjusting the steering geometry is now cake n cheez. The Core 4x4 tie rod, drag link and track bar are HUGE and beefy, which for me really was worth getting. I read almost every post in every forum and had not found anyone with that used the Core 4x4 kit, so thought I would share in case anyone out there was considering or wondering how good their kit is. Regardless, if you do this, no matter if it is a kit from SF, Core or if you buy each part, remember to take your time and ensure that every part fits right- you can easily destroy rotors or brakes which will suk if you drilled rotors to fit. Happy to answer any questions on this upgrade - let me know. Be safe out there and remember to tie your shoes

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The XJ was my work bench for this one. Took a little less than two hours, most of that was spent sitting on one end of the axle and switching between a hammer and screwdriver and a sawzall. Thank god this is done. 4wd conversion soon. :)

I'm new to diagnosing issues like this and just got a fuel pressure test kit. Connected on the rail and shorted the fuel pump fuse and saw around 47psi. Turned the pump off and pressure dropped to about 34psi and fell to 20psi in the next few minutes.

To rule out the injectors, I then disconnected the fuel line from the rail and tested pressure on the fuel line directly. Same story. Pressure up to 47psi, then big drop to 34ish and bleeding down fairly rapidly over the next few minutes.

I'm just wondering if this is 100% the fuel pump with these findings? If so, how long do you think I can get away with the "Poor man's prime" before it goes out? So far there has been nothing more than a long crank, but it always turns over and priming it gets rid of the long crank.

Thanks for the help!

Winters coming…. For some of us.

Just in case y'all like shitposting, but in XJ/MJ font, there is a sub for that now 👍 r/xjshitposting

A few weeks back I over tightened the tensioner and man did it cut into my MPG.

But what a stupid, cheap-ass overly complex design.

Is there another tensioner that will fit? Something with a spring instead of multiple bolts? Was there a different tensioner used on later Wranglers?

I have a ‘99 XJ with stock differentials and have narrowed my lunchbox locker choices to the PowerTrax Lock-Rite or the No-Slip. I have not really been able to determine the off-road performance differences between them or in how they work.

What do y’all know about them and why would you chose one over the other?