It's almost that easy. I did a similar swap in a Comanche, the only thing that took some work was the tachometer. You will need new sending units for oil pressure and water temp, but the tach can be a little tricky. My advice would be to purchase a factory wiring manual prior to starting the swap to ensure everything goes smoothly.

"I have a 1983 CJ7, with a 258/standard. Can you tell me if the military hard top kits for M151, M151A1, and M151A2 can be adapted for use with my 1983 CJ-7?"

The tops you mentioned will not fit your CJ-7. The CJ-7 body is much longer than any of the early military Jeeps.

"I have a 1993 jeep yj, with a 4.0ltr/5speed. I am installing a SOA lift kit and I am concerned that I will encounter some steering problems as a result of this lift kit.

Can you confirm my suspicions, and if true suggest what course of action I can take to fix the problem?"

Steering geometry becomes the major concern with any spring-over lift. I'd suggest contacting Rubicon Express or Tri-County Gear for some suggested solutions. To properly fix the steering, you will need a dropped pitman arm along with a new tie rod and drag link. Either of these companies should be able to supply these parts.

"I have a 1995 Jeep Wrangler YJ, with a 4.0L Manual. I have a '95 Jeep Wrangler, 4.0L manual. I hear an awful rattle in the catalytic converter when the vehicle idles. I also noticed that while driving, the vehicle will not accelerate as it has in the past; my RPM's wont go past 2500 or so. My gas milage has dropped considerably. Could this be due to an inop catalytic converter or could I have multiple problems?"

The obvious answer is a bad catalytic converter. What bothers me is that the cat died so soon. Under proper operating conditions, a catalytic converter should run at least 100K miles before replacement. Get underneath your Jeep and bang your fist against the catalytic converter, if you hear anything rattling inside of it, it has had a meltdown and needs to be replaced. But before another catalytic converter is ruined, I'd strongly suggest taking your Jeep to the dealership or other qualified repair shop to find out why the converter is getting hot enough to melt down and cause driveability problems.

"I have a 1993 Jeep Cherokee, with a 4.0L V6. When under a load my vehicle has an oil leak. The oil is coming down onto my catalitic converter and causing my vehicle to smoke. I can't seem to see where the oil is coming from. I was wondering if you have had anybody that has had this problem before and was wondering if you may know what the cause of this problem is? Thanks."

A 4.0L V6? I'm sorry, this is just a pet peeve of mine. You do not have a V6, it is an inline 6. Take a look at the spark plugs, they are all in a row. As far as your problem goes, the oil could be coming from your engine or your transmission. My advice would be to invest in several cans of engine cleaner and thoroughly clean everything underneath the vehicle. Once everything is all dry you can easily track the source of the oil leak.

"I have a 1995 Wrangler, with a 2.5 4cyl/manual. I was wondering what I can do to get the max horsepower out of my engine. I just got my Jeep, and this is my first project, I'm just looking for some professional advice."

Check out our Project 97 TJ. It is powered with the same little 4 banger and performs great (unless you are planning on high-speed interstate cruising). While the performance has been significantly enhanced, it is not going to win any drag races; it was never intended to. Most important to Jeep ownership, it has plenty of power off road even with 33" tires. Even a small engine with the appropriate gearing can take you nearly anywhere you need to go off road. Still skeptical? Check out Tri-County Gear's entry into the Rock Crawling Championships, a YJ with a bone stock 4 cylinder.

"I have a 1989 Jeep Wrangler YJ, with a 4.2/m. Well Grant I have alot of play in my steering. When I'm driving down the street I am pulled around a lot; it's kind of scary. I have tried to adjust the steering box, but it makes my steering really stiff and will not return to center. Is this an adjustment that I'm doing wrong, or is the steering box going to need to be replaced. Is it something diffrent that Im missing or not looking at. My wife won't drive it until its fixed she told me (hmmmm... should I leave it like it is?) What should I do or look for?"

Is the vehicle lifted? If so, have you installed a dropped steering arm? If not, the problem most likely lies in the 11-year old steering linkage. Check for play in all of the rod ends by having your wife turn the wheel while you are underneath checking for movement. The steering box may be the culprit of the play, this can be verified in the same manner. If you are sure that none of the parts are worn, have your Jeep aligned. Once you've replaced the worn parts, it's your decision whether or not to tell your wife it's fixed...

"I have a 1988 Cherokee Pioneer, with a 4.0/5speed manual. I have several questions. First of all I have a 3" Procomp Lift and want to put larger tires on but my current jeep runs only 3.07 gears and I want to run 31x10.50's. What I need to know is what would be a good set of gears to help turn these tires. I still want to be able to drive down the highway but want enough guts to pull them. I was thinking of 3.55 or 3.73. What do you think?"

Go with 4.10's and 31" tires. Watch for an upcoming gear install on our Project 94 Cherokee.

"I have a 2000 Cherokee, with a 4.0 auto. Grant, I have a 2000 Cherokee and am quite concerned about all the stories of how poor the Cherokee's brakes are compared to other SUV's. Is there anything to this? Have there been any improvements on the brakes up to my vehicle since most of the complaints I have heard have been between 1993-1996? Has Chrysler given the newer Cherokees better or larger rotors or have the braking systems been essentially unchanged for the past 6-8 years? Any way to improve the braking for a thousand or less?!"

Other than the addition of ABS, the Cherokee's brakes have stayed virtually the same since the vehicle was introduced. For that matter, very little of the Cherokee has changed to any large extent; new engines, new interiors, etc...but the basic design has stayed the same. I'm surprised to hear that you are unhappy with the brakes. After 60K miles and a few panic stops thrown in, we're satisfied with the brakes on our Project '94 Cherokee. The Cherokee is very lightweight and it doesn't take much to stop it. You could install rear disc brakes to your Cherokee to add some more stopping power for under a grand if you wish. Check out Stainless Steel Brakes @ www.stainlesssteelbrakes.com.

"I have a 81 Jeep CJ7, with a Ford 5.0L/Dodge 5spd. It is currently being rebuilt from the ground up. I need to find the right fuel system for the fuel injected 5.0L Mustang engine I've installed. Does Mopar make a fuel pump that can be used for my application and if not, is there an aftermarket external or intank fuel pump that can be used with or without extensive modification? The fuel tank I have now is the plastic 20 gal. one."

You can pick out an external fuel pump from the Ford Motorsport catalog, or easier yet, call Summit Racing and order an aftermarket external fuel pump for your application. Just mount the fuel pump as close to the tank as possible, and be sure to install a fuel filter between it and the tank.

"We are currently looking into buying a used Cherokee LTD, but are concerned about the 147K miles on the vehicle. Can I get some history on engines for this year and is there an 'average' life span? I have heard anywhere from 170 to 225. Any help would be greatly appreciated."

The life of any engine is greatly dependent on the maintenance performed. If the engine has *always* been well maintained, then 200K miles is not unreasonable. Just because myself and others have told you that a 4.0 can run in excess of 200k, doesn't mean the one you will be purchasing will last that long. Again, it depends on how well the initial owner took care of it. I can say that inline engines due tend to last longer than V8's or V6's just due to their design. I'd still set aside some cash for a new engine, or don't be surprised if/when it does let you down.

"I have an '89 Jeep Wrangler YJ, with a 4.2 liter engine & manual trans. Hope you can help me out here. The vehicle has a problem on damp or rainy days during warm up. The Jeep starts and runs fine initially, but after a minute or so it starts to stall. For example I'll start it up, drive it a mile or two, come to a stop sign, depress the clutch and the RPM's drop rapidly and it stalls. After driving it for another 20 minutes or so it starts to run OK again.

I've had it to the Jeep dealer about 8 times and it's been worked on by their top mechanic:

• The carb has been cleaned and rebuilt.
• Egr valve and oxygen sensor changed.
• Fuel pump changed
• Charcoal canister changed
• Diagnostics run
• Numerous adjustments to the carb
• New catalytic converter

Ah yes....that wonderful Carter BBD carburettor. Looking under the hood of a YJ with a 258 and the miles and miles of vacuum tubing and valves will just about make you want to cry. Troubleshooting is a nightmare on this engine, I feel pity for your mechanic. I do have doubts the ECU will be of any benefit. That suggestion sounds more like the mechanics way of saying, "I've tried everything I know, now go buy an ECU and leave me alone". I don't blame him. The only thing I can really think of is that the choke is not operating properly. The engine is still cold after driving only a mile or two and that's probably why it dies. The only thing I can think of dealing with the rain is that it is probably just colder in those conditions and it is taking longer for the engine to warm up.

We spent about as much time and money as you did on our Project '89 YJ before we called it quits and bought the Mopar EFI kit. What a godsend that kit is. We've had it on for 6 months now and it runs absolutely perfectly. We only wish we had saved our money and dropped the factory intake setup at the first sign of problems. If you'd like more info on the Mopar kit, see the article in the next issue.

"I have a 1995 Jeep YJ, with a 4.0/ Manual. I've always admired the solid metal dash of the CJ and wanted to know if it was possible and/or resonable to put one onto a YJ. If it is, would it be terribly hard and/or costly to do?"

It can be done, after all what can't be done with a Jeep? Unbolt your dash panel completely, buy a set of new gauges and fabricate a new solid dash just like the older CJ's. Now I'm not saying it will necessarily be that easy; I'm sure the wiring will be a challenge but it certainly could be done.

"I have a 1984 wagoneer, with a A904/2.5 liter. My Jeep started to run bad. The transmission is slipping like it does not want to catch. If it was a manual, I would say the clutch is slipping. I don't know much about Jeep trannies, so I went to AAMCO. Yep, it was "worst case". They said I need to pay them 2-Grand plus parts to rebuild it, yet they could not tell me the specifics of the problems, so is there a road of deduction I can take to rule out the simplest problems?"

Your transmission most likely is bad. The only thing that is easy to check on your own is the fluid level. A low fluid level would cause the transmission to slip. The most likely reason that your transmission shop is not being very specific about the problem is that they simply won't know until they tear it apart. Shop around for the best deal and have your transmission rebuilt.

"I have a 1976 CJ5, with a 304/3 speed. I have recently purchased a 1976 Jeep CJ-5. The Jeep originally had the Levi's package, but has since had the top and seats recovered. It still has the original dash pad and Levi's decals. Is it worth the extra time and money to restore it with this package? It will be getting a new paint job and intrerior and this will determine the colors I go with. Thanks!"

That choice is completely up to you. A perfectly restored Levi's editon CJ-5 may be worth a little more than a regular CJ-5 in similar condition, but not significantly more. I'd suggest building the Jeep using the seats and colors that you desire. In the long run, you will be happier with the Jeep and that will make it worth more to you. That's all that really matters anyway.

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