85 xj's & 87 mj

[saharatj]

First off I am new to naxja but not new to jeeps. I have owned my 98 sahara tj for 3 years now and its come along ways, I also have a 70's cj thats being built by a buddies shop(for free)! But i will be getting 3 85 xj's, all 4x4 4 door 2 autos and a stick here is the bad part all have the 173 2.8's. The auto's run and the stick doesn't :gonnablow I wanted the stick the one to be running. already have 1 sold and thinking about selling another but not sure yet i'm still waiting for them to get here. I have been trying to find out as much as i can about the 85's but can't seem to find anything really about them even did a search on here and didn't come up with much. On the other side I am also buying a 87 4x4 Mj sb with a 2.5. here shortly and have a lot of info on that. But i was wondering if anyone has any good or bad points or tips for the 85 xj?

Thanks in advance

 

[85xjwoody]

First, welcome to . I own an 85 and it is decent. My first jeep: 2.5 carbed motor, 904 three speed auto tranny, 229 tranfer case, and also some mods like a 3" lift and more. I would much prefer the 2.5 over the 2.8 for power, simplicity, and reliability. I did ok with the 2.8's I have owned but they are a headache for most. If they run be prepared to deal with alot of vacuum issues as this is a problem with most older vehicles unless they are taken care of.
Transmissions are a 904 auto and an ax15 manual. Not to sure on the manual though. My 904 has held up to alot of abuse and keeps going but is getting pretty wore out. Take care of it and it will last.
Tranfer cases could be either the select trac 228 or the 229 with a fixed rear yoke and a GKN CV front driveshaft which is junk on the trail with a lifted jeep. These cases have a vacuum plunger on the tranfer case with a switch behind the gear shifter to go from 2HI to 4HI. These can fail when vacuum leaks are present.
The 207 was the other tranfer case available but has a slip yoke in the rear and a vacuum disconnect front axle. This case came with a double cardan front driveshaft.
Axles are a front d30 and a rear d35. Some front axles in 85 and 86 came with cv style front axleshafts but I know they did not come with a vacuum disconnect axle.

HTH. All in all a decent jeep if taken care of before you got it.

Kim.