Build Thread: 89 MJ aka "The Skorpyon"

[Skorpyo]

I figure since I've kicked off the process to build my MJ up I'd start a build thread. I've had the MJ since 2013 and haven't done much to it since then. Right now it has 96K on it and it's about to undergo a fair bit of upgrading. Eventually it will be on a 3" lift with 31s and repainted black. It'll be trail ready but I probably won't be wheeling it too much.

Here's the truck the week I bought it. I'll add new posts with incremental changes:

Tim

 

[Skorpyo]

First update was just due to running into an XJ in a junkyard with a shiny nose so I pulled it all and transplanted it onto the MJ.

 

[Skorpyo]

This year I decided it was time to tackle the converting it to 4WD and beefing it up a bit. Since it has the less than tough Peugeot BA-10 it was time to find an XJ with a AX-15 manual tranny and 4WD to donate to the effort. I managed to find a 95 XJ with just those items.

 

[MrSimon]

I'm looking forward to watching this build!

Will this thing come to NACFest?

 

[Skorpyo]

Eh, it may be ready by June. It's still a LONG ways from being ready right now. Even after the stuff I've got in the hopper it's going to need armor and recovery options. Next NACFest for sure tho

 

[Skorpyo]

Next was a new rear axle. I debated it for a while but decided to get an 8.8. It's probably overkill since I won't be wheeling much but since they're so easy to find I decided to look for one with 3.73 gears and a factory limited slip. We actually found 3 in the first 20 mins we were at the local u-pull-it but as we were walking around they brought in a 2000 Explorer in pretty good shape.

After checking it out we decided to pull that one. Brakes were in great shape so that's one less thing I'll have to replace.

Ps. Yeah I know it's upside down lol.

 

[Andy in Pa.]

Cool, glad your doing some work on that MJ. Its really clean and would look great with a mild build. The hardest part will be to find an MJ rear driveshaft. You'll probably need to go full aftermarket for that. Never know though, you may be able to find one in a junk yard. Also, with the crossmember, I seem to remember different hole options on the MJ too. The MJ crossmember is actually mounted different than the XJ and I think its a stronger mount/part. Protofab makes a very nice rear bumper for the MJ too. It doesn't allow for license plate mounting, but is one of the best looking bumpers for an MJ.... and very close in price to a NOS bumper. Also, you'll need the shifter bezel for the t-case too. Unless you have bucket seats, I don't remember the interior. You can fit 3 adults with the bench though, and an upholstery shop can make it look and feel great again If its getting ratty. Awesome, can't wait to see some progress pics!

 

[Skorpyo]

Yep, I'm actually going to use the XJ cross member since its fit to the AX. Just have to mount it a bit further back. There's 8 holes in the MJ frame rail so I just need to tap the rear 4 for it. I'm going to get an SYE and after market shaft.

The MJ has buckets so good to go with the shifter. Going to get a boostwerks shift adapter so I don't have to worry about that cockamamie factory setup.

We're pulling the D30 from the Cherokee today so we can get the rest of this junker taken away.

I also decided to spring over so I ordered the kit yesterday so it'll have about 4.5" of lift when we're all said and done. Also ordered some 20mm wheel adapters for the rear to match the MJ width. Lift kit comes with new perches and shock mounts. Getting serious now, LOL. Thanks for the tips. I'm also going to pull the brake booster and master cylinder from thr XJ since its a dual diaphragm unit. I'll have to get a ZJ or WJ v8 proportions G valve to push the 8.8 calipers better. Unfortunately the 8.8 had a busted ebrake cable so I'll have to address that too. I'll do write ups as I go. Should be a fun few weeks!

 

[XJwonders]

Sound like a fun build

 

[Skorpyo]

Had a productive day. Finished pulling parts from the XJ so it's now stripped of everything I wanted and is ready for the junkyard. It has a HP D30 so I'm going to regear it to 3.73 to match the 8.8. I'm planning to run 31" or 32" tires so 3.73s will serve well for either.

After getting the D30 pulled, which required us to saw off the upper control arm bolts, we wrapped up removing the slave cylinder and brake booster and master.

Next we stripped down the 8.8 and noticed that the brake line across the pumpkin was cracked and had been leaking. I wonder if the PO had dumped the truck over brakes. I'll have to bend new lines. The E-Brake cables were shredded too but I noticed that when we pulled it. The E brake shoe on the driver side was broken too so guess I'll be buying new shoes and hardware. Fortunately the gears and LSD were in amazingly good shape. The gear oil was nice and clear and the gears are in great shape. Definitely a win for over 200K miles.

Once the XJ is out of the garage the MJs going in.

 

[Andy in Pa.]

Yep, I'm actually going to use the XJ cross member since its fit to the AX. Just have to mount it a bit further back. There's 8 holes in the MJ frame rail so I just need to tap the rear 4 for it. I'm going to get an SYE and after market shaft.

The MJ has buckets so good to go with the shifter. Going to get a boostwerks shift adapter so I don't have to worry about that cockamamie factory setup.

We're pulling the D30 from the Cherokee today so we can get the rest of this junker taken away.

I also decided to spring over so I ordered the kit yesterday so it'll have about 4.5" of lift when we're all said and done. Also ordered some 20mm wheel adapters for the rear to match the MJ width. Lift kit comes with new perches and shock mounts. Getting serious now, LOL. Thanks for the tips. I'm also going to pull the brake booster and master cylinder from thr XJ since its a dual diaphragm unit. I'll have to get a ZJ or WJ v8 proportions G valve to push the 8.8 calipers better. Unfortunately the 8.8 had a busted ebrake cable so I'll have to address that too. I'll do write ups as I go. Should be a fun few weeks!

Take a good look at that crossmember, I am thinking the XJ and MJ ones are different. I know they definitely mount differently. The MJ one mounts to flange inside the frame rail, not to the bottom of the frame like an XJ. I think it has some mounting options though, the MJ one will probably work for the 4wd and AX.

Also, I never needed an SYE on my MJ. I used the factory 4wd driveshaft. You may not need the SYE if you can find a factory 4wd MJ shaft. My MJ had a factory MJ D44 rear with a spring over. I may know where to find a factory XJ D44 if your interested. A very old friend of ours has 2 that
he wants to get rid of...

 

[Skorpyo]

Take a good look at that crossmember, I am thinking the XJ and MJ ones are different. I know they definitely mount differently. The MJ one mounts to flange inside the frame rail, not to the bottom of the frame like an XJ. I think it has some mounting options though, the MJ one will probably work for the 4wd and AX.

Also, I never needed an SYE on my MJ. I used the factory 4wd driveshaft. You may not need the SYE if you can find a factory 4wd MJ shaft. My MJ had a factory MJ D44 rear with a spring over. I may know where to find a factory XJ D44 if your interested. A very old friend of ours has 2 that
he wants to get rid of...

Well, I've double checked the MJ and it mounts the same as the XJ. The cross members also are identical, sans mount. The mounting difference between the BA10 and the AX15 does move the cross member to the four rear mounting holes of the frame rail, I'll just have to tap them since they didn't come tapped.

Would've been nice to get a 44 but the 8.8 is reputedly almost as strong, is much easier to find parts for and came with discs and an LSD and 3.73 gears so bonus with that, and all for $180. Thanks though!

Tim

 

[Skorpyo]

Made some recent progress I haven't shared yet. I've decided to go SOA with the MJ and spent a few hours tearing down the Dana 30 from the 95 XJ. At this point it's just a shell but aside from the knuckles needing some work it's in good structural shape. One of the inner seals was shot but no biggie they're getting replaced anyways.

In the past few weeks a few goodies have shown up. I'm not sure if I have more old parts laying around or new parts!

The only tough parts of the job were the ball joints and the UCA bushings. Luckily I remembered how we took those UCA bushings out out in previous lives and were able to get them out with minimal effort compared to previous tries. Crushing the sleeve is definitely the way to go. I'd also have to share that my Ryobi 18V Impact seriously kicks booty. That thing knocked out the ball joints better than the air gun did.

Next will be setting up the D30 with 3.73 gears, new ball joints, UCA bushings and hubs. The knuckles have wear spots from the brakes so I'll also be welding those back into shape since the knuckles are fine outside of that minor issue and new ones are stupidly expensive (yeah rockauto prices are ok, but still, $120 a pop is stupid if you ask me...)

I should be back on the job this Saturday so hopefully more to come then.


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[Skorpyo]

Spent a few hours on Saturday prepping the front end. Cleaned out the tubes, replaced the seals, pulled the carrier bearings and started getting everything together for the gears to go in. Nothing too exciting to report, though extra bearings are on their way so we can use them as setup bearings.

Probably won't get a chance to work on this anymore until next weekend. Sure wish there were more hours in the day and days in the weekend.


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[Skorpyo]

Well after a month or two hiatus I'm back at working on the jeep. In the past few weeks we've put in the front end after getting it geared to 3.73 with a trutrac. New coils are in but I'm going to hold off on too much more with the front until the tranny and rear go in. I've shoved the old tires back on for now so it's got a pretty severe reverse rake haha.

In beginning the prep for the new tranny I figured it was time to pull the interior and make sure my floorboards aren't rusting away underneath. I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite being a VA truck the floors are in great shape! I'm still debating about POR'ing the floor anyways just for peace of mind.

The driver side is definitely the worst though it's not bad by any stretch. Oh and I managed to remove the entire interior without breaking a single thing!

Now that this portion is done I'm going to finish the day by pulling the master cylinder for an eventual swap and get the driver side shock out.

I was hoping to pickup newer tires today but no one on Craigslist is getting back to me. Grrr.

Will post more as we progress. It is nice to have a father in law who lets you park your jeep for months on end in his garage.

Tim


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[Rock2pus]

Wow that floor is near mint compared to my 87!..after pulling the carpets I could have lost a volleyball thru my driver side once I removed the pitiful patch job the po did!

 

[Skorpyo]

Wow that floor is near mint compared to my 87!..after pulling the carpets I could have lost a volleyball thru my driver side once I removed the pitiful patch job the po did!

Hah! I've seen many a rotted floorboard. One MJ I looked at you could literally put your feet to the ground through the driver side. Another you could feel the carpet from underneath! How clean this one was is the main reason I got it.

The POR-15 came today so hopefully I'll have some time soon to finish cleaning the floor and put on a few coats.


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[Skorpyo]

A bit of progress today. I pulled the air box and washer reservoir to make space for the new brake booster and put in a cone filter. I'm planning to swap in the 97+ washer reservoir which will be a fun upgrade.

I also pulled the shift boot and tower off the BA10 so next will be to drop the tranny but I won't be able to do it until my helper is back from his camping trip.

I also managed to score 5 JK tires and wheels that had only 500 miles on them for just $300. I think they're gonna look sweet in the MJ. Adapters are next in my list to buy but I'm hoping the wife will get them for me off my amazon list. With the 8.8 I have to get two different depths to accommodate for the 8.8 being about 1.5" narrower than the stock 35 that's coming out.

It's going to be a week or so until I get back to working in the truck. I'm trying to document the small projects for DIY articles.

Tim


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[Rock2pus]

Very, very cool. I'm all over the map, but still committed to fixing up my mj. I like where you're going with yours! I like the idea of being a cool old guy in a cool old truck, call me silly.

 

[Skorpyo]

Very, very cool. I'm all over the map, but still committed to fixing up my mj. I like where you're going with yours! I like the idea of being a cool old guy in a cool old truck, call me silly.

Hah, not silly at all! I've always wanted a pickup. When I was a kid I drooled over the truck in back to the future but then I ended up with a Cherokee as my first ride and so the Comanche was the logical compromise. I just want it to be slick and functional and reliable. That does beg the question of why I bought a Renix era MJ though huh?

I'm in the process of gutting the unnecessary vacuum bits and redoing the rest. Cruiser54s site is a godsend!

Thanks for the kind words,

Tim


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