Turbo X_J

Cover just pops out, is held in place with clips, wiring may be hiding in there too.

XJwonders

not necessarily always so... The panels I removed have the covers molded in. Usually you would need to search for a panel with three switches already there

Turbo X_J

That's more than possible, the only thing consistent with these freakin Jeeps is inconsistency.

XJwonders

I ll drink to that

Nasty4.0

Okay do I have an 87 Cherokee Laredo 4.0 (her name is ILEAN) and I have only just begun with fixing everything it has 245k miles on it so there is alot to do but on the up side I'm single and have unlimited time and extra money to upgrade as I go so I have a few questions
1) what are if any the downsides of going to an open cooling system on this jeep
2) what is the best gear ratio and differential to swap my Dana 35s for
3) what are the best lift kits out there (don't say rough country)ha-ha
4) as far as the motor goes is it better to stay with the all original motor or should I upgrade to a later 4.0 HO or is that not really needed ( I am not building a rock crawler or plan on doing anything that serious mostly just long mountain trail riding/camping type of stuff)
5) is it worth rebuilding my pugot 5 speed at all or should I just start hunting down a ax-15?
6) what are some thing you all suggest for a jeep build like this as far as drive train and tires
I was a mechanic for 6 years so I know my way around a wrench but I never went to school for it so things like gear ratio and unknown to me
Aaaaaaaand GO!!!!! Ha-ha (also I live in Denver Colorado so keep that in mind as I will be over 10k feet on some of these trails lol)

NewKindOfClown

1) No downsides except a little time and money
2) You want a '97+ Chrysler 8.25 from another Cherokee. Whatever gear ratio your front axle has. This is likely 3.55
3) Clayton, Rock Krawler, TnT, Metalcloak... Best value brands? Zone, Rubicon Express
4) You'll get wide variation of opinions here. If you can use a multimeter, the Renix system ('87-90) is fine
5) Throw that thing in the trash and upgrade
6) Drive it and see what you desire

XJwonders

he has a Peugeot trans 5 speed, so 3.07 gear ratio

Nasty4.0

So what is the best option for a new manual transmission?
And as for the diff that would be a Dana 44 correct? Also should I get the matching transfer case for that year as well or is the one I have sufficient?

NewKindOfClown

Thank you, sir. At least I was 90% on target

NewKindOfClown

I think you want an AX15 with the newer transfer case so the number of splines matches up. But wait for someone to confirm that. I'm not a manual trans guy

Nasty4.0

Also what kind of lift kit do you guys recommend I only wanna go up like 3" to 4" and have just started learning about long arm and such styles
Also thank you guys for the input this site is awesome I didn't even know how little I knew untill I started reading posts on here hahaha

rcguymike

It's progressed to not starting unless I short the starter for the last 2 days

Since you have a 99 these are really easy to do as long as you have a #10torx security bit and a Phillips #2. ~$36 from autozone IIRC and 20-30 minutes if you don't putz around...I do so took me 45 minutes.

No pop out cover on mine, just had it out tonight, but there is a wire harness in back. No clips IIRC either so he'd have to get creative there.

And bad grounds!

CR-Snow

Dang. I'm pretty sure mine is moulded in. I suppose a junkyard run might have to happen unless I can get lucky and find one in the part outs section.

salad

Excellent

Being able to find parts that don't crack... oh wait, that's not a downside. Don't forget to ditch the heater control valve.

Front axle is a Dana 30
Rear axle is (probably) a Dana 35, unless you got the rare Dana 44.

Gear ratio depends entirely on what size tires you want to run and what kind of things you want the Jeep to do. Since you have a 4.0L with a manual transmission yours came with 3.07:1. Good up to 29" tires, or a really light 30" (like a 2-ply P tire) if you do a LOT of highway cruising..

The 1987 4.0L has a few... er... quirks. The later year engines are not upgrades, just have a different computer running them. You want to start reading this website: http://cruiser54.com/


Yeah go looking for an AX-15. Be aware that there are both internal and external slave models out there, the slave cylinder moved in 1994 (I think). Like NewKindofClown mentioned, you'll want to grab the transfer case with it as the interface between the pre- and post-1990 stuff is different. (21-spline vs 23-spline)


This section is really for the OE tech only. Start reading here, you'll have fun... https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/al...go-here-10579/

XJwonders

yes correct because the transfer behind the Peugeot is different from those newer ax-15s