Recent content by maxbraketorque

Yeah, I agree that the WB measurement should be made from fixed parts. For the front axle, I measure at the bolt that secures the lower arm mounts to the axle.

Same as what's currently listed. If AJ is still in business, I suggest that you don't get your hopes up about getting that price.

You're missing something somewhere. Is this being done with the wheels on the ground and vehicle supported by suspension?

That's a huge difference. If its real, your XJ is either going to pull really badly to one side or its going to drive sideways down the road. I'm not sure why you can't discern the source of the WB difference. You checked that the rear axle is square to the body. How about the front axle...

I purchased rock rails from him in 2021 or 2022. He was slow to respond to questions, and IIRC, it took a while to get the product. So I wouldn't give up until you try a few more times.

I bought my XJ used. Whether it was the temp sensor that was installed when I bought it or the one I installed, its consistently ready 15F higher than the tstat opening temperature.

You tried values in between your initial values and these values, and those weren't acceptable? There is no need for 0 deg angle between the pinion shaft and DS. 3 deg is perfectly acceptable.

That's an interesting tidbit.

ok, that's a bit much pinion angle. I think its worth seeing whether reducing caster angle down to 4 deg to get pinion angle to 5.5 deg gets the job done. That's about where my XJ was at when it had a D30LP, and it drove fine. No obvious vibes, and return-to-center was ok.

I'm curious why you are asking. 6 deg of caster is good. 1-2 deg pinion angle is desirable to keep the u-joint needle bearings spinning, but 0 deg is probably ok because of constant suspension movement affecting pinion angle. So overall, your numbers look good to me.

There some things that are highly advised if you plan on any serious off roading. I wouldn't call them "best upgrades" because they often don't change the vehicle behavior in any obvious way, but they are among the first that should be done. - Steel steering box spacer. - Steering box...

So the port on the head does pass through into the main coolant passage. I was totally wrong about the necessity of the heater core circuit to provide warm water to the tstat.

The port on the side of the block will definitely alleviate cavitation, but does the port in the head really lead into the coolant passage in the head? I have a head on the bench at home I can inspect later tonight, but here is a photo I quickly where there appears to be a nub at that location...

The only inlets to the water pump for my 2000 XJ were the main coolant hose and the heater core. Do you have a sketch of the internal passages in the block and head? I meant the "water valve" in the image below. I'm not aware of a bypass built into the tstat housing.

The heater core loop will function as I described on XJs with or without the bypass valve. The heater core itself has nothing to do with the function I described. For sure what I described is definitely happening, and the tstat will definitely heat up more slowly if the heater core loop is...