'87 Wrangler Questions

Pathmaker

New Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Location
Mooresville, NC
i have a friend with an 87 wrangler and i was wondering what would be the biggest tire size he could get away with without needing a slip yoke eliminator? also, it seems every time he goes through a little hole, the engine will stall out soon after. we think it is because the distributor is getting wet, since it isn't sealed off hardly at all. has anyone found anything to solve that problem?
 
tire size will not effect whether or not he will need a SYE....it is the lift size..... ive seen some go as high as 4" lift with a tcase drop and swear they get no vibes.but if iwent 4" id get a SYE anyways
 
The biggest I have seen w/ no lift is a 35" tire. That is w/ new hood/fender, and no inner fenderwells. It was in the recent issue of JP mag. ;)
 
I think that JP beast w/ 35's on stock suspension was a TJ, though. The 87 YJ won't be able to take that big of a tire w/ no susp. mods.

What motor does your friend have in the YJ? What gearing in the diffs?

With less wheel backspacing & liberal fender trimming, though... I guess any size could be possible. Tell your buddy he could realistically shoot for a 33" radial to fit in trimmed fenders w/ out lifting it.

With a 6 cyl. in good shape, 33's shouldn't be too bad to drive, although he'll feel 'em. Regardless, you should also tell him the stock axles in it probably couldn't handle a much larger tire.

And then there's the body lift option... :rolleyes:




Pathmaker said:
we think it is because the distributor is getting wet, since it isn't sealed off hardly at all. has anyone found anything to solve that problem?
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Clean up the contacts inside, dry it, and cover it w/ a plastic bag.
 
thats cool. i think he would probably put a 31 on because for some reason his straight six only gets like 10 mpg. even my 3.0 v6 will get 14-16 with 32s and i drive it hard a lot of the time. his gears seem to be high, i don't know for sure but i feel positive they are in the three's and possibly high two's, just from what i can tell after driving it. even if you floor it, it seems to be hardly moving, but thats coming from me who drives a stick :driver: and a first gear that feels like it's about to pop up the front tires. thanks for the help :Rockon:
 
Pathmaker said:
thats cool. i think he would probably put a 31 on because for some reason his straight six only gets like 10 mpg.
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Then he has a problem with his motor. The 258 that is in the 87 should get ~16 to ~18 mpg on stock tires (235/75R15).

What tranny does he have? 5 speed or automatic?

me. his gears seem to be high, i don't know for sure but i feel positive they are in the three's and possibly high two's,
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The 87 came stock with 3.07 gears behind both the automatic and the BA10 5 speed.
 
a good friend would by him a set of plugs,wires cap and rotor and fuel filter!......:D

but for bigger tires have him look for a set of axles out of a 4cyl (4.10 gears) and he can use TJ flares which will give him plenty of clearance for 33's with no lift
 
The auto in the 87 is a TF999 good strong mid strength tranny.

He should be getting ~18 mpg with moderate driving and though he shouln't be winning any stoplight drags it should keep up. If neither is happening he has problems besides finding some poser tires. The Carter BBD carb is a constant problem on the later CJ's and early YJ's. It really only has 2 problems: it isn't a very good carb, and it isn't a very good boat anchor...There are cost effective swaps (MC2100 being my favorite) that will add mileage and power back (this is assuming he hasn't done damage to the 258 and it's leaking oil badly or burning it...)

Get your buddy on here...we'll treat him nice...for a few minutes. :D
 
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