Hello all,

Due to expanding family, and trouble passing emmisions, I decided it best to part ways with my beloved 88 SWB. After over a year of always proving that Mitsu built one od the most legendary 4X4's 9and proving Jeep guys wrong), I decided that my next purchase would be a nice Gen II. After month's of looking for the right one, I settled on a 96' LS, the no-frills package. I looked for an SR, but found none that were in need of a fair amount of work to be the type of vehicle I was ready to spend money on. Also, the 3.5l DOHC scares me in these vintage trucks. So I found a VERY well maintained example. All service records kept and all scheduled maintenance done on par with the book. So I bought it. Now I have a few questions.

1. The A/T seems to shift at 2.7-3.2k exery shift but fourth. Is it normal for it to shift this high, with normal driving of course.

2. I have what sounds like a very slight chirp at the A/C when the compressor is turned on, but dissapears when the A/C is in the off position. Is this something that I need to replace, or will a little bit of grease on the backside of the pulley work?

3. Would it be easier to install an ARB locker for the rear, or source a SR axle and use the factory components?


Thank you for your help. By the way, here are two pictures. One of the old, and one of the new(er).