Ben-88Comanche

amen! :cheers:

Hey guys Finally got around to changing my valve cover gasket in an attempt to fix my oil leak. no idea where oil was coming from because engine was covered and so was tranny and everything all the way back to the rear diff which had oil even on the BACK side.... that oil gets around :brows: So anyways, got one of those 50 dollar felpro gaskets from autozone thats supposed to last forever, put it on, was tightening bolts... and a bolt broke :mad: So after lots of swearing (the bolt wasnt even NEAR being tight, not sure what happened, maybe I didnt clean the threads on it enough) So anyways, Luckily a friend had one of those extractor things where you drill a tiny hole in the middle of the bolt and push a drillbit like teeth thing into it, never seen one before, but it worked great, got that thing out, pulled a bolt off the parts truck, and bam. all set So now that Its been changed, no oil leaks, and my oil pressure no longer drops to zero when I'm at a stoplight. So anyways, moral of the story is if your in a similar situation to where I was, oil everywhere, only leaks when truck is running and for a few minutes after its parked, and unstable oil pressure, try changing the valve cover gasket!! Even with the broken bolt and me taking my time and a million people calling (noone calls me when I'm doin nothing, but as soon as I'm covered in grease phone won't stop ringing) the operation took 2 hours. Plus I had to drive to a local store to get some brakecleen. I also got a new oil cap because some oil was leaking out of there , and it fits a lot tighter, no oil leaking. O, and old valve cover was a cork one and was broken in many places, and I don't think it was even installed right. So yea, if you got a problem similar to that, change your valve cover gasket! Lots of people I know wanted me to do the rear main seal, but valve cover is a LOT easier so do it first!!

Good chance of that, i heard a similar tapping and tightened down the track bar, 100% gone. I left my skid plate on when i got at it (it was the upper bolt) but my front end is currently out of wack, so not sure if you can do the same. I think i put the socket on the nut, then attached the wrench to the socket once it was already on.

I thought I was leaking around a quart a month, but last time i put oil in i needed 2 quarts, so it mustve been more then that. I bought a rubber valve cover gasket a while ago, cost like 40 bucks, supposed to last forever. I have thought it was the valve cover too since day one, but people keep telling me otherwise, and they probably know more then i do. This weekend hopefully Ill have time to change it (covering all weekend for a buddy at work) And see what happens from there. Thanks for all the replies so fast, i figured no one would even read this befor i left for work haha. Gonna head there now, ill check how the oil looks when i get there Something else that might provide clues, oil ONLY leaks when the truck is running. If i let it sit for a week no oil will leak out, just while its running and immediately when i shut it off (oil dripping down after it already leaked i would guess)

hmm Yea i just went and checked it some more, i guess not as much oil is leaking as i thought, because i was on full saturday, and I'm barely below it now. Coulda just been timing when some oil dripped on the exaust to make the smoke, which scared me haha. Ill prolly just go ahead and change the valve cover gasket this weekend, then the oil pan gasket + rear main in a few weeks unless anyone has any other suggestions. I played around with the oil cap, it is tight where stuff shouldnt leak out of it, but seems like thats where the leak is coming from, maybe i should just go pick up a new one and see what happens?

Ok so the plan was to wait for a few weeks then change the rear main seal/valve cover gasket to try and fix my oil leak, but now its gotten worse When I'm driving as soon as i slow down to astop, the oil pressure drops to zero. I can also smell oil from INSIDE THE CAB when this happens. The oil on the bottom of the engine I think is just running down, not a rear main leak. THere is oil all over the valve cover gasket, but it seems like its just dripping from the oil cap Cap doesnt feel tight, when i got the truck it had an aftermarket cap on it that i thought leaked, so i took this stock one off my parts manche and figured it was better. Could all this be coming from the oil cap? WHen you take the oil cap off there is a little smoke from the inside of the engine, not sure if thats normal or not Not really sure if i should go ahead and change the valve cover gasket and see if anything happens? The amount of leaking oil is scaring me :roll: and when I stopped at the dump today there was smoke coming out the crack where the hood meets the fenders. Any help would be great, I have to drive it to work in a few, ill just go as easy on it as possible...

oo so you could say posi and limited slip are the same thing? I always thought that posi was strait up both wheels spinning all the time... shows how much I know haha. Thanks for clearing that up. So is there a functioning difference between the posi/track lock and one of the lockers you install yourself? And would the limited slip device, if still functioning, be something I could transfer from the parts dana 35 into the one on my truck? or would a whole axle swap be nessesary?

yea thats probably what he did but i hope not lol

Ok, so this april I was planning on doing a lot of work on my comanche. I have a parts comanche and was told when buying it that it had a posi rear end. I didnt care at the time, I was just happy with getting a full 4.0 5speed comanche for 400 dollars. But now I'm wondering what he meant by that, don't think a strait up posi rear end was ever offered? So I'm wondering if theres a simple way to check if the rear end has a locker or not without removing the cover. I think its a dana 35, ill be able to see it i wednesday to make sure(parts truck isnt at my house atm) Yea I know you guys would probably suggest getting a 44, but I don't have a lot of spare money and if this has a locker I might as well take advantage of it. Also I was wondering how hard the axle swap would be, if my main truck already has a dana 35 in it. Would there be a way to just take the diff covers off both and swap the locker? (hopefully it actually has one and the guy wasnt lying) Any insight would be apreciated Thanks in advance

hmm thanks for all the responses I think it enhances how the truck looks, but if a lot of drilling is involved ill pass haha :cheers:

So ive seen lots of pictures of manches and cherokees with these, and definently want one for mine. I think the only one i found online was frmo JCwhitney or something and was around $200... kinda steep. Wondering if these things would show up in junkyards? ANyone know how to get one? if you don't know what I'm talking about, its the thing arrows are pointing to in this picture Image Not Found

ok this is weird went outside today, steering seems tighter, no noise, drove around for 20 minutes, took it in the mud, no popping noise whatsoever. Maybe the temperature has something to do with this? It was a little warmer today (like 35 degrees?) Not really sure whats going on, everything seems tight

Just went outside to check it out, nothing on the sway bar seemed loose, not sure how tight its supposed to be? Had someone turn the steering back and fourth while i was underneath it, popping noise is gone. I'm sure it will be back though, does that change the situation at all? :nuts:

Ok, so after wheeling a lot, my steering seems to be messed up Its still functional, but it feels loose, and very unresponsive, and sometimes makes a loud popping noise, sometimes a soft popping noise, sometimes no popping nopise. Thinking it might be the CV joints? At first i figured something needed to be tightened, but couldnt find anything to tighten :roll: Anyone have any idea what could be going on?

Hm yea you guys were right i was wrong :chillin: I guess he did a bad job explaining it, the threads and cap of the bottle were BLOWN off from the rest of the bottle, leaving a huge gap ontop. Went to Napa to get a new bottle, they said 42 Bucks. I bought mine around 4? months ago for 22 dollars at a junkyard (it wasnt used, they ordered it for me) so well get one there. If the threads + cap were blown clear off of the bottle, hope just the bottle is the problem. When we put the new bottle on I guess well find out Thanks for all the help

I will check the serp belt tension, But i don't think the bottle/cap is at fault. The bottle is getting to the point where its 100% full of antifreeze, and then its coming out the cap, so i wouldnt think the bottle is at fault. First ill check the radiator lines to see if there clogged, after reading the replys i would lean towards that being the problem Thankyou for all the replies, ill let you know what it was once I find out!

Hey After i bought a comanche all my friends were impressed, so one of them bought an 88 automatic I-6 comanche, exact same as mine, except his isnt working out too well His coolant isnt being pumped through the system, and after running for a while it losens the pressure bottle cap by itself and squirts all over. He says he bled it, but when I go to take alook at it tomarrow I'm going to see how he went about that Was wondering if anyone knows if theres a simple way to check if the thermostat or water pump isnt functioning? He thinks the water pump isnt pumping, and I'm just hoping its the thermostat since I replaced that on mine and it was easy. So if anyone knows a good way to check it, let me in on it, tomarrow ill check here befor I head over to his house Thanks in advance

So its that simple? I can just install the CAD cover upside down? Theirs nothing else that has to be done?

To eliminate the cad, would i have to get an axle from a 91+ jeep? And would that mean I'm in 4x4 all the time?

Ok. I'm positive all the lines are in right, and was wondering how i can remove the vacuum switch? If its simple i can take the one off my parts truck and see if that works

Ok, i did some more tests on the truck today and found out some more. The front drive shaft IS turning, but the front wheels aren't spinning, because the shift motor is not engaging the front axle. There is 1 vacuum line at the shift motor that moves it one way, and one that moves the shift motor yolk the other way (i think). The red vacuum line Ts off from the intake manifold and supplies vacuum at the transfer case. I think inside the transfer case, depending on the position of the 4x4 shift lever, the vacuum is ported to one or the other side of the shift motor. Is this correct? No matter what position the 4x4 shift lever is in, the vacuum is always at the same side of the shift motor. I believe to enter 4x4, inside the transfer case the vacuum should shift and the other side should gain vacuum, and therefore the ability to move the yolk and engage the front axle. I checked the vacuum lines for leaks, and checked the shift linkage. The shift linkage was rusted into place and couldn't be moved much, but it should be close enough that the 4x4 works. I blew air through the entire vacuum line when disconnected from the transfer case,and air came out the other end, with only a slight leak being found. I took that part off of my parts jeep, and theirs a smaller leak in a different spot. Plenty of air still comes out of the end, i don't understand why its not going into 4x4 The only thing i can think of at this point is the transfer case isnt putting out the right vacuum to the right line So yea, maybe thatll help

Aah so the truck should be in neutral when i shift, that could be the problem. Technically my truck was totaled, even though the only damage was header panel, front right fender, and bumper, and it was hardly noticeable. The lady's Taurus had to be towed away so i'm assuming it was totaled too. Ill try shifting in neutral tomorrow, hopefully thats it :cheers:

Ok, thanks for the help so far But i figured something out For SOME reason, having the e-brake on when your off-roading makes it not get stuck... don't ask. The 4 wheel drive wasn't on, the E-brake was, and that was what was squeaking and the burning smell. Still, when I shift into 4 wheel high, the Part Time light on the dash lights up, and it remains in 2 wheel drive. When i put the truck in 4 wheel drive, and have the vacuum lines that attach to the shift motor in the front axle unattached (their only running to the front passenger side black "football" container and back, I can feel the vacuum. Like 5 people have told me that the vacuum reserve has to do with the 4x4, and its attached only to vacuum hoses that have to do with the 4x4, so i don't really understand why that has to do with the heater. 2 of the plastic lines run from the axle to the front bottle, i don't remember where the third one runs, ill check tomorrow. I don't remember getting any vacuum on the third one, so that could be it. I'm going to go read the Haynes manual right now and see if i can find something about the linkage on the transfer case. Thank you for the response =] PS- Was this easier to read?

yea, ok, i guess i have comman trak. I blew out the vacuum lines with a compressor and didnt find any leaks, once it stops raining I'm just gonna reattach everything see if it works better

Hey. I posted some questions about 4x4 on this forum before, but they were hard to understand because i didn't know what i was talking about. Now i have a more complete understanding, so maybe you guys could help me out. I have a 1988 Jeep Comanche, 4.0, 4x4, automatic. It has a dana 30 in front and a Dana 35 limited slip in the rear. I got in an axident a few months ago, that broke my 4x4 bottle and ruined the vacuum lines that connected it. Once i fixed the body, bumper, and got a new bottle, i tried putting it all together, and my 4 wheel drive didnt work. I Changed the front differential fluid and took apart/cleaned the vacuum shift motor (thing that looks like a tuning fork, i think thats what its called anyway) and put it back together. Now it seems that I'm stuck in 4 wheel High Part time. I was wondering, is their a 4 wheel drive full time? Part time seems like it spins all 4 wheels at lowish rpms, but if i floor it the light shuts off, and i gain speed more rapidly. Also the truck slows down once i take my foot off the gas faster now then when i had it in 2 wheel drive. WHen i hit the breaks now, it squeaks, which it didnt do in 2 wheel drive. Ive had the truck in 2 wheel high for like 20 minutes driving around, and its still in 4x4 part time. Does anyone know if their even IS a full time 4x4 on this truck? ALso when i was driving in 4x4 high part time for the first time, i could smell something burning at stop signs and lights, maybe the front driveshaft/U Joints/ CV joints need to be lubricated? I can't find any grease fittings on them that i havent already filled. There is no vacuum diagram in the Haynes manual i have, and I'm not even sure if i have commanTrak or SelecTrak 4x4, though i think i have selectrak. A possibility is that their is something wrong with the selector valve? BUt i have yet to locate that on the car, just in diagrams in the manual. Anyone have any idea what i should do? or whats wrong? also- is their a special way you are supposed to shift in and out of 4x4? The guy i bought it from said u can just shift in and out whenever, just go into nuetral if you want 4x4 low, but he was wrong wtih a lot of other stuff about the truck, so maybe with this too. I have never owned a 4x4 before, so i could be wrong about everything lol