Eagle

This does NOT sound correct. It is possible that you need new ball joints, but not necessarily. If they were properly lubricated, they might not be bad. I have 287,000 miles on my 1988 XJ (purchased new) and the ball joints are fine. That said -- the ONLY reason to install adjustable ball joints is if the axle is bent. They are not adjustable after installation -- they are properly called "offset" ball joints, because they compensate for an out-of-spec condition. The camber is NOT adjustable on the XJ/MJ front axles. Unless the axle has been damaged, there should be no need for using offset ball joints.

Your '86 4-banger is also a Renix. Most of the sensors, in fact, are the same. There will be some things on a 5-speed that are not used. They would be used with an automatic.

There's no way of knowing. The performance of a coil spring varies depending on the coil diameter (which we'll accept as always the same for an XJ or MJ), WIRE diameter, number of coils, and free length. All you know is the free length. You'll have to install them to find out where they end up.

Replace the oil filter with a new Purolator and call us in the morning.

Thanks, lads. I'm not into customizing where it's not necessary. I'll take the original cylinders to the locksmith.

Gearing up to start work on the '88 4-banger MJ that's been sitting for ... too long. It came with two ignition keys (that appear to be pretty new), but no door keys. Local locksmith wants $20 to rekey the cylinders if I carry them into the shop. Or ... I can roll down the hill to Auto Zone and get NEW cylinders for $12.99. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/ ... 02_0_1927_ Has anyone used these lock cylinders? Will they really fit an '88 Comanche, or do they need modifications to work? And what does the key really look like? The key in the photo appears to be a double-sided Chrysler key. That would work, but I'd rather have a key that looks like an '88 Comanche door key. What's the collective wisdom of the hive?

The windshield is the same as a Cherokee. Until you drive it you won't know about the front end. "gets shaky" could cover a wide variety of conditions. It could be mild wheel shimmy, which is not ideal but nothing to worry about ... or it could be what we call "death wobble." If it is death wobble, you'll know it -- when it starts shaking, you'll think you're going to die, like RIGHT HERE AND NOW! and it won't stop shaking until you stop driving. 75 km/hr is actually about 45 MPH, and that's about the speed where death wobble often rears its ugly head. Let us know.

Get a bottle of 'Friction Modifier" from a Jeep dealer and throw in the whole bottle.

Huh? Sure you're not confusing Thanksgiving with Memorial Day? Thanksgiving is about the first colonists, who numbered only a few hundred, and their autumn harvest feast in their second year in the "new world" to give thanjks to the Almighty for a bountiful harvest.

Condolences, Jim. It's hard enough to lose a friend, harder still to lose a young man with so much to live for. The only way (IMHO) to look at it is as expressed in the old song by Dion: "It seems the good they die young." Your friend sounds like one of the good ones.

Tannerite. FUN!

Happy Thanksgiving from our XJ/MJ household to all of yours.

No.

Yes, someone has done it ... but I don't remember who. Yes, IIRC there were fitment issues.

This is not correct. The 84-86 clusters have a speedometer that has the cable attached with a small retaining screw. The tach is not adjustable. The 88-90 cluster has the speedo cable attached to the speedo head with a white nylon pinch connector, and the tachometer has a potentiometer that allows you to calibrate it for use with a 4-cyl or 6-cyl. The early clusters can be used in the later vehicles (and vice-versa), but you have to replace the speedometer cable. Problem is, the question is for an '87 and I don't know which type was used in 1987. The change might even have been mid-year in the 1987 model run.

It ain't easy, and if you don't have to do it I wouldn't recommend it. There was a special puller made for that specific job. Even a lot of Jeep dealers never bought it. Mine, being an old-line dealership that sold ONLY Jeeps for several decades before finally adding Chrysler, did have it. When I asked my friend if I could borrow it, he said they had tossed it years ago to make room for Chrysler tools. He said he didn't remember how long they had it, but they had NEVER used it.

My understanding is that it's the spool valve in the power steering box itself. This is how, for example, Generous Motors was able to use the same basic box in Impala sedans and in Camaros and Firebirds, and still have "sport" steering in the pony cars. They just stiffened up the spool valve. When you say they all have the same part number where you work -- do you work for a Jeep or other Chrysler dealer, or do you work in an aftermarket parts house? The parts chains don't know and don't care about the steering effort -- they sell refurbished Saginaw boxes and I'm sure they are all the same. If it'll bolt in -- it must be the right part. Irrespective -- the newer XJs do have firmer steering than the old ones. I have two 2000 XJs, and I have an 87 MJ, an 88 XJ and and two 88 MJs, an 89 MJ, and some other heaps that I haven't ever driven. Both the 2000 XJs have firmer steering than any of the old ones, and the steering on the new ones is IMHO infinitely better than the old ones. The old ones are all OVER-boosted. (Which, as I commented above, was typical of American Motors.)

Steering effort is controlled by the spool valve in the box. The early XJs and MJs (like all AMC vehicles with power steering) were much TOO light, and had essentially zero road feel (i.e. tactile feedback). The late model XJs have a different calibration in the spool valve, so there is less power assist and better control and road feel. Please don't. It's not broken.

Auto Zone http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/ ... _0_0_60418

What rubber trim? There were no Comanches in 1968. And the Comanches from 1986 to 1992 didn't have rubber trim on the windshield. What are you asking about?

I don't think there's a short. The headlight switch has a circuit breaker built into it. A short would trip the circuit breaker. First, you would probably hear it trip, and second, you wouldn't have taillights until it cooled off and reset itself. Which suggest that the problem is more likely a bad ground in the front wiring.

Nope. Replace it. Be sure you thoroughly clean that stuff off the fuse panel or it'll eat up the connections. I would strongly advocate using silicone brake fluid and flushing out the system. The silicone costs a lot more than regular clutch or brake fluid, but it WON'T corrode the electrics it it leaks, and to me that's worth a lot.

I give you a lot of credit for rescuing this thing and putting it back together rather than parting it out. I wish more people would do that with Comanches.

Not necessarily. It runs only until it builds pressure, then it shuts off. So where is that tube you replaced? Inside the tank?

Oxygen sensor.