Eagle

Mine does this also. Is something wrong with my truck? Sadly, yes. Since sometime in the late 1960s, automobile engines have not had the crankcases open to the atmosphere. The 1950s engines we had when I was a young sprout had an open tube coming out the side of the engine and turned down toward the ground. That was ventilation for the crankcase -- if the crankcase needed air, it sucked it in through that tube, and (more often) if there was blowby, the excess pressure in the crancase was vented to the atmosphere through that tube. Then we started getting concerned about air pollution, so eliminating that oily smoke that vented from all the crankcases became an issue. So the manufacturers eliminated the open tube, and created the Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system. Instead of an open tube, they put a check valve in the valve cover, and a vacuum line to the intake manifold, along with another line from the air cleaner to the valve cover. The idea was to create a closed system. The PCV line sucked the oily fumes out of the crankcase and into the intake manifold, where they mixed with the incoming air-fuel mixture and were burned up in the engine. The inlet tube from the air cleaner provided a path for fresh air to replace the oily fumes the PCV system sucked out, and the equalize the atmospheric pressure in the crankcase. The Jeep 4.0L engine uses essentially the same system, except there's no PCV valve -- the very small tube coming off the back end of the valve cover is the suction tube, and because it's so small they decided a physical valve wasn't needed. What happens is that, as the engine gets old and the piston rings wear, they lose compression and more blowby gets past the rings. This builds up pressure in the crankcase. At the same time, sludge tends to restrict that little tube, leaving no avenue for the excess pressure to vent. So two things happen: First, the front inlet tube becomes a pressure vent tube, and oily fumes get pushed back into the airbox. Open your airbox, and you'll probably see oil soaking the air cleaner element. That's where the oil comes from. If the blowby is severe enough, even the inlet tube doesn't provide enough relief, so the pressure goes up the oil drain return passages, pressurizes the valve chamber, and oily fumes start to seep out around the filler cap.

You have it reversed. The OEM rims have 5-1/4" backspacing. The most you can get in aftermarket is 4-1/2". That solves the LCA rubbing -- but then the tire are set farther outboard, so when the suspension compresses instead of the tire nicely tucking up inside the fender -- it smashes into the flare. If the flare is removed, it hits the steel metal and gets a nice cut. Obviously, you can then start cutting away, but the simple answer is that 31 x 10.50s on stock rims work best on OEM rims. Lift does not solve the fender interference problem with aftermarket rims unless you also extend the bump stops to limit suspension compression significantly.

31 x 10.50s are fine if mounted on factory rims. There will be minimal rub on the lower control arms with stock rims. 31 x 10.50. Unless you do more than just adding lift, all the same problems you face at stock height will still be there at 3" of lift.

It has to be the pinion seal or the cover gasket. There are no seals in the axles at the housing -- the axle seals are at the outer ends, at the hubs. The outer ends on both sides in your photo are dry.

This may help: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=29052

"C4C"? Whazzat?

If it's in a 2001 Cherokee it is a 3550. And the 3500 and 3550 are the exact same tranny except that one has the bell housing integral and the other has it bolted on -- and I can never remember which is which. I would assume the bell housings are different. Your '88 has the internal slave cylinder. The 2001 XJ has an external slave.

Bottle jack. Position the jack directly under the spring plate and you should have access to all four nuts, allowing you to loosen both u-bolts uniformly. Otherwise, jack it up as high as possible and put jack stands under the frame, then release the jack. The weight of the axle will be supported on the spring and you can release both u-bolts evenly.

The perches aren't in the Jeep parts listing. They're in the Performance Catalog.

Even the lowly Dana 35 lets you put a floor jack under the pumpkin to jack up the rear end. The factory service manual for the WJ (at least mine did in 1999) specifically warns NOT to do that, because it'll warp the center housing. (Of course, they do NOT provide this warning in the Owner's manual, only in the shop manual.) So when the lads above (^^^) in this thread say the D44xx is good IF YOU TRUSS IT, they mean that you MUST truss it. Back around 2000, the WJ factory rejected entire batches of the D44s because they arrived at the factory already warped, just from having been shipped with support for the pumpkin and no support for the tubes. (Or maybe it was the opposite -- the ends of the tubes wee supported but the pumpkins weren't) There was a lot of talk about how DaimlerChrysler was going to drop Dana-Spicer as an axle supplier and switch brands. In fact, there were formal announcements -- but magically, it never happened.

Make sure it's the RIGHT (as in "correct") one. They are NOT all the same.

You are entitled to your opinion. I had the misfortune of owning a '99 WJ with the pseudo-Dana 44 rear axle. I'd rather have the D35 any time.

Cheaper than a new head -- but helicoils don't cost nearly that much, even in Canadian money. Youse wuz robbed. For example: http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... DoQ8wIwAw# And that's for the tap, and six (6) coils. Enough to do an entire 6-cylinder engine, if necessary. However, it's really difficult to strip the plug threads on a cast iron head. That problem usually only affect al-you-min-ee-um heads.

Sounds like my '88 -- except mine doesn't wait for me to park it, it cuts out whenever it feels like it, typically after driving about 10 to 15 minutes. It has been suggested that the ignition module (on the passenger side inner fender) may have a crack in the phenolic insulation. One of these days I hope to check that out -- if life will stop throwing me curve balls for a few days.

Renix is shorthand for the RENault-BendIX injection/ignition system used in the Comanche from 1987 through 1990. For the Comanche, it doesn't matter what year you have, the temp sender for the gauge is at the very back corner of the head, on the driver's side, and the oil pressure sender is screwed into the oil filter mounting adapter. Each will have a single wire coming off the end.

It's a common problem -- common enough that the factory had a reinforcement kit to fix it. There probably aren't any left in the dealer parts system by now, so we're on our own. You're right -- it's a tough weld. The factory kit added straps to increase the length of weld available to hold the hinges.

I would venture to say that calling it a common problem with Comanches is a large load of bovine excrement. The Jeep engine has cast iron heads. It is extremely unlikely that the threads are stripped. Just tighten the plug and drive. IIRC the torque is 25 foot pounds, but after 50+ years of working on AMC and Jeep engines I just tighten to "right about there" and it's done.

Scratch the first one, too. You do NOT want a Grand Cherokee "Dana 44." The center housing is aluminum, not cast iron. The housing warps if you look at it cross-eyed. And the internals are not standard Dana 44, so your upgrade and traction device options are severely limited. You're better off with a Dana 35. If you can't find a Dana 44, get a 97+ Chrysler 8-1/4 out of an XJ.

Sure it does. A TJ axle ... shaft.

Leak? You mean, like oily fumes creeping out from under the flange? The problem isn't the oil filler cap, the problem is excessive blow-by pressurizing the crankcase more than the PCV system can suck out.

Ya know -- if the tires needed weights on the outside to balance them, they can't be balanced if you put all the weight on the inside. It simply isn't possible. Who performed this (alleged) balance job for you? I hope you didn't PAY for it.

I don't remember if mine had three seat belts or not, but it would be easy enough to score a rear belt out of an XJ and add it.

A Comanche is a compact pickup. The bench seat is barely wide enough for two full-size adults, and MAYBE a small child. If you're carpooling, you are NOT going to carry three adults, and the third seatbelt is the least of the issues.

:agree:

That's why we tell people NOT to buy rebuilts. I'll gladly pay the factory price for a new one if I don't have to change it every three or four months.