Eagle

The Pioneer was a mid-level trim package. The Eliminator was the top of the line package. The Pioneer got you a 3-spoke Sport steering wheel, fabric upholstery, carpets instead of rubber floor mat, and gauges instead of idiot lights. The Eliminator added bucket seats, full console, show bar, and alloy rims.

I don't get it much either, but to claim it takes no skill is ridiculous ;) Not if you live in snow country and grew up practicing power drifts on snow and ice on the way home from school every day. Piece of cake.

Last winter I took my MJ to a shop I had used to bail me out in the past. I had a no-start, and a badly sprained back so I was in no condition to be crawing under a truck in the snow trying to solve problems. I got it back two MONTHS later. While they had it they: * Killed the battery (probably ran it down trying to start it, then parked it outside to freeze) * Blew out my rear brakes * Broke the right side cable on the parking brake * May (or may not) have done something to contribute to the fact that I now cannot drive more than about 4 or 5 miles without the truck dying in the middle of the road. This shop recently "reorganized." They changed the physical layout, and brought in a new service manager (who doesn't even speak English very well). The tech that's a fellow Jeeper and whom I had always considered my "go to guy" for work I couldn't or didn't want to do myself? The new service manager laid him off because he wasn't "productive" enough. Maybe that's because he took the time to actually FIX things, so his jobs wouldn't keep coming back. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I'm not looking for twice. They'll not see me in there again.

Yeah, it looks like someone decided to create a new name for the people I used to run autocrosses against. Back then, we called them "losers" because they couldn't drive. So now we clap louder for the people who drive the worst? I don't get it. I really am getting too old ...

This may help: http://comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11693

I just learned that she drift races with one of her sons. I gotta admit, I was not expecting that. ???? What's drift racing?

Worn synchros

JT, even my brother, the world's greatest technophobe, has a digital camera.

Maybe this will help. Jeep tech note I.S. 14E explains how to check the ride height on a Comanche. They use the chassis and suspension not the hubs and flares. Front: ------ Measure vertical distance between top of axle tube (looks like just inboard of the LCA mount) to the under side of the frame rail. For the passenger side, measure from the axle tube just outboard of the vacuum disconnect housing. The book says for 2WD models the distance should be 6-3/4" +/- 1/2". For 4WD models the distance should be 7-3/4" +/- 1/2" Rear: ------ Measure from the top of the axle tube to the underside of the frame rail inboard of the rubber bump stop. For 2WD the distance should be 8.2" +/- 1/2". For 4WD models the distance should be 9.2" +/- 1/2" So there you have it. That's the official specs.

Here's some background: http://www.olive-drab.com/od_mvg_www_kaiser.php3 If it were mine, I'd try to restore it like the second one shown in the link

235/75R15s are almost exactly the same size as 30x9.50s. You don't need any lift to run 235s, and IMHO anything more than a 2" budget boost will look silly.

Yeah, the pics aren't as clear as the Canon takes -- but the whole cheap camera cost less than a memory card for the Canon. Be a big spender -- move up to the $39.99 model. They have a few "name" brands digitals over in the "real" camera area for under $100.

It ain't over 'til it's over. My '88 MJ had less than 100k when I bought it, and the steering box was toast. Bottomed out the screw and made NO improvement. My '88 XJ is at 277k, has the original steering box, and it has never been touched. It's all a function of how badly previous owners abused it.

Absolutely, positively, beyond any shadow of a doubt correct. If the adjuster screw bottoms out and you still have slop, the box is toast.

First - be SURE that the steering wheel and front wheels are straight ahead. What you are adjusting is the worm gear operating clearance (lash), and there is more lash when it's off center so if you adjust it off-center, it's too tight across the center and it will damage the steering box. Remove the air box to access the top of the steering box. You'll see a top cover held on with three bolts. In the center of the cover is a stud with a recess for a hex wrench, and a lock nut. That's the adjuster. Unlock the steering column, but do not start the engine. The steering wheel has to be free to turn. Hold the adjusting screw with an Allen wrench and loosen the lock nut several turns. Now ... use your left hand to turn the Allen wrench while with your right hand you grip the steering shaft just behind where it enters the box. Turn it gently back and forth. You'll feel where it's slack and when it engages and is actually trying to turn the front wheels. What you want to do is turn the adjusting screw down until that range of slack motion is almost completely eliminated. You need a little bit of "lash" to ensure that the box isn't binding. Don't forget, it gets hotter when you drive and clearances tighten up from the heat. Once you have most of the slop adjusted out, hold the adjuster in position with the Allen wrench and tighten the lock nut. Replace he air box and test drive.

The M-715 preceded AMC's ownership of Jeep. The AMC 199/232/258 engines are all externally identical. Manifolds are all on the same side, and except for having a mechanical fuel pump they all look just about like our 4.0L XJ/MJ engines. The M-715 had a much older engine that was a Jeep creation.

You can swap in a 4WD front axle without having to connect it to a transfer case. That's what I plan to do with a 2WD MJ I have sitting in the yard. I want to get the axle swapped ASAP, but I can drive it as a 2WD until I collect the parts and have tome to do the drive train conversion. Just be sure it has gear lube in it, and drive it. (But check the hubs to be sure you don't do an instant replay.)

It's aluminum, and it fits like it was made for the truck.

I'd buy it if I could. I'd restore it to military configuration and a camo paint job - no way would I try to turn it into a J-truck. I might change the drive train though -- I'm thinking a nice AMC 360, 390 or 401 like out of a late 70's full-size Cherokee would be about right.

I wish I could afford it - I'd buy it in a heartbeat. But ... I don't believe the 28 MPG for a nanosecond. I once got an honest 28 MPG in the '88 XJ 5-speed -- for ONE tank, running high-test gas so it would take more advance, one the small, original tires with a street-oriented tread, and on a straight highway trip from Connecticut up I-91 to Vermont. Otherwise the XJ always got low 20's highway and about 19 to 21 local. The '88 MJ 5-speed gets about 2 MPG less and has less than half as many miles on it. Ain't no way, no how a 4.0L MJ can deliver 28 MPG.

Yeah, they are -- like this: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/ ... 460&tp=105 Keep in mind that a round speaker is acoustically superior to an oval or oblong, because the entire cone vibrates at the same frequency. An oblong speaker has two short sides to the "cone" and two long sides, and they can't possibly vibrate at the same frequency so they are less efficient and don't sound as good as round speakers. You might think you're getting a better speaker with a 4x6 oblong because there's more coner area, but this is one of those cases where bigger isn't necessarily better.

Bed liners have to be molded to fit the wheel wells. We're out of luck on that. For caps and tonneau covers, the older S10s are the way to go. It ain't purty, but I picked up a used high-rise utility cap off a Chevy S10 shortbed fleet truck and it fits the shortbed MJ perfectly.

A pre-1994 Chebby S10 shortbed ...

Ya know, you can get pretty good digital cameras in Wal-Mart now off the pegboard -- not the "name" brand ones on the secure display rack. They have some in the $40 to $60 range that have better specs than the Canon A-10 SureShot I paid a couple of hundred for about four years ago. I just grabbed one to throw in the back of the XJ that's a 2.1 megapixel, takes SD memory cards, has a built-in flash and an LCD screen/viewfinder -- and cost all of $29.99.

Not "them." The base radio option in the SporTruck was a monaural unit with no tape deck, and that used (I'm pretty sure) ONE speaker in the dashboard.