joshmillslane

Really nice truck! I was looking for a truck with those specs, but never found one around here. I'm over here in Manassas with my 86 MJ Project. It's coming along, but not near as nice as yours.

Sure, I'd like to see it if you have time.

Looking for a bench seat cover that fits very tight and looks nice. Anyone have any experience with covers on their MJ bench seats? Can you recommend a brand or where to get them? I've seen the autozone stuff, but don't want to buy it unless I know it's going to fit well. Thanks in advance!

So, I finished everything today. There's just a couple things to pick up someday. I need some black seatbelts and plastic, but i may paint those. I need to get a seat cover too. Overall the headliner is pretty nice, it's just cut funny on the sides, not sure why, but it causes it to leave a space untovered on the driver's side - see photo. I'm pretty sure I can live with that, but I may put some of the included extra fabric behind it so you don't notice as much. This was my first time doing any interior changes on a car, and it didn't turn out too bad for an amatuer. It looks way better in person, for some reason the flash makes it look really dirty. I also broke off my shift knob - the metal actually sheared (crap!) - so I'll have it welded back on tomorrow, and I'll be good to go. Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found And a Before photo for compariosn: Image Not Found

Hijack alert! You are switching FROM black?!?! Jeeze, you'd be able to sell that interior here in about 2 seconds. Factory black seems to be hard to find. Damn, wish I was close to KC and could get the black bench from you. I'm going to have to throw a cover on mine. Interested in selling the black rear trim panels? I'm about to paint mine, and one is broken.

Thanks for the help on those numbers, I'll see what i can come up with. I did my swap today, and I think it's way easier than those instructions. He has you rolling the odometer, but it's very simple to remove to screws on the back of each cluster and just swap the speedos. Then the mileage is correct, and you don't have to worry about different cables. I got the cluster form on 86 cherokee, and it still had a different cable than my 86 MJ. Weird. It's all good though, my new guages work great! I just need to dig up that coolant temp sender.

Today was the first day of the "Finish the MJ Interior" weekend. I did the tach dash swap, and dyed the dash black (What a PAIN IN THE A$$!). Then I took it down to Sears for some new tires - finally real truck tires! Tomorrow I will black the rest of the remaining trim, put on the black door panels, install the new black vinyl floor pad, swap to the new 3 spoke steering wheel, and install the brand new black headliner I got on Ebay. It will be looking sweet, and I promise to post some pics. This truck has gone from plain old turd to nearly craptacular!

The same thing happened to me...mine were all rotten and crumbled when I was unhooking them, so the rods ould no longer stay in the plastic holes since they came in from the bottom. My solition was to take my tiny butane torch and heat the end of the rod and bend it 180 degrees with some duckbill pliers. Once it cooled, I could put it in through the top without worrying about it falling out. So far it's been working great.

I've got the oil pressure sensor, but I'm having trouble finding exactly which coolant temp sensor/sender I need for the 2.8. Anyone have a part number of link? I looked at rockauto, partstrain, autozone, and advance. They all have multiples listed with no clear description. I don't want to order the wrong one. Thanks!

I scored a full cluster from an 86 Cherokee 2.8V6 this weekend at the junk yard. I had the oportunity to pull the sensors too since the truck was virtually unmolested, but I'd rather get new ones. Anyone know the exact part numbers for the oil pressure sensor and water temp sensor for the 2.8V^ with full cluster? I saw the writeups, but those were for 4.0s and 2.5s, I didn't know if the sensors were the same or not. Thanks in advance! PS - I also got some factory Marshal fog lights, dash switch, underhood light, and clock - all for $80! Score!

I've been lurking and posting awhile, so I guess it's time I do the formal intro. Here's the latest pic of my 86 4x4 Custom 2.8V6 with 5speed AX5. Pretty basic truck, but very little rust-just surface stuff bubbling the paint here and there when I got it. I've cleaned all that up and painted it OD green with 8 cans of Krylon Camo paint. It's running great now, so I think I'll drive the V6 until it dies before I do any kind of motor work. Next step is replacing the clutch and it should be operating 100% since I finally got it to pass Virginia safety and emissions. After that, I'll dump the factory bedliner and do a spray in Line-X or Rhinoliner. The wheels are actually from a Ford Ranger. they fit pretty good with some minor gringing for the larger hubs. I got them for free, so the price is right, and it allowed me to use one of the original steels for a full size spare. Image Not Found

Thanks fr the info guys. I'll be shopping for some 235/75/15s next week maybe. I'm thinking BF Goodrich All-Terrain Radials. They are rated pretty high on tire rack and discount tire sites.

:eek: Not safe.

Ya i hate to agree , iv always wanted to paint mine od green with the star and lettering and all that but more and more people are doing it but one day ill muster up and get it done . right now I'm leaning towards desert camo but we will see. the ride is looking schweet keep it up Yep! Only 8 cans so far, and it looks like a good, even coating. We'll see how it wears, touch ups will be easy, lol. The flat tan/desert look would be cool too I think. :USAflag:

Thanks for the tips on the dash removal - it will be helpful I'm sure, but it won't stop me from cussing at it and possibly throwing something in frustration. :hateputers:

Yes, well VA sucks! They only give exemptions for vehicles 25 years and older. If your vehicle can't pass, you have to spend $700 at an approved facility to get a waiver. Otherwise, get rid of it, or do what a lot of people do - find someone who lives outside the inspection areas and have them title and register your car there. When I move, it will be to somewhere I don't have to deal with all the vehicle nonsense.

Real pickups have bench seats....Right now, I'm just using some rustoleum flat black stuff for the hard plastic trim parts. we'll see how it holds up. I plan to get some vinyl dye for the main dash if I ever decide to yank it...looks like a whole lot of work! I think I'll get everything else done first and save that monster for last. If it's the only thing left, I'll have to do it, right?

Well, I was trying not to turn this into a projects thread, but here it goes, here are the still drying pics. I figure a night in the heated garage and it should be ready for touching up of the thinner spots. It was cold today in the 40s or so when we sprayed it, but we got it inside real quick afterwards. They say you can't paint when it's that cold, but I'm not gonna live by their rules! I'm also in the process of turning the interior black - some of those pieces are drying now too. Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found

After much work and many failures, my MJ is finally 100% street legal for super-anal Northern Virginia! So first thing in the morning, I'll be at the DMV to renew my expired tags. I passed my emissions this afternoon after a lot of fiddling and 3 failures over the last 2 months. It turned out to be a restrictive washer in the new EGR valve I installed to replace the old one. DO NOT install any washers in yours like the instructions say - you WILL fail emissions. So, I celebrated by painting the truck a nice OD Green. 8 cans of Krylon so far. Looks badass! Tomorrow after it's a bit more dry I'll go over any thin spots and do the door jambs, headlight buckets, and any other interior metal. I'm so motivated to work on the truck again. I was getting really frustrated with all the inspection failures - just seemed like I was wasting my time and money, but it's all good now.

My 86 4x4 is all stock as far as I can tell - no aftermarket lift. I'm looking at some craigslist rims & tires and am wondering what's the largest tire that will fit on a 15" rim without rubbing on my truck? Also, will wrangler wheels fit my jeep? Are the offsets close? Thanks in advance.

I just bought one from him. We'll see how it turns out.

I had an awesome day at th JY today. Found a yard with 2 87 MJs in great shape - hardly molested at all. they told me I wouldn't find a Comanche there, lol. One swb had a completely intact interior minus the radio in the same color as mine! I got a dash bezel, speaker grilles, window crank, tow mirror glass and seals, and a slider latch. The other was a lwb in green - which I've never seen before with some strange looking large comanche emblems on it. Wierd, but cool. The tailgate on the green one was crap, but the swb truck might be good. It was under a cap that was slid off the truck so I couldn't see it. Next trip back, i'm going to check it put. That truck is a goldmine for me. I did manage to break a part I really needed though trying to get it off. The small plastic triangle that covers the screw holes on the outside where the small mirrors would be on tow mirror trucks. Dangit. Anyone have some of these to sell me? I really need these so i can put my tow mirrors on. Also, there was an XJ there with a tach dash w/ clock showing 146k. Anyone want it? He told me he'd give it to me for $60. i could go back and pull it sometime. When it's less muddy, I'm conna crawl under those trucks and see what else I can find.

Oh, no problem - I appreciate the help. It's totally not your fault. I did however fix mine today. I cleaned up the old parts, cut off the rusted portion of cable, squeezed a nut onto the end with a vise, then tacked it with a welder. Works great!

Damnit! Moparparts is apparently one of those places that makes you create an account, enter your credit card info, then send you an email 3 days later telling you the part is discontinued. For the record, I cannot stand it when websites lists parts they don't have or can't get. It wastes everyones time. So, now I need to find another! :mad:

Thatks guys! Just ordered a new one to be sure. I don't want to drop my spare on the highway with only a partial fix.