GonzoTheGreat

If you feel like driving to central MA, you’re welcome to one of mine. I have at least 5. I’d mail one, but I’m not there now. My brother could leave it on the ‘89 MJ in the driveway though. You’d recognize the truck bed

I deleted mine. I put a 2.5L TJ exhaust header on, so I removed the whole EGR system because it didn’t fit the headers. I didn’t notice any changes in drivability or aroma. Maybe it’s keeping the intake a little cleaner, but I doubt I’ll be opening that up to check for quite some time.

I put in a remanned pump from rock auto when I added power steering to my ‘89, using a good-used box and hoses. I cycled steering a bunch before and after starting the engine, I had no bubbles in the reservoir. Power steering worked while the engine was revved, but did not work at idle. I got a warranty pump, followed the same procedure, and had no issues. It turned out to be a junk pump right out of the box. This was in January of this year. It was “Cardone” brand pump. Could be the same problem that you’re having.

Can you screw the shift gate down underneath the flooring, so that the vinyl is not pinched down by the screws? That way it sits a little looser and closes the gap to the plastic? Sorry, I don’t remember exactly how my ‘88 was, the center console was pretty destroyed when I got it. But I would imagine if the flooring was a bit less pinched it would hide the gap ok.

If I recall, I had a metal clip on the driver side that supported the headliner, while the passenger side rested on the grab handle. There was also a piece of Velcro at the front center, and rear center on top. So it was fully supported before reinstalling the trim and visors.

I’ve also had good luck with permatex on two different vehicles. No traumatic windshield damage here. I’ve also wasted a lot of time with various superglues. They are not the same. Using the permatex glue with good prep work is the only thing that worked long term. Make sure the mating surfaces are completely clean of any chemicals, dirt, or fingerprints.

With that time frame and budget it’s definitely doable, but just know that if you want the truck to be bullet-proof, you’re probably going to spend a significant amount of your budget on parts, infinite time working on it, and you won’t make your money back when you sell it. I spent about 2 months of full time labor and at least $4k in parts to get my ‘89 to a “mostly done” condition and it took me on a 9,000 mile road trip with almost no issues. Again, “mostly done,” and “almost no issues.” You’ll probably never stop tinkering with it, but if you’re ok with that lifestyle, it’s a great platform to work with. There’s plenty of support here, and it’s a fun vehicle to drive. You’ll never get gas again without hearing “you don’t see a lot of those anymore.” But also, once you start, you may never stop, and when you accidentally own 2 or 3 or more Comanches, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

The 2.5 has been great so far. Plenty of torque. The only issues I’ve consistently read about are the 4th cylinder head cracking from overheating, and the EGR clogging up the turbo. The PO had the engine “overhauled” in 2018. I don’t know what that means, and neither did he. He’s a pasta maker, not a mechanic. But he did mention a new water pump, and head gaskets, and I could see the EGR delete. So that was good news. So far we’ve had no issues, and the exhaust doesn’t have a speck of soot. The crank case breather has an oil trap in-line, but there’s still quite a bit of oil making its way back to the intake, so I’ll have to take a look at that at some point. and yes! It did come with adjustable headlights. The switch is in the center console. They don’t work after the PO swapped in LED headlights, but I may be able to resurrect them. There is a servo that hangs off the bottom of the header panel under each light bucket with an arm that attaches to the bucket. I’ll try to get pics when I take it apart. We nabbed some original glass lights from a junkyard. They’re very different from the North American sealed beam. There’s a socket inside the glass housing for a replaceable hi/lo light bulb, and a little socket for a daytime running light. I’m not sure if it’s the same for you in Canada. I had a Canadian XJ at one point with daytime running lights, but I never looked into it. Again, I’ll try to get pics of all this when I take it apart. This guy “upgraded” a lot of things, but I think the mirrors might have been original. Getting parts here is tricky, new or used, so I’d be surprised if someone put in that much effort. it actually came wearing a set of turbines, which ironically, are all made in the USA. They’re in rough shape, so we stuck with the gamblers. They’re original, at least they match the spare, but the turbines are stashed at her parents house in case I ever want to strip them and make them pretty.

Ok, it's time for a quick update. The MJ is still safely stored in Costa Rica, but the girlfriend and I are on a brief sojourn in Europe, and since this forum loves amc/chrysler oddities, I thought Id show everybody what we've got. She was impressed with the Comanche's performance on our trip, and decided she had to have an XJ at home in Italy. So, we found a '96 XJ with the 2.5L VM Motori Turbo Diesel, AX-15, NP231, dana 30/35 with limited slip rear. It needed a lot of work, which I will detail here. The ultimate goal is to drive from Turin to Palermo, with many stops in between, and return it to her parents house before heading back to Central America. The above picture was taken in Colonnata, a town famous for marble quarrying and ...marble box-aged pork fat. It was actually delicious. We also made a pit stop at the world's most famous engineering mistake, the Lavazza coffee museum, and the oldest producer of balsamic vinegar. I'll probably post one or two times more from this continent depending on what we see. And don't worry, the MJ is not forgotten. I'll probably have an update on that come January. oh and another pic of the XJ, because I know you all want to see it.

The 5-Star might be my favorite jeep alloy

Thanks @jdog! I really appreciate your help with these build sheets. It’s invaluable. stay tuned for more info! Right now I’m just trying to make sure it doesn’t fall apart on the highway.

This is a euro-spec ‘96 XJ that the girlfriend just picked up in Italy. It’s got all the bells and whistles. I’m just curious about a build sheet, because it has some cool stuff like limited slip rear, full overhead console, and what looks like electronically adjustable headlights, as well as the VM Motori 2.5L TD.

I had good luck with a harbor freight 2-bolt tow hook on my ‘88. I made a small backing plate and attached it directly to the bottom of the “frame” under the bumper. I used one breather hole, and drilled a second. It dragged me out of several messes no problem. It was a little tricky getting nuts on the bolts inside the frame, but it was doable, and it cost me like $5.

You don’t need the cable to drive. It’s just an indicator. It clips to the column itself and just pulls the needle across when you shift. If the original cable broke, as long as you can find a way to attach that cable to the column, you can install the prndl indicator to a new cluster.

I will admit that my understanding of this valve is a little hazy, but from the pictures I see no reason why it wouldn’t be rebuildable. I will also share that I’ve blown a rear line and had the shuttle block off the rear. I didn’t lose all my fluid, and although the pedal was soft, I still had front brakes. I fixed the line and bled the rear, I gave the pedal a final stomp just to feel if there’s any air in the lines, and when I turned the truck back on, the shuttle had returned to center and I didn’t have the light on on the dash. I never touched the front brakes during this process. Is it possible you didn’t slam the pedal hard enough to move the shuttle? I have never bled according to the book, so maybe someone else can speak for how much pressure it takes to move the shuttle while bleeding, but for me I was basically standing on the pedal after my line blew.

That’s a good clean solder job. Thanks for the info! Also a hell of a lot cheaper than a replacement TCM.

Congrats man! I love the attention to detail. This is well-deserved!

My bad. I totally misread this. I’m currently trying to solve this situation: if I get ahold of anything in Europe, would you be interested in good used front side markers @NHMJXJ?

Wait, were there euro tails for the MJ? I know XJs had them, and I’m actually looking for one now, but I didn’t think euro Comanches had something different for tail lights than us. also, well played:

I love the detailed posts on your build. It’s a really great read. Really good pictures too. but also, wait. wtf? A sandwich??? You found a sandwich in your floor??

Rockauto has quite a few.

This looks like it’s gonna be a good one!

The whirring sound makes it seem like the starter is spinning, but not engaging the flywheel. Did this noise happen with the old starter as well? Or only once the new starter was installed? A difference between 4.0s and 2.5s is that the 2.5 uses shims under the starter motor. Did you have any shims under the old one? I had to adjust the shim pack on my 2.5 when I replaced the starter. again though, this is assuming the whirring noise accompanied the new starter.

Aw hell yeah! This is one of my favorite builds! Congrats!

Perfect! Thanks @eaglescout526!