Timeless

Jackrabbit guy, everything you are asking has been beat to death on just about every internet forum in existence. Spend some of your time researching this stuff, figure out a realistic budget, figure out what you want within that budget, figure out how mechanically inclined you actually are, and go to town.

Dubble tube roll bars are nearly impossible to find for any truck. If you come across one, get it. It is worth its weight in gold. If you can settle for a more conventional double tube roll bar, some folks have had sucess installing one from a ford ranger, granted they may require some modification. If you were to google "Jeep Comanche Roll Bar" the first result is a relevant thread on this very forum.

The brass threaded bit does not get used on our D30's. Get Spicers. Nothing else. Buy from amazon or drivetrain america.

Looks pretty possible from here :doh:

Get the 255/70 valving. As for travel range, it depends on whether you want more up travel or down travel. Adjust your bump stops accordingly. For the lengths you want, the 33-186542 might fit the bill. Eshocks.com tends to have some pretty good prices and free shipping.

Ball joint press. Borrow it from an auto parts store for free.

Remove thermostat, stick in hose. There will be residual water in the block after this, so you'll need to add a slightly more concentrated blend of antifreeze. If you're replacing most other cooling system parts, why would you even question changing the $10 thermostat too? Do it.

Check the side cab vents too. My truck likes to leak from them.

The hubs in the Comanche D30 are different than the later model D30's. You will not be able to reuse your new hubs on the "new" axle. I think there are also differences in the brakes. Its probably in your best interest to assume that parts outside the knuckles will not interchange between axles. SOA with an 8.25 netted me over 6" of lift and my rear leafs were in pretty good shape. With that much lift, you will need to upgrade a number of other steering/drive line/suspensions parts for everything to work correctly. $400 for a set of XJ axles (29 spline 8.25) is a little on the high side, but if the brakes and unit bearings are in good shape, its pretty fair. I wouldn't bother with a 27 spline 8.25 f I were you. Its not really a significant upgrade.

Interesting...I hadn't previously considered installing the OEM XJ tank under my comanche. Any one have pics of an XJ tank installed where the spare tire would go or similar location? Maybe your slosh pan can be trimmed, but how the heck are you going to get into the tank with any sort of cutting apparatus to trim it? Not to mention you will be introducing alot of debris into the tank that may never come out.

I do not, but I don't see the value in it. There are plenty of other options out there for better prices.

Why only one color? How about red, blue and everything in between?

This is close to me and seems to not even be close to an $8k truck. Usually you guys go on a rampage over "high" prices, this is the first time I think I agree. And the "partial exo cage" is utterly useless.

This. Stop throwing parts at it, atleast for now, and check fuel pressure. There is a small length of fuel line on the pump that often rots out too so it may not be the pump at all.

And I picked up a JCR rear bumper during their black Friday sale yesterday. This is one spoiled truck. Bumper will be fully TIG welded and hopefully painted to match the body (final color, not current technicolor yawn) when it is all done.

Cliffs: Will the proportioning valve and hardlines (from master cylinder to said proportioning valve) off a 1999 XJ directly connect (with no mods) to a 1996 XJ master cylinder? Tech/background: I have been having a beeyotch of a time getting my rig back on the road due to an epic amount of trouble bleeding my power steering. I have concluded that somehow the power steering is sucking in air. Accordingly, I need to rearrange my braking system... because, hydroboost. PO installed hydroboost from an astro van (or something). It worked great but puts too much draw on the power steering pump. As best I can tell, the hydroboost unit is introducing air into the power steering lines, or its getting in somewhere else. Regardless, I don't want the hydroboost anymore as its killing my PS pump. I just received a dual diaphragm brake booster & master cylinder from a 96 XJ. I intend to remove the hydroboost setup in my rig, install the 96 XJ booster/MC and put my power steering lines back to a more OEM setup. New power steering lines are on their way. I also want to do away with the OEM MJ "dual" rear brake line. I have the complete brake system from a 99 XJ. Does anyone know if the 99 XJ proportioning valve (proportioning block) and the hardlines to the MC fit the 96 XJ master cylinder?

To hopefully conclude this thread...the problem is not the switch but rather how the switch is oriented on the brake booster rod. The PO installed hydroboost from an astro van and modded the brake rod to work with the comanche brake switch. For some reason unbeknownst to me the switch has decided its not happy with this anymore. So, in conclusion, we all learned that brake lights work even when the truck is off. :D There is more to this brake saga to be continued in another thread.

Wish I would have seen this earlier, I have the RE XJ drop brackets sitting in my garage that I would have let go cheap.

The best price for the RR floor mats will be on eBay...about $60 shipped.

The input on the 8.25 is longer than the dana 35, so you most likely cannot reuse your drive shaft without lifting your rig first.

The new springs worked out just fine. They are almost perfect for the rear lift. The upper is horizontal at ride height, a good thing. The lowers are fairly tucked up with the Clayton crossmember I decided to do away with the heims on the upper and use ballistic joints instead. Hopefully I'll get a few less vibes into the cabin. Mmmmm The shocks are no where near long enough, 12" Bilsteins are here and will be installed shortly. All new brake parts and lines were installed. Burned in the leaf perches. Installed all new brakes on the rear too. Back on all (4) tires I used KJ parking brakes cables...they make no sense and are wayyyy too long. I'm going to have to tuck them up in the frame somehow or use other cables. The truck needs the rear shock mounts burned on and shocks installed, parking brake sorted out, front shocks replaced with bilsteins and the power steering bled. The steering system will not bleed. I have spent about 10 hours trying to get it bled, and air continues to bubble out of the reservoir. All hose connections are tight and there are no holes in any hoses. Bleeding the steering has been the biggest pain of this project so far.

There is no way you're at 6.5" up front. To clear 33's, plan on either lifting 4.5" and trimming your fenders pretty good or lift 6.5" to clear OEM flares (will still need minor trimming).

A narrower tire will perform better in snow. A narrow (real) snow tire will outperform anything else in snow...unless you got studded snows. Any tire with a blocky tread (most MT's) will be some of the worst for snow traction. The more siping the better (there is a reason snow tires have craps tons of siping).

That new o2 sensor might have taken a dump. I think it can be checked with a multimeter. Check the wires to/from it too.

Check/change the distributor cap and rotor or atleast make sure you are getting spark to all 6 wires/plugs. You might as well change all the plugs while you're at it too. They're cheap enough.