mvusse

My 29 spline 8.25" is the most expensive axle I've ever built for anything. $100 for axle $35 for ZJ disc brakes $15 for a 3" hole saw I didn't already have to make ZJ brakes fit on 8.25" $56 for Ruffstuff perches and shock mounts --------- $206 for the axle add another ~$30 for new hardware to mount it (u bolts/washers/nuts) $235 total under my truck and driving. Then for Christmas add $300 plus shipping for a locker and it's still under $600. How do you spend a grand on an 8.8? It already comes with disc brakes, saving $50, and a locker for it is only $260. Edit: Just read your having a complete axle rebuild done. I don't see the point, but oh well.

If you go with an XJ front style driveshaft with the double cardan joint at the transfer case end, you will have to rotate the axle quite a bit. That type of drive shaft is designed to run with a 0 degree joint angle at the axle end. Rotating your rear axle that far would require a fill plug much higher up the diff cover than standard to be able to fill it to the correct level. You may be better off getting a shaft with a single joint on each end.

Didn't his truck get boogered up by going through an ATV trail?

Buddy of mine needed a filter for a Renix. Parts guy at Advance said "I know the number" and pulled a filter off the shelf. Took it home, changed oil and started his truck. Oil sprayed everywhere. HO filter.... :rotf:

I use Purolator Pur-One (The ones that start with PL, not just L). From every bit of info I have read on filters, I believe they are the best out there. Not wanting to start an argument here, just letting you know of another good choice if Wix is not doing it for you any more.

I have not been back in Europe for 22 years, but when I lived there, Italians drove like kamikaze pilots. Overall driving style I remember was to shift early, accelerate slowly and anticipate stop so you can coast instead of standing on the brake. Overall driving style I witness here (and in Canada) is to take off like a jack rabbit, wind out every gear, and hit the brakes at the last moment. These are generalizations, and do not apply to any person in particular.

Does definitively sound like the fuel pump, or at the very least a plugged sock or filter. Check those first. I have replaced my pump several times. You do not need to drop the tank to do so, but removing the drive shaft (easy) will give you more room to move to get the pump assembly out of the tank. Make sure the tank is NO MORE THAN HALF FULL!!! Do not buy the entire assembly, as it will be for a Cherokee, even though the store personell will swear up and down it is for a Comanche as well. It will not work as it will be mirror image of what you need. Just buy a new pump and install it on your original assembly. ALWAYS INSTALL A NEW SOCK! I can not stress this enough. If the pump comes with one, install it. If it doesn't, buy one! Every time the pump is out of the tank for whatever reason, install a new sock. If your tank is nearly empty, it may also be worth your time to remove it, drain it, and wipe out any crud inside it.

That's where I bought my perches and shock mounts. Very well made stuff. Had ordered perches for my 35 from them earlier and been happy with them also. Be aware a Ford 8.8 out of an Exploder is narrower than your stock axle.

I used it once. It worked for at least the 60 minutes I owned my Suburban after I used it. Don't know how long it worked for the new owner. Do I feel guilty for not mentioning the head gasket, intake gasket, transfer case and other problems going to cost $2k+ to fix? No. He supposedly traded me a rust free XJ that is paint over bondo over swiss cheese and NO floor pans. I knew because I looked at it. I didn't tell him I knew. He saw me look under the XJ, and somehow assumed I didn't notice the 6 license plated stuffed between the frame rail and carpet to give some semblance of structural flooring. But I'm heading off on a tangent again.

Driving style can make a BIG difference. My 4.0HO stick shift XJ gets 17mpg putting around town, but I don't drive it like most Americans do. I drive like Europeans do. Then again, that's what I am.

I never knew there were that many different rear springs for Comanches. I though there was just standard 2wd, standard 4wd, 4+1 MT and 3+2 MT. But if there are 980, 1160 and 1220 pound 3+1 springs, that might explain why I got that much lift when I got new to me stock springs to replace the old sagging and broken ones, putting me at the very top of stock specs, and only 1" lower than MO 3" lift springs after they settled. I'm guessing the newer springs I got must have been the higher capacity as well, then. What still bothers me, though, is that the free arch of the newer springs was quite a bit less (2" or more) than the older ones, but installed under the truck, they road 2"-3" higher. That would go against my new theory, as the free arch of the lower rated sprigs is supposed to be less, not more. Oh well, I'm way past a 3" lift now, and thus the point is moot.

Removed the drive shaft and measured the main tube: 48 3/8" center to center on the u joints. Then removed the yoke and took it with me to pull-a-part to double check against a 93 YJ they have there. Scored a drive shaft out of a Toyota pick up truck that is about 7" longer than I need, with a good Spicer 1310 joint on each end (1 almost brand new), and after another 30 minutes it had a slip yoke from the 93 YJ Wrangler on it, which is 3/4" longer than Comanche and Cherokee ones, and can go to a much steeper angle before the u-joint binds up on it. $16.89 out the door. ::rockon::

I have had an Aussie in my front axle for 6 months now. Very happy with the off road performance. Amazing difference in traction! In 2wd on the road I don't even know it's there, except for the clicking sound when it ratchets to allow one wheel to overrun the other in sharp turns.

I'm on Ohio, we have memebers in just about every state in America, a few Canadian provinces, as well as South America and Europe. So whereabouts are you planning this thing?

If you check MORE's site, you will notice with their bomb proof ones on a unibody vehicle like our trucks, they will transmit engine vibrations to the passenger compartment. On a strictly trail rig, this might be okay. On a daily driver it may be annoying.

Wade, you suck! I mean, I'm happy for you and all, but still... you suck. Okay, maybe I'm just jealous...

Can't remember any more. It was one of the two. There is 0.004" difference; small enough that I think both will fit. if I have to guess, I'd say NOS 11800. Edit: It was the 11771.

Dug through the weeds to find the 8.25" axle as well as my Grand Cherokee rear disc brake setup. Stacked a 2.75" hole saw inside of a 3" one, thinking the 2.75" will work as a centering "pin" to drill the 2.75" holes out to 3". Drill press at 250 rpm (slowest setting), 5 minutes and a pint of oil later I was done. Came home to find out my spring perches and shock mounts from RuffStuff Specialties have arrived! :banana: I started bolting it onto the axle and am pleased to report everything fits perfectly. Mounting holes line up great, rotor tight on the axle flange is centered in the caliper, and the parking brake mechanism even works. Kind of a weird set up, though. The main brake is a disc brake set up, while the parking brake is a drum brake set up inside the hat of the rotor. Ran out of daylight to finish putting the other side together, but now that I figured out how it all went together again, it will be easy enough. Still left to do: Finish installing brakes on other side Reinstall C clips on the axle shafts Grind off spring perches Grind of remainder of shock mounts Buy some U bolts and hardware Install and tack perches Install and tack shock mounts Finish weld (or have welded as I still don't have a big enough one) the perches and shock mounts Buy and install brake lines Install axle under Bush Pig Get drive shaft made and installed. I expect to be back on the road before September is over. Wish me luck!

Since the last post I've been wheeling 3 days over July 4 weekend, when I must have damaged my drive shaft In the process I found out the bottom U-joint was half seized with 2 dry ends. 5 months old, lifetime warranty. Also busted a steel belt in one of the tires. By the time I got home it looked like a porcupine with steel wires poking through the tread and side wall. Wheeled 3 days first weekend in August when I found a bad drive line vibe, caused by an out of balance drive shaft and/or play in the pinion shaft of the rear axle. Made a 75 minute 70 mile trip into 4 hours and 190 miles to pick up 3 more 33" tires for $25 each, as I can't wheel on 3 tires, and going back to the 29s is not an option. Wheeled Bush Pig Friday, then Saturday my daughter and her boyfriend drove up in the Cherokee (still bone stock), and the rest of the weekend I wheeled the Cherokee and they wheeled Bush Pig. After being used to 33" tires, lots of lift and a front locker, getting used to wheeling a stock stick shift took some getting used to, but I managed. Then I went to Badlands: 400 miles there, wheeling all day Saturday and 400 miles back. Still with the damaged drive shaft and play in the rear axle pinion shaft. Somehow the axle survived. This coming Saturday I'm wheeling again, still with the damaged drive line, and afterwards I'm parking her for a while to get the new axle in, and have a new drive shaft made (longer one shortened to a bit longer than my current one).

Update: June 24th: Ordered a $10 oil seal nobody has in stock. Either 11771 (National equivalent is 40576s) or 11800 (National 471765). Can't remember which one any more. June 25th: Installed oil seal, buttoned everything up, and Bush Pig is back on the road.

??? I have heard of 33x9.50, and they are hard to find. Never heard of a 33x9.00.

Thanks!

I run 6.5" lift with 33x12.50 and have clearance issues. No bump stopping, still need to do some more cutting. The narrower 33x10.50 work pretty good with 6.5" lift. I can only imagine how badly you're rubbing the front flares when turning. My suggestions are as above: tow hooks up front (Custom 4x4 makes some good brackets for this), some type of recovery point on the rear, like a Reese style receiver, and a set of good 31" tires.

Since the short bed didn't come out until 87, your's is a long one. Trust me, a long bed Comanche is not easy to maneuver off road on trails meant for a Wrangler. The wheelbase is too long to make tight turns, and the rear overhang creates an awefully low departure angle. If you don't believe me, check the pictures for last Saturday's Badlands run in the Great Lakes Adventure Planning forum. I've been accused of dragging my bumper like a minitrucker :D But a FS Chevy would be worse yet.

Hey, anybody know if Josh has his pics up somewhere yet? He gave me a piece of paper with info to his account on photobucket, but I can't find it. The account that is, not the piece of paper.