mvusse

Haven't wheeled it yet besides playing in my favorite mud puddle on an area township road. About 20 feet long, 2 feet deep. Will be going to Badlands in July, though. But I didn't mean I was going to do it. It was just a suggestion for a possibility. I don't even have my spare tire down there; it's sliding around in my bed. My Suburban has the gas tank located there (42 gallon tank!), but I's a lot higher in the back, and has a monster skid plate covering it. That skid plate has saved it many times, as has the trailer hitch that sits just a little lower.

I thought the ones at Autozone (and other stores) were for the Cherokee. They are listed as also working for the Comanche, but in fact they do not, because the sending unit is mirror image of what it is supposed to be. The float points in the wrong direction interfering with the pan in the bottom of the tank. If you have an aftermarket tank without a pan they may work.

Where? An XJ gas tank isn't a small item. There's no room on the left side, the drive shaft runs down the middle and the exhaust system takes up the right side. Behind the rear axle, where the spare tire is supposed to go.

What kind of bumper did you get? Any pics?

Yes, it is a vacuum operated valve that controls how much coolant flows through the heater core (temperature control). Default with vacuum disconnected is wide open.

Doesn't an XJ tank mount crossways behind the rear axle? Might it be possible to mount it like that in a Comanche? Use it as a secondary gas tank?

Mine does like everybody else's: revs up immediately after starting, but settles right down within less than a second. Never stays in high idle.

This morning Strasburg was at 3.489, Dover 3.459 and New Philadelphia 3.699. 9:30am I got word Dover and New Philly had gone up to 3.799, so I took 20 minutes off work to put 41 gallons in the Suburban at 3.489. An hour later Strasburg also went to 3.799. This is all in Ohio.

What, you don't drink Dutch?

If it's a 44, would it be possible someone swapped the insides out of a rear 44 and swapped the tags along with it?

Welcome back!

You'd probably have more luck finding a Cherokee donor than a Comanche. And it doesn't cost that much to have your 2wd drive shaft shortened to work with the 4wd setup.

It's a 100 footer.... There are rust spots everywhere, including a large hole rotted through the bed side. Driver's fender is a different shade of gray, header panel is white, bumper is hunter green and passenger fender will be teal :D Interior is black, but seats are shot, headliner is hanging down and carpet is, well, 21 years old. Carpet might be okay with a good cleaning, but the seats need reupholstered. In the meanwhile I might just duck tape them and throw a cover over them. Headliner will come out soon to take a look at. Might just be able to glue the fabric back to the backing. It will eventually get painted, but not any time soon.

Did some playing with the lca this afternoon. Pressed new bushings into the one the bushings fell out of. One was tight, the other I could pop out with my fingers. Soooo, lca went into the trash. I then put the new bushings in a spare lca, and installed it. Test drive to the grocery store and back, replaced ds front axle u-joint and ds lca since last death wobble occurrence and DW *seems* to be gone, bit one 20 mile jog on the freeway is not conclusive. Also still going to replace bushing in the other lca. On a side note, I ran into the PO at a local pub, and he's glad I'm fixing it up. He bought it less than a year ago and put about 2000 miles on it before he wrecked it. Said he paid $1200 for it (but then, it wasn't wrecked when he bough it). No license, so he bought a motorcycle. Figures if they try to pull him over he can outrun them. I figure with his DUI record he won't have to worry about being pulled over. Better worry about getting a ride in a Hearse. :nuts:

Is it possible it was bored through, but on a bit of an angle? When you cut the valve open, the rest of the hole ended up in the saw shavings.

How I wish we had a junkyard here that did that! :drool:

From the add mark to the top of the hashed part (full) is exactly 1 qt. If you only have a quarter inch on the stick I'd say 2 quarts. But if it's that low between oil changes, I'd buy a third so you have it for when it's low again. You must be leaking or burning it quite badly to lose that much.

In case I do end up having to replace it, one question still stands: What all does the axle interchange with? Do all Jeeps with a D30 front and non CV joint axles have the same length axles and the same spline count on both ends? Or just Comanche and Cherokee?

Not yet. I'm still messing with the front suspension, so I hope to find time to wire wheel and paint it before I put it in. I headed out around 8 this morning to spend 45 minutes or so replacing a front axle u-joint. Finally got finished around 9pm. I need to find that Murphy guy and shoot him. :grrrr: Tomorrow I'm pressing two new bushings onto a lower control arm to put on probably Tuesday.

If you're going to work on your truck any more, you might as well buy a torque wrench and keep it. They have more uses than valve cover bolts. :wrench:

I got interrupted twice today, First time wast the 5th grade band spring concert that daughter #1 was in. That was 2pm this afternoon. After the concert was over daughter #2 told me the high school drama club (that she's in) is putting on a play at 6pm. During the play I did some brainstorming, and when I got home I got out my grinder. Ground 1/32" off the inside of each ear and the new u-joint first like a dream. This was going to just be a temporary measure, but I'm going to keep an eye on it for the next few weeks, and if there are no problems I guess it'll be permanent. Also picked up 2 new bushings for a lca, and to my surprise they come not only with the thin steel sleeve inside, but also with the big steel sleeve on the outside. I expected to get just a rubber bushing with the thin sleeve inside. After work tomorrow I'll press them onto the lca that the bushings fell out of. If they are tight I'm using it, if not I'll press them back out and throw the arm in the trash.

If you're talking about the plastic cover, my tank looks like swiss cheese because the space between the tank and plastic cover was full of dirt. Every time it got wet it held the water. Guy I bought the new tank from told me not to put the cover back on.

Well, I set out to replace the front ds u-joint today. Getting the hub assembly out of the steering knuckle was a bugger and took me 3 hours. Bolts all came off easily (breaker bar, 4 foot extension pipe :D ), but the hub assembly was rust welded to the knuckle. When I finally had it off I slid the axle out and took it to the shop, where I got the u-joint out with a 20 ton hydraulic press. One cap had no bearings left, which I knew, but two of the remaining 3 caps were dry also. Original 1987 Spicer u-joint. My current problem is that the caps were so badly rusted into the axle ends (retaining rings came out in many, many pieces) that by the time I had them broke loose and pressed out, the ears on both axle ends were bent in. With the one side of the joint in place and the caps tight on the joint, the other end is a good 1/16" away from being able to get the retaining clip in. I tried to force it with the press, to see if maybe the ear would bend out again, but only succeeded in busting the end of the u-joint through the bearing cap. I might be able to bend the ears out before putting another new joint in, but am not counting on being able to keep the two holes for the bearing caps aligned. So, I'm guessing I need a new axle shaft. Parts stores carry only the CV boot ones, and I'm not looking forward trying to get one from a j-y because I may have the same problem with the hub assembly I had on my truck. Question is, what all does it interchange with? Specifically, does it interchange with a D30 shaft out of a YJ? Also, can I safely drive around (in 2wd) without the shaft installed, or will I lose oil out of the front diff if I do? If I can't drive without the axle, could I just stick the axle in and tie it (zip tie, metal wire, or whatever) to the axle housing to hold it in?

Work day 2. Went to Davey's Jeeps and got a new driver's side fender as well as a (green!) bumper. This is what I started off with today: fender bumper and bracket (with horn attached) Header assembly had to come off again to get the fender off. The new fender and that bracket are on. It IS grey. Just a different shade. I guess I have a Cherokee Sport now :D And with the bumper installed. Header assembly back in place. And back out into the cold. I drove around like this for a while, with the total cost now at $560. Did most of a tune-up: Spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and button. Since then I have also replaced most of the rear brake line, and other miscellaneous brake parts, as well as lower control arm, track bar and track bar bracket. Also put on a CB antenna where the radio antenna is supposed to go, but the radio has not been installed yet. More pictures on that later. At the moment I'm at $710 plus probably another $100 in little parts, so let's call the total $800. Part of the last $150 still has to be installed, though.

Edit to add some useful info: rear shocks: Monroe 59358 15-25 (T100 rear?) Gabriel 61582 14.95-24.98 (93-98 T100 rear) Gabriel 58617 16.24-27.37 (F150/F450 front) Gabriel G63692 16.30-27.58 (F150/F450 front) Front shocks: Gabriel #81440 14.625-24.625 Oil seal for single piece shaft in disconnect housing: NOS (Napa Oil Seal) 11771 (Superseded by 11782) or 11800 (better and cheaper). Timken/National 40576S? Serpentine belt for (Renix) alternator relocation: 770K6 (77.0", 6 ribs). Rear output seal: Timken/Mational 4370N. NOT 2506! 2506 is for Dodge applications. Rear brake hoses: 1997 Jeep Wrangler, 23.5" axle tube to hard line. 1995 Dodge Dakota, 21.75" axle tube to hard line. Xena's rear disk brake hoses (Duralast): 77760 (H38620) 77761 (H38621) Now back to the original post: This is what I started with. Paid $400 for it, engine ran, 4wd worked, clean title, and it was drivable, Here it is in the shop at work, getting ready to work on it. Yes, it's a wood shop, but it has a concrete floor and is heated. Better than on a gravel driveway in the snow. And after I have removed all the damaged parts from the front of the truck: This is the new (to me) header panel assembly that is going on. A quick test to make sure the lights work the way they are supposed to. Got it on. With the lower valance reinstalled and the license plate zip tied. That pretty much concludes the first day I seriously worked on it.