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Everything posted by coheed
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Looking at their website, it seems like they've changed their design since I bought them. Mine are press in OE style rubber bushings, they make them with greaseable polyurethane now. That said I have no complaints about them. 3 years and 15,000 miles and I didn't feel like I needed to change the bushings when I had them off 2 months ago. I also haven't had any issues with handling, or getting it aligned. Swapping in new control arms should always improve handling if they're the correct length.
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The bend gets installed facing down like a U. Helps the arm not bottom out on the mount/axle when the axle is drooping on taller lifts. I have no rubbing with 31s on factory 15x8s.
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I've had the Core4x4 tier one lower and uppers on my truck for about 3 years now. The bushings are still perfect and the threads are great, but the powder coating is chipping off a bit. That's also with probably 15,000 miles, some of it seeing snow and salt. I would definitely buy them again.
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It's 23. I have a NP228 sitting in the shed that came off the 904 and it's 23.
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how many miles on your truck's factory engine?
coheed replied to Pete M's topic in MJ Tech: Modification and Repairs
Never posted mine in here. 324k on the odo when I bought it, and I've put another 18k on it since then. However the cable was unhooked, so who knows. Doesn't have the telltale red tag that the replacement 60° V6s had, so seems to be original. -
Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
Took it to a buddy's house to do an alignment on their nice level concrete garage floor. Then I went on the first adventure since the axle swap. I found an aluminum topper about 110 miles away and could only get the length and width measurements out of the dude. I was worried it might be for an S10 and be too short on the truck. I figured if it was, I could just put it on the trailer and no one would notice. I also stopped off at Carolina Sandhills wildlife refuge to tool around a bit in the sand. Not a lot of pictures, but it's a fun little spot, and they also have dispersed camping so I may go back at some point. Well turns out it was a perfect fit for the Manche. It's a custom built one, so at some point someone probably went to Stoney's truck toppers and said they wanted a work cap for their long bed MJ. It's a little taller than the fiberglass one, and has much more volume inside because the "frame" of the fiberglass one protrudes in much more. It's also about 75lbs lighter. It's got panels that open on all 3 sides which is cool, I'll just have to figure out how to put up a removable bug screen. It also has struts like I haven't seen before. They're 2 slip fit pipes with a captured spring in the middle. The back and the passenger side work fine if a bit crusty, but the driver side is rusted shut. Not sure if I'll just clean up the stuff on it, or switch to gas struts. I scrubbed it decently yesterday, but the paint is flaking off of it. I'm gonna take it to a high pressure car wash to see if I can blast off the spray paint and get to the hideous neon green paint underneath -
Been meaning to make a thread about turning my grandad's Comanche into a trailer. Due to having issues with his estate I couldn't get a title for it, the typical floor pan and frame rail rust, and having been flipped and crashed a few times with a fairly warped frame I decided turning it into a trailer would be the best way to keep it around. This is truck that he and I would cruise around in the woods, take fishing trips, and do general truck antics in. So, it had and has a lot of sentimental value, and I really didn't want to get rid of it since it was one of the few things he gave me when he passed. This is what it looked like while it sat at my old house for quite a few years. Start by cutting the cab and the body off. I ended cutting off everything except the frame rails about 8-9 inches in front of the back of the cab brace. Next I had to deal with this internal frame brace as I was planning on building a tongue and welding it to the factory frame. I also wanted to take the bracing off the outside of the frame as it was no longer necessary. I just marked where the spot welds were and used a spot weld cutter to remove them. I also cut the back of the cab brace off as the tongue I was building was going to be enough. Next I needed to open the frame rails up a bit. They curve inward at this point just enough that it interfered with me inserting and test fitting the tongue. Next was measuring and tongue test fitting. I built it out of 3"x3/16" c-channel and 2"x1/4" wall square tube. I used them only because it was what I had laying around and I didn't want to pay for any materials aside from welding rod and the coupler/jack. Then I did the final trimming on the frame rails as I had a good bit of excess material. I ended up welding and bolting the tongue to the factory frame. I did a combo of fillet and rosette welds along with 3 grade 8 3/8" bolts on both sides. Don't have any pictures of the welds at the moment. Got some gamblers to match my other truck. The trailer was a huge help when moving houses. I know I looked like Jed Clampett driving down the road, but who cares . The new house only has a little 12x12 shed as compared to the 20x14 I had at the last house, so the trailer has mainly been a storage unit for some things since I moved. It currently has no axle or springs under it as it had the 4.10 d35 that I threw in my other truck. Currently debating whether I want to shell out $400 for a new custom axle with electric brakes or go the junkyard minivan rear axle route and do hydraulic surge brakes.
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Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
Personally, I think trucks with matching trailers look awesome. Even better if the wheels match. This was right before I did all the suspension work, and I won't be able to get a good, updated picture until I get a new axle for the trailer. I've thought about taking the windows out and doing the pass through thing, but I don't know if I'm thin or flexible enough for that I'd like to build the trailer out as the camper/sleeping area, so I could go places, drop the trailer if need be and have the truck to explore with. Only problem is my 2.8 is real tired and having a full camping setup and the trailer it's honestly unsafe how slow it is. I'm hoping I can get a 3.4 donor sometime this year and start that. -
Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
Yeah, I love old long bed trucks with toppers. There's a OBS 250 crew cab with the 2-tone purple and white paint that rolls around here, and I drool every time I see it. I've got my eye on another one on FB right now. It's an aluminum one with a built-in rack on top. If I get some stuff sold and have the spare cash, I'll probably grab it. I like the idea of having a long bed with a camper top and a matching long bed trailer that also has a camper top on it. -
Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
It's just something about a long bed with a camper top that really gets me. Also screwed around in the yard on the trees that power company cleared before I put the top back on. Even with the sway bar still connected, the 4.10 gears and the flex from the leaves makes it so much easier to get up stuff. -
Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
I feel like the only tops I've seen where the carpet sits flat and looks good are the newer tops that are completely smooth on the inside, or people who do it to their aluminum tops. How warm does that Mr heater keep the truck? The coldest camping I've done in mine got down to maybe 15, and my insulated pad and sleeping bag were enough to keep me warm. But I've thought about getting one of their little buddies to heat the back. -
Sealing Glass on Wing Window
coheed replied to Drahcir495's topic in MJ Tech: Modification and Repairs
Both of mine do the same thing. Whatever the factory used to seal them to the bottom metal part has deteriorated over the years. I thought about cleaning out the channel and using windshield urethane to reattach them. -
Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
Thanks. Your truck was one of a few that made me fall in love with the long bed and camper top look. I like the swb, but something about the lwb and a topper just gets me. Personally, I think @howeitsdone has the best camping setup though. -
Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
Got the factory sway bar put back on with rebuilt JKS disconnects. Bedded the new brakes on the neighborhood street and took it for its first spin back out in the real world. Getting up to speed isn't the awful experience it was with the 3.55s. It loses a lot of steam about 50mph, but that's where most of driving maxes out anyway. The difference of all new brakes front and rear is astounding as well. Before it struggled to lock the rears up in heavy braking. Now it'll lock all four up if I want it to. Next will be getting new hardware for the front bumper and getting the camper top switched back over. -
With the way they are made, not easily. I suppose if they go out outside warranty you could open the housing and replace the Leds. The top 2 look like custom sized cob panels, and the reverse one looks like a 3x2 or 4x2 panel. It also looks like the lense is separate for each light instead of being one piece like the factory tails.
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Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
Well, new wheel bearing solved the issues. I shouldn't have tried to cheap out and do them later. I went with the Mevotech's from rockauto because they had the best warranty at the time, and they were fairly cheap. Also, replaced the mounting bolts with some Dorman ones. Took it for its first official spin in the neighborhood being "fixed" and.. HOLY CRAP!! The switch from 3.55 to 4.10 is astounding. It feels like a whole different truck acceleration wise. Granted, I only got to third since I live on a small dead-end street, but the difference in get up and go is worth all the effort. I can only imagine how much difference it would make with a 4.0 or a more powerful engine. My rpm at highway speeds is something to keep track of, but Squirrelly Dan doesn't really see much highway anyway. Also installed the Oracle tail lights from the pre-order. Significantly brighter than stock, and my rear harness was already hacked up, so I didn't feel bad changing the connectors. -
Oracle LED tail lamp harness
coheed replied to eaglescout526's topic in MJ Tech: Modification and Repairs
I don't need anything from them now, there was an issue and I got an automated email about my pre-order. When I emailed them about it I got no response, even after 3 separate emails. More of just an anecdote of how they didn't attempt to communicate with a customer who had just spent a few hundred dollars with them. -
Oracle LED tail lamp harness
coheed replied to eaglescout526's topic in MJ Tech: Modification and Repairs
From my experience, good luck getting them to reply to anything. -
Disclaimer: my truck has been hit on both sides, so the bed is a little warped around both of the tail lights. That said I wouldn't use the fitment on my truck as a testament of how they fit on a straight body. Haven't done the wiring yet cause I just wanted to see how they looked on the truck. They lined up with the mounting points on the truck well, and came with new captured nuts for the body side. They sit pretty flush against the body in both directions. Over all I like them. Only a year warranty, so hopefully they hold up well for a good while.
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Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
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Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom
coheed replied to coheed's topic in Member Projects: Your Comanches
Well, some sour news. I was gone most of July for a trip to Japan, so I had to delay working on Squirrelly Dan. When I got back, I buttoned up the little loose ends, and bled just the rear brakes. Then I took the truck for a test drive up and down the neighborhood. Immediately I knew something was wrong. Even in 4 low it took a good bit of effort to get the truck moving. Once in motion there was a horrible oscillating screech. I originally thought it was the rear brakes, maybe I had over adjusted the brand-new drums and shoes. I pull back in the driveway and notice that the front wheels have a massive amount of positive camber, and it's different on both sides. _ Obviously, something's wrong with the hubs since the ball joints are brand new, and my alignment math can't be that wrong. I am then reminded of Eagle_SX4's thread about swapping in different axles and how they interface with the hubs. The CV axles I installed are billed to fit ZJs, XJs, and MJs, as such they come with an ABS tone ring on them. I didn't think about taking the tone ring off as the back of the hubs/bearing out of my axle was completely flat. Well, they didn't play well with each other. Luckily, it seems the only things that suffered permanent damage are the hubs and the tone rings. These were torqued to 175lbs/ft while rotating the hub. Although I did notice that during installation I couldn't use the provided washers or nuts as they were too thick. Once they were installed there was not enough thread exposed to install the locking cap and cotter pin. Also, when looking at Eagle_SX4's thread they talk about swapping the sealing flange from the old axles onto the new ones. Well, the I.D. of the flange is about 2mm too big to install on the CV axles. Looking at SKF, Timken, and other bearings spec'd for the pre 89 knuckles they have a pressed in seal on the back that seems like it would fit over the end of the CVs. Debating on if I should just order some Mevotechs from Rockauto, as they have the best current warranty policy and I've used some of their components on some the harder to find parts for Toyota's I've owned, or if I should try to get my hands on something local. -
Internal view of the rear leveling valve.
coheed replied to coheed's topic in MJ Tech: Modification and Repairs
That's a fair point. I forgot brake fluid is non-compressible so the pressure is the same throughout the system. Also, even with the opened valve in hand I'm still not sure how the fluid gets through the valve.
