zackcj7

Yeah, the 4 cylinder guys will probably hate me for this but I am going to strip the '86 of the suspension, axles, and winch and put them on the '88. I already have a good NP231, I just need a 4wd AW4 to convert the '88. The '86 will go back to stock.

Yesterday, my wife wanted to stop by a craft shop on the way home from lunch and I found some headliner material. After pulling the nasty headliner board out I thought I had wasted my money. But it turned out pretty well. I did manage to break one of the sun visor clips but other than that I think it is a success.

So far i've done a homebrew garage exhaust to fix the leaky hack job that was on it. BTW, that's chjeeper, who I believe is also a member on here, doing the welding at his awesome barn/shop. I've changed the oil and filters and have been driving it around town hauling stuff and using it like a truck.

Here are some more pics from the day I brought it home.

I bought my 2nd MJ from a guy who inherited it from his grandpa when his grandpa passed away. His grandpa was the original owner and the truck had 77k original miles. Aside from a hack exhaust job the truck was all factory and in pretty good shape. It's a 4.0l, AW4, 2wd with air conditioning. Here are the pics from the day I went to look at it.

I have the Thrush welded on my '88 4.0l. It's way too loud for me. Flowmaster on my TJ sounds much better.

Angles look good. How much lift are you running? Be sure to even your ends when you align it. You should have the same amount of threads showing on either end of the drag link and tie rod.

The tachometer was optional on the Pioneers in '88 and '89. Gauges rather than idiot lights were included with the Pioneer package, but the standard cluster had the large fuel gauge. I've owned two Pioneers (my '88 XJ and an '89 MJ) that had the tachometer. So don't skip over a vehicle just because it's a Pioneer. It could have the full cluster with tach. So was there ever a tach option on a column shifted MJ?

Thank you sir, it's tedious, but it's worth it in the end! Well, got off night shift this morning and evidently had entirely too much coffee. The (M)an (J)eep is back on it's wheels!!!! Temporarily anyway, until I drop the engine in. Just wish I had another set of hands, busted my knuckles more than a few times this morning trying to get the front axle in there. I like the stance, no lift in the rear yet, but no weight either. 4.5" coils up front, couldn't get the spacers to slide over the bumpstop, need to grind it down some. Anyway, here's the pics!!! You have to remove the bump stops to install spacers. Pull out the rubber bumper and there is a bolt inside the cup that will remove them and allow you to slide the spacer on.

Black Magic pads and Centric rotors for the front really help. http://blackmagicbrakes.com/.

Check with a local vinyl graphics shop, preferably on that does the automotive wraps. They can usually reproduce stuff and get it pretty close from a picture.

Check to see if the clutch master has leaked into the back of the fuse box. Happened with my '86 and it is a major PITA.

Have someone move the steering wheel back and forth slowly while parked while you are watching under the truck (E Brake on). Look for any movement in the trac bar and control arm bushings. Also look for movement in the steering box where it bolts to the body. Also check all the steering ends for excessive movement. That being said in my experience it's usually the trac bar.

Unbolt the trac bar from the axle. Then bounce up and down on the front bumper really aggressively. That should recenter the axle. When you go to bolt the trac bar back in place you'll see that it no longer lines up with the hole. Sometimes you can drill a new hole and re-use the stock trac bar. If not you'll need to get an adjustable.

I have one of those Cobra all in ones. It has not held up well. The coating on the mic cord started to deteriate over time and the mic holder on the back is plastic and will snap off with a little force. But although the plastic parts are falling apart the CB still does it's job.

This webpage has a pretty good break-down. http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/np_nvg_input_gears.htm

TJ Rubicons did not have lifted springs from the factory. They just had extended bump stops.

Did you use plastidip on the side vents too? Or is that something else?

Wow, your truck is in great shape. I thought my '88 was well taken care of.

I was looking at this with a friend of mine a couple weeks ago. We had my '86 parked next to a later model that came with a 4.0 and we couldn't find any differences in the firewalls.

The ARB is your best choice. I would just get it fixed.

I've got one in North GA. Where are you located?

Check this one out I found when looking for parts on CL. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/3737481344.html

Yeah, that guys threatening tone isn't exactly going to help get people interested. My real pet peeve with Craigslist ads is sellers who put very little information. The ad for my '88 didn't say it was a Comanche, didn't list any details, and of course had no pictures. It's not twitter, there is no character limit, type some details! I don't want to waste my time contacting some idiot who may or may not have what i'm looking for.

Congratulations on the truck! Driving a manual isn't hard to learn. It's easier to find a deserted dirt road to learn on though. I remember how I learned to drive a manual. My grandmother's second husband wanted me to go to the video store and rent us a movie to watch. I was 16 and had never driven a manual. He said "you have a dirt bike, it has a clutch, the truck is the same just switch your hands and feet". Then he threw me the keys.