Pete M

Oops, I meant Thursday. Lookin' for a high of 75* on Thursday. :D She's going to be a daily driver so 31s are the target size.

Um, all of them? :dunno: :hmm: Be careful about the wheel bolt pattern. I seem to remember reading that some recent years were metric.

Or: why you should just go buy a 2wd... I present to you a run-of-the-mill 1990 MJ. A Pioneer, with buckets, full cluster, 4wd, AX-15, skid plates and even a rollbar. 210,000+ miles of faithful service to an unknown number of owners (at least 4). The previous owner was tired of patching rust and sinking money into her and so put her up for sale for the cost of the last repair, a new clutch master cylinder (didn't solve the problem, which turned out to be a leaky slave). So I drove down to Toledo and forked over my cash in exchange for an attempt at driving it back home. First order was to get the friggin thing out of 4wd. Due to severe floor rust at the hinge bracket, it took me underneath with a wrench directly on the T-case lever and Mike inside the truck pulling on the lever to get it to move. Next issue was corrosion at the battery terminals, then the issue with the brake lights not working, and all the while I was shifting as much as possible without using the clutch pedal. But she arrived in my driveway none the worse for wear. Well, except for the clutch line, which finally blew out, rendering it completely useless. And what are my plans for this Comanche? I need a daily driver. But not just any daily driver. I couldn't deal with that. :brows: So, on to the build... First off, I needed to dump that ghastly rollbar and the tiny rolling rubber. Out came the sawzall and on went a set of 31s. Then she sat for a good long time while I gathered the necessary parts... Last week I was finally ready to push her into the garage and begin. First I gutted the interior to see how bad the rust was. Yeah. :( Well, I do have awesome access to the crossmember bolts. :D I started with some easy projects. First I got the windshield wipers to work properly by swapping in a spare delay controller. Previously, the delay didn't work, the wipers flew past their stops, and wouldn't return to their resting place. While working on that, I replaced some fuses. Then I moved on to more complicated projects and swapped in a dual diaphram booster from a 95 XJ. And gutted the rear suspension and exhaust. I found a new use for my U-joint puller. Those leaf spring bolts were reeeeeally stuck in there. Even with this method I still had to cut the heads off and wiggle the leafs out. And that's where we stand. It's too hot to work in the garage, so I'll be picking up where I left off on Weds when it's supposed to cool down.

I thought they put the sound mat between two layers of Hurculiner? I'm pretty sure you can put the Hurculiner (or whatever bedliner you use) directly to the POR. I think the big question is whether or not you need the sound mat. I'm betting the magazine got theirs for free to do the article. It's incredibly expensive and I seriously doubt it adds all that much more protection over using the bedliner alone. In my opinion, adding a metal heatshield between the floor and pipes is the most effective option. Second after that is a removable interior pad.

There is no such thing as overkill when you're thinking of 39.5" tires. Just make sure the bolt pattern matches your front axle.

2wd MJs are 1" shorter than 4wd MJs.

Ever since the A/C died, I started to like my vent windows. Flipping them out seems to provide the most air flow into the cab. But then again, the drivers side leaked considerably and eventually I glued it shut. I do intend to replace it with another, but then I also plan to rip out that awful carpet and just line the floor, so there's no further risk of water getting trapped under the carpet.

I'm confused, why do you feel you need a heat shield to go between the POR and Hurc?

If all goes well, I should have an internal bellhousing freed up when my 90 is finished. Maybe by this weekend.

How does a 435 bolt to the 4.0L? Or am I thinking of the wrong trans...

They are definitely fiberglass. :D

Are they fiberglass? I thought they were just fiberboard (meaning glorified cardboard). When it stops raining I'll run out to the 86 (the only MJ I have that still has what's left of its headliner).

Plus if they stick that far out, I'm betting they'd hit the fenders when turning.

It says it's a 100amp unit, but somehow I doubt I'm getting that. For $65, I didn't expect a whole lot out of it and I feel more comfortable with a pro welding my important stuff anyways.

I never into the 'yard go without torx bits, #2 phillips, flathead, needlenose pliers with wire cutters in them, small tape measure, small adustible wrench and maybe the small pipe wrench. It's usually enough to remove any small stuff that might catch my eye. But then, the 'yard is only 20 minutes from my house so if I see anything big I want, I can run home for the specific big stuff I need. Items I've found handy are a dolly (hand cart, hand truck, 2-wheeled cart, whatever you'd like to call it) with big pneumatic tires, a decent sized tough rubbermaid container to help carry all the big tools/tollboxes on the dolly, and several ratchet straps (not bungee cords) for securing big items to said dolly. Sometimes I sneak in a small map gas torch. :brows:

I use the sticks that came with it. I don't think it really matters what I do with it, since welding for more than 5 seconds in a row will blow the breaker. :cry: And the little welder can't penetrate anything anyways the way it is. I weld with what I call the "bubble gum method". The weld material sticks to this piece and sticks to that piece and if you work at it, you can get a little blob of a bridge connecting the two. Enough of those and the two pieces are stuck together well enough to remove the part and take it to a professional. :D

Admittedly I own a tiny stick welder and the electrical system for the garage is barely adequate for it, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth (figuratively) everytime I struggle to strike an arc. Assuming it's just me and not the equipment, it must take a lot of practice to get good at that. I remember it being substatially easier using a MIG.

Ahhh, then I'm betting that this forum automatically added the /Img for whatever reason. I do know that if you click on the Img tag but don't follow up with a second click after pasting the address, the forum will add in the second one at the end of the post.

Interesting. It doesn't really matter, but out of curiousity, did you copy an address that had Img in it already?

Why do you have the extra /Img at the end?

I would use 1/4" steel for structural things and 3/16" steel for cosmetic.

Does nearly welding a scrap piece of aluminum to a car battery count? :rotfl2:

It's easy to post pics since you have them uploaded somewhere already. Just keep clicking on the image 'til it's as big as it gets. Then right click and copy the address of the image itself. Come here and click on Img, then paste the address, then click on /Img again. Done! As to caster, I haven't a clue. I do remember that, in a stock 78 Bronco, the arms are pretty much parallel to the ground. Since my arms are also, I just went with stock C-bushings. If you find you need more caster, other poly bushings exsist out there, I think in 4 and 7 degree versions but don't hold me to those numbers.

Shouldn't be all that hard. :dunno: I don't really know for sure since I haven't tried it, yet. I wonder if it requires a gear puller and a press? :wrench: Get yourself a factory shop manual. I'd hate to try doing it with a Chiltons or Haynes. Oh, and if you're anything like me, make sure you have yourself a back-up plan... :brows:

Go to a photo hosting site like picturetrail.com and upload your pics. Then, while you're viewing the pic you want to post, right click on it and copy the address. Then come here and click on the IMG button. Then paste the pic's address. Then click on the IMG button again.