Pete M

After screwing around in the junkyard trying to remove the stock flange bolts, I intend to track down hex-head replacements if I can. The stock bolts are designed to come off with a 12-point socket or wrench and it takes very little damage to make it impossible to get a wrench on them. :mad:

If you're looking for stock ones, car-part.com may be able to help.

I'm more than a little bit sceptical, but: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1985-Jeep-Comanche-MJ-4WD-SWB-RARE_W0QQitemZ4643786638QQcategoryZ6286QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Most of my scepticism stems from the unlikelyness that Jeep would let that escape into public hands.

What did you do for lower control arms?

Hopefully. :D

Nope, no choice. The minimum order quantity is gi-normous and prevents any variations. Voting is done and the magnets have been ordered: red with no bar. Hopefully later on we can have some personal choices when we move on to stickers. They will certainly cost me more, but the run size will be much, much smaller.

Don't you mean $125 per pair? What spacers are 125 each? As to gear ratio, Dana 30s with the 3.73 gear ratios can be hard to find, while 4.10s are common. Jeep on! --Pete

The "clocking" is how the t-case is rotated around the trans. Look at the back of the t-case as viewed from the rear axle. The bottom edge of the MJ/XJ t-case will point at around 8'oclock and the TJ/YJ around 9'oclock, or something like that. It can mean better ground clearance, but puts the t-case real close to the body. The engine/bellhousing area will be essentially the same for a like year XJ/MJ.

Huh? :???:

Good choice on the 3.55 axles. :D See the "drivetrain" folder at my site for how I adapted my TJ trans/t-case. http://www.picturetrail.com/petermontie There are several differences, none of which are all that difficult to overcome.

I ordered the magnets today. They will be in next week. At that time he and I will be discussing the flag MJ as a sticker and some plain vinyl lettering that says "ComancheClub.com".

Mmmmmm.... Disk brakes...... :drool:

Sure, it makes perfect sense. But only if the money's there. :roll:

I'm embarassed to say what I paid for mine :oops: (it was an emergency and I was too ignorant to know any better :cry: ), but I gotta say that $350 sounds like strong encouragement to part with it. :D But I still have to decide if I'm using it or the 8.8 in my '90.

I had the same exact thoughts, but could never have afforded a full cage if someone else was doing it. I started with protecting my head and am happy I did that. A rollover is a worst case senario and I drive accordingly. Later on I'll expand the design as time/resources become available. If money is tight, protect what's most important and drive sanely for the time being. Just take future plans into account now so you don't have to re-do anything later on.

Well, since with my design you're only asking for about 20 minutes of work... :D The key is to have them do ONLY the things you cannot do yourself. The guys that did mine charged by the foot, no matter the complexity (but he might have to hang on to the rig for a while since this was his "other" job). Might not sound fair when you look at how un-complex the bending on mine was, but he was also doing all the welding too. I did the painting and all the prep work to the truck.

Like this: With mounts like this:

Keep it simple and the costs should be reasonable. Your main rollbar can consist of 2 bends and 2 notches. Adding a diagonal would add 2 more notches. How much can that possibly cost? Have you even talked to the local guys about that? Or are you just assuming it's a billion-dollar job? It's not like we're talking about a complex in-the-cab cage. I made (found actually) my own mounts, you can do the same. They're just rectangle tube sections with an adaptere plate to spread out the load. Do everything so all they need to do is bend/notch/weld-to-your-mounts. Then take it home and paint it yourself. Protection is not the place to start being creative with materials. HREW would also be acceptible, just be sure the weld seam is on the inside of the bend.

You'll need to move the leaf perches. Yes, the early 8.25 is better, just not by a whole lot. The later (97+ I think) 8.25 is an excellent upgrade. An XJ/MJ dana 44 is even better, though can be harder to find and older (probably needs seals and stuff). A ford 8.8 from an Explorer is a significant upgrade and 96+ have disks.

My 2cents: -DOM tube and triangulation are your friends. -You can probably get away with a single triangulation bar instead of the X. -Plenty of people run 297s with 35s. Bring your 260s with you as spares. If there's any left over, you can keep the change. :D

I would hesitate rebuilding a toasted Dana 35. After my 35 started spitting teeth, it was discovered that the axle was tweaked. No idea if one problem caused the other or if they were independant. Personally I'd search out 3.55 geared XJ axles. Oh wait, I did! :D

From what I've read from XJ owners online, anywhere from $200 to $500 and sometimes more. They seem to vary wildly.

Ouch! :eek: I'm not looking for lift, nor am I looking for no lift. I merely want to help support the main and reduce spring-wrap and whatever happens, happens. Let us know how your swap goes. Finding XJ leafs can be a heck of a lot easier than tracking down a decent set of MJ leafs.

Bumpstops are there to save your springs, shocks, tires, fenders or anything else back there that isn't designed to get smashed when the axle somes up to meet the frame. :D Extending them can be as easy as unbolting them and adding some steel between them and the frame. But watch for rust. The bolts on my 88 just snapped off and I ended up bolting the bumpstops to the axle.

Coud it be a cookie issue in your computer? :dunno: