87Warrior

Here in KS we have one inspection: If you buy a vehicle, used and out of state, the sheriffs office must confirm that the VIN on the dash is the same as on the Title. My Comanche fell subject to this. I get why some states have the sniffer test, but beyond that its just stupid.

Thanks for the recommendation. I assume the interior/engine harness are attached to each other? If not, I'll be sure to grab all of the harness parts. How different are the HO MJs and pre 2001 XJ's? I figure plug ends have changed, but not a whole lot with the OBDI system. In any case, the dash swap is a ways down the road. I need to worry about saving my cab corners from the rust just starting.

I am wanting to get the interior wiring harness so I can strip it and use it for my power windows/locks/mirriors that came on the '98 doors. The 97+ dash conversion looks very nice in the MJ and would like to get the parts since they are cheap and close (rare for KS). To be tucked in the attic and used at a later date. Thanks for the offer on the bezels, but I do have matching headlight bezels. They were just in the cab so they wouldn't blow away.

HELP Well, I am going back to the same Jeep to get a whole lot more stuff this weekend + 1998 Dash Assembly with steering column/bracket and tranny hump bracket + Interior wiring harness + Weather stripping + Door Striker Pins + Upper heater hose + Windsheild washer fluid container and pumps + Center console with brackets Now for the folks who have stripped the dash out of an XJ. How can you quickly do this? I have never dived into a dash further than the radio! HELP

Just playing with more a a badge idea vs. decal :nuts: Image Not Found

February 28, 2009 Went a visited a 1998 Cherokee being parted out in Kansas City. The trip was a success and I also learned that the MJ is by far the most squirrelly rig on slick roads! It started to fishtail at 60mph on the highway after it down shifted!!! With snow falling I was dreading the fact I was going to be stripping parts. Luckily it was in a shop with 4 helpful people and a sawsall.... I came back with the following: + Front Header + Front Grill + Headlight wiring harness + Bumper + Bumper Caps + Both Front Fenders + Both Front Doors + 1 fender flare ...all for $150 :cheers: I need to get the front turn signal housings/lens and a fender flare. Also need to figure out how to get my future power windows, locks, and mirrors to work.

February 21, 2009 - Installed full gauge cluster with column shift indicator - De-stripped the truck. A little rubbing compound and you can't even tell the stripe was there! This is how I went about the XJ cluster in my 92 with electric speedo and column shift. I started to swap the new gauges into the old cluster housing, but the holes were not identical and did not feel like trying to figure everything out. I went about this with out having a clue what I was getting into. After All, I only bought the truck 3 weeks ago! This is what I did: Factory Cluster still in the truck 1. Remove the fuel gauge from your factory gauge cluster and cut off the bottom. Use the top of the PRD3 1-2 opening as your cutting guide 2. Remove the PRD3 1-2 housing from your factory gauge cluster. Two screws and unhook the wire to the column. 3. Remove the cluster from the truck Altering XJ donor Cluster 1. Remove the tach from your donor cluster, 3 or 4 screws on the back. 2. Notice: the bottom of the tach has two hole in each corner. Line up your PRD3 1-2 housing with those mysterious holes in the tach. Mark the tach where the PRD3 1-2 will be located. 3. Cut the Tach. 4. Place the lower portion of the original fuel gauge (the piece you cut in the beginning) behind the tach of of your donor gauges. Trim the PRD3 1-2 opening as necessary. You are essentially strengthening the tach to withstand the pressures of the column shift spring by doubling up the thickness of the tach. 5. Use 1" machine screws, nuts, and washers to fasten the PRD3 1-2 housing to the back side of the tach. I put the screw in from the back, through the PRD3 1-2 housing, added 2 nuts as spacers, through the tach, and fastened down with two nuts. The PRD3 1-2 housing is now securely positioned behind the tach. The plastic gauge bezel will cover up the end of the machine screws and nuts. 6. Trim any ribbing inside the donor gauges housing around the lower portion of the tach. Also, drill a big hole in the bottom of the donor housing between the speedo and tach. This is for the column shift wire to go through. 7. Test fit and check for clearances. The gas gauge might have capacitor on its circuit board. You may have to trim the PRD3 1-2 housing for clearance. Installing the New XJ Cluster 1. Take the donor gauge cluster to your Jeep and get it plugged in (I would speculate holding off the the speedo cable at this time, the HO Jeeps do not have the speedo cable). 2. Fish the column shift wire through the hole you drilled and attach it to the proper place on the PRD3 1-2 housing. Push and hold the tach into position. 3. Twist the gauge cluster forward and down to gain access to the back. Reinstall the tach using the 3 or 4 screws through the back of the cluster housing. This is a royal pain, but possible with a small screw driver or bit driver. When doing this you will notice the gear indicator may move down to 1-2, this is simply because you are pulling on the column shift wire. 4. Rotate the cluster backward and attach the speedo cable if necessary. 5. Once stuck back in the dash, the PRD3 1-2 indicator should be in the park position and should be ready to go. 6. I plan on using some small black tubing to "frame" the PRD3 1-2 opening in an effort to clean up the cuts. I am experimenting with 1/8" hard plastic vacuum line around the cut marks... It is still very rough, but I see potential!!! :thumbsup: Here you can see the end of the machine screw assembly described above. Once you get in there this should all make sense if you have never looked behind the dash bezel. How it sits behind the bezel: And lastly, what you see when driving. Using this method will put the indicator in a lower position than factory. This is magnified by my attempt to create a frame around the opening with the hard plastic vacuum line. Yes, it still gets plenty of light from the tach lights to see at night.

February 1, 2009 The shocks had to be the factory shocks. There is a MADE IN USA stamp on em. Believe it or not, these things still had gas pressure :thumbsup: Replaced these with some Monroe gas shocks. I also picked up a high pressure power steering hose as the one in the truck leaks like the sieve. Ordered some factory color spray paint to cover up my anticipated 'rust displacement' activity. My goal is to stop the spread of the rust by taking out what is shot. Then when time and money permits, I will eventually get the truck to a body shop for repair and paint. And shot with its sibling! February 7, 2008 Today was a big day for the truck, from front to back: - Replaced Front Diff Fluid - Installed new upper and lower Radiator hoses, with new Antifreeze - Installed new high pressure power steering hose, with new power steering fluid - Installed new Heater hoses, the ones on the truck were a botched mess - Inspected brakes, calipers had 3 different bolt sizes holding 'em on. Tapped and threaded. - Replaced Engine oil/Filter - Installed 10 matching lug nuts, ever other one was different - Installed New Fuel Filter - Replaced T-Case Fluid. The Drain/Fill plugs were on so tight that I needed a breaker bar - Interior scrub down. My theory that the truck was 'old man' driven was proved when I found chew in every nook and cranny - Replaced Rear Diff Fluid - Received my title in the mail, now to inspection and registration!!! I found that I need to do the following at some point: - Has one bad Motor Mount - Front turn signal bulbs are white, not amber behind the clear lens - Front Side marker lights need replaced - I need a Gauge Cluster swap so I know what my engine is telling me! All in all I am having a blast working on this truck and can not wait to get it on the road! This truck is also a prime example why you should never take your rig to Wal-Mart, Midas, etc to have work done. Everything was torqued on by an impact wrench. I am also searching for a canvas bed cover...

87Warrior's 1992 Comanche Build Build Table of Contents Page 1 - Introduction, General Maintenance, Full Cluster Swap, Parts acquisition, Bed painted and lined, Change of Direction...99 XJ Donor acquisition and maintenance Page 2 - Start of MJ Tear down, Description of my ultimate goal for the truck, 97+ Dash install Page 3 - 97+ Sheet metal and Doors, Rubicon Dana 44 front axle, frame top plate removal, 97+ Steering Column, Heater Box install, MJ parking brake adaptation and start of Sand Blasting Page 4 - End of Sand Blasting, POR15 Frame, C2C body parts purchased, Tie-Coat Primer and Chassis Coat, Inner frame detail, Sent to Body Shop Page 5 - Floor Pan Update, Preliminary Engine Build Discussion, Moab Wheels, Rear AxleParts Page 6 - Painted Gauge Cluster, Body Shop update (firewall/floor) then Engine Bay paint, JCR DIY Bumper unboxing Page 7 - Body Shop update with Sherman rocker Page 8 - Picked truck up from Body Shop, Updated Rear Disk Brake plan (Ford and Chevy), Donor 4.0 Tear Down and Inspection, 4.0 (re)build, XJ Main body wire harness adaptation Page 9 - XJ Main body wire harness installation, RB1, Pacesetter Header, 4.0 install, [PROJECT STALLED OUT] Page 10 - Front Axle Rebuild Page 11 - (...to be updated...) Well, it finally happened. I had spent a lot of time contemplating the Brute conversion on a stock TJ as a Daily Driver for awhile but could not find a way to justify the cost... The coolness factor was not good enough. January 31, 2009 I picked up a 1992 Comanche. It has the 4.0 HO, AW4, 30/35, AC, PB, PS, and even a CD player. As far as I can tell, the truck has generally been untouched, just driven 185K miles. This truck suffers from some minor body rot around the rear flares, needs a few new hoses, and the shocks were toast. Now I need to find a good body shop to do the work. Also need to get a factory style rear hitch bumper. My plan for this truck is to leave it stock and drive it for another 100,000 miles!!!!

A few real quick ideas I did in Illustrator for ya: Image Not Found Never fear if you stroke it!

Congrats on the truck. Looks to be in good shape for the price :brows: Suburbia mudding... who woulda thought :rotf:

Paid $150. The guy did not tell me how much he wanted so I suggested an, in my mind, low ball number and he took it ;) I may go back for more if he still has parts in a few weeks as it is a 100 mile drive one way...

The trip as a success and I also got to learn that the MJ is by far the most squirrelly rig on slick roads! It started to fishtail at 60mph on the highway after it down shifted!!! With snow falling I was dreading the fact I was going to be stripping parts. Luckily it was in a shop with 4 helpful people and a sawsall.... When we returned home: :clapping: I need to get the front turn signal housings/lens and a fender flare. Also need to figure out how to get my future power windows, locks, and mirrors to work. If you are in the KC area, here is a new link to the guys CL ad: http://kansascity.craigslist.org/pts/1050883319.html :fool:

I think my MJ had 17 year old shock, or something close, still on it when I bought it! The crazy thing is they still had 'some' resistance. Made in USA was stamped on 'em.

The tags are located on a metal plate, usually vertical, on the left side of the diff cover. It is held on by two of the diff cover bolts. Sounds like your truck could use a fluid change anyhow. Do this and you can clean all the stamped metal up :brows:

If you have a lot of miles on on that tranny, avoid a flush. You may do it in :no: From what I gathered when looking for info about the AW4 fluid flush, was simply not to. Just drain the fluid (they have a drain plug) and fill to the right level. This way you are only replacing about 1/2 the fluid. Do this two times over 6 months of driving to get a fluid flush slowly which is what is recommended for the AW4. Use the Dex/Merc fluid. It was $2.50 a quart and my local Autozone had a ton of it. Plus its the cheapest tranny fluid out there.

Thanks for the suggestions! I would love to take the whole rig back home with me, but space limitations won't let me have it. So I have got to get what I can ;) It looks like I need to start in the front and work my way back for parts removal. How is the XJ door striker held on? I have read a few conflicting reports. Clipped, bolted, or needs drilled out. Anybody have insight to this?

I finally have the opportunity to check out a parting 1998 XJ, LOCALLY (less than 100 mile drive) Talked to to guy tonight and he said that the 4 door XJ has a blown motor, interior is like new (minus driver seat), gray, body is straight and dark red. I want to do the new front clip upgrade (read about all of the "how to's" here), Cherokee doors, and possibly the dash upgrade (might be more than I want to think about right now). This is my parts list this far: Front Header upgrade + Header + Grill + Fenders + Bumper + Headlight harness (will this unplug or will I need to clip the wires) Doors + 2 front Doors + Weather stripping + Body striker pins Other stuff + Overhead Console OR overhead dome light + Radio Antenna I think the Dash upgrade might be to much to bite off at the point, but a rough parts list: + Dash Assembly + Steering Column + 2 Brackets (steering column and above tranny hump) + Wire harness (will I need to whole thing or can it be clipped, I am running a 92 4.0 HO) + AC/Heater box What else should I grab if time permits? Have I missed anything for the direction I am headed? What is required to get at all of the parts I mentioned above? I have never removed sheet metal from a vehicle before and would like to take care of th fender and doors. Any transportation suggestions? I will be using the MJ (LB) to transport, or my fathers LB Chevy, also have a small 5x7 utility trailer I can use. Thanks!

Pull the code and see what it is. Key on, off, on, off, on code is displayed in the odometer. My rubi throws 02 sensor codes when it in near zero degrees outside every other week. I'll get around to fixing it sometime....

It is a good idea to get the adjustable arms. This way you can get the axle centered, caster set, and pinion angle right. For my two cents... I ran the RE superflex arms on my Rubicon for almost two years and had to replaced the rubber bushings every 3-4 months. Although a lot of folks have good luck with the RE arms. The SF joint worked well but the rubber end did not impress me. Currently I am approaching 2 years on my JKS arms and I have only greased them. Not a marketing ploy, just a happy customer. I would consider the currie or rokmen arms, even with dual JJ's if you are a heavy wheeler.

Updated my previous post with pictures. Hope they help :D

Sure thing. I'll be poking my nose behind the dash this weekend to find a lighting problem so I can capture a few pictures for the crowd. I spent way to long trying to figure out how to make it work and made a few mistakes along the way, but it still turned out decent enough :banana:

I recently stuck an XJ cluster in my 92 with electric speedo and column shift. I started to swap the new gauges into the old cluster housing, but the holes were not identical and did not feel like trying to figure everything out. I went about this with out having a clue what I was getting into. After All, I only bought the truck 3 weeks ago! This is what I did: Factory Cluster still in the truck 1. Remove the fuel gauge from your factory gauge cluster and cut off the bottom. Use the top of the PRD3 1-2 opening as your cutting guide 2. Remove the PRD3 1-2 housing from your factory gauge cluster. Two screws and unhook the wire to the column. 3. Remove the cluster from the truck Altering XJ donor Cluster 1. Remove the tach from your donor cluster, 3 or 4 screws on the back. 2. Notice: the bottom of the tach has two hole in each corner. Line up your PRD3 1-2 housing with those mysterious holes in the tach. Mark the tach where the PRD3 1-2 will be located. 3. Cut the Tach. 4. Place the lower portion of the original fuel gauge (the piece you cut in the beginning) behind the tach of of your donor gauges. Trim the PRD3 1-2 opening as necessary. You are essentially strengthening the tach to withstand the pressures of the column shift spring by doubling up the thickness of the tach. 5. Use 1" machine screws, nuts, and washers to fasten the PRD3 1-2 housing to the back side of the tach. I put the screw in from the back, through the PRD3 1-2 housing, added 2 nuts as spacers, through the tach, and fastened down with two nuts. The PRD3 1-2 housing is now securely positioned behind the tach. The plastic gauge bezel will cover up the end of the machine screws and nuts. 6. Trim any ribbing inside the donor gauges housing around the lower portion of the tach. Also, drill a big hole in the bottom of the donor housing between the speedo and tach. This is for the column shift wire to go through. 7. Test fit and check for clearances. The gas gauge might have capacitor on its circuit board. You may have to trim the PRD3 1-2 housing for clearance. Installing the New XJ Cluster 1. Take the donor gauge cluster to your Jeep and get it plugged in (I would speculate holding off the the speedo cable at this time, the HO Jeeps do not have the speedo cable). 2. Fish the column shift wire through the hole you drilled and attach it to the proper place on the PRD3 1-2 housing. Push and hold the tach into position. 3. Twist the gauge cluster forward and down to gain access to the back. Reinstall the tach using the 3 or 4 screws through the back of the cluster housing. This is a royal pain, but possible with a small screw driver or bit driver. When doing this you will notice the gear indicator may move down to 1-2, this is simply because you are pulling on the column shift wire. 4. Rotate the cluster backward and attach the speedo cable if necessary. 5. Once stuck back in the dash, the PRD3 1-2 indicator should be in the park position and should be ready to go. 6. I plan on using some small black tubing to "frame" the PRD3 1-2 opening in an effort to clean up the cuts. EDIT 02.22.09 for Pictures I am experimenting with 1/8" hard plastic vacuum line around the cut marks... It is still very rough, but I see potential!!! Here you can see the end of the machine screw assembly described above. Once you get in there this should all make sense if you have never looked behind the dash bezel. How it sits behind the bezel: And lastly, what you see when driving. Using this method will put the indicator in a lower position than factory. This is magnified by my attempt to create a frame around the opening with the hard plastic vacuum line. Yes, it still gets plenty of light from the tach lights to see at night.

The 2000 GC 4.0 will pose a problem. It will have OBDII meaning: No distributor/coil/spark plug wires (has a camshaft position sensor in its place) and all of the sensors will be different. You can swap all that over from your 'bad' motor. The GC also had a slightly more aggressive cam than a TJ of the same year. Not sure how it compares to the MJ cam. You will also want the oil filter adapter off of your bad engine. Rebuilding the 4.0 is a piece of cake. It is constructed like any small block chevy. Just makes sure you have a quality machine shop do the machine work. I used the local classic race car engine builder do my machine work. If you are going with the trouble, pick up a 258 crank and make it a stroker.... I certainly wish I would have!

I picked up a CJ grill from a local guy a while back to do the same thing. I got it painted and got turn signals installed and wired to a 12volt adapter. My plan is to trim up the back so I can space it out from the wall a constant amount. I think it should be mounted to some sort of shaped gloss black background.