87Warrior

Yes. An Explorer 8.8 is a popular axle swap. You will want wheel spacers to keep the tire off the inner fender. Is the ranger axle the same width as the explorer? I am currently searching for a 4.10 geared 8.8 for my '86. Far easier to find an 8.8 with 4.10's than a C8.25. Plus more of them have disk brakes.

Thanks for the comments guys! I think an unofficial CC meeting in the San Juans would be epic. Who's up for it next year!?!? You are confusing your Como Lakes. Someday I'd love to do the Como Lake trail in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Lake Como in the San Juans is just that, a lake ;) I did hear about the JK who went over the edge, about 5 hours after it happened. Those people need to buy some lottery tickets, because they are lucky to be alive let alone uninjured. They went off the trail somewhere within the first 40seconds of the switchback video I posted. The Jeep landed on the only ledge below Ingram Falls. Had they been 20' either direction, they would have taken the fast trip to Telluride.... 550 only looks tamer because the camera doesn't look down the edge! I took the train ride about 20 years ago with my folks. It was a blast. And sooty. That is something to appreciate. But, I must confess. I really enjoy the drive on the highway from KS to CO. The drive is part of the excitement. On the way out the Jeep was trailered and I was bored, but I got to drive it home and was thrilled...even with a throwout bearing starting to squeal.

The Poughkeepsie Wall And a quick drive from Ouray to Silverton

Here are a few videos I shot out there. Going up the Black Bear Pass waterfall obstacle Going down the Black Bear Pass switchbacks

Day 3 – Animas Forks side of Engineer, Lake City, Cinnamon A rainy start up Engineer from Animas Forks Looking down valley towards Animas Forks More Alpine Tundra Jeep wave! Right turn a head. To the Engineer Pass summit Rounding a bend as we approach the summit On the Lake City side of Engineer Pass, Sheep Days were just kicking off. It was still a bit early for mutton stew so we kept on going. Continuing down Engineer towards Lake City Lunch, followed by a chocolate malt, at the Lake City Park Cinnamon Pass is a real easy drive The little rig on Cinnamon Pass. Runs as well at 12,000ft as it does at 1,100ft Stopped at the base of Cinnamon near Animas Forks looking towards Silverton Day 4 – Silverton Ski area to Corkscrew, Ouray side of Engineer, Poughkeepsie, and Hurricane When going down Corkscrew I saw a dreaded constipated frog KL Starting up Poughkeepsie Take a right to go up the wall The ‘wall’. Little rig had no issues. Rubi was ready to winch if needed The stock rubi did need a tug to get over the wall (slight newbie behind the wheel). Some of the ‘fun’ lines past the wall The end of Poughkeepsie at Lake Como Heading up Hurricane After a spectacular dinner at camp, my buddy and I decided to check out the Little Giant Basin. Not much to see in the dark Day 5 - Stony Pass, Pole Creek, then drive to Woodland Park, CO-Home Starting up the pass, more Alpine tundra Overlooking the Creede side of the Stony Pass summit Crossing Pole Creek, headwaters to the Rio Grande Starting back up the pass from Pole Creek Dropping back down towards Silverton Passing some fellow Jeepers on Highway 50 headed towards Gunnison More bugs on the windshield means we are getting closer to home The sign I always look forward to after having been on the road for 12 hours. The heavily soiled windshield and the good old “Jeep Road” sign outside of Abilene, KS means I am almost home.

This is my official San Juan trail report for this year, the first week of August. I love the San Juans. Even though I have visited a dozen times, I am always eager to return. I must admit, I did get exceptionally lazy this trip with my photography. Most of the pictures were taken with my phone mounted to the dash. Every trip starts at home. Preparing to start the 14 hour drive westward @ 5:00AM. During the last climb to Silverton out of Durango, the Cummins developed a big exhaust leak and lost power. The EGT probe came out of the manifold. One pair of melted leather gloves later it is back together. Day 1 – Corkscrew, Hurricane, California, Animas Forks Resting at the worst smelling forest service restroom on Corkscrew View of Lake Como at the base of Hurricane and California Coming down California to Animas Forks. The Alpine Tundra is spectacular The restored Bay Window House at Animas Forks Day 2 – Black Bear, Telluride and Imogene The starting point. Cue C.W. McCall. Stopped at a lookout partway up. We could hear sheep, but couldn’t see them The Black Bear Pass summit Making our way down the trail towards the ever famous shelf road At the bottom enjoying the mist of Bridal Veil Falls After enjoying lunch in the Telluride Town Park, our journey continued up Imogene A nice view of the MCAI at the Imogene Pass lookout point Due to the soggy conditions, we skipped out on Governors and Yankee Boy this trip. The sun was shining in Silverton though! Peaceful camp. …at least for a while…

Very cool. Nice story sharing the CC family values :thumbsup:

PM sent. Need one for my 86!

:bowdown: Looks spectacular. Nice work. Grill is on upside down :doh:

The hitch has been busy this summer, pulling its weight in landscape duties. You know, there are some things you just don't want in the bed of your truck. Like this load of rock: The 2.5 did surprisingly well with this haul. The truck has been running well, but not perfect. I am hesitant to tear into it, but it needs done. - Replace exhaust manifold - Pull head and repair broken manifold stud - Replace stock front coils/spacers with used TJ 3" coils (should retain existing ride height) - Replace the 207 with a 231 - Replace D30 with a non vacuum model + larger u joints - Replace D35 with a 8.8 (need to buy one)

That sounds like a reasonable price. I payed more than $200 for my rust free long bed....and I had to drive 7 hours to get it.

A 2.5 Renix and 2.5 HO radiator should be the same. I have been running a Spectra radiator that was purchased for a '91 2.5 MJ in my '86 for a couple of years. You should be able to find one for less than $100 to your door. Rockauto and Amazon have them. I believe Advance Auto and AutoZone sell them.

Welcome. Comanche Club is a good place to be :)

What's your route? I'm just off I70 at Junction City, KS. I'd be glad to offer a meal, drink, garage space or place to crash. If you are taking I70 across, I'd avoid it in Colorado. Dip down to Colorado Springs on HWY 24 from Limon. Then slide down to visit Jim in Pueblo, or head towards Woodland Park. Take HWY 24 to Buena Vista, then Cottonwood Pass (dirt, easy) to Taylor park. Camp north of the lake along Texas Creek. If you are in a hurry, drop down to Gunnison and head West on HWY 50 to HWY 149/Lake City/Creede or Montrose. If you have time, head north out of Taylor Park to Taylor Pass (trail, moderate) and then drop into Aspen via the ski resort. You can then go north to I70 or take Pearl Pass (trail, rough, moderate) towards Creede /Lake City/HWY 149. From Creede you could take Stoney Pass, Cinnamon Pass, or Engineer Pass (San Juan Mountains, spectacular, best views in CO) to reach the Million Dollar Highway (550) between Silverton and Ouray, which is south of Montrose. From there you could venture north back to I70 or take a southern route out of the Durango area.

I have just finished a week wheeling the San Juans again. Even though I have been to the area a dozen times, it never gets old. I saw 4 MJs on the trip and one JK Brute. One black MJ I saw from NM was especially sharp as it scooted past me near Animas Forks. Unfortunately it evaded being photographed as my camera was still mounted to the dash. While I don't have many pics uploaded yet, I couldn't help but to share this one with the club. I still do not know why folks get so worked up over the Poughkeepsie Gulch trail. All rigs made it, including a stock Rubi. First time I tried it with a truck :)

I think the Jeep is ready for another week in the San Jauns: - Changed Fluids: Axles, T-case, Trans, motor - Topped Fluids: Washer fluid, Power steering, HOAT Coolant - Greased rear driveshaft, trackbars, control arms, disconnects, steering - Verified all nuts and bolts are tight I did order and install a new Tom Woods shaft up front. The slip joint in my 125K mile stocker was just too loose for my liking. This also cured a 60-70mph vibration I had been having. I also fabbed together a mount for my HTC smartphone. To be used as a GPS routing tool off road AND as a video recording device. While I know the San Juan trails better than the back of my hand, I am trying to prepare my self for a future overland trip. GPS routing is just one of those things I have never used. I used RAM mounts to build this since they appear to be the bees-knees in vehicle accessory mounts and an extra hard shell cover for my HTC phone. - RAM Rail Base - RAM Short Double Socket Arm - Ram Diamond Base - Ballistic hard/soft phone case (I already own this case, but got another to leave the hard shell mounted in the Jeep) I mounted the diamond base to the backside of the hard case of the phone and checked to make sure it would still clip around the soft case on the phone. Then attached it to the arm and RAM rail mount. I was extremely disappointed with the rail mount. The mount simply uses a large hose clamp with rubber sheathing to hold unit to the rollbar. This didn't bother me but I did expect the hose clamp to be high quality. Nope this is the same cheap hose clamp you find at Autozone for less than a dollar, equipped with poorly engaging worm gear and the clamp fitting that bends once it start to get tight. I had to reshape clamp surface upwards to full engage the worm gear in order to put any torque on this. I hope it is tight enough for trail use. (Never mind the fog light relay) Ready to navigate with routes and downloaded topo data to Back Country Pro: And it is even set up to record a day on the trail with 10 hours of storage available:

Welcome to the madness. I like your tow rig!

Don, did you order the FFD radiator straight from FFD? The only distributor I can find is on ebay.

Define, 'reasonable price'.... :brows: I have been researching MJ/XJ radiators for the better part of the last year for my '92 project. Based on what I have read: - The CSF all metal (brass/copper) 2 or 3 core radiator is pretty popular, bolts in with no issues and generally lasts about 5 years before it leaks. It also uses an odd ball sized cap. - Champion 2 or 3 core all aluminum requires some sheet metal massaging to get it to fit along with transmission cooler line modifications. The TIG welding looks horrendous on these. Seems they start to leak in the 1-3 year range. Customer support seems sufficient and will generally replace your radiator if it leaks. - The FF Dynamics 2 or 3 core all aluminum radiator looks similar to the Champion in photos, but has much nicer welds and doesn't feel "flimsy" like some say the Champion unit does. Radiator cap is the same as found on some V6 Mustangs. Has a Life time no questions asked warranty. Optional 3 fan upgrade with fan controller available. This guy is a little pricey but sure looks nice. Radiator + Fans + Fan controller is about double what a Mopar radiator costs. - Griffin all aluminum. Apparently it doesn't fit worth a damn in a stock MJ/XJ. It is the most expensive radiator I have come across that is not 100% custom. - Vista Pro 2 core all metal (brass/copper) direct replacement. I have found a few positive reviews on this one, but not much else. - There are not many reviews on the stock replacement (plastic/copper) radiators other than what you can find on amazon. I currently run a Griffin 3 core in my TJ (the Jeep, not the location :rotfl2: ). It has been rock solid and cured my highway over heating it was having with the AC on. In my '86 2.5 MJ I have been running a stock replacement Spectra Premium. It has worked flawlessly and was a simple bolt in affair. The temperature gauge stays steady regardless of temperature/load. When the factory radiator started weeping @ 70K miles in the Hemi WK, I replaced it with a Spectra Premium as well. It has been install for less than a year, but the Jeep does run a touch cooler than it did with the factory unit. When it come time for me to purchase a radiator, I think I will choose either the FF Dynamics Aluminum or the Spectra Premium Plastic/Copper.

Hey Dave, Does the Comanche Club discount work with non Comanche seats? I was browsing the website awhile back and really like what you guys offer. Thanks!

Whoa, time has sure started to slip by me :help: I haven't been making much progress on the MJ since I have been rebuilding my TJ's suspension in preparation for a trip to the San Juans. After 3 years of searching I finally found a gray, manual, 40/20/40 split bench out of a Club Cab Dakota that I was in good enough condition to actually buy. It is a little faded and has 2 cigarette burns. Arrival: Breaking apart for cleaning: After a thorough hose down, scrub, vacuum, hose down, scrub, and vacuum the seat dried in a spare bathroom. The filth that comes out of a vehicle that has been smoked in is absolutely disgusting :ack: Now to get the MJ brackets adapted to the Dakota sliders. Since I will be running the Dakota seat the 97+ console won't work for me. I though about just using a mini console from an early XJ, but the shift patterns don't look right with the 97+ interior. So I replaced the transmission shift pattern with one from the 99 XJ and I replaced the transfer case shift pattern with a 242 from a ZJ. I will finish it off with SEM gray and Agate interior paint. Lastly, I picked up a GM reel underhood light from ebay for the truck along with a 15 LED BA15S bulb from Superbright LED for the truck. The XJ under hood light never worked in the XJ and repairing it seemed like a waste since they never work anyhow. Plus, how cool is it to have a drop light in the truck :wrench:

Looking forward to the resurrection!

who was very...

Cloyes makes a double roller for the 4.0. It is what Mopar Performance sells with their cam kits.

Ah, 4-speed. AX4.