DaveB26

i have an 87 with a 4 speed and the bell housing had the holes and stuff set up for the slave outside and the internal bearing junk thing too. i swapped to an 86 5 speed transmission and the bell housing was the same.

Hey, its good to see that engine sitting in the truck. That thing is going to be sweet! I'm thinking that your going to want an overdrive maybe. But I guess it would depend on the new axles and gear ratio. But a Cummins in an MJ is awesome

I do understand its a 4 banger. Not really looking for crazy power and speed. Just general drive ability and some slow off road trail riding mostly, if it becomes an issue then we will toss in a small block or a 4.3 Chevy V6 down the road.

Yea, I think the XJ is really a cool rig too I had an 86 Laredo 4 door a few years ago 2.8 with 5 speed trans was ok at first, but once I installed the mandatory (for me) lift and 31/10.50 tires it was severely underpowered/under geared, never spent the extra cash to re gear it but did a Chevy small block/700r4 swap, this thing was awesome then, wish I still had it but I sure couldn't ever get past a smog test today with that V8, oh well I'm looking forward to the MJ project now and maybe I'll find the right 2 door XJ someday to park beside the MJ.

I like the 4.56 idea much better that 4.88 pinion looks a bit weak!! but also I will be scanning the JY for 98 and newer Xj 8.25 rear axles I did kind of have in my mind the D35 could survive behind a 2.5 pretty well but a cheap upgrade is always cool too.

So now I will be looking for 8.25 axle to replace the D35 and will need to do some math before I settle on 4.88 or 4.56 , the gear swap will be needed for sure just to help it get out of its own way. I want to come close to factory gearing or lower. This little truck won't see long stretches of highway time unless we tow it some time. But I do see it having some fun playing in the rocks and desert around here.

I would love to find a D44 from xj or mj but there is only one Comanche in junkyard around here that I am aware of and I already looked under it D35 rear, lots of XJs but they all seem to be the 35 or the 8.25. I really want the D44 but its like looking for a unicorn!

Another thought I had was to use the 255/85/16 mudders from my super duty and put some new shoes on it instead of buying the BFG 33s I wanted I really like the narrower tires in snow and mud and the 255s are pretty tall 32/33ish

I was wondering about the front drive shaft angle getting worse while (improving) ? Rear-drive shaft angles , glad you spoke up on that, I guess I can leave it off and try it with out first maybe. Any other advice ? Don't be bashful!

Well I guess the gear splits are going to be wrong for both diffs, too bad i was hoping to get away with keeping the carriers when rehearing to 4.88, on the bright side if it can move along at all with 3.55 ratio on stock tires it should do okay with 4.88 ratio and 33s

DUH I just figured out the trans is not AW4 it is a stick shift not automatic

I bought a 1987 Comanche a few weeks ago and have not seen it yet it is at my uncles place about 10 hours away from me so it won't be home with me for about two more weeks, I have been looking at whatever I can on this site to learn as much as I can about it . so here we go ... I need to figure out what to do to make the thing into a little beast what I know for sure is 1- the floor has been redone not sure about the quality of repair.(skeptical) 2- it is the 2.5 liter with 4X4 and a 4 speed stick (AW4) ? motor runs good according to my uncle and it had a new clutch last year according to the receipt 3- its red and has no tailgate (no problem I got one locally to put on when it comes home) 4-its getting a 6 inch Rubicon lift with control arm drop brackets, the axle flip to under spring, T case drop .and adjustable track bar ( not sure about shocks yet) waiting to do more research here and other places first. 5-allready have 1999 doors, front fenders, hood and grill assembly with wiring harness to go on as well. ( I have been bored waiting for this thing ) it better show up soon or I may hit the JY again and who knows what I might drag home. 6-really confused about what gear ratio might be in the diffs, from what I have always heard the 2.5 almost always have 4.10, But then I just read the 4 speed stick is sometimes used with a( gas saver) package?? and the ratio might be 3.31 or some other garbage high ratio. 7- the gears are going as low as I can 4.88 I believe I just want to be prepared with new carriers if they are needed because of the carrier splits in the axles. 8- looking at trying 33/10.50/15 BFG ATs and MT on stock turbine rims so this gear ratio thing is pretty crucial to me 9 of course I will be looking at brakes and changing all fluids before this thing gets too far along VIN is 1JTHX6315HT012529 can anybody tell me anything about this trucks equipment from the VIN? previous owner claimed it was a chief , I have a pretty clear idea that its not a chief (basic model is more likely)

I would like to hear what you think about these shocks , I have read many unfavorable posts about rustys customer service but their product quality is more important to me (I have plenty of buddies) but they don't sell shocks!