Megadan

Nice Comanche! I love my LWB personally, and it seems that Mine is in about the same condition body wise as yours (Mine also came out of Southern Cali). You can use the adjusters to aim the headlights easily enough. Phillips head screwdriver and there is a height screw above the headlight (look between lens and bezel) and a Left/Right aiming screw on the outside edge (again between lens and bezel).

My first question is simple. You say you put it in first gear afterwards. Does it feel like it is mechanically putting the transmission into first gear? Or is it just the shifter moving around of it's own accord. Not only that, but if it was in first gear when this happened, it would still be in first gear if it was stuck. I say move back to the transfer case side of things. Start by making sure the linkage isn't broken and operates freely. Visually check it.

Got it! That was the culprit for my reverse lights, thanks cruiser! The fuse diagram I have listed a different slot for the back up lights. I crossed that little part out on my diagram lol The fuse was also the culprit for my brake lights (I had a hunch when I realized my hazards didn't work either). The fuse itself tested fine on my little tester tool, but I replaced both anyway. I also noticed that all of the fuse terminals were dirty/corroded and a bit loose, so I hit them with contact cleaner and used a small screwdriver to pinch them together. Now all is well.

Yea. So my reverse lights don't work, and now the brake lights decided to stop working as well. The interior lights also don't entirely work, but I have that part somewhat figured out. The reverse switch on the trans is new, as is the wiring from it to the harness, so I know that isn't the issue. I have checked the fuses that I can check and aside from one, the rest look fine. The problem is, I have no way to identify which fuse goes to what. So that being said, if there is a link or if anybody has available, a chassis wiring diagram from the lighting on these trucks it would be a huge help. Or if anybody can think of a common problem area that may be the cause of my own headache, please let me know. Thanks for the help so far guys!

Took it for it's first test drive today. I finally got the chance to do the rear leaf springs and shocks, and oh how different it rides now without the bad rear shocks and broken leaf. She definitely has quite a bit of rake to her with those new rear leafs... I hope they settle a little bit more. As far as I can tell, the transfer case works perfectly, and my trac-lok engages. I Have to figure out the sweet spot for getting it into 4wd while in motion, and I have run into one unique issue with reaching the trac-lok button/pull handle because of how low it is mounted...tall person problems. Now I just have to figure out my bump steer problem. I have a new track bar already on hand, so I am going to throw that on and get an alignment with a caster check. Hopefully that fixes it. Otherwise, the new trans shifts nice and the short throw Hurst is excellent. I can reach it better than the BA-10 shifter, and the gates are nice and tight. Runs real strong and pulls hard too. The only other thing I really need to figure out is if my fan clutch is making this odd noise coming from the front.

So, new distributor was installed for about 20 minutes. It DID solve the stumble and backfire problem. I also noticed that with the engine at TDC, the new distributor already put the rotor in the correct position one would get from indexing. I should have known better than to run it until I got the new hold down in, but I tried to use the old one temporarily...and well the ear on the distributor and part of the base at the seal all broke off as once piece. Luckily, they are sending me a new one as a warranty replacement. I should have a proper hold down by then as well. I still need to figure out what is causing the idle to fluctuate. I have ruled out pretty much everything. The only thing left that I can think it would be is the IAC circuit itself (or something causing the IAC to activate and deactivate). The valve is new and the whole TB was cleaned. On cold starts, it only fast idles at 1000-900 rpm for about 10 seconds and drops down to 700, and eventually ends at 600rpm, and all in 1 minute. The engine is still ice cold when it settles into it's idle. I am not familiar enough with this platform to say that is abnormal, but every vehicle I have ever owned stayed at a fast idle longer than that on a cold (below freezing) start.

Yea, aside from the rear suspension it is pretty much ready to go. I discovered that my distributor was full of oil, and so I bought a new one. Discovered that the hold down for the dizzy had been cut by somebody in what I can assume was their attempt at indexing the distributor. I tried to use it anyway with the new distributor, and it shifted and caused the ear of the distributor to break off entirely. I am currently waiting for a new replacement in the mail under warranty. I guess they are calling it a manufacturing flaw, and I won't disagree with them lol. That being said, before the new distributor ate it, the truck ran perfectly. No more stumbles and backfires at all. That tells me that the oil in the dizzy was causing my issues somehow. I also went ahead and put on a new ignition coil as the old one was, well...old. That made a huge difference in how the truck ran all on it's own. The frustrating thing is, the stupid thing still won't hold a steady idle. I can only assume there is some kind of issue with the IAC wiring as it has a new valve and the whole TB was cleaned top to bottom, inside and out.

I did. I ordered a new Distributor, and found a salvage company on e-bay selling the hold down tab for $4 so I ordered one of those too. I figured out what this person did. They tried to index the distributor, but they cut the hold down, and not the distributor. Thanks for the advice and help. I did manage to finally find the timing mark. I had to use my finger nail and slowly turn the crank until it caught. So it's at least at cyl 1. TDC now.

Well, I am trying to index it. My problem is. There is no timing mark where everybody shows it to be. I have turned it over repeatedly, using my eyes, and even my fingers, on that back edge. It's perfectly smooth all the way around. Also, the marked part of the cover over the crank sticks out so far that it covers the first two grooves on the pulley and you can't even see the back part of the crank pulley. I am at a complete loss as to how to get this thing at TDC. Then to make things better, it looks like somebody tried to index the distributor, but they ended up cutting the hold down tab and not the locating tab on the distributor. I did notice one thing though. I looked down inside the distributor and noticed that it's filled with oil. So it must have a bad shaft seal.

No, I haven't indexed it yet, but that was actually my next step today following your write ups. I know it's a timing issue, but not what it is caused by.

Revisiting this. I added an extra ground from the battery to the chassis, a new ignition coil, and replaced the extremely loud fuel pump with a new carter in-tank (it's so quiet now!). I also tested a new TPS, but returned it when I noted that it did not make any difference (rules that out) The coil really helped to smooth out the engine and did get the idle under control. It still fluctuates a tiny bit, but nowhere near as bad as it used to. So that was part of the problem, but not the only one. With the ignition having strong spark again, the stumble I have is much more prominent now when it happens, as are the occasional loud bangs out of the exhaust. I even got a spit of flame on one. It only does this if I get on the throttle sharply. If I press on the pedal nice and smooth, not one problem. Since it seems to be a timing issue, that leaves me with only a few ideas of where the problem is that I have listed below. Any ideas, opinions, or suggestions? 1. ICM is somehow bad 2. Sensor in the distributor is bad/weak 3. ECU is to blame.

Being external you will have to either make a line for the slave to clutch master (probably the cheapest), buy a pre-made one from Novak for about $94, or buy a pre-bled complete master and slave assembly with line for about $140ish.

Every parts store that lists the pilot bushing for the CJ5 also shows it as PB77HD. PB74 is listed as the pilot bushing for the 67-70 3.8L I-6 from the Jeep Wagoneer and J series. Who knows though, maybe it will work.

Is the new transmission an internal or external slave cylinder setup? If it's an internal you can use your old hydraulic TO bearing setup, but I would definitely put in a new one. I have one from the clutch kit I ordered. It's a brand new SACHS unit, and I will sell it stupidly cheap just to see it go to use lol.

^also a good question that I never considered asking.

Personally, the right shade of blue would look nice if it was darker. A good Forest Green never looks bad on a truck either. I think these trucks would look really good in a deeper metallic Gunmetal grey that had a lot of depth to it. Big flat panels and deep colors just work well together. Or you could go the other direction and burn out peoples retinas with a color like Brazen Orange

It depends on what you got with that transmission. If you are going from a BA-10/5 to the AX-15 then you are going to need a crossmember from an AX-15 equipped MJ or XJ. You will need to have a some of the linkage/brackets for the transfer case for the AX-15 if you have a 4x4. If you do have a 4x4, if you did not get a trasnfer-case with the trans you will either need to find one with a 23 spline input, or swap the 21 spline in your factory one out for a 23 spline. Also, you will most likely have to find a solution for the Central Axle Disconnect, as the factory system uses a valve on the transfercase to switch between 4 different vacuum lines to engage the front axle, unless you use your old transfer case, or the one that came with the transmission also came from a truck with the vacuum system. Depending on if the AX-15 you have is an external or internal slave cylinder you will potentially need to work that out as well. Do a search on AX-15 swap, both here and on google (XJ forums cover it in a lot more detail than anything I have found here) and you will find all of this information in greater detail. Something I ran into that wasn't easily found with searching is that you will also need is a Bracket for the transmission mount, OE part number-5200 3927. It's not a very easy part to find as it was specific fo the MJ and XJ up to 1995. I managed to find a place that could get a new one for me through a second party. This is the website I ended up going through. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213948 Give them a call before you order and ask them over the phone about it, but order it through the website (it's a lot cheaper). Shipped to my door it ended up being $78, but it took about a week and a half because they had to order it through another company and then ship it to me.

That rear output seal is actually not that hard to replace either. It can be easily done without dropping the trans or removing the transfercase from under the truck. I did mine in about 10 minutes.

Sounds like you got an AX-15 and it used to have the Peugeot. You will need Pilot Bushing from a early 1970's 304ci CJ5/6. Timken or National Part # PB77HD. I just did an AX-15 swap into my 1988, so I am pretty familiar with everything.

When the TPS signal was all out of whack it had the same problem, but worse. I will unplug it tomorrow and see what happens, although I am not a big fan of testing sensors that way. I have thought about doing a sweep test with the throttle and a multimeter, but an analog display would be much better at picking that up than my cheap little digital I am currently using. In the meantime, let's assume that the TPS is good. Any good way to test the Stator/pickup in the distributor, or should I whip out the good ol' timing light?

This truck was having the problem before it went down for the transmission replacement, and then the cylinder head. Let me start with what's new and whats done: All new ground cables - 1 Ga. welding cable for the main battery ground. All other engine grounds are new or cleaned up (dipstick side, and cylinder head). ECU ground/harness "mod" done via Cruisers writeups. New TPS connector and pins with completely new ground wire run. TPS is also adjusted to the 17% range indicated in writeups. All new gaskets and hardware for manifolds. All tightened and re-checked to factory torque specs. New O2 sensor with properly made extension harness using weatherpack connectors and new 16ga wire - and tested to verify signal integrity I might add. C101 connector was pulled apart and cleaned. New Map sensor and connector - old map hose nipple was cracked at the base and leaking, connector was broken. All new vacuum hoses. New fuel pump (old one was very loud and OE) New injectors (corroded, fouled and not spraying evenly). New fuel filter (duh lol) and the FPR was repalced not too long ago by previous owner. Pressure is stable and exactly where it should be. New CPS was installed when I did the transmission, and I did the "mod" to open up the right side mounting hole a little to push it closer to the ring gear. All new plugs, wires, cap rotor. The plugs are traditional copper cores gaped to .035 Exhaust manifold replaced with Pacesetter... yes, I know... It actually fit just fine surprisingly. Now, Just so it is known it was having this problem before hand. It used to have a very unstead idle and would fluctuate around 450-550, but now it is actually holding fairly steady at 600. You can hear it fluctuating a tiny bit at idle still, but much more slowly and only by ear as it doesn't show on my Tachometer at all. It will no longer stumble and fall on it's face with a quick rev, or outright die like it used to. With everything replaced out of necessity (besides the header...) or common sense, and everything else that people often say to check to others that have this problem, It still does not want to start without giving it some foot action on the throttle (will try to start when I let off after opening it), and when it does, it occasionally stumbles a bit and a backfire. The only thing left that I haven;t touched yet is the actual ICM, Coil, or the Cam Sensor/Stator pickup in the distributor. It is acting like the timing is off though instead of it being a fueling problem. Exhaust neither smells rich not lean - open pipe at the moment. Aside from those two issues, it runs like a champ! My only other guess is that the TPS has a flat or dead spot in it's signal, because I have noticed that the stumble seems to happen around the same RPM range. Looking for advice, tips, tricks, etc. Insights are definitely welcome.

Yea. I just wish it wasn't so cold out right now. My garage is unheated, and even with my propane heater it leaks so badly that the best I can get is "warmer" than outside, which is still freezing. My buddy took a couple of short vids with his phone after the first start, and I am waiting for him to upload them. Speaking of which, I re-did the whole TPS connector and did the ECU Ground wire mod. I went from a fluctuating 2 Ohms to a steady 0.8ohms, and then adjusted the TPS - which was way off. It still has a hesitance to start that now has me perplexed, but the idle is more steady now. If I disconnect the PCV hose and give it a great vacuum leak it fires right up. It also has a problem with stumbling a tiny bit when it is reved up quickly, but nowhere near as bad as it used to.

It's alive! Well, mostly. I got it all buttoned back up and got it to fire finally. Once I smoked myself and a buddy out of my garage I noticed that it still had a problem with the idle surge and hesitance to rev. At this point I haven't done any of the ECU harness ground mods, and I suspected the TPS as the culprit because of the splice I found in the ground wire for it. Sure enough, 2 Ohms through the B terminal... I also noticed that the A pin wire is frayed at the pin in the weatherpack connector, so I am re-pinning the whole thing and running an entirely new wire for the TPS ground. Other than that I have all 8 ECU ground wires located and when time permits I am going to solder it all together. Then, hopefully, it will start and run smooth as butter. I can't wait to be driving this thing, and I am really wondering what it is going to sound like with the header and the really big magnaflow muffler I have for it.

I finally ran into my first problem with the Pacesetter header. The rear lower bolt for the exhaust and intake manifold for cylinders 3 and 4 exhaust (the siamese section) required a bit of creative thinking to get it in. The bolt for the manifold just barely cleared the header pipe, and was impossible to get in with the intake on. I had to think down the stepped washer about half and leave the bolt in place. I did manage to finally get it though. New injectors and TB are installed. I just need to wrap up the wiring, exhaust, and put the radiator in and I am finally done with this whole mess of shenanigans. Then I can flip around to the back side and swap out the leaf springs for the new ones and finally get to drive this thing. As a side note, I love the hurst shifter I put on with the trans. I don't know if it was the actual location itself, or the shifter being longer, but it's in almost the exact perfect spot for me to drive. It's a small thing, but makes it just that much better.

^^^^^^ Pre 1978 Ford F100/Bronco's came with a high pinion dana 44 as he mentioned above me. They are preferred over the 78 and newer versions due to everything being welded on to the axle tubes instead of cast in design. That is exactly the route I would take if I wanted to upgrade the front. To the OP. What yearis, and gear ratio came in, your Rodeo housing?