TNCave

Here we go:

For some reason I can't get my photos to load. I'll try again later. Cory

Well, I'm pretty long overdue for an update. Once I started using the winch and working this thing in the woods, I was having problems with overheating. I decided to make it simple and replace the radiator with a later model, so I did an "open" radiator swap. The whole thing was really easy and I did it on the cheap. I purchased a new radiator for a '92 from Rock Auto. They have a ton of radiator options, and I went with the H-D replacement. It's a cheapo aluminum and plastic radiator, but it was $90 and it performs beautifully. The radiator swap was very straightforward and without drama. I did eliminate the heater control valve and installed adapters in the heater hoses to maintain the correct direction of flow. I installed a universal overflow tank where the old plastic bottle used to be. Luckily I had this laying around from a previous project. My auxiliary fan was previously wired to come on with the ignition switch, by the previous owner. I installed a rocker switch in the dash and rewired it through the fan relay. So far, this setup has been awesome. It seems to stay at 210F. I never seem to need the auxiliary fan under normal driving conditions, but I use it when in the woods, climbing hills, and winching. I haul a lot of firewood and this truck is awesome. I've been cutting a mountainside property that was recently logged. I can drive to the prospective firewood, wherever it is, then winch tree trunks up the mountain to my truck. It couldn't be any better. As you can see, I still haven't installed my fender flares. They are sitting in the shop awaiting me to take an hour one day and install them. I want to note that my field truck for work is a 1999 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4x4 Ext. Cab. I have driven the Toyota 140,000 miles and through some pretty decent trails. Even with the axle locker in the Toyota, the Comanche is far superior off-road for my needs. The wheelbase is shorter, the ground clearance better, approach/departure angles are better, and the turning radius on the Toyota is atrocious. Of course the Toyota is a stock machine and my Comanche has 2 inches of lift, but both carry 31" tires and I've been very surprised by how much more I prefer the Comanche.

Well it's been a mixed few weeks with project Comancheap...there was an incident. This is my busiest time of the year for work so I've mostly been ordering parts and making plans. Parts have been piling up nicely in my shop and I did get a new set of shoes installed: Kenda Klever M/T's. So far I really like them, $600 tax and all for 31x10.50's. Two weekends ago I pulled the truck out of my shop to work on something else as I didn't have much time. I worked for a couple of hours and heard a weird bang outside. I looked out and Comancheap was gone. Another look...the truck had rolled down my drive, across my yard, across my patio, down a hill, across the road, through a ditch, through my garden fence, breaking two 8" cedar posts at the ground, and finally came to rest in my garden. My truck is banged up, garden fence busted, patio roof on the ground, etc. Well that will ruin your day. On the up side, the truck was 8" from hitting my house, but didn't and my 4-year old son was in the barn with me and not in the path of the truck. Comancheap is a 5-speed and the parking brake cables have been cut for unknown reasons. It must have jumped out of gear while sitting. I'm in the hills and the only flat ground on my 20 acres is literally my concrete pad in the barn/shop. When I returned to the shop, the new cables were on top of the parts pile mocking me. Seriously. Anyway, the truck didn't suffer too badly, a few new dings, busted windshield, and my rusty bumper is now really disintegrating. I've already replaced the windshield and ordered a cheapo Roxolid Armor winch bumper. Last weekend I had some time and figured I'd better start working on this thing so I can drive it more. For the record, the newly balanced Kenda tires took care of all of my vibrations and seemingly the death wobble, but everything still feels a bit loose. I installed the brake cables first of course, followed by the upper and lower control arms and a steering damper. Nothing too complicated, but I thought I'd throw up some notes. I used '99 WJ LCA's and it worked out great. They are beefy and boxed and I can now turn full lock without rubbing. The UCA's are Chinese replacements and seem a bit flimsier than original, but that may just be 25 years of crust making the originals seem heavier. For the record, everything came from Rock Auto. The LCA's were super easy to cut and install. The big end steel bushing insert needed to be cut flush and the small end needed about 1/8" cut off each side. A vice and reciprocating saw and it was easy-peasy. I left the tires on and replaced the control arms one at a time. The driver's side was simple remove and replace. The passenger side required some manipulation of the axle to make everything line up. I used a heavy duty ratchet strap to pull the axle from the top or bottom depending on which arm I was installing. I've included a photo of the axle being pulled forward from the bottom. Enjoy the pics.

Only one was a short box and it was not the nicer of the two. I'm afraid I didn't pay much attention to the bed, but I don't recall it being wrecked or noticeably rusty. I did pull the tailgate and it was fine.

Thanks and I'll give it a good look.

Well, today I learned the derivation of the term "death wobble." I've actually driven my MJ very little as I've been attempting to get it straightened out before driving it very much. Previously, it always had a vibration at 47-52 MPH. It was sometimes harsh, but seemed live-able for a woods truck. Today the front end was shaking so bad that I was certain something had broken in the front end. Oh yeah, and I really thought I might die. Nothing was broken, at least not any more than before. I don't have anyone here at the moment to turn the wheel while I check for play, but I did discover a bad u-joint on the passenger side axle. The death wobble has moved to the top of my list for Project Comancheap. Hopefully I can fix it without blindly replacing every component of the steering and suspension in the front. On the plus side, I have a 16 year old daughter who is anxious to learn about auto mechanics and we now have a vehicle with seemingly infinite learning opportunities. If only my wallet shared the same expanse of possibilities.

Thanks. The patch panel is riveted. I realize that being a unibody/uniframe construction vehicle that welding would be much preferred, but honestly my truck is a bit of a clunker anyway. I did hit both sides with some rusoleum on top and undercoating on the bottom. Hopefully this will help slow the rust processes. Sticking with the El Cheapo theme, most of the parts I used I already had laying around. The panels are cut from a thick aluminum sign that I had lying around. The insulation is leftover from a home insulation project. I paid $7.50 for the floor mat at the Nashville Pull-a-Part.

Well I had a productive weekend with my newly titled Project Comancheap. I hope no one else has laid claim to this title. I changed the title of this thread and I'll do my best to keep it updated. My truck was infested with rodents and I decided it was time for them to go. I successfully trapped mice inside the truck, including in the closed glove box, Friday night. On Saturday, I began pulling the interior out. I also fixed the pillar lights, installed a junkyard wiper motor, and a proper drivers side tail light to replace the Ford tail light that was in there. I pulled back the carpet and found a nice big rust hole. Please don't judge the repair/conceal too harshly. This is only a woods truck after all. I wanted the carpet out as I couldn't take the smell of manure, urea, and mouse poo anymore. I got lucky and scored a decent vinyl mat from a Comanche in the junkyard. Sadly, it did tear a bit on the drivers side while I was installing it, but it's still far better than the disgusting and stinky carpet. the hardest part of the whole project was removing the sound deadening material from the used mat. That stuff is a challenge.

Thanks. That aluminized stuff you used looks great. I have a roll of the household type that is basically bubble wrap with metallic outer layers. Maybe I'll throw some of that in there to replace the factory stuff. Thanks for responding and adding the pics of your project.

OK, I've got my old cow manure coated carpet pulled and I'm fixing the rust. I have a pretty good Junkyard vinyl mat from a '90 Comanche ready to go back in. Should I remove the sound deadening material from the backside? It seems that this stuff holds moisture and is the primary cause of our floorboard rust in these trucks. Any experiences or advice would be welcomed. Thanks.

Thanks Eagle, that is definitely my plan.

I'm hoping to maintain the stock turning radius.

Is that true? The only thing that needs to be cut is the steel insert? Pete, in your first photo, is that before on right and after on left? Thanks.

That's a great tip. It looks like the local pull-a-part wants over $20 each for them. It looks like it's Dorman part # 520320. The price listed is $32.79, so if shipping isn't too much than that might be my best option. I still want to hear opinions about the integrity of the control arm after it is cut to fit the MJ bracket. Thanks

I've never run spacers just thought that they might be a cheaper option than new/used wheels. I've seen some 1/2" spacers but they aren't hub specific and I'd be a bet nervous about running them. I think new wheels will likely be outside my budget. I suppose this is why I was pretty focused on the LCA's.

I've thought about that, and wheel spacers, but I assumed I would have fender clearance issues. It looks like you might have some experience with that. Thoughts?

Hello all, I'm trying to keep this project as cheap as possible as it's just a knock around truck for hauling firewood and goofing around in. That being said, I'm not willing to compromise functionality for cost. My MJ is basically as purchased with GC wheels and 31x10.50's and around a 2" lift. The tires rub the LCA's like crazy long before full lock. I want to fix this, while maintaining the original turning radius. I've read a bit about WJ LCA's, and they seem like a decent option. As I understand it, the bushings are non-replaceable, so any junkyard LCA might be worn out already and it can't be fixed. Also, I'm not crazy about the trimming as I don't know how this will affect the integrity of the LCA. I'd love to hear opinions about this. For about double the price, or more, or junkyard WJ LCA's, I can get Rusty's fixed LCA's with increased clearance for jeep wheels. I've not read anything specific about these, but I have read negative reviews of Rusty's customer service. In general do the folks on here think the WJ LCA's is a good and usable option? I've not seen any discussion about disastrous consequences, but I did read one install write-up in which the trimming was botched pretty badly. I'd love to hear from folks who have done it about the integrity of the LCA's after trimming and the longevity of the bushings. Also, if anyone is using the Rusty's fixed LCA's with increased clearance, what are your opinions? Thanks.

OK, so I have my new clunker that I'm getting back into shape after years of abuse and neglect. I'm new to MJ's, and jeeps really, but when I bought the truck, I opened the hood and noticed one of many "jumper" wires is one running from the ballast resistor to the cooling fan. I had spent many hours reading this forum before I bought the truck, and knew that the ballast resistors were notorious for going bad and assumed it was a bad ballast. When I got home, it dawned on me that the fan should be thermostatically controlled, so it must be the opposite, running the fan off the fuel pump ballast circuit. Sure enough, that's what it is. So my fan is on all the time. I was at the Nashville Pull-a-Part today and noticed three other jeeps, one Comanche and two Cherokees that all had "jumper" wires feeding the electric fan from a variety of other circuits. I'm assuming this is a common issue with Jeeps of this era, is there a common part that is to blame. I haven't dug too deeply yet, but I'm assuming there should be a thermal switch that turns the fan off and on. Perhaps that is a common part to fail, but I can't figure why people wouldn't just replace it if that's the case. Any help with this would be great. Thanks

I had a few minutes this afternoon so I pulled all of the fuses out of my crusty fuse box. I cleaned the contacts as well as I could and replaced every single fuse. Some were melted, some were broken, some were missing, and the fuse contacts in the box needed some work so I spent a few minutes making sure that everything would be making good contact. Shazam! After a little fiddling, my turn signals and brake lights both seem to be working. Much to my surprise I even have one license plate illuminator functional. WooHoo!

Yup, Nashville Pull-a-Part it was. I had a feeling it would have been someone on the forum here. I don't really need anything at the moment, but I'm sure I will. I may return for the rubber/vinyl floor mat in the red truck. My Eliminator has carpet and for my uses the rubber would be much better. Not to mention the high level of cow manure on my carpet. Thanks for the tire tips also.

Can someone tell me the size of the original spare tire for Comanches? I've seen a few threads now about what size tires will fit under the bed using the spare tire winch, but I'm concerned about clearance, weight, etc. Thanks, Cory

Well I had a decent score at the Pull-A-Part today. Amazingly, they had 2 MJ's on the lot. The nicer of the two had already been stripped pretty well of all the good Comanche specific goodies. The other was a bit of a junker, but I scored some good bits anyway. I found a good set of tail lights, all 4 fender flares, a tail-gate, 1 pillar light, a nice set of cab vent trim, 2 nearly new Kenwood door speakers, some assorted wiring bits, etc. I have no idea if a full size spare will fit well under the bed but I suspected not. My truck has no spare, but the winch does work so I nabbed a temporary spare from a Grand Cherokee, it was the biggest I could find and has never been on the ground. With luck I can get the brake lights and turn signals functional soon. I labeled some of the bikes in the photo in case anyone is interested.

I'm on the tail light as soon as I can find one.

I am in TN, over in the middle east-TN. I really wanted an Eliminator or a Pioneer, although anything with a 4.0, AX-15, and 4x4 would have been alright with me if the price was right. Minuit, I really dig the fuelly.com website, so thanks for being a contributor there also. Gotta love the internet.