91Pioneer

I bought one of these last year, it pulls a vacuum on the cooling system for a refill, it eliminates the need to "burp". It's handy to have, there are other models: UView 550000 Airlift Cooling Purge Tool

oooh that is bad for my plan... how can the fender and door be the same and not the rocker height?

OK well I've seen the discussions on replacement rocker panels. Some folks used the Sherman ones that fit over the existing rocker which is pretty much a fail. Also, I know there are a few OEM XJ 4-door rockers on the Interweb still, in addition to full replacement aftermarket ones with the taper at the front, etc. So my question is this... has anyone here actually taken a 4-door XJ rocker, modified it to fit the MJ and have pictures to show how it turned out? I read there is a bit of trimming at the very front behind the fender. No biggie. I know the XJ & MJ OEM rockers taper out as they go down the length. So I'm trying to figure out if the taper at the rear edge of the front door on an XJ rocker is identical to the taper of the rear edge of the door on an MJ. If the taper is the same at that point, theoritcally you could make the replacement work fairly easily I would think.

Hey man how close are the XJ rockers at the rear of the front door compared to the MJ rocker? In other words does the taper on the 4-door XJ rocker match the 4" depth at the end of the 39" span? I'm thinking a 4-door XJ OEM style rocker should be able to be easily modified to work. At worst, just cut off at the back of the front/only door and patched in... thx.

That's how I think it operates. I don't know for sure, but dropping the first 500 rpm makes a whole lot of sense. Can you just replace all your vacuum lines? They're probably cracked and garbage anyway if they're original.

Look at the roof spoiler on that Wagoneer, it must have done a good job of pushing down on the vehicle at high speeds LOL

I only know of 3 in my city of 35K people. Two are in running condition and the other one seems to be parked but may run. There used to be another one in mint shape but I haven't seen it in years. They're quite rare around here, I couldn't even guess as to how many are left out in the wild.

Well I'm hoping to line up a trailer and go see it later this week or next week if it's still there. I just can't make the time right now to get away. I was just checking the pictures out more and thinking about things :thumbsup: All this research will be helpful whether I buy this MJ or another.

Hmmm well this is more interesting... I typed the part # from the intake manifold into Google and it turns out it's from a 91-96 Cherokee, 91-92 Comanche, or 93-96 Grand Cherokee. So... the intake manifold seems to be original. Maybe the valve cover is the only updated thing on the engine. I guess it's really hard to say what all is updated/swapped. http://www.factorychryslerparts.com/products/MANIFOLD--Intake-1994-95/4520720/33007067.html

Judging by the decal on the valve cover, does it seem safe to say this engine is out of a 2003 model year Jeep?

I thought the floor pans were part of the rigidity/structure of the unibody design? If so rivets are a bad idea. If not, go for it as long as it's seam sealed well and won't rust out later on :-) I was thinking that 3M Panel Bonding Adhesive would be a good choice if you can't weld. I've seen Kevin use it on Trucks TV. I watched some guys rivet panels onto their XJs on youtube and thought WTF it just seems like a temporary fix to me. I don't know if they were "blind rivets" as I've never heard the term.

Hey gogmorgo, no one on this board aside from SK guys will know what a bunnyhug is LOL. Yeah F**K it's cold...

OK so who has used what replacement pans? 87Warrior used the Raybuck/fixmyrust ones. Any thoughts on the other comments? I'm sure some guys have used the other ones.

Thanks 87Warrior, that's good to know. Raybuck, I hadn't heard of them. Yep I read that already that you need to cut off part of the rear panel and work with it to make it work just right. I wish they made a panel ready to drop in but the market isn't big enough I assume. I noticed on the Raybuck website, they list an OEM rocker panel piece, I will have to look into that as if I buy that MJ next week it needs a driver side rocker panel.

OK so I was researching floor patch panels for the MJ, and discovered there are quite a few companies that sell them (for the XJ or MJ), however obviously there aren't a whole bunch of manufacturers. What I did find amongst eight or so different sites that sell them, there are three clearly different styles of panels. This panel is a Sherman panel. Notice the wrinkles in the curved side areas ($109): The C2C panels are very similar (but has a circle outline stamped) ($45): And this looks quite different, this one is from rustrepair.com and fixmyrust.com ($66): So this begs the question. Which one is best in terms of ease of installation? Let's say for the sake of this discussion that they're the same thickness/gauge. To me the last style looks like the better choice because of the extra bracing plus it has nice rounded edges (no wrinkles). Also, if you look at the right area that goes against the transmission tunnel it seems to have a much more accurate line, not just a straight cut. Their website actually says they 3D scan an original floor to get the design. The Sherman panel looks like junk compared to the fixmyrust/rustrepair one, and it's the most expensive to boot! Also, does anyone know who actually makes the fixmyrust/rustrepair panel? And, are all those holes required on the MJ? Your thoughts?

Yep you can buy those, cool Copper Welding Spoon

Really? Hmmm. this owner has had it 5 years and has done basically nothing to it as far as I'm aware...

Everything is more expensive in Canada. Gas, parts, cars, etc. It's just the way it is unfortunately.

I e-mailed the seller asking for another photo of the underside so I can gauge how much rust there is on the back area and passenger floor board. So we'll see. One of the things I like is that the truck is bone stock, it's not all modified since I'm looking to restore kind of close to showroom condition anyway. OK rust is the biggest thing to look for. No one seems worried about the number of miles. From browsing the forum it looks like almost anything is fixable or upgradeable.

Odd, everything on the truck is bone stock, I'm surprised the wheels aren't. They are very similar to the rivet style Eliminator wheels. Were the rivet-less wheels an upgrade by the factory or dealer? Weirdness.

One thing I realized is I could buy the local 2WD/Auto truck, fix the rust, put on Eliminator wheels, and then just put on the Eliminator decals, and I'd almost have an Eliminator... sure I'd know it's not real but it would be the truck I want but auto/2wd. Not ideal but that might be cheaper in the long run. Not sure...? They both need rockers & floor boards & some rust repair on the box. I'm thinking it's almost even maybe I should just buy the one in Morden and get the one I want . :MJ 2: .

I already made a few phone calls. A provincial inspection is just $115+tax, I thought it was $150. A windshield is $332.91 all in. Ball joint, $85-ish locally. Yeah I wouldn't pay $2500 for it given the work it needs. It sounds to me like Pete is concerned about the rust and I shouldn't over-pay. Any other reservations or things I should know? Yeah I really wish I knew someone near Winnipeg who could go look at it for me. Heck I'd even PayPal them some gas money to do it. Here are some other pics of the truck for sale: The interior looks mint (original cassete player even LOL): Yeah the PCV line is disconnected, spouting some dirty air/oil out which seems to be accumulating on the firewall (easy fix), ratcheting oil cap is broken (easy fix), needs a valve cover gasket and maybe other seals/gaskets: The frame "rail" underneath actually looks quite good considering: Here is the other local truck, very similar but Auto/2WD.

What are the rules for attaching a pic? I can't seem to do that, but I can link to a photo...

gogmorgo, yep that's the one. I'm in SK but south of you. I did some more reading last night here on 4.0 HO vs Renix and I thought the HO was way better but after reading the pros & cons of both engines I'm like "no big deal" on which engine. The HO would be nice because it's easier to troubleshoot and is more compatible with parts, but thanks to this forum I'm not totally set on it. It turns out the other one in town here (I know the guy) is a 91 because it says High Output on the tailgate. Thanks for replying. I was in Winkler this summer so I know where Morden is, they're practically American they're so close to the border LOL. Pete, yeah I know the rust is likely worse behind. I've seen trucks worse than this. I saw one case I think on this forum where a guy cut out the wheel well and used 2-door Cherokee patch panels so I guess it's all do-able with enough money. It's too bad they are pretty much all rusty up here. I'm looking for a truck to restore and keep. These trucks are rare and I have fond memories of them (my dad drove a Comanche from roughly 86-92), it's a shame they stopped making them, it was a short run IMHO. I'm not worried about putting more money into it that it's worth, I've done that before I'm sure I'll do it again LOL.

I'm considering buying a 92 Comanche in red. It's an Eliminator (short box), 4WD, 4.0L, 5-speed with 282,000 km (175K miles). First the good. It's the exact combo I want. Now this is a third vehicle so I don't really need 4WD, but I do want a red short box with the HO 4.0L (those are my main requirements). Now the bad. It needs some work and needs a safety inspection. The seller had a recent safety inspection and told me it needs a windshield, right ball joint, rear brake drum work, track bar is loose, and rust repair on the floors and rockers. The engine is really greasy but my reading here shows these engines are notorious for leaking from the valve cover, distributor, oil filter adapter, and rear main. No biggie, I think I can handle replacing all of those gaskets. I live almost 700km away so I've just been communicating by e-mail, the owner sent me some pics. Realistically I probably should trailer the thing home due to the loose track bar and ball joint issue. I can fix those myself but not until I get it back home in the garage. He sent a pic of the driver floor board and it is definitely toast. Here is a pic: So I guess I'm just wondering what do you guys think of it? I really don't want to drive 700km each way just to look at it if it's not worth it. With 175K miles, is there probably still lots of life left in the truck? I bought a 110V welder and I want to play with it so the floor patch panels don't scare me. I think I could use an abrasive flap wheel or something to try and clear up the rust that hasn't eaten all the way through on the box and touch up those spots as much as possible. I see you can buy new floor panels and rocker panels so I'd just go that route. I already know some of the things to look out for like a leaking clutch master cylinder leaking down to the fuse box, check if the hood release works (and lubricate it regularly), etc. I'm not in a big rush to buy but this is the exact combo I want so I don't want to pass this up and then keep looking for a few years. OK, one disclaimer though, I know a guy in my city that has a 2WD '90 Comanche in red, short box. But it's an auto tranny on the column so it's not quite what I want but it could do. This other one though has a little less rust (not much less) but has lots of dents around the truck so overall it probably needs more body work which I'm not a pro at.