buckwheat

Possibly a stupid thought (happens frequently to me) but did you put the metered elbow in the front slot and the open elbow in the rear slot?

On the rear of the valve covers there is an elbow that goes to the intake manifold. It gets vacuum to pull out gasses caused during combustion. The original renix set-up uses a metered line (small inner diameter) to limit the amount of air that can pass through. The stamped steel VC uses a metered orifice. What kind of combo / set-up do you have? My thought is that if nothing is metered (large elbow at the rear of the VC and large line from the elbow to the intake) you could be getting large amounts of air to pull directly into the intake causing high idle.

Got a picture from the side? Interested in what the fiberglass fenders look like. And what headlights are those? Not recognizable as a comanche from this angle.

Thanks for the link Hornbrod. I had seen it, which is why I was really confused that it wasn't working. As a test I put a drill on the end of the speedo cable and ran it as fast as the drill could go. The speedometer never budged. So my cable is broken somewhere somehow. So I probably had the speedo gear in correctly the first time, just broke the cable. Ordered a replacement cable from Rock Auto (hope its the correct one). Why can't things be easy with my Jeep?

I thought I had done my research, but I must be missing something. I changed my truck to 4.10 gears and 31" tires. Which meant my speedo was off. I figured out I needed a 37 tooth (teeth?) long speedo gear. Bought it and went to install it. Which is where I get confused. I know I need to index the housing so that the speedo gear makes contact with the drive gear in my transfer case. But I have tried 3/4 of the possible options and can't get it to work. I took my truck for a test drive after each rotation of the housing and my speedometer gauge never budged. The only option I didn't try wouldn't work because the housing would not sit flush against the transfer case. Right now I have the housing indexed so that the 35-38 (I think is what the numbers were) is closest to the ground. Is this the correct point for it? Does anyone have a photo somewhere of exactly how the housing is supposed to be oriented? Also, how likely is it that I snapped/ broke my speedo cable while twisting and moving it under the truck? Thanks in advance.

When I swapped my tank the local stealership got me a new set. Don't forget the grommets to go with them.

Eagle: I measured from similar points on the underneath side of the axles. My wife held the end of the tape against the tube of the rear axle next to the springs. I measured to the center of the knuckle. Then we switched sides and measured again. From there I just assumed that being 5/8" off meant out of square. It also seems like I am being stubborn trying to find out why one tire is sitting further back. To get it on the road again I am just going to cut the fenders and put new flares on, like people have been suggesting for a while. I don't want to give up on figuring out why its out of whack though.

MMO = Marvel Mystery Oil. Name brand fix-it-all stuff that actually seems to work.

I went with deziped1's idea and starting measuring my truck. Front to back the measurements are with 1/8" or each other. Measuring for square (right front to left rear, and right rear to left front) showed a 5/8" difference. It was the right front to left rear measurement that was shortest, which makes sense since the right tire is set back in the wheel well. Since it is the unibody frame that is out of square somewhere/ somehow, I can't think of a way to fix it. Therefore, I think I am going to get a set of adjustable control arms and cheat 1/2" or so pushing the right tire further forward. Then I plan on getting a pair of Napier flares and cutting out the fenders. Between these two mods I should be good to go. Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. Also, if my ideas of solutions are completely wrong, let me know. Or if there is some way to straighten my unibody, please let me know that as well.

Update: Just got it back from the alignment shop in town. They were super busy so I didn't ask for a print out or anything, but the owner told me everything was fine and within spec. I asked him about the difference in gap on the fenders and he said he didn't know what could be causing it. At this point I am wondering if my vehicle was wrecked and the frame was bent slightly on the passenger side. Anything else I can check?

Incommando: I have no problem with cutting the fenders slightly. What bothers me is that only the passenger tire rubs. If they were both the issue I would bring out the grinder. However, the driver side looks fine to me, not tons of clearance, but enough for now. I want to get the passenger side figured out before I go any farther. Shelbyluvv: Interesting. I hadn't thought about putting rear flares on the front. I am seriously considering the Napier V2.0 flares. I know that those open the wheel wells also.

Also, thanks for the help so far. Keep it coming.

Eagle, was this supposed to go on a different thread?

The body lines are all fairly close. Not a show truck close, but good enough for a DD. I did keep the inner fenders. I believe the old fenders only worked because the PO had cut them out slightly. The fender flares had been put back on with sheet metal screws. I am kicking myself for not taking photos to see where the wheel was at in the old fenders. Hornbrod, what should I look for on the new clip sheet metal? It appears to be straight and solid, and came off a still running cherokee. It had far less dings compared to my old fender. Is this something I could/ should fix with adjustable control arms?

So even though the measurement is off one side of one tire you are still thinking an adjustable track bar will fix the problem? Anyone have a recommendation for a quality track bar that doesn't break the bank?

Thanks for the replies. I did as Hornbrod suggested and came up with the following measurements: Front side of the tires: 21 1/2" on the drive side and 21 7/16" on the passenger side. Back side of the tires: 20 5/8" on the driver side and 20 1/8" on the passenger side. Kinda confuses me since the front side of the tires matches up so well, but the rear side if off by 1/2". To my mind if the axle was shifted side to side it should be an equal shift, meaning that both measurements would be off.

I believe it has a lift since 31" tires used to fit in the wheel wells just fine. However, it was done by the PO and I am not sure how much or what type of lift he put in. When you say "centered under the truck" do you mean from the passenger to the drive side? Or do you mean from the header to the bed? And what is the easiest way to check those things? Here are a few photos of what is happening, hopefully that helps explain it: Driver Side: Passenger Side:

So I just finished with a 97 front clip swap. As I went to turn around I heard a grating noise from the passenger side. My tire rubs on the back side where it is closest to the fender as I am turning. However, my driver side tire clears with plenty of space. This did not happen with my previous fenders, although the PO had installed after market flares and cut out the fenders. Any ideas why one side clears and the other does not? Also how can I correct this? I am a novice at auto work, so pretend I am a little slow when you explain something. Thanks in advance for the help.

Not meaning to hi-jack this thread, but I have looked through the DIY section and have not seen the hinge fix you are talking about relyt120. Could you possible post a link?

Naw, thats too complicated. Just the front clip. If I can get that figured out even . . .

If its any consolation I had NO mechanical skills at all when I got my Comanche. When something would break, or I would decide to fix something, I would come here, search for a write-up, and fix it. I have learned so much just reading the Tech Forum everyday. Plus the Comanche is an amazingly resilient and hardy truck. Nothing has stopped mine yet. :crossfingers: Good luck with it.

@ Akula69 - PM sent @ Rockfrog - It makes me nervous to leave parts out. Since Akula69 has a set I'll go ahead and add them. But thanks for the info. @ yellaheep - The brackets I am thinking of are kinda behind the headlight area. They are straight, vertically oriented and are kinda like angleiron. Three mounting points on each side. http://comancheclub.com/topic/9913-97-cherokee-front-end-swap-for-an-mj-comanche/has a really good photo of it. Its the second photo in his line-up.

I am trying to do a 97+ front clip conversion. I have all pieces except the fender brackets. If anyone has a set they can sell, let me know.

What front bumper is that?

No O2 sensor? How does that work? Does the ECU just push the pre-programmed fuel air ratio without compensating?