JeepinSoldier

I have recently moved to Colorado for a new job after retirement from the Army. My Comanche is a 1990 with the 4.0, AX 15 5 speed, and 3.07 gears. The truck has 30" tires on it now and I may move up to 31's. It will never have larger than 31's, as its a longbed and my DD. I have a Wrangler on 35's for wheeling. The combination of altitude and poor gear ratio is making the truck a dog in the mountians, and I'm pretty sure the front axle carrier/ring/pinion are in the process of self destructing. No problem as I wanted to swap the axle for a non disconnect any way. Will a 3.55 be OK in the mountians, or do I need 3.73 or 4.10?

Good Save! Looking forward to watching the resto.

Well its been a long time since I last posted. Some great progress on some of the builds here! Picked up a 3.55 non disco HP30 for the front and a stripped Cherokee Dana 44 for the rear, but have not had the time or money to build them up yet. I have been super buisy at work and really just been driving the MJ. Last summer the exhaust rusted out where it attached to the rear of the cat and dropped onto the road! Should have seen the expressions from the people on the roadside at the bus stop. The manche was trailing a rooster tail of sparks. Like a WWII fighter pilot, I checked the oil pressure and engine temp - then drove it to the next safe place to stop. Got a new cat and exhaust from NAPA, then one of my Soldiers welded it on for me. Picked up a nice black chrome truck box and installed it. Last weekend finally fixed the valve cover leak that the truck has had since I bought it. Also replaced the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oxygen sensor and fuel filter. Changed the oil and replaced the drain plug with a magnetic plug. Finally, while I was doing this a friend pulled the stripped driver window regulator and replaced it with one from a donor Cherokee door. Still have not installed the carpet as the windshield is leaking from somewhere. I plan on replacing the windshield with later Cherokee style rubber seals and Line X'ing the bed later this fall.

I had the same problem on my 90 MJ. The parking light fuse kept blowing, then I had no parking lights, OR TAIL LIGHTS!! :ack: It turned out that there are wiring harnesses in the dash for switches on bolth sides of the steering wheel. My truck has no switches for anything there but the harness had rubbed up against metal back there in the dash and thats what was causing the fuze to blow. No problems since I had the harness taped up.

Alot of good info on the last two posts. Thanks! Is there a certian year Cherokee Front axle thats best? Is a non disco out of a 91 good?

This axle swap never got done. The seller of the axles I was looking at backed out of the sale. I'm still looking to swap my front HP 30 disco and rear 35. Since I am going to be looking for axles, what is the best year Cherokee to get a non disco front HP 30 from? I know I have to get the entire axle including knckles, bearings and brakes. There may be a 91 3.55 non disco HP 30 for sale near me. Is this year good or should I look for a later year?

I'm gonna check NAPA first. I may have to bite the bullet and get it from the dealer.

Thanks Lead! Set my mind at ease for most of the swap. The speedo gear info is especially helpful. Is there a specific place to buy the spring perches and shock mounts? I try and stay away from the dealers around here.

Hey Yeti! Good to see you on here. Nothing positive to add, I looked all over for pre bent lines. I'm gonna have MVC bend me new ones when they pull the truck apart.

Please forgive if these questions have been asked a thousand times, and yes I used the search first. (Diddnt find exact info I was looking for) I just want to insure the next MJ mod goes smooth! I want to do the common swap of the 3.07 disconnect front 30 and 3.07 rear 35 in my 90 MJ longbed to a 3.55 HP 30 non disco front and a Dana 44 rear. There are axles for sale close to me at a resonable price but I want to insure they are good axles and will swap without problems. Seller claims they are 3.54 geared open non disco front HP 30 and rear 44 from an 89 XJ. Could you get a non disco front HP 30 in an 89? My truck is a 90 and it still has the disco axle. Was the 44 still available with the tow package in 89? If the axles are legit, are they a good swap into my truck? I know I will have to have the rear axle and shock mounts moved because the MJ and XJ are diffrent. Do most cut the mounts off the MJ 35 and reweld them onto the 44, or purchase new ones? If new mounts need to be purchased, where do you buy them? Will the driveshafts and u joints work with the swap or do they need to be changed? Finally I know the speedo gear will need to be changed. Anybody know the gear for 30 or 31 inch tires with AX 15 and 3.54 gears? Thanks in advance.

The AX 15 in my 1990 had balky shifts into second and reverse all the time, and flat out did not want to shift into those gears when cold. I drained the oil that was in it and replaced it with Red Line MTL. Now there are no problems at all, even when cold.

Thanks! The LJ was my first real Jeep experiance and an expensive labor of love. Had a second job for awhile to pay for the mods! Still love it on sunny days and on the trail. Really appriciate the MJ now though - its a great DD and a workhorse. Fixing/modding two Jeeps is hard on the wallet though.... I really like your yellow TJ and good score on the white TJ. :thumbsup: Looking over your thread again, awesome job on the door panels. your floor fix looks good. At least there is not a bunch of rust inside the frame. I am interested in the tool box. It looks exactly the size I want over the bed rails and front to back. My MJ is a longbed so a big tool box looks proportionate. How deep is it? Would prob be expensive to ship to V.A. :(

Welcome. Nice truck! I am on FT Belvoir and live in Alexandria. If you see me around in a dark blue longbed with canyon wheels be sure to wave. :waving: If you are looking for a tailgate, I can link you up with another servicemember that is parting 2 Comanches at really good prices. Last time I spoke with him he said that he still had bolth tailgates. Just shoot me a PM.

Actually I have been watching it very closely!! Our trucks are both base models and I want to do many of the same things that you are doing: axle swap, small lift, and 31's. My truck is here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=18332&hilit=90+base+4x4+longbed Wondering the same thing you did - better to look for a Dana 44 out of a Comanche or Cherokee, or just go with an 8.25 for a DD and very mild wheeler. Money became an issue for awhile so my build slowed and I'm just driving the wheels off of it for awhile LOL. I like your tool box! What brand is it?

Wow! bucket seat clean floor truck for $250. Nice find. :thumbsup: