1stDeuce

I got a custom slip cover for ours... Pretty sure it was from seat covers unlimited... It fit well and has held up. Not as cheap as a Walmart cover but it looks nice enough I've never bothered to look into re-covering the seat... Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

The '84-86 master cylinder has horizontal bolts, with a bracket (rod, actually) that goes from the outboard bolt over to the kick panel to stiffen things up, just as 87Warrior suggests above. Perhaps someone took that rod out at some point? I suppose it only helps on the outside bolt... If the firewall was REALLY rusty, the MC could flex to the side some, and that would probably eventually break the brace... The '87-96 MJ's and XJ's have vertical bolts, and the service manual image from Schardein shows that there is indeed a brace with that one too... Without it I can't see how it would live, as the lower bolt hole is on a thin strip of metal between the fuse box opening and the hole that the MC rod goes through... As I am trying to convert to the '94-96 MC and slave setup, I will have to try to find one of those brackets... No JY's near me will let me out into the yard. Totally sucks for stuff like this where I just need to have a look. This thread likely saved me from having a firewall strength issue down the road...

I run 50/50 Valvoline Maxlife atf and supertech 80w90 in all my chain t-cases. Synthetic 90wt is about the viscosity of 30wt oil (different scale) and seems to quiet loose cases a bit compared to using just ATF, which is 5 to 10wt. Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

Pretty sure I used the hoses for the 2.8l. Lower for sure. Back Fri. I can get you a p/n then... Throttle cable was from either a 3.4l camaro, or a 5.7l camaro, '94-95 vintage iirc... I got both from the jy and used the one that fit best...

I'm pretty sure the alt wiring was in the engine harness that came from the camaro... or I found a diagram online and wired it up... ?? No help, I know... and I'm away from it for the next two weeks or I could look...

Astro uses s10 stuff so no factory mounts... hopefully yours will clear... its pretty tight back by the motor mount.

I wonder if the 2.8L brackets off an astro van would be any better for mounting ac and alt... I've seen a pic of an XJ with this engine, but with the A/C high, and alt low, and supposedly he used factory stuff, but I've never figured out what vehicle had that config.

There's about 6" in plane with the bolt location, but you loose some as you move back from there because the frame bulges out for the motor mount...

An older couple at the church I went to as a kid had a small, light 5-er that they pulled with an S-10 extended cab. I doubt it was a 4.3L, since this would have been the mid-80's but it could have been. A Comanche with a 4.0L should be fine with that little scamp with little to no mods, though if it has a d35, the axle will run pretty hot if you're towing very far. Change the fluid often. :) If you mean to tow a large farm style gooseneck, please buy a bigger truck. :)

Use one of the dynamic compression ratio calculators to see what your DCR ends up at. As I understand it, 8.7 is about the limit for "pump gas", and at sea level, it can be tough to get it that low w/o custom forged pistons, or a fairly big cam. The alum head will help prevent spark knock, and should buy you a few points. Most aftermarket cams will lower DCR as well, though I've found a lot of people had issues with the narrow cam lobes of the aftermarket cams wearing quickly, and ended up back with a stock cam, or one of the two remaining Mopar cams, which use wider lobes. Note that none of them are a huge gain over the factory cams, which are pretty hot already. Many now suggest going to 1.7:1 roller rockers for a little extra valve lift, but that really only helps at higher RPM, and with a ported head, which isn't useful to me anyway. The more I read, the more it sounds like the 4.0L was fairly "tuned" right out of the box. Particularly the HO's, which have pretty aggressive cam profiles, comparable to that of the later "magnum" engines, and decent cyl head flow too for a non-cross flow head. At least in the middle years... Keep researching... My build has changed several times over the last six months, and I'm about to pull the trigger on the rest of the parts I need... I'll clean up the cyl head, polish the chambers, and run the stock cam. With 14cc dish pistons that have the wrist pin .010" higher than the stock pistons and not decking the block, quench will be a tad fat, but DCR at 5k' will be ~7.8, which should be fine on mid-grade, or possibly even regular. At sea level, it was 8.7, which would be premium only. Lucky for me I live at altitude. :) Have fun with your build!!

Thanks for the MM pic. That sucker hangs WAY out there. Hopefully you'll be able to bolt them into your comanche, and I'll just copy what you do... :) It's been 100F here the last few days, and my wife hasn't complained yet, but I'm sure she will eventually, so I need to get the A/C working. Keep up the good work!!

Oops, my bad... It turns out I was talking about CDBW, not HREW. CDBW is available in some sizes, and around here at least, is much cheaper than DOM. CDBW is ~50ksi yield, vs. DOM at ~70ksi, but that makes it easier to bend, and still plenty strong for most non-race applications. For comparison, HREW and CREW are ~40ksi, and pipe varies from 30ksi to 50ksi depending on the grade. Pipe is also the only one that's measured nominally by the ID. (IE 2" Sch40 pipe is 2" ID, and ~1/8 wall. For this reason, 1.5" pipe bending die works with 1.75" tubing...) Post up some pics when you get going, everyone loves to see projects!!! :)

I asked for the later rubber gasket glass in mine. Fit is fine. I didn't notice the tint being different, but I didn't drive it much with the old glass in. I cut off the little tabs that the trim mounted to, but you don't have to. My glass was for a '94, and has a wide rubber gasket. The '97+ windshields I've seen installed use a narrower gasket. If it is different, that windshield may require the little trim mount studs to be cut off... ?? Then again, the seal width may just depend on the windshield manufacturer.

If you do go from Renix to SBEC ('92 HO) you'll also need the HO crank sensor (it's different) and the distributor too. Since you have them on the engine already, that's good. The flexplate/flywheel from the '92 will also need to be used, as they crank trigger windows are different between the two. HO intake and throttle body also a must. IMO, all worth the work. I hate the Renix system, and putting in an HO engine and converting it back to Renix results in only a very small performance gain. Swap to the SBEC controller and you get the full HO improvement. :) I should add that I've not personally done this swap, just gathered info for a friend... I have converted to '97+ JTEC injection though. Performance similar to the SBEC system, but a little more wiring. You've got all you need, so I'd do the swap personally. :)

If your axle has a "growth" in the right axle tube with some vacuum lines, that's the axle disconnect, which is in lieu of locking hubs. In 2wd, see if you can turn the front driveshaft by hand. If you can, then it's likely that the axle u-joints are rusted, binding up, and need to be replaced. If you keep driving it like that, they'll loosen up, but they're toast if they're that rusted. If you can't turn the driveshaft by hand, and you have an axle with the disconnect in the right tube, then it's likely your truck is actually still in 4wd... You may need to adjust the shift linkage for the t-case, and possibly replace the vacuum switch in the top of the t-case that runs the CAD. (The switch gets rusty inside with age and will stick, leaving the disconnect... connected. :) If your axle doesn't have the growth, then you have a full time t-case. (Selec-trac) Hmm... I think the '86's were different than the selec-trac in '87-up... They may have even used a disconnect like the part time (Command Trac). I think they were vacuum shifted via a little flip lever, or something like that... Well, just for posterity, the later selec-trac t-cases often would "stick" in 4wd lock mode, which induces binding and steering feedback until it finally releases... Change the fluid for starters, as it's probably nasty. Turning slightly and going forward and reverse ~10' will usually get it to shift out of 4wd it in a few passes. Good luck!