KJ1H

Whoops, I forgot to post this update: Project MJ: Four Point Oh No Long story short, I've lost both lifters on #2 cylinder. Things have been on hold since that discovery, mainly to focus on getting my fiancee moved to our new house without the help of the Comanche. I've read up on replacing the lifters, and am planning on ordering the parts soon. I've never pulled a head before (at least with any intention of the motor ever running again afterward) so this is new territory for me, but the 4.0 is such a relatively simple motor I'm willing to take my time and dive in. If I'm lucky, I can get what's supposed to be my winter vehicle back together before the end of winter. :laughin: There's some good news that I haven't included in an article yet. I do appear to have good oil pressure, and after adding a little ATF to the soon-to-be-changed oil (a tip I learned here on this site), the oil warning light turned off. Aside from the obvious lifter issue, the engine appears to be fine, and well worth replacing the lifters (and the pushrod that bent). I'm hopeful that this repair, new oil, and new gaskets will solve a bunch of engine problems at once and let me get back to putting this truck on the road!

Thanks for the tip! I'll be ordering engine parts from them as soon as I know my other monthly bills are covered. :thumbsup:

The problem is, in fact, in the #2 cylinder, though not what I expected. Both lifters are bad, and obviously that rocker arm isn't pointing in the proper direction. Stupid auto parts stores near me don't have an oil pressure tester - none of them! So I've ordered one and will confirm that I have pressure (or not) before proceeding. Thanks for all the input!

Gene, I don't really want to run the engine any more since the oil light is on, but I can tell you that the knocking increased and decreased with engine speed. I'm ready to do an oil change if that would help, but if the engine is toast there's little point. I'm also pondering pulling the valve cover to check the lifters as Bo suggests. I have an oil leak anyway and a new valve cover gasket is where I'd start.

I'm getting a little scared here. My truck has run a little rough since I got it, but now it's hit new levels of roughness. Despite an oil leak, the level hasn't fallen to more than halfway between the "full" and "add" marks, and I recently topped it off to "full." Soon after shooting this the oil light came on so I shut it down, and confirmed that the oil level is still full. Bad sensor, or a lack of oil elsewhere in the engine? Don't know. I hope I haven't killed this motor...

More progress: Project MJ: Lights, Bumper, Action! tl;dr: All lights are fixed and the proper color. Replaced crappy sealed beam headlights with Autopal H4s. Installed the front bumper. Yes, it's crooked. I'll also mount the front plate properly later. Found and installed seat belts. Then I used it to help me finish moving out of my old place. With my fiancee's two month old Certified Pre-Owned Ford Flex running out of front brake pads (they should never have passed CPO inspection) it was out of action most of the weekend, but the MJ saved my butt and let me finish moving on schedule. I need to track down and fix an oil leak. I also need to install that muffler - this thing's loud! And I need to find time to go visit Eagle and pick out a replacement driver's door. This truck's previous owner can hook me up with a new gas tank at his cost, but that may wait until after the holidays because money.

1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer 4.0 / Auto / 4WD / Dana 30 front / Dana 44 rear / LWB Build date: Unknown, sticker illegible. Purchased December 2015 Current location: Central Massachusetts Status: Fixer upper - registered, drivable, runs rough and needs inspection Notes: Originally red exterior. Was poorly painted before I got it. Now has mismatched XJ passenger door. Mismatched XJ fenders waiting to go on and needs new driver's door - will paint it all one color when done. Grey interior, vinyl bench seat, column shift. Ford cop car spotlight installed by a previous owner. Big Ton package - hence the Dana 44 rear. Nice Leer cap with roof racks. Custom made rear bumper by a previous owner. I intend to modify it to add a receiver hitch. Current owner: Me!

Bench. Yes, the B-pillar assembly. The buckles were unbolted but left in the seat, so I still have those.

It looks like the driver's seat belt went missing among the uninstalled interior parts included with my Comanche. For general safety, as well as the law, I need one. Is this the same part as an XJ? What years are compatible? Thanks!

Ooo, definitely interested in the door! And a non-leaky gas tank, if you have one. I still have to go through all the parts that came with the truck (it was delivered last Thursday) but if I can't find the driver's seat belt that might be an important part to get, too... Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback so far! Though the truck is Mary Jane, my fiancee and I end up calling it MJ for short. Not too creative, but whatever. :dunno: I've posted a couple of other pieces to Right Foot Down about my Comanche project: Assessing and Planning Patching and Drilling Holes tl;dr: Overall, the truck is solid. It steers and stops well. The engine is misfiring, consistently so I think it's a single cylinder out of whack, and I've acquired the bits and pieces for a tuneup. I discovered a leaky gas tank - the hard way. :fs1: I'm going to try the JB Weld gas tank patch for now, and I also found a new replacement online for about $100, so that'll be the eventual fix. I did some crappy bondo work to get it to pass MA inspection. I don't care that the driver's door is ugly. I'm going to replace it later anyway. I attached my rear plate to the custom bumper. I need to reinstall the front bumper, bolt in the seat and seat belts, and then it'll hopefully be on the road. I'm also still moving to my new garage house, so it's been tricky working on the Comanche with everything I own scattered everywhere. I hope to get it running well enough to help me move. I just haven't had enough time to work on both projects!

Following with great interest. I have a newly acquired garage as well, and it's been so long since I've set one up I'm learning all about these new fangled LED options for the first time. Thanks!

It's a great way to try a color on for size. I dipped my Subaru BRZ's stock wheels gold to give it more of a rally car look, and they came out looking great. It's also good to know I can peel them back to stock if I want. For your truck, how about a dark grey gunmetal sort of color? It's not black, but it's not as flashy, either.

Thanks! Been a little preoccupied with the new house. Just got in today. The MJ arrives Thursday, so I'll be moving all my tools and such over to the house so I can get to work on it when I need a break from moving! :D

Nice! I've had three Miatas myself, all red 1.6 NAs. I autocrossed a lot myself, both in MA (Renegade Miata and Boston BMW) and with the Cumberland Motor Club in Maine. These days I have a Subaru BRZ, and while I haven't autocrossed much I did a few track events at Thompson and Palmer last year. It's a lot of fun, but I know that all real sports cars have pop-up headlights.

Though I haven't brought home my Comanche yet, I'll start a build thread for it. I have a plan. We'll see if the plan actually comes true in the real world. :) You guys will probably understand the name Mary Jane. It's a Jeep MJ. 'Nuff said. I wrote all about it on Right Foot Down, and it got reposted over to Truck Yeah and even the Jalopnik front page! I'll keep writing about this as I go, and as long as the powers that be don't mind I'll share links here, but I intend this thread to be more of the nitty-gritty day-to-day stuff that you care about and the general readership on the car sites doesn't. So, jumping right in, phase 1: Put it back together and get it on the road. It comes with a new front bumper, so that and the tow hooks will go on. The interior is still in pieces because the floorboards just got replaced. The interior pieces are currently stored in the back of the truck, along with a whole bunch of other spare parts. I'll have to work on little things like bolting the seats and seat belts back in. Rather than install new carpet, I plan to bedliner the floor and call it good. No need to trap all that moisture in the carpet and invite the rust to come back. There are also some body panels to replace. The bottom of the driver's door is all rotted out. I know I can replace it with a 4-door XJ door, but I'm having a heck of a time finding a non-rotted example here in MA. To get a sticker, I'll likely bondo it up, paint it, and try to slide it by, just to get it on the road. That goes for any other rust spots on the body just now. But I'll definitely look to replace the door. The passenger door has already been replaced. The front fenders have some rot too, but the truck comes with a pair of clean XJ fenders to replace them, so that's no problem. The stick-on chrome panels visible on the driver's side of the truck are responsible for most of this body rust, so I'll take them off and clean up the areas underneath before it's too late to save them. The 4.0 is running a little rough. It drives OK but it's down on power. It's been sitting for I don't know how long, so fresh fuel and maybe some Seafoam will be the first thing I try. Then ignition stuff - plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. I fully intend to work my way through Cruiser's tips as well, whether the basics fix the problem or not. Phase 2: Rolling restoration over the winter. My current daily driver is a Subaru BRZ, which is awesome for the track but interesting in the winter, even with proper snow tires. Part of the Jeep's purpose will be to replace it as my daily driver during the winter. So once it's driveable and legal, I plan to drive it. An E-code H4 headlight conversion is high on the list because much of my winter driving is at night and sealed beams suck. This is also where I'll get around to reinstalling most of the interior. But first I'll drill a hole in the roof and install a mount for my ham radio antenna. That way I can run the coax before I put the interior back in. I'll install one of my radios too - probably a Kenwood TM-621A of similar vintage to the Jeep. I'm very interested in adapting this hump mount with speaker for it. I'd need to attach it more securely, but it would not only mount my radio nicely, it would provide a convenient speaker, and the cupholders the Comanche lacks! I'll just have to take measurements to make sure it won't block the 4WD lever. I'm a big rally fan. I've driven and co-driven sweep and course opening cars at stage rallies around the northeast. One of the Comanche's jobs will be rally sweep duty. In addition to the ham radio (used at rallies but I'll gab on it regardless), I have the following mods in mind: LED light bar to light up those dark night stages (and roads on my evening commute). Reinstall factory tow hooks in front. Install trailer hitch receiver. I know krustyballer16 is selling hitch plates and assembled hitches. My Comanche has a custom made rear bumper, and I'm not sure if it'll work with that or not. I'm also thinking that if the custom bumper is strong enough, I can just add a receiver to it and call it good. We already have a D-ring shackle that slides into a receiver from running sweep in my lady's Jeep Liberty, so we'll reuse that here for a rear tow point. Tablet mount for the passenger/co-driver. We use apps instead of a true rally computer, so I want to plunk a tablet in front of the co-driver's face to track mileage and such while bombing down rally stages. Probably a RAM Mount X-Grip. I use a smaller one for my phone and love it. Phase 3: Once warm weather returns in the spring, give it some better paint, even if it's just a decent looking rattle can job. The truck used to be red, but was painted black at some point, and the replacement fenders and doors will be other colors as well. I'm thinking of following the Rolling Stones' advice to paint it black and call it good. From there, we'll see what else it needs and what we want to do with it. I definitely want to try off roading - it's a Jeep, after all, and I've never done it. I don't see myself making too many modifications for that job, but I want to try. Mainly, though, it'll be our household junk hauler and rally sweep/tow vehicle. With the Big Ton package, it should do both of those jobs well. This should be fun. I haven't had a project to tinker on in a while.

Much to my surprise, the first article I've written about my Comanche for Right Foot Down just got reposted not only to Truck Yeah, but the Jalopnik front page! I'm pretty amazed considering that I only wrote about my plans for it and haven't even brought it home just yet. :)

Yes that's me. It turned out pretty good, I think. Although there were some mistakes. The number one is that the Coors Racetruck Challenge only allowed for 4 cylinders. I'm sure Mr. Regular didn't know. Also in the video I said my tie rod was off a WJ. It's not. It's off a v8 ZJ. The same one I got the springs off of. I thought that truck looked familiar! Nice ride!

I can definitely do that! Just for that, I won't "rip" it out, but carefully remove it. If you're lucky, I might even be able to find a tape to put in and make sure it still works. :)

Thanks for the welcome and the advice! I have Cruiser's tips bookmarked and will work my way through them once I have the truck. Hopefully once I do that and run some fresh gas through it, it'll run as smooth as a baby's elbow. :)

Hi! My fiancee and I just plunked a deposit down on an 88 MJ, and will be bringing it home once we figure out all the logistics. I've already learned a lot from reading this forum, so I figured I'd sign up and say hi now I'm "one of us." Here's the beast. It's a project in progress, and includes almost everything we need to finish it - front bumper, interior, etc. It needs a replacement driver's door due to rust (easy to find off an XJ) but that and a bit of elbow grease is about it. All the common rust spots have already been repaired - floorboards, rockers, frame, cab... We're getting it from a friend in the New England performance rally community. He was going to fix it up and use it as a tow vehicle, but got a Dodge Raider in much better shape instead. We hope to rally someday ourselves, but in the meantime we'll turn this into an awesome sweep vehicle (especially since it's a "Big Ton") and cargo hauler - especially since we're moving into a house in a couple of weeks. It'll also be my winter daily driver to keep my Subaru BRZ out of the snow and salt. Priority 1 will be to make it roadworthy and help us move. Then we'll finish the jobs that are already started. Headlights will be replaced with H4s (I do this on every sealed beam car I own), and we'll add some extra lights too. That roof rack on the cab might become a light bar. I'll add a ham radio, and replace the factory tape deck (!) with my CD/multimedia player I've used in a couple of Fords. I'm planning to bedliner the floor of the cab rather than reinstall carpet. For rally sweep we'll definitely need some solid tow hooks front and rear as well. I've always been a car guy. I race autocross and do track day events. But I learned to drive in my mom's 87 XJ, so the Comanche feels familiar to me. I'd like to give off roading a try, since despite all the other cool car stuff I've done, I've never tried it before. My fiancee is more of a truck person than I am, but we agree on our desire for a 4x4 truck, and this MJ is in the right place at the right time. It's also one of the best handling small trucks out there, which is a plus considering my BRZ and a past fleet of Miatas. So that's my intro. I'm looking forward to our new project, and appreciate all the great info that's already here. I'm sure I'll be back with questions!