Philistine

Forget the dorkel, check out this: http://www.ericsxj.com/intake/intake.htm Probably one of the first mods I'll do after I get a new engine.

Good info! Thanks. How much extra work would that be?

Thanks Pete. I'll see what they have.

So I'm looking at just finding the same engine to swap in. It looks to be the easiest and least expensive route to get the MJ up and running again. Luckily I'm only a couple hours away from JW Auto Wreckers. Anyone have any specifics on what years the 2.5L used in my '86 was available till?

I always keep a second set of keys to my vehicles in my wallet. Of course there's that one time I locked my key ring and my wallet in the car at work. Thankfully we had a locksmith on the premesis. I also keep an extra house key in a lock box hidden by my house. It's expensive to get a locksmith to unlock your house for you at 2:30 AM.

I definitely plan on keeping the truck. Its in great shape for its age (other than the engine). That's one of the options I'm considering. I don't want to dump money into fixing a 24 year old engine if it isn't prohibitively expensive to swap in a new or rebuilt engine. I'm just trying to find out what my options are and what the costs could be.

A friend stopped by today and took a listen to my engine noise and suggested it might be a bad rod bearing. After a bit of research I'm 95% certain (still have to pull the oil pan) I did spin a rod bearing. So now what? It is repairable, but looks likely to be costly. I'm entertaining the idea of an engine swap, I don't feel like dumping a lot of money into a 24 year old 4 cylinder engine, but how much more would it cost to say swap in a rebuilt 4.0L HO? Mind you that I have an '86 Comanche and a 6 cylinder engine was not an option for that year so there are some clearance issues with the firewall. Also its not something I can do myself as I have just the basic tools and a small 1 car garage (the HOA wouldn't look kindly on me doing an engine swap in the street). This isn't something that'll likely be happening right away so I want to figure out how much I'll have to save up to either fix the existing engine or swap in a rebuilt engine.

1986 Comanche X 2.5L / AX-5 / NP207 / Dana 30 / AMC 20 / Long Wheel Base Build date: June 1986 Current Location: Reno, NV Status: Currently not running. Spun a rod bearing. Looking at either rebuilding the engine or buying a rebuilt engine to swap in. Notes: 5.5" Rubicon Express lift up front, spring over axle in the rear, 35x12.5x15 Mickey Thomson Baja Claws mounted on Mickey Thomson Classic II wheels, custom built front and rear bumpers, JKS Quicker Disconnects. Used mainly as a weekend trail run vehicle and for camping. Plans are to re-gear the axles and build into more of an expedition type vehicle; more fuel capacity, dual batteries, solar panel to run ham equipment, bed top tent, winch, lockers etc. Current owner: Kris G. (Philistine) also on Reno4x4.com (Pariah)

Thanks! They are JKS Quicker disconnects. Quite easy to remove and put back on. They also store the swaybar up and away rather nicely. I'd recommend them to anyone. The silver pin is where the disconnect stores the swaybar.

Finished installing my Yaesu FT-8800R. 1/4 wave antenna mounted to the roof with a NMO mount. I mounted the main body behind the seat. And the head above the rear view mirror.

Installed a Yaesu FT-8800R dual band ham radio. 1/4 wave antenna mounted to the roof with a NMO mount. I mounted the main body behind the seat. And the head above the rear view mirror. All the wires are nicely tucked away. I may make an extension for the mic so I can have it coming out from the dash instead of hanging down. I may also need an external speaker, I'll see how it sounds from behind the drivers seat.

Got it almost completely installed (still need to address power). 1/4 wave antenna mounted to the roof with a NMO mount. I mounted the main body behind the seat. And the head above the rear view mirror. All the wires are nicely tucked away. I may make an extension for the mic so I can have it coming out from the dash instead of hanging down. All I have left is to get power to it. The fuse block is plenty close so I just have to figure how to tap power from it. I may also need an external speaker, I'll see how it sounds from behind the drivers seat.

It was off and on snow/sleet here yesterday. Today it might hit 80. Gotta love the weather here in Reno.

I'm hoping to replace it without pulling the engine. My HOA would probably send me a nasty letter if I were to pull the engine in the street. Not that I could anyways.

Crap. Looks like I'll have to pull back the transmission then to replace it. I was hoping it was a two piece like the 4.0.

Is the rear main seal on a 2.5l a two piece? I got the lower gasket kit from the local dealership and the RMS in the kit is a single piece.

Ok a couple more pics. Its amazingly small. Here's a comparison to my iPod. The head is removable so you can mount the main body remotely (under the seat, in the trunk etc.) to install it in tighter quarters.

Got rid of the bumpers and had custom ones built.

UPS guy brought me some goodies today! :chillin:

LOL Well if I was just tooling around in the woods too I'd be less worried about contacting people since you probably still get cell service. Out here if you break down or get into trouble wheeling you need a ham radio to contact others.

Took me all of 6 minutes to take the exam and I got 35 out of 35. The test consists of 35 multiple choice questions drawn from a pool of 391. All the questions and multiple choice answers are publicaly published. I used the flash cards and test exams at http://kb0mga.net/exams/index.php to study. The site tracks your answers and focuses on the questions you got wrong. There will be a new pool of questions starting June 30th so if you are going to take the exam after that make sure you are studying the right question pool.

No not my drivers license, my ham radio license! Took the technician exam last Saturday and got my call sign today, KF7KEK. I've got a micro handheld right now but I'm looking for a good mobile radio for the Comanche. I'm looking at the Yaesu FT-8800 because of it's dual receivers and cross band repeat capabilities. Any hams have recommendations for a good mobile radio?

Nevada and California. Though I limit my time in CA because it's not street legal there.

Nice. That looks like fun.

That's what I have (except for the metric ton springs, I think).