Wild Comanche

Thanks for the latest input. Those front fluid passages in the distribution valve on an MJ are visually noticeably smaller than the XJ. Maybe the engineers at the factory over thought the problems pickups have with no or light loads in the beds on less than perfect road conditions when braking. And were TOO cautious. Or it was designed in a hurry on a Friday. No body prefers inferior braking when they can have better braking performance. Me included. My MJ is for mountain driving on sometimes snow and ice conditions. I will need to test braking in 4x4 driving on steep downhill grades in the snow before eliminating the distribution valve and re plumbing the rear brakes with an adjustable prop valve. But I can see your point, "cruiser54". Everything in the rear brakes are clean and the shoes are pretty close to being adjusted as close as possible to contact with the drums. This 1989 MJ is still a work in progress....... Thanks for all the input........

Ended up keeping the distribution valve factory system and pressure bled the brakes. Seems to work OK. Though the brakes are not as good as the best power brake vehicles I have owned, but still good enough. Better than before the brake work. Thanks for all the input. And I still have the factory brake failure warning light in service.

Very interesting. I disconnected the plastic retainer at the ball on the differential and moved the swing arm up and reconnected the plastic retainer. Now the swing arm is in about a 2:45 o'clock position. I wonder how much this affected the rear braking bias being in that previous position? And how long it has been in that position? This is a head scratcher....Thanks for that info Eagle_SX4.

Thanks for the input. The swing arm is at roughly a 7:00 o'clock position. The connecting rod from the swing arm to the axle is almost parallel to the ground. After disconnecting the connecting rod, the swing arm moves freely. It might be in working order. This vehicle has little rust under the bed. But the distribution block has not been cleaned and could be crudded up inside. And having a LSPV get destroyed in a panic stop is not good. After reading everything I could find on Comanche Club concerning the LSPV and the distribution block (mounted just below the master cylinder) I am leaning in the direction of eliminating the LSPV and the distribution block and going with an adjustable proportioning valve. And mounting it under the hood where it can be adjusted when necessary. From what I read it would eliminate the brake warning light. I can live with that. Cruiser54's link to the Wilwood #260-8419 260-12627 APV looks good. It has a 5 year warranty for what that is worth. And is only $36.00 on Amazon. If I could still buy a new LSPV and new distribution block, I would probably go that route. But that seems a dead end. Thanks for that link, "cruiser54". I will leave a post as to how the brakes work after installing the APV.

I have a 1989 Jeep Comanche 4x4 Pioneer model. Just had a complete brake job performed. New pads, new rotors, rebuilt calipers, 3 new rubber brake hoses, new master cylinder, new brake booster, new shoes, turned drums, new wheel cylinders, new hardware in rear wheels and new self adjusters. Reason is I discovered the brake fluid was black as night. No exaggeration. The brake pedal has about 2 1/2 to 3" of travel before a complete stop. Vehicle doesn't have ABS. It barely locks up the wheels under hard braking on a gravel road. The brakes act like it is not truly power brakes. Something between power brakes and manual brakes. It just is not right. Brakes were much better in years past. Everything has been replaced except the LSPV and the steel brake lines. The brakes were bled using the system explained on Comanche Club. Twice. Fluid is clear coming out of the bleeder ports. And no air. Vehicle has 30" tires. If the LSVP is working properly, should I expect better brake performance with the 30" tires? Thinking of removing the LSPV all together. Seems no one sells a new LSPV. Read that the LSPV could be stuck and is not moving. Maybe I need to remove the LSPV. What steps need to be taken to eliminate the LSPV. Any help will be appreciated...Thanks

Thanks for all the info.

Thanks for the input. That is a nice looking Comanche, "PC06". My 235/85r16 tires are Yokohama Super Digger V's. It was discontinued quite a while ago. A really great snow and off road tire. Had them on my 1976 CJ-5. I might be o.k. with a 215/85r16 tire as it is about 30.4 inches tall, w/o any lifting of the body. Anyone tried a Kumho AT 51 tire? Thanks.......................

Thanks for the info. I wonder if the fender clearance on 2wd and 4wd Comanche's were the same, with the same size tires installed?

I have a 1989 Comanche 4x4 with factory springs. With no lift kits,etc. installed. Wondered if anyone has tried to fit 16" wheels on their Comanche? I was thinking of using a 16x7 inch wheel. And using 235/85r16 tires, since I already have a good set. I was told that the factory 15" wheels have a +32mm offset. The offset might be the problem child. I believe the 235/85r16 tires will clear under the fenders. I have 235/75r15 tires on it now and have about 3" of tire clearance from tires to fenders. The 235/85r16 tires will give me about 1.5" increase in ground clearance. Any help in this matter will be appreciated. Thanks...............

Thanks for the comeback................

I have a 1989 Comanche 4x4 Pioneer. Its about time to get a set of 4 mudflaps for this rig. Any suggestions on a set of black rubber durable flaps that will fit good? OEM are probably not available anymore, so whatever aftermarket ones are out there for sale........Thanks.......

Thanks for all the info........................

Thanks for that information. Maybe with only one side hooked up with the new fixture and the other side with the oem fixture, there was a direct short from positive to ground. Don't know. Any way thanks for the heads up.

The Euramtec A-7180 is what I was looking for. I can live with the no off position. Much thanks................

I have a 1989 Jeep Comanche 4x4. The interior pillar courtesy lights are getting to the point of no return and not functioning all the time. I tried cleaning up the contacts, but have been only partially successful in doing so. Does anyone know of any aftermarket company selling a replacement pillar light fixture? About fours years ago I believe there was a company selling a direct snap-in replacement fixture. If so, I should have picked up two then. Thanks...........

After working on this problem for a long time, I finally found the answer to the condensation problem. And it is very simple. If I leave the heater slide control in the VENT position when I shut the engine down, I NEVER have any moisture building up in the interior of my 1989 Jeep Comanche. In any temperature, winter or summer. I feel like a sap for not figuring this out sooner.

As "Hannibal" of the "A-Team" used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together". Don't know how long it will function correctly, but I got the two speed wipers back. Drilling the small rivets out was the hardest part w/o damaging the plastic box. Didn't see any overheated electronic parts on the circuit board. Cleaned up the points with #600 wet/dry sandpaper. Sprayed the points with electronic cleaner and blew it off with compressed air. Used small zip ties to retain the cases. Thanks for all the advice..............................

Tried wiper functions w/o the module installed. Now I know the difference in the two wiper speeds. I had lost the "Hi" speed with the module installed. Checked the internet and couldn't find any site that still had part #56006957 in stock. Apparently a discontinued part. Looks like Ebay or a wrecking yard. But definitely a used part. And three options: Live with the loss of one of the wiper speeds or Buy a used one or Try to repair the existing module. I think I'll try to repair the original, If I can't I'm no worse off than now. It has 4 small rivets holding the cases together. Thanks for the input..................

I refreshed the existing ground on the driver's side (forward of the windshield washer reservoir) inner fender and also broke the ground wire coming from the blower motor, soldered the two ends into an eye and secured the eye to a bare metal spot on the passenger side inner fender area. Tried the windshield wipers and blower for function. The wipers seem to rotate a little faster than before and the blower is putting out a good volume of air. But I discovered something that I never noticed before. This vehicle has lost the two speeds of the wiper function. When this problem began I have no idea. I still have the mist function. I still have the delay function. But when the "Lo" and "Hi" positions are used there is no difference in the speed. Or at least I can't tell a difference. In both positions the wipers operate at about the same speed. Whether I have lost the "lo" or "Hi" speed is unknown to me. The wiper motor is new. The wiper linkage is in good shape. I installed new bushings where possible and lubricated the rest of the linkage pivot points. I wonder if the intermittent wiper module could be at fault or the switch assembly in the steering column? Or is there some other electrical device that enables the two speeds? Thanks......again......

Well, figured out the problem. The male terminal on the oil pressure sending unit/switch had completely broken off. Looked like it had been really twisted. Since I do most of the wrenching on this vehicle, I will have to chalk that up to operator error. I changed the oil filter 2 weeks ago. Somehow I must have hit the connection. And it finally completely broke off. Thanks for the input..................

Thanks for the reply and your many tips. I have refreshed many grounds on this Comanche after reading your section on grounding. And bought some "OxGard". But never noticed the grounding spot by the windshield washer reservoir. I will get that and the new grounding spot on the passenger side. Seems like there is an intermittent wiper module located under the steering column area that is no longer in production that can cause problems. Saw where a guy drilled out the rivets and cleaned the old one up and reassembled with zip ties. I don't know if this could cause slow wiper movement. I also read on a post that this module controls the operation of the blinkers, but don't know if this is correct. My emergency blinkers even with a new flasher relay will sometimes work normally and then slow way down for 5 or 10 seconds and then speed back up to normal flashing speed. This didn't change with 2 new flasher relays. One a thermal type and the other an electronic type.

Thanks for the tips. After posting this problem, I checked the internet and found that the sending units are a common problem..............

I have a 1989 Jeep Comanche. Just today I noticed the Oil Pressure Gauge was pegged out to the far right, with the engine idling and also at speed. After shutting down the engine the needle was still maxed out to the right. It seemed to me that the needle always returned to zero with the engine off. This is the first time that I have noticed this problem in all the years I have owned this vehicle. Possibly a faulty gauge? Or a broken wire or loose connection? It doesn't seem likely the sending unit just went out. But I don't know. Any help on this matter will be appreciated. Thanks..........

I have a 1989 Jeep Comanche. About a year ago I installed a new wiper motor. At the same time I replaced the replaceable bushings in the linkage. Lubricated wear points that were obvious. Reinstalled and tested. Very slow wiper movement on the slow and fast settings. Slower movement than any vehicle that I have owned. The reason I replaced the motor was because of this very problem. Very slow wiper speed. Thinking that the motor was worn out. Now I am wondering if the motor is getting lower than normal voltage. Is there a wiper relay on this year of vehicle? If so, where is it located? What else could cause this slow wiper movement? The wipers are not noisy. Seem to be smooth in movement, but extremely slow. Thanks........................