bigmistake

Pete - here are some pictures of the leaf springs: I measured from the center of the wheel to the flare and it was about 19.5" in the rear, and 18.25" in the front. Eagle - That's good to know on the wheels. I was reading mnkyboy's thread for about the tenth time and noticed he was riding around with 33s with stock gearing (for him it was 3.55, I think?) which made me think I would be okay with 31s.

My new-to-me MJ needs some suspension love. The front in the back will rock back and forth forever if you bounce them, and I wouldn't be surprised if it has all original shocks with the 200k miles on it. With that in mind, I'm looking to replace the shocks and do my first lift on the truck. I've been going through the forum and looking at my options... My future plans for the vehicle (a 91 2.5l, 2wd) are to convert it to 4wd so I can use it for mild offroading (sand, mud, rough trails, camping, etc... likely no rock crawling in the future). I'm going to drive it til the engine quits, then possibly upgrade - but I'm hoping that is a way off. I'd like to run 31s, which I know I can do on stock suspension. Kryptronic suggested a 0-2" lift in my build thread. Given that most of my time will be driving around town/highway, hauling stuff for my house, and hauling outdoor gear, I think staying at 3" or under would be a good call for my purposes. Current thoughts: JK Rubicon shocks (I recently went through the write-up, and it looks like a great budget option) Replace front springs with OME 2930s to gain up to 2" of lift I'm kind of lost on the rear. I looked at Hell Creek AALs, but it looks like those are no longer available. I could go with a drop shackle, but that doesn't seem like the best idea... Should I look at picking up some GS Leaf Springs to replace what I've got (which I'm sure are original packs)? Is there a better option I should be considering? I'm open to any and all thoughts on a path forward (including buying a complete kit from somewhere, or piecing together random stuff from a JY). This is the first vehicle I will be doing all of the work on, so I'm looking forward to the learning process... and there is a lot to learn. Thanks for any help!

Thanks for the info! I think a 2" lift sounds pretty good. I spent the evening skimming through the forums and looking at lifts + tire size threads and photos, and 31s with 2-3" lifts look great to me.

Hey everyone! I joined about a year ago with the forum post "Should I buy a Comanche?" - it has been a long bit of searching, but I finally ended up with one! I looked at quite a few, but I really couldn't bring myself to buy a rusted out vehicle that needed tons of work. I have never worked on cars - I've always wanted to - so a truck that is barely operating sounding like a lot to take on to start with. I stumbled onto this truck, picked it up from a great guy, and it is letting me hit the ground running. I plan to do everything myself where possible - it won't be my DD, so it relieves a little pressure there. I'm hoping to learn as much as I can as I go - hence the project name! I really have no clue what I'm going to do with it... hopefully the forum will have some ideas. My first goal is to get everything running the best it can and refreshed as much as possible (it has been sitting for a while). I haven't pulled back the carpet to check the floors, but everything else is rust free... shockingly so. The truck runs, has AC that blows (but doesn't blow cold), is rust free, mostly straight (it looks like the front had a collision that warped the front bumper mount area... I will post a picture). The suspension definitely needs some work - I can push on the front bumper and watch the truck rock back and forth for what feels like a minute! Overall, I'm really excited to finally have a truck again, especially one as awesome as an MJ! It is also my first Jeep! Currently: 1991, 2.5l, AX5, 2WD, SWB Here are some initial thoughts, and maybe people can steer me one way or the other on where I should get my mind: - I'd like to use this truck for all of my outdoor sports (fishing, hunting, camping, etc). With that in mind, I'd like to eventually swap it to 4x4. I've never owned a 4x4 vehicle, so I'm kind of curious what else I should do to it while getting it prepped for my purposes. I know a lot of yall throw massive lifts and huge tires onto these trucks... How much lift and tire size should I be thinking about? I don't really want to get into rock crawling or anything extreme - my purposes will likely be limited to the above, with any wheeling going into getting from A to B. (Most of my 4x4 will likely end up on the beach or getting through muddy trails). Given that my suspension needs an overhaul, I think the lift might be the first thing I work on. - I'd like to find a good shell for it. - My engine currently has 200k miles on it. I plan on driving this until it quits... then maybe doing the massive overhaul to the 4.0 - or maybe something else? After driving the little 2.5l, I've been pretty happy thus far (of course, it is a new vehicle to me, and it feels great to be back in a truck, and MJs are just awesome... so maybe that is playing into it). - I'd like to clean it up, get rid of any cosmetic problems, and get it painted at some point... but that is way down the line, I think. - Any updates/upgrades you view as essential I should look at doing? Thanks for reading!

Thanks! Looks like that is what it is. There is a little tab that looks like it is bent out of shape. When I push it down, the light comes on. Will see what I can do to get it connecting again.

I've got a '91 that has some issues with the parking brake. The brakes work fine, but the light in the dash won't come on when the brakes are active. When I turn the truck on, the dash light shows up, so I know the bulb isn't out. The handle to release the parking brake is also missing - all that remains is a frayed looking wire. Pulling the wire releases the brake, no problem. Any thoughts on replacing the handle? I'm guessing find a handle in the JY and rig it on there... I haven't been able to find an assembly to replace it with. Thanks for any input! Glad to finally be a Comanche owner!

I joined the club! I picked up a 2.5l - will post some details later... I'm excited!

Thanks Pete! I found a local truck that has almost 200k miles on it, but is running and rust free for a good price. I think I might pull the trigger...

I made a post a while back about the 2.5l swap, and it was brought up that the engine is actually pretty good and might not be worth swapping. After looking into it, swapping a 2.5l to 4.0l really isn't an option for me at this time... but I still want a Comanche, and expanding my search to include the 2.5l would open up my options. I'd love to hear personal experiences from CC members - how do these little engines do in your trucks? How do they manage being at highway speeds? Do you DD them? How long do the engines last? I look forward to the discussion!

I am definitely in the same boat! Holding things never works out when selling stuff on CL - but I think a text would have been nice given I arranged to see it in the morning and gave plenty of notice. Heck, I doubt he "sold" it after 10pm when I arranged a time - he could have mentioned that then.

I had been on the road for about an hour... Worded the first post a bit weird. Thanks for the consoling everyone... I figured everyone has been there at some point.

Found a truck an hour away from me. Didn't look perfect, but good enough to look at. Chatted to the seller at 10pm, asked if I could come see it in the morning. We agreed on a time, I told him I would let him know when I was on the road and when I got close since I lived so far. I take off work, pick up a friend (so I could drive it back), send the seller a text letting him know I'm on my way. 10 mins out, I get a text "Sorry man, sold it last night - they are picking it up this afternoon." WHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT??? Why not tell me the night before, since we JUST planned on me driving to see it in the morning? Needed to vent on that one. I'm sure this is just nature of the beast with shopping for used cars... Back to shopping... grumblegrumble

I've been looking for a MJ for a long time, and it seems like I keep seeing 2wd, 2.5L trucks. Is it a straight swap to plug in a 4.0L engine? Based on what I've been seeing, I'd likely swap the engine and do the 4WD conversion from a donor XJ. Thanks!

Weird - it looks like linking isn't working for some reason. EDIT: I posted the text and if you copy and paste it into your browser, it looks like it works. Not sure why the hyperlink wasn't working.

I'm looking for a cheap MJ to learn wrenching on (and end up with an awesome truck to drive around) and stumbled across this truck: https://easttexas.craigslist.org/bar/6126350887.html I haven't seen an MJ with those decals before - any idea what trim package that is from? EDIT: Added new link

Thanks for all of the feedback! The personal experiences and opinions are incredibly helpful.

I don't have my eye on any particular vehicle right now - more of a "what should I be looking for" post.

Hello ComancheClub, I stumbled across Comanches while shopping for a used/beater truck, and I am loving everything I see about these little trucks. This forum has amazing tutorials and project threads. While I love the aesthetics and potential of the MJ, I'm wondering if it is the right purchase for me. I'm wanting a truck that runs reliably (I'm happy working on it to get it there), can be used for some light towing, can pickup building supplies for projects around the house, and can be used for some weekend camping/hunting/fishing trips. I've never worked on my cars apart from normal maintenance, but I'm interested in learning to do everything myself - is the MJ a good potential place to learn? Are there any years/models I should avoid? I'm located in north Texas, and I'm not seeing a ton of them in the area... but if this is a viable truck, I will for sure keep an eye out! Any thoughts on prices I should expect to pay? I know a lot of you have crazy tales of getting comanches for $500, but I'm seeing more in the $2000+ range for my area. Thanks for taking the time to read my post, and I look forward to your responses!