Garvin

There were 31's on stock rims with nothing else done to my Jeep when I bought it and it had the boat anchor V6 in it. It would rub on sharp turns but didn't effect anything else. As for the coil spacers, I have them on the front of my '86 now to level her out from the SOA and have no issues with them. If you plan on lifting it (either with pucks or coils), make sure you get longer shocks to accommodate them. You might also need to get a little longer sway bar links and track bar to keep everything working how it was designed to.

x2 on the dealership ones, they're about the same price as aftermarket (even cheaper than some of them). You'll need 3" axle tube perches.

I never had an issue with the first axle swap (8.25) but now have the issue with the Sterling 10.25 due to the weight and the nose of axle being much farther out. That 8.25 was SOA with IronMan4x4 adjustable shackles on 33's (equaling about 6.5" lift in the rear). Now I'm running straight SOA in the rear and sitting about 4" in the rear. If you aren't afraid of trimming then you won't have any issues fitting larger tires. I'm running 4" lift and running 38.5's with space for the 42's that are on my wish list (this is with 4-5" of uptravel with the current setup), I trimmed up to the body line front and rear though. Traction bars really aren't as overrated as most people thing, they have their place. If you're running a soft spring then traction bars help keep them alive. Guess that was a little bit of a tangent...With a 4.0, you really don't need one. I didn't need one with the carb'd 350 I had in my '86 but sure as hell need one now with the fuel injected 350 and one tons...

I did the same thing except the opposite way without issues. I swapped an early-'94 242 input shaft into my '90 231. The reason I did is because I blew up my '90 trans and swapped an early-'94 AW4 in since I couldn't beat the deal.

I was referring to the stud on the frame, not stud on the shock itself. Guess I could have explained that a little better.

The springs are 26" front the front to the pin and 31" from the rear to the pin (57" long). My buddy is actually looking for a set of the same sized springs for his J20 and compiled a bit of a list for the lengths. You will need to look into the arches for them though as well as the pin placement (we're rebuilding the whole rear frame so pin placement and arch weren't too much of a concern). 76-92 Wagoneer, Full size Cherokee, J 10 or J 20. 86-92 MJ 86-06 Dodge Dacota pickup 93-03 Dodge Durange 97-03 F 150/F250(2wd or gvwr less than 8k) 80-96 F150 2wd only 91-94 Exploder 86-06 Ranger So a Ranger is the correct length but keep an eye on the arch and pin placement.

Front lowers are worth it in my eyes as they load the shock bushing with the correct preload. You will only need the front lowers as the rear of a Comanche is stud top and bottom already. Also the front and rear BPE's (bar pin eliminators) are completely different so you will need a set for the front only.

I really don't see the advantage of a JK axle. With the same amount of work, you can fit 3/4 and 1 ton axles in there without any of the bending issues.

All of the AX5 231's were 21 spline as well as the BA10/5 ones. the 91+ AW4's were 23 spline while the 90- AW4's were 21 spline. The shifter should swap over without an issue, I'm not sure on the sender that goes into the transfer case though. I believe it was '88 that they changed the end that plugs into the speedometer so you will need to use your '86 speedometer cable but that will screw into any 231's sender as long as it's the cable driven one.

I was referring to the one the OP was talking about in my first sentence. The main reason I added the 4.0L part is because the OP didn't mention what engine the XJ had. '94 was also the swap to the external slave cylinder so early '94's had the internal as they were clearing out the warehouses.

If it's a 5 speed manual behind the 4.0L then it would be an AX15. They stopped using the BA10/5 in early '89.

Thanks everyone, that's pretty much what I neded to hear. It's going to be a ton of work to save this truck and needed some possitive reinforcement to get the nerve up to start ripping into her. I can start a build thread for her if anyone is interested (or would it be a rebuild thread?), it'll be a fast paced build that won't take too long as I'll be spending all of my free time wrenching and welding on her to get her done. I'll be starting either tomorrow afternoon or Thursday, depending on the weather and how fast I can make the structure the Jeep is sitting under leak less. I have no fears of my welds being structurally sound. I welded the cross member, all 3 links, panhard bar and all the brackets/truss on my '86 and drive that on the road when the engine isn't acting up. Never once had an issue with a weld and I'm a much better welder now than I was when I built most of that stuff.

The issue with this one isn't that it's too rusted, a large sized section of the frame is missing on the passenger side as well as the inside of the frame is pretty well gone on a lot of what's left on that side. I'm going to be removing the bed in the next few days to really see how bad everything is beyond the already bad. I do have the skill to redo the frame and will if it isn't that much worse than what I listed. The free gas tank kinda pushed my hand to really rip it apart and fix it though. :D If I do end up rebuilding this Jeep, it will be from the ground up and fast (as in a few weeks at most). Every ounce of rust I can get to on the frame will be fixed, the front will get straightened and she will get ready for a paint job (going to get my body shop buddy to do the paint job since he owes me for building up his Cherokee). I really want to save this Jeep but at a certain point you have to ask yourself if it's really worth the time and hassle.

I have the one that is still attached in my '92, tt's been deleted so it's just chilling in there. I'm not sure where the bracket that bolts to the axle went and the end of the rod that connects to that bracket looks a little beat up (the bracket on the prop valve and that end of the rod are fine) but it doesn't sound like you need those. It turns a full 360 on the lever that goes into the actual prop piece still. I can get it off in the next day or two if no one sent one to you yet.

A buddy of mine is getting a gas tank that he says I could have so that's off the list there. This is a '92 (Aug '91 build date) which they've only made a few thousand of (91XX made in the '91 year) which is the dilema I'm having. That and it was my first Comanche. :) I plan on boat siding the '86 so the rockers and cab corners can get swapped to the '92 eventually, I'm just scared of the amount of rust chunks I've pulled out of the passenger side frame. Just about all the bolt on parts are in good condition. The PO swapped it to bucket seats and a full console but they are mismatched colors. I appreciate the inputs. I might still rip it all apart and see what I can do, I get way too much joy (and spend way too much time) making the impossible come true.

So I could really use everyones advice here on my '92 Comanche ('91 build year). This Jeep is beat and rotted to hell and I'm debating if it is worth it to repair it. So the bad in the Jeep...The passenger side inner frame rail is rotted (as in gone) between the rear transmission cross member mount and above the rear axle, rotted all around the passenger side leaf spring mount (so bad the mount ripped off), and on the passenger side outer from right behind where the cab is connected to between the front leaf spring mount and the rear axle, the drivers side has a section rotted out about an inch by three inches right behind the transmission cross member mount, the floors are shot, and it's rotted pretty bad around the rear flares. The front frame rails are slightly tweaked at the front from a front end accident from the previous owner (can be banged back to straight with a little time). Mechanical wise the transmission and transfer case need to be placed back in (they got donated to the '86), the engine needs a few sensors to run correctly (not sure which ones yet), the rear axle was just starting to whine (dana 35) before parking her about 2 years ago, and will need a new gas tank as this one is leaking. It comes down to is it really worth saving or would it be more worthwhile to strip the Jeep and scrap the frame? If I do end up stripping the Jeep, I'll probably be picking up another Comanche in the next month or two and keeping all these parts as spares if I do decide to strip her. Any input either way is appreciated. More looking in the lines of would you keep and fix up the Jeep or use her as a donor.

You have the advantage of a larger housing, larger ring and pinion and no unit hubs on a 44 but the axles and u-joints are the same size as the 30 so you still need to beef those up. If you're set on 8" of lift, get a 44HP as it will help the drive shaft angle a lot better and you will drag the pinion less. Others have run the 44LP and I got into a giant debate against it on CherokeeForum where I'm strongly against it as the work doesn't really warrant the amount of the upgrade. I know I'm probably going to get flamed for that comment from those that run it though but it's true. If you go to the link before, you can find the widths that you want but I don't think you can get a 44 with the stock 5x4.5 bolt pattern since the hubs are so large (don't quote me on that though, I was going to put a built 44HP into my old Cherokee with the 5x5.5 bolt pattern since I was converting. I'm now running the 8x6.5 bolt pattern on the one tons under my Comanche). If you do decide to go the 44 route, make sure you avoid the F150 and Bronco's with the cast in wedges since you can't cut them off and they are a major weak point on the axle. The older Bronco's (pre '77) and '77-'70 F250's have the weld on wedges that can be cut off and still retain that solid axle. Whichever way you choose to go, you're looking at a lot more than a few hundred dollars for the upgrade (I have about $1000 into my one ton swap only because I got the axles dirt cheap and got all the brackets for the rear for free).

If you beat on the axle, you'll want to beef it up a lot. You will need a truss, inner C-gussets, alloy axles, alloy u-joints (or CTM's if you can afford them), and a cryo'd ring and pinion set. You'll still probably go through wheel hubs though (not sure of a cheap way of solving that issue unless you want to fork over like $1400 for the manual hub conversion kit). After all that, it'd probably be cheaper to have a shop put in a 44 or 60 (will still need alloy axles and upgraded u-joints on a 44 as they are 30 sized). When I was running 36" IROK's on my 30, I bent two housings and was eating hubs but never managed to break an axle shaft, u-joint or ring and pinion. I've seen many people chip teeth on 4.88's in their 30's though and go through u-joints and axles like candy when playing in the rocks. For flexing like hell, definitely look into different styles of long arms. I'm running a 3-link in the front and a simple SOA in the rear and the Jeep has killer flex. 3-link long arms is the best for flex but you want a true 3 link with panhard for that. Keep in mind that you want to keep your suspension matched (each component in the front and front to back). If your front massively out flexes the rear then it can actually hurt more than help. A flatter spring in the back will give you much better flex (another reason to stay away from the monster lifts). What I would do (take it how you will) is get a true 3-link setup with some 150lb/in rate springs, some nice long shocks (I'm running 12" travel Bilstein 5150's in the front), and keep the lift around 4" and trim the wheel wells up some. That will give you great flex, great stability, great road manners, and still be well within legal specs for basically every state.

I'm not pointing fingers or throwing people under the bus here, was just putting my 2 cents in from my experience since I ran into this same issue. There's definitely more to it than just slapping in a larger radiator also. My setup isn't just the radiator and little addition, I also have stainless steel hoses (they actually dissipate a lot of the heat in the coolant also) and a high volume water pump. With everything said and done, I have about 5 gallons of coolant in my system (compared to a normal Jeeps 2-3). Everyone is right though, it is not cheap. The main reason I went with a Chevy setup is because I found the Novak Adapter to mate an AX15 to the 350 as well as with everything I needed locally for less than just the adapter is new. If I were to do it again, I would have went with a Ford 351W. It's a lot easier and cheaper to slap a Ford engine in there since you can slap the ZR5 right behind the engine (the Ford 5 speed manual) without worrying about customizing the shifter as well as the transfer case is the correct side drop. It seems like the Chevy setup is far overdone and the Mopar setup is catching up fast. If you do go the Chevy Gen 1 route, I can help you with advice on what I did since mine is also done to an '86 also. I was actually going ask about the head swap but you covered that nicely. You are definitely correct, you want to figure out the power band you want to be in. I set mine up so the torque peaks around 3k and pulls hard off idle. I don't see any real reason why you would need high RPM horsepower in a Jeep unless you plan on racing it (Jeepspeed maybe?). On the engine in my Comanche currently, I'm running about 16mpg but haven't had the Jeep running perfectly yet to really test it. This is also on one ton axles with 15/38.5 bias ply Ground Hawgs and 4.10 gears. I believe I've read that the Gen 1 engines weigh in around 560 lbs but I'm also running around 300hp and 350tq out of this thing. That is one clean L33 install though!

Cooling the engine actually isn't that hard, you won't cool that well on stock components though. I have a Cherokee CSF 3 core aluminum radiator and a little addition I did with a heater core and the 350 runs around 210 degrees at cruising speed and 180ish at idle on a 90 degree day. V8's aren't as hard as everyone says they are to cool, you just need to think outside of the box. Another way to cool it is to swap to a WJ steering box and slap a much larger radiator in there. Wagoneer ones fit the older Jeeps ('84-'86) pretty well, forget what year I looked up when I was planning on doing that.

If you're looking for a Chevy Gen I swap then look into my build thread (currently running a TBI long block with TPI fuel injection). I was running it carb'd on a few previous engines (I used to be a bit rough on these engines, calmed down a lot since then). Linked to page 3, about half way down is the current engine. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=29562&start=30

I have to agree with most of this but not all. Unless you really plan on rock crawling then the u-joints will survive in the 30. I was running 36's on my old Cherokee's 30 and was going through hubs like candy (I was also running adapter spacers from 5x4.5 to 5x5.5) but never once broke a u-joint, did bend 2 housings though so I'm not exactly nice to my vehicles. I'd stay away from the Dana 50 though, those are either TTB (twin traction beam, aka IFS) or metric bolt pattern and rims can get really price for them as my buddy is finding out. I opted to go with a late 80's kingpin Dana 60 in mine since a 44 wasn't worth the hassle, but I'm also running 38.5's now and plan on going up to 42's. A Dana 60 is way too big of an axle for 35" tires since you will be dragging the axle everywhere. If you're looking for an easy swap for the front, you're better off just beefing up the 30. No full width front axle swap is cake work. Keep in mind that you will be wide as hell with a full width axle unless you cut it down (the Dana 60's are 9" wider than stock Dana 30's). The main question comes down to, what do you plan on doing with the Jeep? If you plan on rock crawling then you might want to reconsider 8" of lift as that will make you really top heavy (I'm running 6" and can easily fit the 42's now and toying with the idea on dropping down to ~4"). If you plan on mudding then you might want to think about wider or taller tires. If you plan on driving it on the road a lot, you might also want to think about a smaller lift. Keep in mind that most states also have lift laws that you will have to abide by when lifting a vehicle.

I didn't have length or angle issues with that lift at either end.

MJ's don't need drop transfer case blocks. I was running 8" of lift on my '86 when it was stockish with no drop and had no issues.

Thanks. You aren't far at all, have a ton of friends that live in Chesterfield. The good spots are over in Lacey (where all the carnage happened to mine) and down in Wharton. Jackson trails right behind Six Flags is another spot but it lacks a lot of the mud. There's Colliers Mills in New Egypt also but most of the old fun parts have been removed (haven't been back there in years though). Last place I can think of is a small set of trails in Mt Holly right off of 537 (just past Mt Holly Bypass). Lacey has some nice hills (the one taken with Abyx's Jeep is from about 3/4 of the way up the hill) and the only real rocks is over in the Rausch Creek area. I should have the Comanche back up and running today (new drive shaft should be here in a few hours) so feel free to give me a yell if you want to go do some exploring. If you need a hand wrenching or have any questions, you're more than welcome to stop by and BS.