Jump to content

natander2ksometime

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    100

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by natander2ksometime

  1. natander2ksometime
    To continue on with the terrible 2020 year in the Comanche, I ordered a new, fully assembled head from Clearwater Cylinder Heads. Because the same exhaust valve had broken twice, I didn't want to take any chances. My girlfriend and I slapped it on in a weekend, and ended up having to carpool across Denver for a week in it because our other cars were out of commission. It was running so well that we decided to attend the 2020 MJ Takeover (we considered it impossible after the St. George incident). Once again, it ran super well, maybe better than ever, from Denver to Moab. We averaged 16-17 mpgs with all of the wheeling and camping equipment in the back. Here's pictures from our first campsite.
  2. natander2ksometime
    Ah, that must be a problem. I thought I was copying the actual photo from my Google Photos account, instead of downloading them and then uploading them. When I get time, I will go back and fix them. Thanks for pointing that out guys!
  3. natander2ksometime
    Pete, I have just been copy/pasting my photos into my text here. I wonder why they suddenly stopped working?
  4. natander2ksometime
    After a day or two in the St. George area, we headed east on our way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Right as we crossed the AZ border, the truck started misfiring and lost a significant amount of power. Assuming it was another O2 sensor fuse, I hopped out with a replacement, only to find that it hadn't blown. After checking codes, I discovered a misfire on cylinder 3. While freaking out about what to do, I checked the easy things (plug, wire, injector) which all seemed to be fine. We made the decision to turn back to St. George and find a shop. We found a really reputable shop about 60 miles away and limped it there (which involved some neutral to drive shifting in traffic to keep the truck from dying). Super sketchy, but we made it. Then we had to find a rental car and a hotel. After spending a couple more days waiting for the diagnosis, it was determined that something was up with the exhaust valve. At that point, we decided to scrap the rest of the trip, rent a Uhaul and trailer for the truck, and head home. After getting the truck and trailer, and a crap ton of stressed contemplation, we decided that a transport would be a better idea. We found a reputable transport (after a good amount of work), got another rental car, and headed for home. That was last week. The truck should be arriving some time on Friday.
  5. natander2ksometime
    Ok, time for some more updates! I decided to swap out my steering gear because it had gotten really sloppy in the last year. However, I ended up replacing the gearbox twice, and the pump five times before I had functioning power steering. Every time I bled the system, it would work just fine. Every pump died after a day or so (you could see the fluid in the reservoir stop flowing under load). I had a big rush to finish this because the gf and I were planning on taking a road trip from Denver to St. George, UT, then through Arizona, totalling ~1600 miles. The truck was actually running really well, so we decided to take it. The Jeep also kept blowing O2 sensor fuses. I had found a couple of wires that had missing casing, which all got fixed. About 60 miles into our trip, which I assumed was now being caused by a bad rear O2 sensor connector (it had gotten wrapped around the driveshaft at some point, and I failed to realize a part of the plug was missing, meaning it didn't make a secure connection). We contemplated turning around, but I had fixed the questionable plug, which I once again assumed was the issue. So we continued on... Camp site for night one, just outside of Green River, UT. We ended up making it to the east side of Zion on the second day. The truck was running great and getting decent gas mileage, even with the A/C running non-stop.
  6. natander2ksometime
    Thank you very much! I actually just updated my build thread yesterday! I promise I'll try to be better about updating it haha
  7. natander2ksometime
    Thank you for that! Because I purchased the Jeep post-97+ swap, I had no idea how it came from the factory. It's a much different Jeep now!
  8. natander2ksometime
    And that brings us to the current projects. I drove the MJ all winter and it performed flawlessly. It handles really well in the snow with the rear locker and the full time 4x4. I've been trying to figure out how to protect the bottom of it better. My main concern is the gas tank that hangs below the frame rails. I'm still working on the design for that. A couple of days ago I decided to clock my NP242 to use the IRO belly skid (that technically only works on the smaller NP231). I used the IRO jig that they sell, and it was super easy. For reference: I clocked the transfer case ~10 degrees. Everything fit together perfectly without extra modification (no floor hammering). Of course the stock linkage didn't really work, so I ordered the Boostwerks kit for the 242. Upon disassembly of the t-case shifter, I happened to peel the carpet back a little farther than I had planned. Considering this truck came from Arizona, I was reasonably shocked at what I saw. However, once I sanded down the rust and prepped for paint, I found that it was all surface rust. Either way, the interior came out, everything got sanded, and I'm in the process of priming and painting currently.
  9. natander2ksometime
    On the last day, we ran Fins n Things with one of the other group members. We took it nice and slow, and had a great time! We also saw a bunch of the JCR guys out there, which was pretty cool (I didn't get any pictures). That LSX LJ they have is absolutely beautiful in person!
  10. natander2ksometime
    On the next day, the group split into two parties. We decided to go on the milder run because I was having some mechanical issues. First off, I was running a stock upper control arm bushing with the 3 link, which was a huge mistake. I ended up blowing through 3 control arm bushings; we even changed one on the trail. This caused the upper link to contact the driveshaft under any sort of flex. By the time we left for home, the day-old bushing had blown out, which caused the axle to rotate and we drove it from Moab to Denver with 0 degrees of caster. Not the worst, but pretty bad at highway speeds for a couple hundred miles. The the transfer case was also puking fluid, and the water pump was going out. So, no hard core wheeling for us. But we had an awesome day anyways! We ran up Gemini Bridges and came back to town via Long Canyon (which was an amazing trail for how easy it was).
  11. natander2ksometime
    At some point I installed an Iron Rock Offroad 3 link, but I don't have many pics of that. The worst part, by far, was cutting the control arm brackets off. I left the stock upper mount on the passenger side and carry the old short upper link for emergencies (I have no idea if this would work, but i'm sure I could limp off a trail with it). The biggest Jeep thing of 2019 was attending the Moab MJ Takeover. It was the coolest experience! We all ran Hells Revenge together. It was really cool to see all of these MJ's in the same place!
  12. natander2ksometime
    I didn't do too much wheeling in 2019 as the Jeep was in pieces more often than not. But the GF and I did get out for a couple of "overlanding" trips. Here's some random shots from our trips.
  13. natander2ksometime
    Man, it has been WAAAY too long since the last update. I have been constantly working on the MJ for the last 2 years, so I'll try to go through all of the updates. Last summer I changed the rear axle to SOA, which was quite the experience. I also switched to rear discs at the same time, which was a huge pain. The original Powertrax No-Slip had somehow malfunctioned and prevented the C-Clip from coming out of the carrier. I eventually had to take it to High Country 4X4 here in Denver, where they had to cut the carrier in half! I also picked up some JK Rubi wheels (for free!) and some 315/70/17 KO2's. I used some G2 1.5" adapters to bolt them up. Here's SOA with the add-a-leaf (and the GF pointing at it and telling me how stupid it looks being that tall) Here's the final config with the original 2WD leaf springs (much better) It settled over the summer and looks much better now. More pictures to come.
  14. natander2ksometime
    1991 Jeep Comanche SWB Picture from date of purchase (July 18, 2017, Mesa, AZ): Current setup: 1998 Jeep 4.0, AW4 Auto, NP242, Dana 30 and Chrysler 8.25 with 4.88 gears and rear Aussie locker, SWB Originally a 2WD 4 cylinder with manual transmission (sold at Galloway Motors of Tucson, AZ) Build date: 11-90 Current Location: Denver, CO Current status: Well driving multi-purpose machine, but also an ongoing project Notes: Full 1998 swap, Dodge Dakota 22 gallon gas tank, XJ bucket seats (still have the factory bench), Bushwacker Flat Fender Flares for an XJ, Iron Rock Offroad 3 link in the front, ~5" coils, IRO double shear track bar, Currie steering, SOA with 2WD leaves in the back, 315/70/17 KO2's on JK wheels with 1.5" adapters, Gibson header, K Suspension injectors, Spectre Cowl Air Intake, transfer case clocked 10 degrees to accommodate IRO skid plate, The Flop Shop front bumper with Warn VR8000 winch, Dirtbound rear bumper with hitch, JCR rock sliders, unknown brand topper (came off another MJ), custom built sleeping platform in bed (fits spare parts, driveshafts, axle shafts, spare tie rod and drag link, 35" spare, tools, cooler, and food camping box all underneath)
  15. natander2ksometime
    Woooo! Made the list with my Dana 35!
  16. natander2ksometime
    I was definitely considering an Aussie. I think that's the route I'm going to take. I'm not sure why I'm having so many problems; most people really like the Powertrax. I do appreciate the suggestion! Thank you!
  17. natander2ksometime
    After rebuilding the Powertrax No-Slip last night in the rain, I took the MJ out to do Red Cone. Nothing was broken in the locker, but putting new springs in it didn't fix it. I've had so many problems with it, I think i'm going to pull it out and put something else in.
  18. natander2ksometime
    Took a camping trip last weekend, and the MJ did pretty well. It started sucking down gas faster than normal, and I think it's running rich. I need to look into it more.
  19. natander2ksometime
    Finally got to look through your build, and that is one gorgeous truck! Hopefully we can go wheeling sometime!
  20. natander2ksometime
    Another day spent out in the mountains! The MJ keeps performing perfectly!
  21. natander2ksometime
    Thank you! Also congrats on almost making it! It's one hell of a feeling to be done! The front has 4.5" coils, and one side has the factory bump stop. It's missing on the other side. I'm working on fixing the missing bump stop and installing some hockey pucks up front. The back is a set of Chevy drop shackles from Advance Auto parts. Factory bump stocks in the rear. It definitely sags a bit in the back.
  22. natander2ksometime
    It has been a long time since my last update! I recently put a ZJ steering box and new XJ pump in my MJ, and painted the topper to match the truck. And I've been wheeling almost every weekend! I also graduated from engineering school and landed a pretty badass job here in Denver, so I'm looking forward to sinking all my money into my Jeep!
  23. natander2ksometime
    Yeah, all I need is to know is if there's enough room for a 1.5" shaft somewhere between the tailgate and the outside edge of the bumper (left to right, if that makes sense). Thanks!
  24. natander2ksometime
    Love the white MJ! This is going to be super nice! I have a kinda strange and specific question about the rear bumper. How much material (front to back) is there in the section directly underneath the taillight? I'm wanting to put a tire carrier on something in the future and need to fit a 1.5" shaft directly under the tail light, with a bit of wiggle room front to back. I'd appreciate any info you could get me!
  25. natander2ksometime
    This is such a pretty MJ! I only hope I can make my build as clean as yours.
×
×
  • Create New...