coolwind57

I replaced mine recently. I went ahead and removed my entire sway bar assembly (including the end links) and drove without it for a day or two till my parts came in. I survived. Actually, I really didn't notice too much of a difference, but I really babied it, especially during turns. You'd probably be ok with just removing just the end links if you have to drive the vehicle. If it were me and I had to drive it, I'd probably at least remove the end links just so things don't get an opportunity to become mangled or something. I took the opportunity to upgrade to a larger WJ sway bar and bought Ford F-350 rear end links, whose added length helped by providing a better angle because I have a slight lift. My thoughts are "do at your own risk". I'm not an expert. Just saying that I pulled it off, but again, I really was driving cautiously and had good dry sunny days.

Perfect! Thanks fellas.

I've been searching all over the place for a diagram. How can I remove two perfectly good front bump stops from a donor XJ? Mine on my MJ are missing, with the exception of the metal "cup" that the bump stop is suppose to reside in. Do you remove them by twisting their metal "cup" housings, maybe with a large pair of channel locks? These housings are threaded in through the engine bay, right? or do you just yank hard enough downward on the bumpstop itself? I can't seem to find a diagram that shows how they're attached to the truck. Sure appreciate some insight.

This guy's got some pretty serious hardware: https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pts/d/parting-out-rock-crawler/6319688580.html

Same here. My driver's side upper hinge is peeling away a bit. Anxious to learn more about this.

Not so much a elaborate technical Tech Write up of a difficult endeavor, but I didn't see much on this topic (especially one with pics) so I dove in on this project and snapped some pictures along way. Hope it helps anyone wanting to do this. I had some 6.5" aftermarket speakers laying around in the garage. My MJ doors take 5.25" speakers, so could I easily install these without too much modification? Yep. Sure can. So here's what the original 5.25" speaker looks like: Tearing the protective fabric and one sees the construction materials used back in the day. That speaker wasn't too bad, but the other one was completely destroyed inside. I didn't get a shot of it, but the foam securing the paper cone to the frame was non-existent. So next, we have a comparison of the 5.25" and the 6.5" aftermarket: The 6.5s will fit in the speaker hole, but barely. The speaker connectors were making contact, so I took my angle grinder and cut out a notch. With this notch, my 6.5's fit flush and like a glove in the original speaker holes. So, I decided to reuse the factory MJ speaker connectors, as I found that they actually fit quite securely on the aftermarket tabs of the speaker...and I didn't want any additional joints in my wiring. I carefully pulled them from their assembly using a utility knife and I wrapped them with electrical tape because I could not find my dang shrink tubing kit. One certainly can do the wiring different, but I felt good about this method, as I'm certain that it'll hold up well to future door slammings and typical everyday use. Plus, I didn't have to go drag out my solder iron. So again, I wrapped my connection in electrical tape and then placed the speakers in their new home. You can't reuse the original mounting screwholes, so I took self-tapping screws and drove them home, securing the speaker in the door. By the way, the white plastic liner you see in my door interior came from a later model XJ. I pulled it from a junkyard and paid like a dollar for it. It is much thicker than the clear plastic film that they used in 1989, and with proper adhesive, it is very-much reusable. Had to make a couple custom cuts, but works well and for cheap. Installed the door panels and she looks great (and stock). I'll admit that the built in tweeter of the aftermarket is making light contact with that grill you see in the photo, but does not appear to interfere with anything. I see no issues with this. I'm happy, man. Compared to my crappy factory speakers, it now sounds like Steve Perry is sitting along side me.

Will do, Sir. Thank you. It might end up being the only thing that'll further the distance of my coil spring that's making slight contact with the track bar bracket too. Good catch, thanks! Yep, inaccurate, bad terminology, sorry. Wow, even with that decimal point, their machine shows RED meaning out of spec enough to make adjustments. I recall that I thought I could visually see that my tires are pointing outwards a few days ago when I was looking over it all. Thanks to all that have shared their knowledge, insights, and opinions in a patient and pleasant manner. You guys are great and add strength and honor to the brotherhood of the Comanche (BOTC). We all need tattoos! Seriously, I've learned a ton and I have chosen a course of action that I feel good about. I am enjoying my new addiction and like hanging out here.

My 1989 Comanche has 98K original miles. I replaced my LCAs with ones designed for the WJ primarily to eliminate my 31s from rubbing the LCAs. I do not know if my uppers are worn out. I would suspect not. The lowers looked pretty good when I replaced them, so if I had to guess I'd say the uppers look good as well. Again, I just did the LCAs so that my tires would no longer rub. Worked like a charm too, by the way. My steering pulls to the right every so slightly. It is noticeable, but very minor. I understand that proper caster will likely correct this. I hired the alignment shop to inspect my steering components, correct whatever needed bringing back to spec and to assess my (apparent) budget lift. . I had no idea myself at the time what was actually going on down there during the dynamics of this truck going down the road. Cool thing I'm getting for my money is this: A good baseline as HOrnbrod and I have been discussing. I discussed my truck with the alignment shop for several minutes. They did not mention to me that I had any worn-out components. I'm sure they would had LOVED to sell me some replacement components/bushings. So, I'll ask them next week when i see them if they had specifically inspected my uppers and axle bushings. Certainly not a bad idea. To answer your question: I have no intention of adjusting anything too old and worn.

And this is a screen shot of "spec".

Those are my words based upon this:

I just swapped out my LCAs, not uppers. My 31s were rubbing the MJ LCAs, but do great with these new WJ LCAs. I swapped them primarily for the rubbing, and was hoping to get some steering improvement to boot.

For $155, I'm getting more than checking the toe...They're adjusting total toe from its current 61-degrees to within spec, while they're also addressing the poor caster. Two days ago I didn't even know what freakin' camber and caster was, let alone how to fix my drifting steering. I also wanted the shop to look at my driver's coil spring, as it is still slightly rubbing my upper track bar mount. I've come a long way in learning about my front end these past couple of days, but I'm cool with dropping $155 still for having live alignment professionals looking over my new purchase, especially since this appears to be a budget lift from the PO. They're also inspecting other components for signs that I as a newby, don't know to look for. Yea, I suppose I'm also buying some piece of mind with that money. But they've also been really cool in answering a barrage of questions and they're showing me stuff too, which is great. Thanks to the guys here, and especially HOrnbrod, I am attaining more knowledge and soon, also some basic tools, to make any future necessary adjustments once I get my truck back from the alignment shop. And I'll likely never again pay someone else to have an alignment done. Good point! Seems like a good idea. Had I to do it over, I would certainly look in to adjustable LCAs.

My wife hates driving my truck because she fights straight-line instability. I really didn't notice it so much until I saw that she was struggling (she's a new driver, by the way). Anyhow, I now acknowledge that my truck is a bit more of a challenge to stay straight than our SUV. I'd hate to make things worse, so I suppose I need to find the sweet spot (improved higher caster angle without binding drive shaft) to tell my alignment shop.

Holy moley. $10 to ship. They must be really large and heavy

HOrnbrod: I read your last message after I had just returned from the shop. i took note of what they come up with. Here's the readings that we got this morning: Camber Left (-.4-deg), Right (-.2deg) GREEN FLAG ON MACHINE-ACCEPTABLE Caster Left (5.5deg), Right (5.6deg) RED FLAG ON MACHINE-NOT SO ACCEPTABLE Toe Left (.34deg), Right (.27-deg) Total Toe = .61deg RED FLAG-NOT SO ACCEPTABLE Specs show: Camber should be 0-deg both sides Caster should be 7.5-deg both sides Total Toe should be 0-.00-deg The alignment guy wants to correct that caster by getting the two sides the same reading--aka, adding a shim or two to get the left and right sides equal. He said that one would not want to add so many shims to get back to the 7.5 factory angle due to "safety concerns". He mentioned that one could probably safely add any remaining shims from the shim kit if need be, but adding too many additional shims to get to the 7.5-deg angle would be excessive and ill-advised. HOrnbrod, I think your opinion obviously differs, huh? If I'm understanding all of what I had just read on the internet, then if I equal out my two sides yet still remain under the 7.5-deg caster spec, then I may lose only a bit of my directional stability (which may slightly increase wandering properties).

I will confirm, but I think the $155 is not just for shims. I am expecting all aspects of alignment to be corrected--toe, camber & castor using machinery that I don't have.

Surprised I had none in my MJ when I replaced the LCAs last week. Looks like the Amazon spacers are 1/16" thick. Man, I hope they can also correct that spring rubbing my track bar mount.

Last week, I replaced my Lower Control Arms (LCAs) with new ones for WJs. No more tire rubbing from my 31s! Cool. I also upgraded my sway bar with a thicker one from an XJ and installed the taller F-350 rear sway bar end links. This got my links away from my coil springs. Check. As I observed a few weeks ago, my track bar seemed off--my coil springs were slightly rubbing my track bar bracket and my old sway bar end links (which are now corrected). My truck is still noisy coming down my driveway in the early morning, but the suspension doesn't make any noise once warmed up, which is kinda weird. I think my springs are still rubbing a bit. PO apparently had done about a 2-1/2" budget lift, btw. I have an ever-so-slight pull to the right on the highway still. Anyhow, I also recently noticed that my front tires visually seem to be a bit toe-out so this morning I dropped her off at a reputable shop with an alignment rack. Upon buying my truck last Month, I immediately noticed that the steering wheel alignment was not centered, so a good alignment was on the to-do-list from the get go anyway. They just called me and told me that the caster was off a bit, which they felt was causing the slight right pull. They said that they needed shims for the control arms and that no one in town has them and they must be ordered. I have to go pick up my vehicle here in a bit and drop back off next Wednesday. The estimate is $155.13. Anyhow, I thought I'd run this past you guys to see if anything stands out worth mentioning. I am not so knowledgeable on automotive front suspensions, but I'm learning primarily from you guys and by laying on my back and visually figuring out how it all ties together. Everything sound legit? Am I on the right track, no pun intended?

I was wondering too if I could get a brighter LED replacement. I think it is a number 74 incandescent bulb currently residing in there. I'm thinking of trying these below. One dude says that the incandescent bulb puts out .7 lumens, whereas the LED puts out 16 lumens. If true, that is huge and should really improve things. https://www.amazon.com/White-Light-Bulbs-Single-Dashboard/dp/B0099T1SPE?pf_rd_mnb=ATVPDKIKX0D34&pf_rd_stb=center-2&pf_rd_rat=0817NMRY4ZRQZM6P18TH&pf_rd_t3r=101&pf_rd_ptd=470938631&pf_rd_ied=507846&tag=buaazs-20&pf_rd_ptd=470938631&pf_rd_ied=507846

Happy happy day. A couple of weeks ago, I found a digital clock in a Cherokee at the junk yard. I pulled it and paid $4 for it. As I opened up my MJ's dash expecting to have to splice wiring to get it to operate, I was elated to find the unused connector just behind the dash! SCORE! PnP, baby! I think the digital clock was pulled from an 88 or 90 XJ, I can't remember for sure. But it is the one noted for putting out pathetic dim lighting. But, I'm happy. I popped a new bulb in the back and slapped her all back together and I have a factory clock now. Just thought I'd share my success. '

https://swva.craigslist.org/pts/d/jeep-comanche-roll-bar/6295759789.html Freshly painted, $325. These look cool on swb. Anyone ever seen one on a lwb?

Dang, man that sounds great. Its a 5-hour drive, so Mama and I will have to plot out a trip when I can fit it in my schedule. Very nice of you, Sir. I hope to pull this off, so I'll be in touch with you for sure!

Just finished tightening my new, longer sway bar links on. I bought closeout specials at $6.42 each from Rock Auto. These are Moog K80035 that fit the rear of some F-350 trucks. They are certainly longer and I am very happy with the way my sway bar sits now. My MJ is a bit under 3" front lift by PO. I've read that these Moog K80035 are "beefier" but did not find this to be totally accurate. Looks like same diameter rod thickness. The lower bushing is larger, however but still reuses the stock lower bolt. I didn't measure my new end links, but this part extended certainly over an inch versus the stock MJ end link. Dang fine looking MJ, man.

1-1/2 hrs from Indy. Still have it?

Yes, HOrnbrod, different strokes for different folks. We have a guy in my rock band who is an engineer and he's OCD on many things. Little things like stage setup that we find not an issue absolutely drives him crazy. Everything HAS to have its place. We have fun with it, including him. I suppose one could criticize a mirror-upgraded MJ by saying "it ain't suppose to have power mirrors, that's not stock!" In the end, I say do what makes you happy to your Jeep. Mine's not a show truck. It is my handy, utility workhorse. I dig seeing rock crawlers, mudders and show MJs. I'm thrilled to now own one and because there's not many around these days, I like every one I see.