boxyjeep

Looks great! I also upgraded to the newer washer fluid reservoir. Ends up being so much cleaner under the hood.

This happened to me when I tried driving with the TCU disconnected. You should get a REM if you don't already have one to see what the TCU is reading (or not reading).

I was intrigued and had a spare Carfax report, so I ran it. Looks like it had ~230k miles in 2013 and then was reported as "odometer exempt" in 2016. Likely someone screwing around or swapping clusters. Sadly, not the highest mileage MJ :-( CARFAX Vehicle History Report for this 1988 JEEP COMANCHE PIONEER_ 1JTHS64P2JT107265.pdf

Haha nice. The wire nuts always make me laugh. My truck had corroded terminals and bypasses similar to yours, as well as a bunch of sensor wires simply cut off in the engine bay. Also needed new bulb sockets for most of the blinkers/markers (I didn't even know those could go bad).

I ended up returning everything and buying a new set of drums and shoes for the rear. I’ll use new longer universal e-brake cables (they were binding at full droop) and just stick with drums for now. As much as I’d like to be a trailblazer with this, the feedback in this thread made me realize that I’d rather just get the SOA done and the truck back on the road than spend weeks/months just trying to solve disc brakes…

Thanks guys—this is some really good feedback. It seems like opinions on the internet are mixed on these calipers. I am also at the point in the project where I can return things without incurring too much cost. I’ll do a bit more research and see what might work best. My concern about ZJ/Crown Vic discs is that the 5-on-5” axle shaft flange won’t fit the ID of the “hat”. I’ll do some more research and update this thread.

Awesome--would love to hear your plan. I was super bummed that the D44 axle shaft flanges were too small to be re-drilled. Hopefully that's the solution for the 8.8...

Here's the link to the manual. Highly recommend downloading, printing, and throwing into a 3-ring binder.

Nothing worse than a PO that's messed with the original wiring. Based on the '88 Electrical Manual, those might be wires for the transmission control and backup/turn signals: I think the PO may have bypassed the original terminals if they were corroded (I can partially see something weird in the empty "TURN B/U 20" fuse slot in your pic. You can actually buy new terminals from DelCity to replace any corroded ones and go back to the original orientation.

Yes, there are enough threads, but you won't be able to run a cotter pin and the original castle nut "shroud". I'm running a cotter pin without the shroud, as I don't think it matters too much (hopefully). Alternatively, you can grind down the axle shaft bolt to be thinner or you could drill a new hole in the shaft. There are plenty of threads either way.

Thanks Pete! I do have some concerns about that as well as the risk of running XJ shackles. I'm going to test things out but also be ready to adjust in the future.

I think they are pretty standard size. Take the broken one down to Autozone and get a length of what you need. They also have adapters/couplers to patch. That being said, one of my favorite "upgrades" was yanking out that whole thing. I locked the arm into the "engaged" position permanently and wired up an electrical indicator on the transfer case for the "PART-TIME" light.

Yes, I do. For the front, I am running a late-model XJ high-pinion Dana 30 with WJ knuckles/full outers. This consists of the following: XJ Dana 30 HP housing (same as LP) XJ Dana 30 axle shafts (preferably the larger u-joint version). You could also do this with CAD housing or shafts. WJ knuckles (both sides) WJ swap spacer kit (this is a good one). You need the larger spacer and smaller washers. Larger spacer gets welded on. WJ ball joints WJ unit bearings WJ calipers (you will need longer bolts--12MMX1.25X40MM grade 10.9) WJ rotors You'll also need to figure out your steering solution. You can keep the stock steering, but will lose out on the higher drag link mount. I opted to ream my knuckles for 1-ton TRE's and got custom length 1.5" aluminum links from WideOpenDesign. For the track-bar I went with CavFab OTA mount kit and RE frame-side bracket. I haven't solved the sway bar linkage yet, but do have a set of Clayton high-steer brackets I'm planning to try to fit. I don't have a ton of miles on it yet, but so far I'm relatively happy. I'm also in the process of swapping my rear D44 to native 5-on-5" pattern. That being said, if I were to do it again I would just get a set of JK/JL/JT take-off axles. The only work would be welding some mounts and steering linkage...

Please don't. These things never work well. Upgrade your stock housings or bulbs. I installed full LED bulbs in mine (with resistors) and new Key Parts lenses and it looks amazing.

7 foot bed is the longest they came. I also see you posted the same thing 2 years ago. I'd suggest cleaning it up as best you can (replace that dented end cap) and putting it on Bring-a-Trailer with No Reserve. It looks super clean and the mileage is really low. You should get a pretty penny if the rest of it is as clean as that one pic.

Reserved

I searched quite a bit to see if anyone had attempted this and came up empty so I thought it would be a good idea to share my experience. I'm in the middle of a SOA conversion and have my rear Dana 44 axle pulled and thought this would be a good time to upgrade the rear brakes. Up front I'm running WJ knuckles w/ WJ unit bearings/brakes as well as 5-on-5" bolt pattern JK-style wheels. I'd like to avoid the use of bolt pattern adapters in the rear--I know this is an area of debate, but they are just something I'd prefer not to run. Adapters also result in a wider rear track width than the front. Not ideal. I explored ZJ, KJ, and WJ rear disc swaps and really despised the need for the integrated drums and their backing plates that would need to be re-drilled for the Dana 44. Many folks building larger custom axles will go with the mythical '79-85 Eldorado calipers with integrated parking brake. Here's an example of a kit you can buy for a Ford 9". I decided I would try to see if this was feasible. My end goal was to run 5-on-5" bolt pattern axle shafts, WJ 12" front discs, Eldorado calipers, and some type of bracketry to tie it all together. The first task was to re-drill my axle shafts to 5-on-5" bolt pattern. This is a challenge for two reason: 1) there is an access hole that would need to be plugged, and 2) the flange diameter is too small to safely re-drill to the larger pattern. To solve this I ordered a set of stock replacement axles from Dutchman customized with WJ flanges. It may be possible to re-drill with TJ shafts or perhaps some years had larger flanges with more material, but that was not the case for me. The second task was figuring out the bracketry. Ruffstuff sells a few brackets for axles ranging in diameter from 2.75" to 3.5". While the MJ/XJ D44 is 2.75" diameter, it steps up to 3.375" at the end of the tube. When looking at the alignment of the caliper on the disc, it aligns most closely to the largest part of the flange: The full-size axle kits are also made for 12.5" Chevy front disc brakes. Since the WJ front discs are 12", that moves the caliper inward .25". Based on these measurements, I ordered the 3.25" diameter Ruffstuff brackets. I may need to shave these down a bit depending on fitment. The next challenge is the preload on the seal and bearing. Since the drum backing plates have been removed, that space needs to be filled. I designed a basic spacer and will be using that to make up the approximate .14" thickness. I suppose you could also cut out the center section of your drum backing plates. I don't have the brackets in hand yet, but my goal is to attempt to align them with axle tube flange and weld them to the tube. One potential challenge is ensuring that the tube doesn't distort around the bearing race. I'll update this thread as the project progresses and will include all relevant part numbers and details.

Unless you are hell bent on building your own engine, I would just find a different (working) used engine to swap in.

Even with the connections swapped, there is a good chance it will still run (albeit somewhat poorly). What injectors did you swap in and why did you do the swap?

I'm 37. 1990 Jeep Cherokee Laredo 4.0L/5 speed in mint condition. First car. Unfortunately destroyed offroading as a young driver and junked. 1993 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L/2-door/5 speed. Put in a new engine, axles, lift and 33" tires. Loved it but parted out. 1987 Jeep Wrangler 4.2L/5-speed. Offroad toy with no top and 36" tires. Sold it for nothing after I blew the clutch. 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L/auto/4wd. Lifted 3" and installed 31" tires. Ran great and was in great condition. Flipped it and then junked. 1989 Chevy K1500 Pickup. 350 V8 ran really well, but was terrible commuter. Sold for nothing after 3rd gear went out. 2006 Dodge Charger 5.7L Hemi. First new car. Spent way too much, drove too fast, kept for 10 years and sold for a decent amount. 1988 Jeep Comanche. First full-on project which lead me here. Still a work in progress (build thread in signature). 2021 Tesla Model 3. Commuter car. Loved the acceleration, Autopilot, and fuel mileage. Hated the software bugs, range anxiety, and Elon's BS. Sold. 2020 Jeep Wrangler JL 2-door. Great around town vehicle that I share with my spouse.

Yeah, that's about $2k overpriced.

Looks like Filthy Addictions Offroad in SoCal also can make them. I reached out and am looking to see time and cost. They will do the "SuperSlider" style with straight supports.

I used a 97+ PDC and fully rewired my Renix to be super clean and minimalistic. If I could do it again, I would just get an aftermarket fuse/relay center like this one. As much as the factory look is nice, many parts of the plastic housing are brittle and might break if you try to pull any of the connectors out. It's also impossible to find new terminals.

Another thing to mention--I've disassembled and cleaned the rear leaf springs. I'll be installing new spring pads and bushings, and also painting them. It's insane how rusty these things got...

I forgot to mention that I've also gone down the rabbit hole on rear brakes. I'm running full WJ outers up front (without adapters) and would like to also eliminate adapters in the rear. I was planning to re-drill my axle shafts to 5-on-5", but discovered that the hub doesn't have enough material and there is also the access hole that would need to be welded up. I started looking into a set of custom shafts, but then realized that the larger flange may be too big to fit inside standard ZJ discs. Then I had the bright idea of simply adapting WJ rear disc brakes and ordered the parts I'd need and then realized that there may be issues with offset or width (as WJ axles are 5" wider IIRC). Luckily I canceled the order before it shipped. My next plan is to go to the local pick-n-pull and grab a set of ZJ or Crown Vic backing plates, measure the ID of the rotor, and see if I can order a set of custom MJ Dana 44 5-on-5" shafts that will fit inside. To top it all off, it looks like my wheel bearing races are floating around in the housing. Hopefully this can be fixed :-) IMG_0958.MOV