boxyjeep

This truck is coming along amazing! I was rooting for the chrome trim, but I’ll admit the single color looks a lot better.

https://www.blipshift.com/products/chiefly-2?variant=41557353562157

Picked this up from an ad on IG. I suppose it might also work for an XJ... I primarily got it since it matches my truck pretty closely. Not sure if it'd be weird to wear this when driving What are you guys sporting?

I sent in a few entries (the 'no purchase necessary' instructions are on their website). I like some aspects of the build, but was surprised by some others (like keeping the closed cooling system, as well as the aftermarket AC). The hidden winch was a nice upgrade. I asked them to share how they did it--apparently they will be posting about it on YouTube soon. If I won, I'd probably clean it up a bit more, take it to a few car shows, and sell it at some point. I've got too much time/work into my MJ to ever consider swapping...

You've got some luck! Took me 2 years to find my MJ and I had to settle on a Renix.

Super rare to find a '92 short bed 4x4. Keep that thing pristine if you can.

Been making some good progress on underbody painting and rear axle. I abandoned my attempts to run native 5-on-5" axle shafts with Eldorado calipers/weld-on brackets. Apparently these calipers are notorious for having issues (hence why most factory rear disc brake configurations use "drum-in-rotor-hat" instead). That being said, I've had the truck in the garage for the past few months and really want to get it back on the road, so I ordered a new set of rear drums/shoes and will be sticking with those for now with slim 1" 5-on-4.5" to 5-on-5" adapters. All taped off to prevent any overspray: Sanded/scuffed: First coat (using Rustoleum flat black): Also getting some semi-gloss on the rear leaf springs before reassembly: And wire wheel/rust converter/wire wheel on the rear drum backing plates. I'm actually super impressed by how well the water-based converter works (this is the one I used). Pictures show before/after: Remaining tasks: Finish up under-body painting (this is a really unenjoyable job--rattle can doesn't do so well spraying upwards). Reassemble spring packs (will be using new pads and grease). Weld up new spring perches/shock mounts on rear axle. Paint rear axle afterwards. Install new rear drum brake components and longer wheel studs. Weld up exhaust (CA-legal cat, Flowmaster 40, Walker tail pipe) and paint with high-temp paint. Measure and install cut-to-fit emergency brake cables. Swap in 4.5" RE front springs, install high-steer sway-bar mounts, paint steering linkage. Alignment. Get it re-geared to 4.56 and install front locker (still deciding between an e-locker and ARB). I've also been debating a manual transmission swap. My first few Cherokees were 5-speed and while it can get frustrating in traffic and in some off-road situations, this isn't a daily driver and I do miss the level of control and fun.

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.