boxyjeep

1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer 4.0L AW4 NP231 D30 D44 SWB Build date: (Need to check this) Current Location: Orange County, CA, USA Status: Still registered and on-road. Bought in July 2018 in Southern CA. Lived it's life as a farm truck. No rust, but sat outside in the sun and got burnt/sandblasted by dust it's whole life. Currently being restored and upgraded. Expect to be "done" by end of 2020 2021 2022. Notes: D44 Trac-loc rear, engine block heater, full skid package (minus front skid) plus tow hooks. Dark blue exterior (super patina'ed now), darker blue interior w/ bench seat. Originally column shift. Current owner: Me Now (July 2022): When purchased in 2018: Build thread:

Ha! It's a pain for sure. I had a few wires in the door harnesses that had broken apart too. That was fun to troubleshoot since I thought it was an issue with my patching. The diagram above is really good--just make the one change mentioned.

From my understanding black steering wheels are impossible to come by.

I'm blown away at how clean this thing is. Incredible.

The Keyless Entry module had a few wires for lock/unlock. I just tapped those into the lock/unlock signal wires (OR/VT and PK/VT) in the harness. Since it's a ground trigger, no relays were needed.

Got the door lock actuators, but they weren't actually the issue. Had to "adjust" the wiring and connector for the door locks a bit and now all is well. Was able to even wire up my remote start/keyless entry to the door successfully.

Dug into this a bit more and believe the issue was bad door lock actuators. I ordered a few more and should know soon.

Going to be swapping in 97+ doors on my MJ and running into some issues with the electric door locks. I've wired up the windows and mirrors and those are working as expected. I have the whole harness, switches, locks/mirrors/windows out of the truck on a bench and for some reason can't get the door locks to work consistently. I have 3 wires coming from the passenger switch that I'm not 100% sure where they should be connected. I've used the factory service manual to wire everything up, but have DB/PK, LB/RD, and LB left over. LB should be coming from IGN SWITCH SENSE (so I'm assuming I can just wire this up to ACC power). The DB/PK and LB/RD should be coming from the OVERHEAD MODULE, which I assume is related to keyless entry. Both wires appear to be 12v constantly when I test them. Any advice on this? I followed most of this guide, but they specified jumping the LB/RD and LB wires together, which didn't make much sense to me. Also, the door locks are out of the truck. Not sure if they need to be in the truck/grounded/hitting the striker/etc.

I don't think this is correct, as you're supplying a constant 12v to RUN-ACC POWER on the passenger door. I believe that should be connected to terminal 87 on the relay..

That came out amazingly good. Awesome work!

So you're saying I should get one? ;-)

I have a full MT2500 I’m looking to sell. Includes the Jeep cartridge and adapter, plus a bunch of other cartridges. $100 shipped. PM me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha thanks. Can’t be more explicit than that. I’ll think about a lame camper van instead [emoji24] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks. This is helpful. As someone who’s rolled a vehicle at speed before, I wouldn’t want that to happen again. What do you feel is the safest weight for a lifted MJ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm looking at some of the Lance truck campers that fit in the bed of a pickup. Anyone here have experience with those? I'm assuming that I'd have to go with the "Short Bed" version for my 6' SWB Comanche. They range in weight from about 1,700 to ~2,000 lbs. My truck has a D44 rear and will be SOA rear with 6" front coils. Currently, the rear sits super high and has what I believe to be offroad package/metric ton springs. Will be running 4.88 gears with 33" tires. Front axle will be upgraded with WJ knuckles/brakes. Any advice? This could end up being a sweet offroad camper rig.

Not planning on keeping the old front-end and the original color is dark blue. Unfortunately, won't ever go with black or dark blue due to the difficulties with keeping it clean and the heat build up from the sun. Yeah, I like that color too. Definitely thought about that a bit.

I’m in Fremont. The truck is pictured with 30” TJ Ravine wheels and 2” pucks up front. Will be sitting at around 6” lift with SOA when finished with 33” tires.

Thanks. That's a bit too dark for me. Living in CA, I've learned that darker colors have a few drawbacks. Would like to stay on the somewhat lighter side if I could.

I'm in a rough spot trying to figure out what color to paint my MJ. It's an 88 short bed in good shape with zero rust (southern CA farm truck). Unfortunately, I can't make up my mind on what to paint it. It currently has a faded/oxidized patina and "natural sandblasting" from sitting outside all it's life in a dusty place. I'm debating between the following colors: Bright Silver Metallic (like ~2001 XJ) Rescue Green (although my wife may kill me) Chili Pepper Red The truck will have full JCR bumpers and sliders, and likely either 17" black steel wheels or 17" Rubicon grey/dark grey take-off's. 6" SOA lift with 33's. Will also be doing the 97+ Header, Doors, and Fenders. I have two sets of flares, so I can figure out whether body color or black would be better. All bumpers/sliders/tool box/trim will be black.

Awesome build.

Very cool non-traditional Comanche build!

The leak is likely in the cowl. There is an opening on the passenger side to allow fresh air in. Sometimes the sealant around that vent can fail which allows seepage during heave rains (as the cowl will fill with water and drain out the sides). I have a leaking problem in my '88--the passenger side floor gets super wet when it rains. I haven't tackled a fix yet, as I'm not 100% sure on what to do without taking out the dash and HVAC box, but I'm about 99% sure this is the problem. This thread describes it perfectly: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/water-leaking-cowl-34969/

Man that thing is clean inside. I don't think mine will ever be that solid until I eventually do a 97+ swap in a few years...

Pics. Still need to get it stretched out and in place better.

Got the carpet unboxed and had a few comments--it is a good reproduction, but not perfect. The backside is covered in oil from the manufacturing process and there is way too much carpet around the edges that will need to be heavily trimmed. Additionally, the portion in the front the trans tunnel where it meets the firewall will need significant trimming. I'm also apprehensive on when I should cut the opening for the tcase shifter. I have a column shift transmission, so nothing else to cut. I'll also need to cut for the seat bolts and seatbelts. I also bought an extra "yard" of carpet to re-cover the rear cab panel and the color is not a great match (despite ordering the same color code).