89 MJ

The top picture is a stock housing from a 258 powered Jeep. The second pic is a stock one for a 96 XJ. I bet that XJ was pretty fun!

In my defense, there were some SJ ones before that! Lol

I think I would trim the rear most part of the 97 bumper end caps off like you were thinking.

Save yourself the mess and leave the PS pump in the engine bay hooked up to the box. To be honest, I would pull all of the accessories off. In my opinion, it is much easier, especially if you are doing it by yourself.

Definitely seems like you’re on the right track with Moog stuff. I would do a hodgepodge of suspension stuff. Probably Core4x4 control arms if you need better ones than stock. Either Old Man Emu or Rubicon Express springs because they seem reasonably priced and I’ve heard good things about them. For shocks, I’d do either the higher end Monroes or KYBs if I were on more of a budget and Fox or Bilsteins if money wasn’t as much of a concern. These are just the brands I would choose though. Really, just about anything should be fine. I’ve just never heard anything good about rough country, especially their shocks.

Welcome! Sorry to hear about your father. You’ve come to the right place for help. I’ll say what I’m sure most of us are thinking, let’s see some pictures of the truck. Please drop your VIN in the registry and you’ll get a build sheet in a few days.

I don’t think they were labeled from the factory, but it’s been a while since I’ve had the pan off of a 4.0. I’d be doing a rebuild too if I were you.

Welcome to the forum! Is this truck an off road toy or will it spend time on the road? I would just run a Monroe or KYB steering stabilizer. That said, you’ve already got it. If you can’t return it, you might as well run it. Is the N3 stuff their higher end parts or is that regular stuff? If it’s a higher quality part, it might be worth a shot.

What you took a picture of would be considered the frame side because it mounts to the frame bracket. The axle side would be the mount on the front axle. In theory, you shouldn't need to jack it up before removing the bolt. The goal of the track bar is to keep the axle from moving side to side, so at ride height, it should be in a neutral position. That said, its an old truck, things might not be perfectly how they left the factory.

What ratrapp said. That's the joint end. What you're seeing there is the dust cover. You'll need to remove the bolt and move the track bar at the axle side to see if the axle side of the track bar mount is worn out.

Sorry to hear about your father. Sounds like you have a lot of good memories with him and the Comanche. I’m looking forward to the updates on this truck.

Seeing that pic of the rear suspension has me thinking there probably was a bad axle wrap problem. Those spring perches are awfully tall, but good for a little bit more lift.

You can also bypass the ballast resistor with no negative effects. Just hook the two wires attached to the ballast resistor together.

When you replaced your thermostat last, did the coolant passages look pretty corroded? Corrosion will make it harder for it to cool, your water pump might not flow enough, your lower rad hose might be getting sucked flat, or your rad might not be good enough, even though it’s new, you also might not be getting enough airflow and need a fan clutch. By design, you should need the electric fan unless the AC is on. Clearly that’s not what’s going on, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be. What is the temperature drop across the radiator?

Can you post a picture of the ones you are thinking it might be?

I don't think you are. For how capable this truck will be, you're into it dirt cheap.

Have you verified that the temp gauge in the dash is working correctly? I want to say that the electric fan is supposed to come on at 218, but I do not remember for certain. If it isn't kicking in, I would suspect either the relay is bad or the switch is bad. When you replaced the thermostat, how did the coolant look? If you didn't do one, it is probably worthwhile to flush the system out really good. Do you still have the closed loop cooling system or do you have the open loop system? Is the Jeep mostly stock or does it have mechanical modifications? With my answer to your question and the questions that I asked, I am assuming your truck is a Renix truck. You might want to add details about engine, trans, transfer case, and any mods to your signature.

That looks like a very nice one. Perfect for the Mrs.

This is going to be a very capable truck

So it didn't start before replacing the CPS and it still won't start after replacing the CPS? Have you pulled a spark plug to verify that there is in fact no spark?

Good to know

What is the benefit of the GM IAT? Just availability?

Hold off on ordering the track bar until you check out the axle side mount for the track bar. That hole becomes oval shaped pretty easily, so I’d check that first. I don’t have any suggestions on the sway bar other than measuring it.

Usually that is caused by one of two things. The track bar being bad or the mounts being ovaled or not having enough caster.