89 MJ

Was it a plow truck in a salt mine?

This statement is so true. I have fought with leaks with both engines my Comanche has had forever. Oddly enough, neither of my 4.2s have ever leaked though (other than from the original plastic valve cover). Thankfully, my MJ just decided to stop leaking this year, knock on wood. And yes, I did check to make sure it still has oil in it

The type of paint that you shoot really shouldn't make much of a difference. You can always cut and polish single stage or base-clear. Base clear will just hold up a lot longer. It is more expensive though too.

I’ll also say don’t do either one. I like the PPG Omni paint, but then followed by a good PPG clear. If this is your first paint job, I’ll warn you that white isn’t very easy to paint because it’s hard to see where it has gone on. It’s hard to see the different coats being laid down.

Plenty of toys then! That MJ should make for a good someday project. I really like that YJ! I'm a big fan of those.

The tie rod could be a quick bolt in repair with some careful measuring. The ball joints would maybe (dare I even say probably) be just the regular stock replacement ones. But it could also turn into a big debacle really quick that leaves your MJ out of commission and in your way while you're waiting for parts to arrive.

What's with the other Comanche in the background?

You're going to love this answer. Its really hard to say with ball joints because each axle will need something different. And you don't always know until after you get it apart. You might need knurled ball joints or oversized or maybe regular ones would be fine. I doubt that you'll need adjustable ones though. A ball joint press will make your life much easier for removing these. For the tie rods, you'll need to look at what you've got now to see if they are right hand or left hand threads, but I would go with whatever Moog options match what you've got. You're going to need an alignment when you're done doing all of this work, so I would strongly consider taking it to a shop if I were you. Tell them you want quality parts and just pay them to do the work.

Yes it is. When I put a console in my truck, I was surprised how relatively poor they fit from the factory.

Here is a picture from someone who recently installed a 97+ console with the stock dash

Not trying to hijack, just throwing my own experience out there. I know you’ve said this time and time again, so I was really skeptical to try the high flow water pump, but I was out of ideas. I’d done the Mishimoto rad, which helped a ton, the block was absolutely perfect in the coolant passages, when I got the engine, it already had a new water pump, and the thermostat was working fine. On long grades at 70+ mph (so I’m turning 2700+ rpm), the truck would still got hot. I swapped in a flowkooler pump and it only got warm once, but it turns out that was because I still had an air pocket in the cooling system. After changing to the flowkooler and changing nothing else, it’ll now sit at 195F running the same route that would make it hit 230 before. And I was trying to make it overheat, so I was running 75-80mph.

Can you post a picture of the loose vacuum lines that you've got? Maybe a picture of the engine bay from the front left corner too? Just so we can look and see if anything looks out of place. On another note, to get it to run, you just need air, fuel, spark, and compression. Plug your vacuum leaks in the intake and carb, verify that you're getting those 4 things and it should run. Then we can focus on getting it running properly.

Is that a 97-01 XJ console?

That seems low for a body shop average rate. It should be lower than a mechanic shop or service department and insurance companies will try to make them give a cheaper labor rate. I think the cheapest labor rate after the insurance company negotiated it was $65/hr. The most recent one I saw was $74/hr. Of course, neither of those estimates were nowhere near you geographically, but I still think that they were low. It also doesn't seem like they put paint on that estimate. I think that they ought to be closer to $4,000 on this. I know that's not how much it will actually cost you to do it, but if a body shop were to do it and make it look like the accident never happened, it would probably cost near $4k. After a quick search on eBay, I only found 1 complete Wagoneer header panel. It's $1100, plus shipping for $250 (however it is in Winston-Salem). To get it to you would be $1350 and then you'd need to paint it. Their estimate is already short and we haven't even figured the lights or the front bumper yet. https://www.ebay.com/itm/205224269364?_skw=jeep+xj+wagoneer+header+panel&itmmeta=01JYFCS3V9R2PGXS5WZ0R0JJRH&hash=item2fc851d634:g:bJ8AAOSwxLlnhshr&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA4FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1ex4E1Vy%2Bt0vf6%2BNrFgLf8NUlQFYFKHqhW5tfRZKEU%2BvSuOFl%2BsseFuBJwk0rzS3OAnazoSBwXq4KJsfRjPNvV6jaVLcCnFdUAt%2FzY1sN5u78En1jE0nrP4SYLwSXWyqwLKgsPg1xwxHIGM5sasTL4RBdgsUen4FGaosCYokUQ5sFnx5ZKtdJu4LR7TBS5eVuJFSARBbRIiHk4g5gHQ3pWaThbERIUg8mcgKy7Ig4WRF5tsbK9SXFBsjfqVOOn%2F1Yp1K0vQ%2F0PW4GoRh5JWEyfd|tkp%3ABk9SR_K95OzzZQ I know you said you'd just put a 97+ front end on it, but the insurance company doesn't need to know that. Their job is to provide you with the money to make it look like the accident never happened. Even if they know that you were going to do DIY repairs, their estimate does not cover the cost of parts to get you back to where you were.

These should be the same as Cherokee ones. That should help widen your search some. I'd recommend checking out car-part.com. That will check junkyards within a specified radius of your zip code. If you search that for larger parts, like a seat, you'll probably get more results because few junkyards will list every small item, such as a seat belt.

That's going to be really nice. Would be a great place to enjoy evenings.

That is exciting news! Please report back on the steering gear too.

Because it’s potentially a free solution. The line could’ve gotten an air bubble in it somehow, especially if the master was a little low on fluid.

Gotcha. I figured it either had to be something like that or from a 2wd car.

Must not have been an Eagle dash, unless it was a 119 rig. Was it from a Concord or a Spirit?

Since you bought it new, check out this thread too

Dave Chapelle from the Dirthead Shed on YT has done a lot of air bag rear suspension setups for rock crawlers. Not exactly what you’re after, but it might be worth looking into for some inspiration.

Are you sure the cooling system does not have any air in it? How worn out is the stock fan clutch? Did you verify that the thermostat is opening? What gauge are you using to verify the temperature? The stock gauges are not always very accurate.

That doesn't look too bad, but if you're going through the work to change it, might as well find a near perfect one. Plus, vinyl dye is great for stuff like that. My dash was originally grey, but you can't tell.