89 MJ

I see. It really is a tough decision to make.

But would you want to swap it back and forth twice a year? I know I wouldn’t, but that could be just me. I also worry that you’d lose some of the usefulness of it being a truck. Street tires might struggle making it up your hill, you’ll have to be more careful going in and out of driveways, that sort of stuff. Another truck wouldn’t exactly fix those problems though either, other than keeping this one a little easier to use. I think a turbo 4cyl MJ would be sweet with these parts on it.

That’s a steal

Any updates on the truck?

May 2025 - @Flexj's 88 Sport (Not so) Low n Slow Build Thread- 88 Sport Low n Slow ( I may need to change the build thread name after doing an LS swap and lifting it XD) Year/Model - 88 Comanche (Pioneer?) Drivetrain- 4.8 LS, NV3500 5 speed, Np231J with eBay clocking ring adapted to chevy transmission, Ford 8.8 rear and HP 30 up front. Cooling- 3 core aluminum off brand radiator. Three E fans. Electrical/Ignition- Stock chevy LS coil packs Suspension/Steering- Spring over on the rear, front is 6" Metal cloak progressive rate coils. Netting 8" of lift in the front due to the LS being a bit lighter then the stock 4.0 Interior- Stock interior except for PT cruiser seats and the center console is from a jeep TJ for the cup holder. Brakes- Stock 98 front disk brakes, stock 8.8 rear disc brakes, WJ master and booster. Lighting- All bulbs have been replaced with LED bulbs. Exterior- Bushwhacker XJ flat fenders adapted to fit the Comanche bed. Wheel & Tires- 37x10.5R17 Goodyear Wrangler MTs Misc- Warn front bumper, ARB front air locker, dedicated amp for mids, speakers moved from door to kicker panel so I can still listen with the doors off. Best MJ story- I got this from a friend, who bought it from his friend knowing I had been looking for years.. This has been my dream truck since I was 16 and got my first XJ. He sold it to me with zero upcharge, literally asked me to come over and surprised me with it. I have had this truck for over ten years now and I will never get rid of it due to the history and how long I was looking before I managed to get this one. This Jeep showed me my friends were truly good friends that cared to help me out when they had a chance too, not to mention the months of wrenching on it after where I had multiple friends and my brother helping me every day after work! Nothing brings people together like Automotive and home projects! CC is Awesome! Why? Because all this information is a dying breed. I was raised with people like Cruiser54 and Hornbrod on CherokeeForum, if it wasn't for them my Jeeping days may have been much shorter lived. Now I have a 23 year old nephew rebuilding a ZJ and have learned we need to keep this information alive for future Jeepers and the only way to do it is by archiving all the information here where it won't disappear forever. The truck turned out great, @Flexj! Congrats on MJOTM

I see what you did there

So what are your long term plans with the truck? I ask because lowering it 2" and welding in the bedside patches will probably lead to the tire hitting the bedside when the suspension compresses. You might also need to get a shorter driveshaft then too.

Can you post pictures of both track bar mounts? I wonder if you have a different frame side or axle side mount.

There are some pictures of those thread. And because you have a SWB truck, you can use two passenger side panels because you don’t need the cut out for the fuel door.

Nope. Only because I’m watching it now on the PBS app.

I'll start by saying that the the body looks pretty decent. I'm not sure what's up with the primer though. You should try to get an answer on that. That MJ most definitely has a YJ AX-15, like Tim said. The transfer case is clocked differently and the shifters are not MJ/XJ units. Looks like you might have some front end work to do if you get it. Looks like the tires are cupping pretty bad on the inside edges. I'm also seeing front lift springs and an add a leaf in the rear with a new track bar and sway bar end links, so maybe the suspension issues are already fixed. I'm also very curious as to what is up with the spots I have arrows pointed to. The one pointed to the floor looks like a poor repair, but its hard to say. Those plates on both sides should not be there. Definitely check to see if rust is under there. I'm also seeing another spot right at the top of the picture along the "frame". I'm also curious as to why the passenger side floor is silver when nothing else is. With all of that said, if it is a running and driving rig without rust or very minimal rust, I would say its a fair deal. Not a great deal, but a fair one.

I would either try to find some MJ ones or some XJ ones, depending on the route you go. To try to keep it lower, I'd go with the XJ shackle. It might save you from needing to pull a leaf on the pack, its hard to say for sure.

I believe you're pretty much going to have to use MJ leaf springs. There really will be no great way to get to 4" of lift. Do you want to keep it spring over axle or would you go with spring under axle? If you want to go back to spring under, I believe Rusty's off road makes 4.5" lift springs. Otherwise it has been reported that General Springs factory replacement springs will lift it about 3", but not in all cases. If you wanted to stick with spring over, I'd look for used MJ springs and then pull one leaf out of the spring pack.

Oh my, that is crazy. At least the 8.25 is a good upgrade if its a 29 spline unit. If you're after an OEM type spring hanger, you'll need to reuse yours. They look to be nice enough, so that might not be terribly difficult. If originality isn't a concern, there are numerous hangers that you could buy or build your own out of some rectangular tubing. It looks like he just flipped the shock brackets on the XJ axle upside down too. It doesn't look like your shocks have enough up travel either. Also, has your driveshaft been cut and lengthened in the middle? It looks like it steps up to a larger diameter.

That does seem pretty reasonable if they are decent quality. That radio looks really nice.

9 (I think) more posts and the classifieds will open up to you. You also need to post your location.

Were these not standard on all trucks? I suppose it was probably easy to lose too.

You can switch to an HO throttle body, but I believe that is all you can do before doing a full HO swap.

He’s got more pictures in this thread

You shouldn’t get spark with a bad CPS. Did you add fresh fuel or is it still the 10-12 year old fuel? Might need to drain the fuel system and add fresh gas.

Ok, and just so you know, your inner wheelhouse spot welds to that piece right where the flares bolt to the bed sides. You’ll have some work to do there.

Seems like a reasonable price. Make sure it’s actually got an AX-15. 89 was the crossover year for that transmission. Make sure the floors are solid, the unibody is solid near the leaf spring mounts, and then just make sure it isn’t a cobbled together mess.

You might be onto something here. I dug back through my pictures, and both of my SWB trucks that had good unibodies seemed to have the front spring mount farther forward.

Also, your bedsides have been cut where the factory flares mount, so I don’t think you’ll be able to mount them easily unless you repair the bedside.

I say run dimples then