LittleBoJeep88

Just came across this post, thought I'd share https://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/cto/d/1990-jeep-comanche/6682949851.html

During my first trail ride, engine started to overheat. Under heat and pressure, it seems the expansion tank develops a leak. Replaced with an aluminum one from Mac's Radiator.

The current exhaust was part of a previous owner's build; but wanted to share since it does seem to allow a 33" spare to fit underneath. With an aftermarket bumper, access to the crank down was blocked so I'm guessing that's when the spare was moved into the bed. (additional pics to follow)

Front and rear diff fluid change ( valvoline high performance gear oil 80W-90) with new gaskets (Lube Locker Dana 30 & 44). Change oil ( valvoline high mileage synthetic) and filter (Bosch 3401 Premium).

T-Max winch wasn't working and synth line looked faded, so time for a new winch: Smittybilt X20 Gen 2, 12000 with synthetic line. Along with a Smittybilt aluminum shackle. Instead of the smittybilt hawse fairlead that came with the winch, I installed a roller fairlead with Daystar synthetic rollers which will keep friction of synthetic line under load to a minimum through the fairlead. (pics to follow) Upon the recommendation of an offroad instructor, kept 45' of the line on the winch (fewer layers makes winch more effective) and turned the remaining 45' into a winch line extension. Factor 55's fast fid was worth every penny; made creating eye splices ridiculously easy. Brummel eye splice instructions from new england rope as well as a modified version when can't pass the second tail through the first due to the installed thimble. These were also helpful from samson class 2 eyesplice video & pdf but ended up avoiding this method to remove the necessity of a locking stitch. Outfitted my recovery gear with arb's rk9 recovery kit mostly because it comes with synthetic pulley snatch block and all the straps one would need in a well-organized bag. And rounded it out with 2 x Bubba Rope gaterjaw soft shackles (soft equals less weight flying around were a line to break during recovery).

Radiator cleaned (Prestone Flush & Cleaner), distilled water (3 x fill & drain) and new antifreeze (Peak long life pre-mixed). Seemed that the only way to install a new water pump gasket was to remove the serpentine belt and move the fan shroud out of the way. Needed to remove the flashing that held the radiator in place which, of course, resulted in a bolt braking free from the rubber, radiator isolater and started spinning, so I had to cut it away (thank you dremmel). Replaced both of those in the process. Lots of air in the radiator, tried all of the different "burping" techniques on this website and other xj sites. None worked quite as well as taking off the upper radiator hose at the water pump and filling through there. After that, it was possible to fill the rest of the way through the expansion tank. And installed a new, much quieter serpentine belt by continental. As I was reinstalling the upper radiator hose on the water pump, the old rubber cracked (of course); so replaced that hose. Bought a lower radiator hose, but wasn't keen on having to drain the radiator again so I tossed it in my box of spares in the truck in case it needs to be replaced in the future.

I purchased this MJ in March and have been doing a lot of (little) things to keep her trail ready. A post on each to follow soon!

@Eagle you're right! i should have been more careful in my wording: the 4.0L 6cyl that GM used in many of jeeps?

@Pancho975 I'll take a pic of the exhaust and send it your way. There is certainly room for a spare under there, the PO did move it into the bed; and given that I'm offroading mostly, I rather have it where it's easier to access than worry about having the spare pinned below the vehicle if there was a flat. in theory, i could keep it underneath during highway (and other use) and then move it to the bed for offroading, but that seems like a hassle : )

@Jeep Driver thanks for the suggestion! I ended up going with the Speedway Motors version but the same idea: https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Universal-22-Circuit-Wiring-Harness,229874.html @GreasemonkeySC yeah, not ideal from a cost perspective. but given that fuses (and windshield wiper circuit breakers) were so corroded that I couldn't even get them out without breaking off the prongs, I see it as a longer term investment in the vehicle (and my sanity). I tried tracking down an aftermarkert universal FCM or ECM but have been having trouble identifying which model will work with the 6cyl. lots of easy FI kits to convert from carb to fuel injected throttle body, but nothing that I could verify would work with the multiport GM 4.0L 6cyl varieties of engine. Any more specifics would be greatly appreciated.

I recently did LSV delete, plus a WJ booster upgrade. The only difference is that I used this brake proportioning valve (upon suggestion from someone on an XJ forum). https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Adjustable-Proportioning-Valve-Block-Brake-Distribution-System,66525.html The only alteration was using this proportioning valve, mostly because I liked the more organized mounting location. No plans to need to adjust front/rear balance once set appropriately (since my use is entirely offroad and not carrying a load) but it could be considered a benefit. And with the WJ booster upgrade, it found it easier to use brake pressure for the brake lights than the pedal based version. Since the proportioning valve protects against losing all brakes if front or rear has a problem, there is no longer a need for the stock brake warning switch (which only tells you if there is a significant difference in braking between front and rear).

As with several others on the forum, the previous owners of my MJ spliced quite a bit as they did a 91 XJ interior swap and added accessories. Add on top of that a corroded fuse panel, flaky wiper controls, lack of back lighting for the gauge cluster, no interior lighting, etc I'm coming to the conclusion that rewiring the vehicle is going to be inevitable. Needs also to support accessories such as an onboard air compressor and additional lighting (it's going to be used primarily as an off-road rig but still needs to be street legal). If I'm going to put in the effort, replacing a 30-year old wiring harness with another used 30-year old wiring harness doesn't seem to make sense. Does anyone have experience or recommendation using one of the Painless harnesses? eg http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcat/10202? And if I'm tearing out the wiring harness, it's probably a good time to do an aftermarket ECM/ECU. Does anyone have a suggestion? Maybe something that's compatible with a digital dash like https://www.4wd.com/p/superchips-trail-dash-2-42051/_/R-BGND-42051 ?

If you're doing brake upgrades, it has been recommended by others to do an upgrade of the brake booster to a WJ dual diaphragm. These two links were super helpful (in addition to info on this forum): http://www.4x4wire.com/jeep/tech/brakes/xj_wjbrakes03/valve/index.htm https://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=924285 Can't speak from personal experience quite yet -- I just ordered the parts from partsauto.com. Will let you know how it comes out : )

Ah, yes, I was afraid it was going to resort to that : )

Yup, already done. And the pump does move into its lowest possible position. But still not far enough to let the belt pop off. : - /