brian

Makes sense to me.I think this guy was full of hot air. who would be stupid enough to cross thread a plug into a cast iron head anyway? you'd have to crank pretty hard to do that.

thanks lots. I'll crawl in there and see what's up

Don't know what renix means sorry no idiot lights actual dials and needles. yes it has a tach this isan '89

so before I go climbing around with a shop light...am I looking for a wire connection on the oilsending unit or a hose? :oops:

Where is the sending unit for the water temp guage and also for the oil press. gauge? Neither of mine are working but I don't know whether it's the guage or the sending unit or disconnected wire/hose?? :dunno:

har de har har! I've turned down $2000 3 times already. :rotf:

Am I the only one or are there others out there who have tried to sell a comanche as a specialty truck for comanche enthusiasts only but been inundated with calls from jerks who've never seen much less owned a comanche? Then they come out to test drive it and wonder why it should be worth a little more than any old small pickup. The common phrase is ' heck I can buy a (insert any other make truck here) for less than this" When I tell 'em this is worth a little more because it is a comanche they look at me like I have 2 heads! :mad: :shake:

NEW BLOCK!!!!!???? :ack: Why would the thresds be stripped in the first place. I NEVER change the plugs. :hmm:

funny you should mention bovine excrement... I DID smell something but, as always ,I just assumed it was me :D Good advice and pretty much what I expected Thanks kids

Ok..ok.. so you're right I shouldn't call my Jeep stupid. I was just venting. (this excuse never works when I vent at my wife either) I'll modify my statement (before I modify my hinges) STUPID people who built Comanche!!! :fs1: What kind of engineer designs and installs an upper hinge like the one on the Comanche??!! Thanks for the input and especially for the link. after reading that little fixit guide my get a bigger hammer approach to fixing a problem doesn't look so bad. Why not bolt it on in the 1st place! Anybody want my truck? After 10 years of this...I've had enough

Some guy looking at my rig noticed a miss in the idle and pointed out to me that one of my plugs was actually wiggling while the engine ran. He claimed this is a common issue with Comanches and that It could blow out and shoot rigth through the hood like a rocket! I stopped the engine and sure enought the darn thing was loose and I could turn it by hand! This guy claimed thais was a serious deal and even if I put new plugs in and make sure they are tight it wil deteriorate to a condition where the plugs start blowing out of the head. I tried to determine what the !!!! he was talking about .I asked if he meant the threads in the head were shot or what but all I got was jibberish out of heim from then on. So Is ther such an issue common to some engines? Or should I ignore this new threat of impending doom and just tighten my plugs and drive? :dunno:

When I bought my recent Comanche the drivers door hinge was loose and someone had stuck a shim in there to stabilize it. Now the passenger hinge is coming loose. They are disconnecting from the body as if they wer not attached well in the first place. I see no bolts to tighten just a poorly done weld and some caulking. I'm NOT awelder but it looks to me that it might be a little tricky to do any welding there. Assuming this is common what have others done? any tricks I should know. Stupid Jeep! :fs1:

No.. just regular bolts. I can't believe I didn't tighten them but maybe it was a brain infarction. I've done some stupid things before. I'll be keeping an eye on them for a while.just in case...

Here's the answer to my puzzle I got another new starter shipped to me. couldn't quite get it to fit into the mounting hole. So I got to looking around and discovered the upper mounting bolts that hold the bell housing to the engine were Gone!! the two lower bolts were still there and tight but the metal plate between the engine and bell housing had shifted slightly from the torgue of the engine. So, the old starter had been moved so close to the flywheel that the bendix gear couldn't engage.That's why I could hear the starter spinning but not engaging the flywheel. The other result of the bell housing being slightly out of alignment was the sensor mounted at the top of the housing was now misreading the flywheel position..that's why the engine died. I had originally thought the engine died due to a bad fuel filter or contaminated gas and that the starter went bad co-incidentaly at the same time. But I knew the odds of that happening were long. So.. mystery solved....engine died and stater would not turn engine over all at the same time. I wonder who the bonehead was who didn't tighten the bolts when the tranny was installed last time....oh wait ..that would be me! :doh: Anyway it runs real nice again but now I have an extra starter. :dunce:

I'm still waiting for a new starter to arrive. The company I bought the last one from is sending another free of charge. I guess I'll install it and if it cranks the engine I'll see if the new fuel filter did the trick. :dunno:

I still don't know if it was a prank. I can see nothing in the gas...no crystals... no dirt... no water. So I might have been right with my original diagnosis of a bad fuel filter. Seems to me I recall my last bad filter would stall the engine or make it cough and sputter when turning and/or climbing hills. Trouble is...I am having a hard time believing that my new ,month old starter went bad at the same moment the filter clogged. I've never had a starter sound like it is turning but not engage the flywheel. Ususally they either just click or don't make any sound?? Anyone know why a starter would run but not engage the flywheel suddenly. Flywheel is not missing any teeth. Marbles would have a hard time plugging the filter on the end of the fuel pump. It's cigar shaped. What's next?

Here's a good one. I know someone here can figure this out. My 89 comanche 4x4 six died while going around a small up hill corner. Died like it was out of gas. When I tried to start it the starter just made a squealling noise. This is a new (month old )starter and I have had no trouble with it prior to this. So I tried to push start it and it did start up but when I turned around and headed uphill it died again. I figured it must be out of gas and since my gauge is messed up I put 2 fresh gallons of gas in and push started it again. It fired up like normal and I drove 7 miles up and down hills to my house but... when I turned into my driveway (a slight incline) It died again and when I push started it it barely ran..mis-fired... popped... chugged and finaly would not run at all. Here's my question: I think it must be the fuel filter and I am changing that but what are the chances that the fuel filter went bad at the same moment my starter went bad??I bench tested the starter and it spins and the gear goes into position like normal. No missing teeth on my flywheel. I am also wondering if rather than a bad fuel filter maybe a vandal put something in my tank..sugar, piss..etc. the window had been vandalized that day by an angry surfer (another long story) just prior to the engine trouble. Is it possible that the coughing, chugging, backfiring would cause the engine to be so stiff or hard to crank that the elec. starter could not turn it but pushing the truck and popping the clutch would turn it? I'm so confused!! :dunno:

As always ...good info from you guys. the link provided is just what the Dr. ordered. I'll see if I can find one to swap out. thanks brian

Thanks geo- The truck had a 355 rear when I bought it used. Tuned out to have a 307 front end so the rear busted as well as the tranny. I have no idea what was original and what had been replaced. I replaced the rear with a 307 to match the front. I found another 5spd to replace the busted tranny. Can the speedo gears be swapped easily? brian

Hi on my little yelow muleI(89 mj 4x4) I replaced my busted 3:55 rea rend with a used 3:07 and then replaced my busted 5speed tranny with a used one same tranny -different year. the speedo was not operating so I disconnected the cable from the tranny and turned it with a drill to see if the problem was the cable or the gauge itself. turned out the cable had disconnected at the back of the gauge and I simply plugged it back in. So my kid is driving down the road last night in the jeep when a state trooper pulls him over because he is doing 67 in a 55. The kid swears he was doing 55 and procedes to tell the cop we just messed with the speedo cable and suggests that maybe the mix-up lies there. The cop doesn't buy it but lets him off with a warning. (WHEW!) So ..... what is the trouble? is it; (A) the different tranny (B) the different rear end gears ©the speedo got screwed up when I spun the cable backwards with my drill (D) my kid was going 67 but claimed he was doing 55 ? thanks in advance for your expertise Brian

Thanks guys. another good link. Yeah.. I think using the steering wheel for a grab bar is the problem. I found that the metal shaft just below the 4 lose bolts had stress cracked while the blots were lose. Most likely from my kid doing the grab bar thing. :grrrr: All seemed good after I tightened the bolts... :headpop: but after he drove it that night the metal column was mysteriously busted in two the next morning. I'm about to bust something in two myself....over my kid's head :mad: Another trip to the junkyard this morning got me a steering column from a 87 mj. for 40 bucks. So I'm tossing the old one and installing the new one. If all goes well I'll be drivin'my little yellow mule to the pub by cocktail hour. thanks all

I followed the links you guys provided and they were great help in getting down to the 4 bolts that had backed out in my steering column. Tricky stuff but I tightened them down and got everything back togetyher. all looked good til the next day when the whole darn thing suddenly was even sloppier than before! I suspect when the bolts were lose and the column was moving around a lot something must have cracked from fatigue.Then after I tightened up the bolts the whole thing gave way. Anybody been down the column past the 4 bolts? Is it worth going back in there or should I just rip the whole thing out and get a used column? :wall: thanks

Hey dude! thanks for doing that. At least I now know I have the right unit in my tank. As soon as I pull mine and look in the hole with a lit match :dunce: to see what the resrvoir looks like I'll get this thing figured out.

good advice about the lighter. I doubt I'd buy any new part for a while. Still don't know whether the right float arm is in the tank. besides..I'm a scotsman.And,as everyone knows, Scots have deep pockets and short arms

I'll be waiting to hear if you are right about the float arm. I'm betting on you. :banana: