OldSch88L

Hello Miss! First of all, here's the link to the most valuable tool in owning a Jeep Comanche: https://comancheclub.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=14915 I suggest you learn about reading electrical diagrams if you don't already know how, and then get familiar with this document. Otherwise, diagnosing is like poking in the dark. On my part, I'd start half-way; using the diagram, I'd find the terminals for the gas gauge at the cluster connector. No signal= problem before the cluster (wiring, sending unit, fuse), otherwise signal= problem with either cluster, cluster wiring (IIRC, the white/black stripe wire is the power supply for the cluster) or ground. Also note that improper-era sending units will read opposite of one another; for example, a non-renix (90 and up?) cluster in my '88 truck makes the gauge read empty when full. Also a non-renix sending unit with your stock '88 cluster would also do the same thing. And last, don't just check fuses, also check fuse box terminals for corrosion or failure; I solved many problems just with that!

I'm not following you; why would the bumper require fender cutting? It uses the stock bumper so it shouldn't interfere with the fenders. You may have to cut the holes for the fairlead and whatnot in your bumper though

Hmm my bad I guess; I thought I read somewhere that you could buy this mount with a pre-made bumper!

Well, it's a hidden winch mounts, but comes with a factory bumper modified with a fairlead and tow eyelets, here's the link, and ignore the big hole, which is there for testing purposes: https://www.facebook.com/Baddadfab/photos/658277124744957

If you like stock looking stuff BadDadFab does a really nice stock front bumper with an integrated winch receiver, and of course, the good ol' Westin/Fey rear bumper. Otherwise, theres JCR, Dirtbound, Ares Fabrication, Hanson and Nates for custom stuff that I know of.

If it can give you an idea, here's what I did on mine. I got an AX5 trans and bellhousing from a 2.5L Jeep TJ. The AX5 comes with a 21-spline output shaft, so be sure to get a t-case with a matching input, otherwise you'll have to swap t-case input shafts. Now, TJ AX5s are different in the fact that the transfer case clocking is different, tucking it higher up near the floor, whereas XJ/MJ AX5s clock them about 10 degrees down. I went with a 242 t-case which is a little bit bigger than a 231 and it hit the floor with the TJ's clocking, so I had to drill a new set of holes that are 10 degrees off on the transmission's flange. You may also need a different transmission mount. The TJ's AX5 also has an external clutch cylinder so I had to get a conversion hose and fitting to adapt to my original clutch master cylinder. So that's the basics, next comes the fun part of the t-case linkage headache, and aslo try to find a t-case with the 4wd switch on the back and not the top... You'll find out why eventually lol!!!

Well I noticed lately that my MJ's flashers were a good bit faster on extremely cold days, getting back to normal as the truck comes to operating temperature; don't know if it's related with your problem?

I don't know about you, but most Comanches I see are base, Sportruck and Pioneer, the Pioneer being more prevalent in my neck of the woods. The only Chiefs and Laredos I've ever seen were here; before that, I never knew they existed. I've seen some Cherokee Chiefs, but never Comanche Chiefs before.

Hey there McDougal, concerning that rear bumper, I live in Quebec, and the best price I found for mine was at TDot Performance. Just search for Westin bumpers. They're available in black and come with license plate lights. Be aware that the hardware (brackets and bolts) must be purchased separatly and I couldn't find them on their site, but they do sell them. I wrote them and they gave me the part#, only then, if you search with the part# will you find them on the site. You may find better prices at Jeg's or Summit, but beleive me, once you throw shipping, border clearance fees and exchange rate, you'll see that TDot is hard to beat. Plus, they have free shipping in Canada on purchases over 100$ IIRC, and they are located in Ontario so you'll get it on your doorstep in no-time!!! https://www.tdotperformance.ca/westin-63000-diamondstep-universal-style-rear-bumper-black.html

AX-5s and AX-15 transmissions measure roughly 16", while the AW-4 is roughly around 25". I know that 2.5 and 4.0 engine mounts are not at the same spot on the frame to compensate for the different engine lenghts. I doubt AMC would put yet again the mounts in different spots to compensate for different transmission lenght. So short answer: measure, measure, measure... I got a feeling that the AW-4 puts the t-case further back than a manual trans, hence making the shaft too long for your application...

This is as I'm writing this reply... Otherwise, november has been more rain than snow, with barely about a half inch of snow remaining on the ground until today, which is unusual for my part of the country this time of year; should have had at least a foot of snow on the ground so far on any other year!

I just watched this episode of TFL Truck, and I thought this thing was pretty nifty! I was thinking for a while now about what would be the perfect setup if you go overlanding like once or twice a year and want to sleep in the bed, but want the bed to be useable the rest of the year without having to remove your topper, or roof tent or whatever setup you have. This thing looks like a happy medium between these things, and you could leave it on year-long. Thought it could interest some of you! https://youtu.be/pzFnNfvs1Xg

Yeah, shipping these running boards across the border was quite an ordeal; it went pretty much as well the this year is going thus far hahaha!!!!! Just glad they're finally safe and sound where they belong

A little update; I think I figured it out. Replaced it again while replacing my engine and tranny mounts and pinion angle shims. The t-case output shaft was stiff as a rock, absolutely zero play. I inspected the seal and again, the lip popped outwards, catched the circlip and ripped. After seeing similar posts on Wrangler forums, I'm pretty sure it was user error while installing. The rubber seal is a bit stiff and tight, and catches on the circlip groove on the output shaft, flipping and/or ripping the seal. So I put electrical tape over the groove, took a finger of a nitrile glove and slipped it over the splines, and put oil on everything. I slipped the seal on, hammered it into place and took the tape off, and all is good so far, whereas before it would last like 3 days, a week tops before leaking. Hope this helps some of you! The problematic seal: The risky bits:

Well, I don't have a ton of pics yet since it's still a work in progress, so these are my favorites. Taken after its first buff/wax. It will eventually get repainted down the line since this paint is not the best. Also not a fan of the murdered-out look, so I'm also working on that...

When I was growing up in a rural town, my uncle and cousins lived across the street from us, and one day came home with a midnight blue '86 XJ with gold "Cherokee" stickers on the lower doors, white steel wheels and butterscotch interior, that he bought from another uncle that bought it brand new like a year before. Me and my cousin (which is a year oklder than me) both fell in love with that Jeep; it was the perfect vehicle to our eyes. So imagine my amazement when the Comanche came out and saw my first one on the road! I couldn't beleive they made a pick-up out of my uncle's truck! Anyways, I had great memories of his XJ, going fishing with my cousins and such. So when I started searching for a compact (I'm 6'1" and hate big vehicles, always had compact and sub-compact cars), 4x4, manual truck that would have offroad potential, solid axles and simple, easy-to-fix tech and drivetrain, the MJ came to mind. Ticked all the boxes, and that front end and grill brung back so many memories that I started saving and looking. They say "never meet your heroes", but I'm glad I did in that case. It's better than I thought it would be, more comfortable and roomier than my '98 Ranger, and easier to get in and out of, and there's just something about all the little details that always makes me look forward to driving it! It's like that truck was made for me, and I'd buy them all if I could! Not to hoard them but to save and restore them all so that more people get a chance to know how great these little trucks were, and see how downhill trucks went, offering you more, but actually giving you less, if you know what I mean!!!

More info about your truck would help; do you have a CAD Dana 30 up front or not? If you have a CAD, then the chain shouldn't really spin that much in 2Hi since it's not engaged in the case, and the front left wheel will spin the spider gears in the carrier first, and maybe spin the driveshaft and chain just a little in some cases. If you have a non-CAD, I'd first try to remove the front driveshaft to see if it changes anything and to see if it's chain-related. If not chain related, the only other noise sources that comes to mind would be worn/missing nylon bushings on the t-case shift forks, making them rub metal on metal, or not engaging properly, or like Mini Beast said, maybe the input shaft planetary. I once put the wrong input shaft/planetary gear cut combo in my transfer case, and it made a hell of a racket! Otherwise, I'm out of ideas for now.

I absolutely love your comparision! Because then would come the question: do you drink to get hammered, or for the taste? I had a similar discussion with a co-worker that's like 10-ish years older than me (I'm 39) and we would agree that up to around late nineties, songs told a story, had lots of lyrics, and you heard the chorus like two times only. Nowadays, it's vague lyrics with no story, the chorus comes every 15 seconds, and the song last 3 minutes tops... Oh, and not much creativity either; just sampling and remixing old classics...

I have a good ol' 1998 Ranger Stepside, 4 cylinder 2.5L. Had it for 8 years now, it's super reliable, easy to work on, cheap to fix and easy to find parts for. The super lightweight Alcoa wheels I put on really helped with accelleration a getting even better fuel economy, and the swapped-in 8.8 LSD diff helps it getting the job done year round. And yes, it is a 1998, I just swapped the front end for a 2001 on 'cause I like it a whole lot more

From what I could find, there's two varieties of brake rotors: cast iron (3" tall) and composite (3.25") but only one model of caliper, so my guess is that those different offset wheel bearings are to accomodate their respective brake rotors.

Went back to the yard today, and looks like I was mistaken... That other radio from the XJ Wagoneer was an RX-161, and the eject mechanism was seized. So, if you ever figure out that pulsation with the RX-135, let me know and I will probably send mine for a once-over and AUX convertion

Couple of updates: I tried the XJW chime and it works, although it sounds so weak I can barely hear it. Any ideas? Secondly, I went back to the yard; to those who wondered why I didn't take the tail lights or rear bumper, I got some pics to show why The only good chrome left was the armrest trims, otherwise the inside and outsidle door handles had peeling chrome. I also managed to remove the bed topper by myself to find the elusive cargo light!!! But sadly, not the switch as the cluster,cluster trim and switchwork were gone from the start. I also took the front metal license frame per your recommendations, the running boards, another set of the rare sunvisor clips and finally, two good-ish condition fuse panels. Also, there was some kind of counter or meter hanging below the steering column; anyone wants to take a guess as to what it is?

Well that's the thing, the knob clicks, and the sound is off, but the display is still on showing the radio station, and if I put a cassette in, I can hear the cassette deck run even though I have no sound... I saw your build thread where you put a youtube video of that model radio in your truck, and the display did turn off with the volume knob "click". Second thing, when I went at the junkyard, there was a second one of these RX-135 from an XJ Wagoneer, but a dumba$$ took it out the truck, then took the radio's top cover off then left it on the rad support with the hood up, and clearly got rained on a couple of times, the truck being there since september 23rd. The metal casing started to surface rust, but the electronics looked good visually, so I put the radio back in the car, protected under the seat. I have to go back to the yard, should I grab it? For parts maybe??? And lasly, I've been on your website and noticed you sell aux cable conversions for a couple of models but not this one. Can it be converted, or should I just go with the ol' cassette-to-aux cable adapter?

Hello Minuit, sorry to bother you with one of my questions again! I recently went junkyard shopping and stumbled upon an RX-135. I thought it looked cool and retro and liked the fact that it was a cassette deck so I bought it. Just got done installing it, and the sound is awesome on the cassette mode, but I have trouble with the radio mode. When I first tried it, it worked great for like 30 seconds, but since that, it pulses between static noise and and music, and the display also pulses a little bit. It's actually freaky because it really sounds like a heartbeat; I thought I was dealing with Christine's reincarnation for a moment hahaha!!! Also, if you could school me on that model; can you turn it completely off? The knob turns the sound off, but the station is still displayed, and even with the sound off, if I put a cassette in, it will play it, albeit with no sound. Is that normal?

They weren't in the greatest shape, and the screws were rusted, seized and stripped. I thought about drilling the screw heads off but I would probably have damaged the tail lights even more