sevenn07

I don't believe they are cracked because the others are not completely rust free. I think these just happened to be highest up and since only the bottom side rusted then they got the worst of it. I could be totally wrong. But I really hope that I can get this thing to turn and possibly running. What would make only the bottom side rust though? Condensation? Question -- from where the other (lower) pistons are, can you tell if the rust extends as high as the portion of the bore where the rings operate? If you have heavy rust where the rings slide, you're going to have to tear it down, have it bored oversize, and buy new pistons as well as new rings. At that point, a junkyard engine is cheaper. However, if the rust is only at the bottoms of the bores, below the lowest point where the rings go in operation, the cylinders still might clean up and the engine might be usable. Have you had the head off yet? How are the bores above the pistons? The heads were off yes and no rust in there. all good. Now for the bottom side. Yes I do believe some of the rust did extend up into where the rings sit. I don't know how much though. If I just tried to clean it up and sand down what I could and such would it hurt to run the engine. I mean honestly all I have to lose is a trash engine anyways right? I don't really wanna put all the money into a new engine but I guess if it had to be done I could. The truck being wrecked just isn't worth all that much. (when I say wrecked I don't mean in bad condition wrecked, still very safe to drive and what not) One of the biggest things that scare me as well is why the engine got rust. Why didn't they run it every once in a while to keep that out. Or was there more to it that caused them to sit the truck up. I know yall don't know but I am starting to wonder a lot of things.

I don't believe they are cracked because the others are not completely rust free. I think these just happened to be highest up and since only the bottom side rusted then they got the worst of it. I could be totally wrong. But I really hope that I can get this thing to turn and possibly running. What would make only the bottom side rust though?

Ok I got the pan pulled today. I have some news. Now I need you help deciding if it is good or bad. The problem is that the culprit was rust. The top of the cylinders are good and rust free. The bottoms of the cylinders are rusted. Now most of the rust is in piston 3 and 4 which are the two stuck in the highest position. The others are relatively rust free to what I could see. The rust in these two pistons is not just really light surface rust. I really need a pic to show you but it's not completely rusted around but it has quite a bit of rust on them. Could it be sanded down with say steel wool then left for the rings to do the rest or is this gonna ruin the engine?

And I appreciate it. I am sure you are right that that will help quite a bit. I need to shoot some pics then post a few for yall too see. I really hope by some odd chance this sucker will break free! What if I pulled the oil pan and shot those bearings up with some PB Blaster?

Thats a good idea too. Rob L. I believe I will try that as my next step. When I pull the distributor don't I have to adjust it back? If so how hard is this? If you are new to this, put get the engine to No. 1, TDC. Mark the location of the rotor, and make sure you put it back just the way you took it out. The gears are helical, or slanted, so it will rotate a bit while taking it out, and while putting it in. The oil pump drive looks like a flat head screw at the bottom of where the dist was. You can take a long screwdriver and cut it off, and chuck it up in a drill to prime the oil pump. Once that is done, you may have some difficulty putting the dist back in, as it rotates with the helical cut of the gears a tad, and has to drop into the pump drive at the same time. I just did this and took pics for a write up on Tuesday. I don't have time to upload, otherwise I would. It took me about 10 minutes of turning the pump drive a hair and dropping the distributor in a few times to get it to line up right. BE SURE NOT TO ROTATE THE ENGINE WITH THE DIST OUT UNLESS YOU WANT MORE HEADACHES! Rob L. :thumbsup: OK thank you so much. It sounds like I need to get the motor to rotate first. That is my problem. It is siezed so no TDC until it moves :(

Thats a good idea too. Rob L. I believe I will try that as my next step. When I pull the distributor don't I have to adjust it back? If so how hard is this?

Ok I got the head off yesterday and took a gander inside. I can't do to awfully much because nose got broke and I can't climb around the engine. I am out for today pretty much because it was put back. Why they couldn't do it at the ER is a mystery to me. I guess they just want more money. But back to topic. I have taken a block of wood and small sledge hammer and hit on every cylinder with no luck moving. There is not a lost of rust or anything which surprises me. A little grit around some of them but that can be cleaned. My questions for now are What would be a good place to go from here? Can the head and valve train be washed with a pressure washer to remove oil and sludge? Oh and I have kept PB blaster in the cylinders the past two days on top of what was put in there when I started the project. The help will be greatly appreciated.

Only you can answer this question. It all depends on what YOUR goals and priorities are. If you want to learn how to rebuild an engine, then go ahead take it out and rebuild it. It's heavy and awkward. You'll be disassembling a significant portion of the front of the truck, and you'll need an engine hoist and an engine stand. You'll also be looking at several hundred dollars (minimum) between parts and machine shop work to do even a half-assed rebuild. You'll be disconnecting a lot of lines and wires -- you'll have to be very careful to take a lot of "before" photos and tag every single line and wire you disconnect or you'll never get it together again. If your intention is to have a driveable MJ, it is possible that you can get it running by just removing the head and freeing up the pistons, as we have been discussing. It's a LOT less work to R&R (Remove & Replace) a head than it is to pull the entire engine and driveline. If you can get it running by just pulling the head, that makes good sense. If you pull the head and find something seriously broken inside -- you're just a little closer to pulling the engine because you will already have disconnected some of the things that would need to be disconnected anyway. It all comes down to what YOU hope to accomplish. I like this point. I believe getting it running will be my priority. A couple more questions. 1) Can you clean most of the engine with it still in the bay? (most of the pumps and such removed) 2) Do I have to retime the engine after pulling the head and such if I leave it in the bay? 3) Other than seals, if there is no major damage, is it ok just to clean and put it back together without rings and such? I pulled the valve cover off today and the sludge in there was up to a half inch thick in places. Is this a bad sign?

And yes it is half unibody half frame. I may be using the wrong term. That was just the first word that came to mind.

Rebuilding an engine is a good way to learn and I'm all in favor of that. However, that is NOT what you indicated when you started this discussion, and frankly if you had stated from the beginijng that you planned to pull the engine and do a complete overhaul you would have saved several of us a lot of time we wasted trying to guilde you in accomplishing what you originally asked about -- getting it running: I apologize for this very much. Do you think it would be better to just get the truck running without pulling the engine and such? I mean it is not an I have to. But if it would be in my best interest to just leave it in the bay and work from there I am game. I will honestly say I am not used to doing this type work. And all the time you have wasted helping me has been greatly appreciated. I have tried to head every bit of advise short of throwing the engine away. I couldn't have done what I have without the help of yall! I can't begin to tell yall how much I appreciate it and how glad I am that I was brought here. The level of kindness has been great and I don't want anyone to be mad or look down on me for what I have done. I really have been thankful for all the help!

I completely agree but the point in even buying the MJ for me was to tear the engine down. I may regret having it off the chasis before beating and banging on it but I plan on completely tearing it down and cleaning it and such. It is just for me to learn and hopefully in the end have a toy. But if not then so be it. I appreciate your concern and please keep giving me advice. Even if I could be to hard headed to listen :hmm: But I plan on doing what you just said but without it on the chasis. Oh and thanks for the tips on the bolts. I will see what I can't do. Thank yall all so much. I appreciate all the help so far!

OK the long awaited update! I got out saturday and did ever last thing I knew to break the engine loose and didn't succeed. Well now I have the engine removal and tear down in progress. I hope to get the engine pulled and find the problem. The engine had a new starter on it so someone has tried working on it before. Now my question is do I need to post the pics? Do I need to start a build thread? Even though it may not be a build, maybe a bust. Oh and does an 89 have the possibility of being fuel injected. It seems to have a fuel rail system on it. Or can a carbed engine have that? Oh and can a Dana 60 be put in one of these bad boys? It is $200 but I figure he will want more than that now that he knows how much its worth. It is an old military Dana 60. It is the front axle and I believe it has 4.55s. Could this work or no not at all?

Ok I got some PB Blaster and it will have sat a couple days tomorrow. Being mothers day I didn't get much time to spend on the Jeep. I hope to get to peak at it a bit tomorrow. I finally got the belt loosened. I liked to never find all the bolts holding the power steering pulley. Much less get a wrench on them. I hope that this will do the trick. I checked all the bearings on everything but the engine and they were all good. So whatever is not moving has to do with the engine. I am seriously wondering if it is a bearing but if it is it can be replaced no biggie (I hope!) Again thank yo for the help and lets hope tomorrow for a post with good news :cheers:

Ok I appreciate again the answers. I agree with the statement about not doing it completely right. I do need to. I believe the right pulley to crank on is the bottom one. (I know it is a stupid question but just to make sure. I tried to turn it and only got the bolt to tighten. Do I need to remove the belt? And would it turn if a bearing is seized? I will try this asap but work has not let me have a chance to try again. If I get it to turn I hope to start a build thread and start posting pics.

Ok I got the Jeep to my house. I haven't had a lot of time. So I took out the plugs and there seemed to be no rust. Maybe some on the plug threads but some idiot before me had already taken them out and just left the plug wires off so I have no clue on the sequence. So now where do I go from here? I tried to start it but never had a battery with enough charge to really throw the starter. I did hook up jumper cables but again it just clicked like it didn't have enough juice. But I expect it to be seized. So what are my next steps?

Thank yo for being so helpful. You are hitting every last question right on the nail head.

And how much would that probably cost? And that would mean a rebreak in period right?

I did plan on tearing down everything. Do I need to pull the pistons off the rods and everything? And could doing all of this (saying that the engine is good) mess something up worse than just leaving it?

Ahh ok. I have heard of that happening. Never new what to call it though. Thank you! Will it help the engine out by tearing it down, cleaning out the carbon build up, any possible trash of sorts (hopefully none), and putting it all back together? I want to paint the engine as well if it is good. I will hopefully paint the engine bay and eventually the whole truck if it turns out working. Oh and just to let yall know about the story as told by the seller. Her brother was loosing his foot to diabetes so he was put into some sort of foot cast. Well he apparently got to feeling good and wanted to get a hair cut. Well he went to pull out, put it in gear, and got his foot stuck, and ran into the side of his house. Well after they got him out, the truck was started back, moved to where it sits now I believe, and has not moved in a few years. So this is all the background I have on the truck.

Ok well I shall try that. Uhm how bout a definition of hydrolocking?

Well since this is not a DD truck. I have all the time in the world I want to work on it. And because I would like to learn the ins and outs of the engine I think I will begin with trying to free it. I mean It's not gonna cost anything but time. And maybe a bit of PB blaster, oil or whatever I use. Thank you for finding that engine block for me. I have never heard of that place. Now I can search for parts myself. This place has been so helpful already and I will have plenty more questions to come. If I can not get it running then I may have to hit something up for a used one. My biggest problem other than the engine is getting axles. And they need to match gears on top of that! Most of the front axles are kept by shops around here for there own personal use. I really appreciate all the comments. This is going to be a great learning experience and I am glad to have such a great group of people backing me. I hope to start on the engine this week if I can ever get her to find the title. I am afraid to take it out of her yard without it. My luck she will report it stolen. Are there any big tips to pulling the engine out. I will strip probably just about everything from the engine bay whether it needs it or not. I am gonna clean it all up in there. Just gotta watch for old wiring. I will pull the radiator and hopefully the front grill. I was told to leave the transmission attached. Do yall all agree? If it doesn't make much difference I would like to leave the tranny for now. But if not then if not. PS Thank yall so much again! I will do this multiple times (the thanking part). Just a habit because I want yall to know how much your time helping me, someone you don't even know, is appreciated.

Thank yall so much for all the information so far. Yes it is a 4.0 I6. She didn't mean to lie to me. Just kinda made me mad that I had bought it first. An engine would cost more than that down here, not exactly sure how much though. I don't want to scrap the truck. It is not in great shape though. No rust just has been ran through a house! But I will pull the engine and try to free it. I mean what can it hurt right? I hope to get it running and I will take lots of pics and post them along the way. I am really excited to get this project started. Anyone know a good place to pick up some axles for this badboy? 4.10s or 4.35s preferably front and back. Thank you!

I just bought the Comanche (previously mentioned in Comanche Find post) for $125. Now before I said it was not running. Well come to find out after I paid for it, she tells me the engine is seized. I was quite upset because before I bought it I asked if it was burnt up or just not running. Well she said it just wasn't running but today after I paid for it she found out otherwise. So my question to you is can I possibly unseize it. I am going to try no matter what. I can get more that 125 out of the metal on it at a scrap yard or part it out. But I really want to build this thing so tips and possible tricks? On the farm we use oil in the heads, (don't laugh this one really works) water!, and WD 40. I am up for any more good suggestions. I was also told about an acid bath but I would rather not pay to have that done. Thank you and hopefully this will be the start to another great build thread! P.S. I apologize for I think previously posting this in the wrong forum :doh: I believe this is the right place pete? I am new so please forgive me.

Thank yall so very much! I will run with this as far as I can. I was hoping not to get to much tied up into this. Or atleast not yet. I don't care to trim and fabricate on this vehicle because of the shape the body is in. (not horrible shape and for the price not to big of a loss). I do have one last question for now. Does it have a frame or unibody or does it depend on the year. I am going back home this weekend and hope to find a lot more out about it! We will see. PS I did search some posts and $500 MJ had a good one. I just didn't see what I really wanted to know in the posts. I think this one helped out a lot. The biggest surprise to me was the cost of axels with lower gears. I will see what I can't find at local junkyards though.

Ok I have found a Comanche for $300. It is 2wd, has body damage, a good engine but doesn't run, a good tranny as far as I know, 155k on the clock original, and has been set up a while. I want to convert it to a 4wd and pull and fix the engine. Can you tell me if this is honestly worth it or even possible to complete this task? PS. It has pioneer graphics on the side? Is this good? (I have no clues about comanche's) I appreciate all of the answers. This project (if started) is more of a learning experience. It has the I-6 with an auto tranny. apparently a mechanic has given it a look before but the cost of fixing it was out of this guys price to fix it and so he has let it sit and he bought a new truck. Well this December the owner died so his wife is selling everything like the house and all the stuff in the yard. I talked to her and she said $400 and i asked $250 to $300 and she said $300. I would like to try and grab it for around 100 to 150 though. The body has been hit right behind the drivers side door but not to bad (didn't get the door and didn't get the bed, in between). The front left fender has been hit pretty bad, it can't be fixed just needs a new panel. I would just leave it as is and beat out what I could. This truck is not to be made pretty right now. Just a learning experience. Since I wrote the first post in a hurry, his is exactly what I wanted to say. First I want to pull the motor and tear it down. Is it hard to pull a motor and leave the tranny? If I pull this motor and tear it down to clean it up and out am I stupid? I don't have any specialty tools to do it really. I may have a piston ring clamp though. But is this gonna open a can of worms that a kid who has only torn down lawnmower motors before can't handle? (I plan on taking pictures of every step so I can know exactly how to put it back together. And how hard is the timing mechanism to work with when I put it back together? Is there any special tools needed to pull the front end out and put a new axle in? And will any D30 work? I will probably want to lift it (if I have the funds) while I got all of this taken apart. Are the parts hard to find to lift it or for anything on this vehicle for that matter? And what are the gear ratios for this truck? And how hard is putting a TC on? Do all have the ability of taking the 2wd housing or will I have to buy a whole tranny? I know this is a long post with many questions. I have tried getting onto Comancheclub.com but the have yet to respond to my registration. I appreciate all the help given and all the help to come. I promise an amazing build thread (well a well done build thread) if I can get the pointers I need if it is even worth it. If you need more info on the truck to help me out I hope to find out soon. Just ask me and I will try and tell you. Thank you! Could anyone hit up a build cost? I mean just the trans case and front axle. Work done by me. Part numbers are also very nice :dunno: These are some posts off of Jeep forum in which I posted. Pete M said to come here and told me basically this is MJ heaven and yall were the perfect people to talk to. Any help is greatly appreciated.