Far McKon

Thanks for all the info / feedback. Calling the shop today to sort out options / price on this.

Not sure what 'open' or closed is here. When it overheated, there was a valve ( by 'coolant reservoir') that was bubbling over. Does that explain?

Ok, I'll think about that one. Thx. I drove it about 10 min overheated, to get home / off the highway, then parked it a day. Then 2 nights later, I tried to limp it over to the mechanics (25 minute drive total). I drove 5 min at a time, then paused 10 to 20 to cool. It stalled out and would not restart 1/2 way there, so I got a tow. The mechanic mentioned part of the problem is the temp sensor was 'dry / in the "radiator muck"', so by the time it register too much heat, it was probably overheated a while. He did offer to try to just do the radiator swap + new head gasket, but he was pretty sure I would be back to him in a month or two for a full engine swap. Happy to get a 2nd opinion on that too. In hindsight, it was taking too much of a risk. At the time, I considered doing a flatbed to the mechanic, bit limping it over didn't seem crazy. :facepalm:

Hey folks; Erratic visitor, I read a lot more than I post. The TL;DR is that in this past heatwave my poor 'ol MJ overheated. Turns out the radiator was clogged with slime, and only about 1/3 of it was 'flowing' and couldn't cool enough on a over-100 F. day. My mechanic (that I trust pretty well) has strongly recommended a new engine. He cited a a re-manufactured engine at $3,500, for a total of $5,000 to $5,500 for engine, new radiator, install, etc. If someone has a minute, I'd love some advice: 1): Does that cost pass the sniff tests ? 2): Any other maintenance work that would be smart to loop into this? I don't have A/C, would it save money / be smart to get an A/C while doing this? C) In the worst case, if I can't get it repaired, what is a decent condition MJ with no engine (in Philly PA) worth to others? $1,000? $3,000 ? Nothing? Trying to figure out what to do here. I'm open to other ideas or other advice on this if anyone has it. (Not *my* engine. It's from another post. I put it here for reference if people want to suggest specific upgrades / fixes/ whatever, point-to things to do while doing the replacement, things like that.)

Thanks for the FYI @fiatslug87. My Jeep also has 2 VIN #'s(door doesn't match the windshield VIN # ). It appears to be a bit of a Frankenstein's monster.... I'll double check the details when I get it from the shop.

Hey folks; My Jeep ('88 6 cyl) as been hard to start / turn-over since I got it (2 years ago) Since that tree fell on it (Dec 2022[1]) it's running really rich, and just seems off. I took it to a shop for a check-up a month ago, and did a full oil chance. They did some testing, but just changed fluids, said to keep an eye on it . Since then, it's been still had to start, I smell gas when it's running, and it's always seems to be revving high. I took it back in, and they called to recommend a battery replacement, the whole distributor, and some cables replacement. Also, the distributor cap has a stripped screw (known issue) that needs to be re-tapped / fixed. The are asking about $1K for it ( $300 in parts, $700 labor) Can anyone weight-in the sanity of that price range? Am I getting screwed here,or should it cost about that ? Jeep on; - Far McKon [1] TL;DR: Dec 20th, 3PM : I was complaining about a rotten apple tree "too close to" the shed & cars. I was telling my fiancee I was going to "take that sucker down come sprint" while outside. Dec 20th 3:15 PM, Said tree, clearly outraged, attacked my Jeep, killing itself in the process, and barely missing the windshield & engine.

How is this not a Netflix series yet?

Thanks for the photos @saveevryjp1998 . I'm going to go dig into that tomorrow, and see what iinside my seat. IT seems to be an 88, but worth a look. I also now know what to look for if I go get one off the forums. Adding it to my checklist of things to dig around for.

Hey folks; Spring is in the air, so I'm digging out my tools, looking at what I can wrench on a bit. I happen to rather like my brain, but my MJ has a bench seat without headrests. I like the bench seat, and was looking to see if the MJ had bench-with-headrests, or if there was some way to retro-fit them. I'd guess you need some metal work or framing on the bench, for safety. I searched these forums (and google) for a bit, but I couldn't find better info, so I started a new thread. My bad if someone covered it here, and I failed to find it. 1) Are there stock MJ benches with head-rests? If so, how hard are they to come by (seems hard to me) 2) Anyone added head-rests to a MJ Bench before? And not like 'glued on' but more of "Will stop my brain from visiting the bed of the truck" type. Thanks.

@fiatslug87 Door VIN is "1J7FJ 26L9K L6166 23" . I don't see sign of original paint job, but I dig the white IT does need a bunch of scratch touch-up though. It is an automatic, with 4-wheel "shifter" in the floor, is that what "Automatic Floor Shift (pos#5)" means? I'll double check the VIN number. It was a sunny day when I setup insurance, and only had the front window vin. Maybe I got it wrong?

I ended up drilling 4 x a 5/8 sized bolt holes* in the top of the bed-walls to bolt the topper down. I just put the topper on, marked the spots, and drilled there. I was tempted to C-Clamp it just for the drive home, but the guy selling it was a mechanic, and was on that being the way to do it. - Far *I only drove in 4 bolt holes at the front/middle. Best I can tell, the butt end of the topper splayed out a bit over the 6 to 12 months it was sitting on the ground. it doesn't line up great the the bed near the tailgate, and there are gaps in the I'm going to C-clamp & ratchet strap it together, and tighten it every few days for a while (a week?) to get it back into shape before drilling in those last holes.

Had a good haul on Sunday. I managed to find a LWB topper for $200 out near Reading PA. Someone sold the Comanche to get a Gladiator , but the dealership didn't want the bed liner or topper. He had forgotten there was a bed-liner too, so he threw that in since the topper was covered in tree-snot. Topper is good shape, fiberglass and windows are all in looking good shape. Some of the rubber is shot, but that is fixable. It also has bad canopy hydraulic struts. Fixable too. It is a Leer, and sadly it took a couple of pilot holes to bolt it down to the bed. I hope drilling out those holes that was the right thing to do .

Ordered: - map-light (in the forums) - molding for door, windows (to reduce sound) (online cloud) - visors visor mounting (in the forums) - new windshield washer tank & pump (in the forums) - Just lucked into a LWB topper / cap (facebook marketplace) Needs: - dynamat - Headliner - ?

This is a thread covering upgrades, fixes, notes about getting my '88 Comache up to snuff as a daily driver and a road-trip wagon. About 1/2 is just going to be notes to self as I work on things. Starting Condition: - Running fine i6, it has very low body rust, and a lot of dents and dings. - The VIN on the door does NOT match the VIN in the windows. - No AC, fans barely work. Hell to drive in summer. - Paint on the bodywork is fine to great, but has a lot of DIY patched paint. Some patches done well, some rather badly. - No bedliner, bed - Passanger window regular busted 1/2 way down - Window/door seals are in crap condition - Bench seat, rugs, all in great shape. - Headliner missing, looks like a rat or mouse lived up there and someone took it out, from the shreads of crap - 4 WD works fine, tested it in both hi and low. - Hella noisy, like 90DB at 55/65 on the highway. Needs - No exhaust - Last inspection sticket is an '02 PA Inspection sticker (bought summer 2021) - Tends to death-wobbble in some potholes curves around 55. Doesn't do it over 55, or much over 55

Still trolling craigslist for a longbed topper, found this, thought it may be of interest... https://williamsport.craigslist.org/pts/d/elysburg-1987-jeep-comanche-dana-44/7361065867.html