Salvagedcircuit

Yeah! I goofed. I should be able to use the pinion yoke from the liberty rear setup and then just either buy a shorter driveshaft, have my current MJ rear driveshaft shortened or live with a few inches of lift

Exactly. I am going to keep my rear axle for now, replace the broken parking brake cable and pass inspection. Then I'm going to keep an eye out for a 3.55 KJ rear axle, have a correct length drive shaft made and do the swap then. Last thing, what is the spline count for the KJ rear axle? Will I be able to shorten my current driveshaft or will it not be able to mate with the KJ differential housing? Thanks!

I received the "DEA A2883" mounts in the mail a few weeks ago. I'll keep it short: I returned them. The photos here show the mounts as they arrived, new in the plastic bag. They were never installed. While they look close to the the 90s+ mopar parts, the fit and finish is very poor. The mopar ones have stamped "made in canada" with the chrysler star on them. There are no stamps of origin or insignias anywhere on these engine mounts. The rubber looks newly formed into a warn mold. The edge finish is very frail and jagged and is reminiscent of cheapo tires. Also, the smell was a dead giveaway: it smelled like harbor freight. That off-gassy smell of a cheap labor produced rubber part. The durometer of the rubber does not seem that high. I was able to press my thumb into the rubber portion of the mount about 1/16in. While that is not exactly a repeatable measurement, and my thumb should displace the rubber a little, it should not deform that much considering the weight of the engine should place a considerably larger downward force over a 2in x 4in surface rubber area. Besides this, I ordered a "DEA A2883" mount and received an omni5 mount. It's possible that all the mounts listed here are identical and of identical quality. I returned this. If your last resort is to buy these, buy the cheapest one you can find. No sense in spending $30 on $5 cheapo mounts.

Thank you for the clarification. I corrected my above post. Sorry been looking back and forth at axles, I had to resort to excel to sort possible combos I'm going to sift through the 1988 MJ service guide tomorrow and compare the rear axle length of MJ vs KJ vs 2000 explorer 8.8.

You sir are awesome. Thank you very much for the input. I plan on visiting local junk yards and doing a drive shaft spin test before I remove the rear axle

My axles are 3.55. I think 3.55 should be fine for normal driving. I don't plan on going above 30in tires with this. I checked car-part and there seems to be a bunch of 3.55 KJ rear axles from 2005-2007. I'm going to check rotor sizes on orileys to see how comanche front / teraflex rear kit / liberty rotor sizes compare

This is exactly what I was going to ask you! You previously mentioned: What entices me about the KJ rear end is that it includes discs and its the same 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern. My two concerns are: Will it make the wheels sit too far out of the wheel wells? I plan on running OEM 10 spoke or pizza pie style rims. I only plan on daily driving this and occasional towing. Not planning on wheeling. Maybe my next one :D. Will the liberty discs clear the factory 15in factory comanche/cherokee rims? I am a sucker for OEM period correct rims. I don't know why. The designers got it right. I have been wanting to put rear discs on my comanche because the rear drum shoes are nearing replacement. I went ahead and grabbed a teraflex 4354410 kit since I have non c-clip D35 rear axle, but I decided to return it because my press broke and dang its a lot of work for not a lot of gain. I realize that the KJ rear axle is not bolt-on for the comanche, but It seems the MJ metric ton rear axles have reached unicorn status. I just want to minimize time spent fiddling and the KJ route looks the least fiddly other than finding the stock MJ rear D44. This all ties into track width. I noticed my comanche is drastically different in the front and rear. The front tires stick out 2-3in while the rear ones are flush with the tire well. I have removed the tires and rims and there are no spacers or adapting plates on any axle hub. Is this normal? I'd prefer the wheels to be close to flush with the wheel wells. The front's are a bit too cheeky for me. My comanche came with barely used Dick Cepek 31X10.50 tires and procomp 15in tires. The wheels are too big for my tastes and look strange because of the reduced backspacing of the procomp rims. I'll be selling these soon after I find an OEM set. The only suspension related changes made look to be the added 2.25in plastic spacers to the front coil springs. The rear leaf springs are below the axle and it does not look like a pack was added. There are shackles on the leaf springs but they don't look extended. Thanks a ton for all the input guys!

Curious, is the XJ dana 44 axle the same overall length as the MJ dana 44? I want to be able to run the stock 10 spoke or pizza pie rims, and it doesn't seem that any other axle will allow for this without a lot of modification. -ford 8.8 rear axle will need perches, shorter length, has 3.55 gearing option. -Chrysler 8.25 axle not much better than dana 35 non c clip, needs perches, spline count conflict -wagoneer Dana 44 axle has wrong wheel hubs (6 bolt), needs different perches etc... Not wheeling, just driving and occasionally hauling Thanks!

Whatt. That doesn't look like a stock option to me...

You sir are awesome! I just ordered the rear disc brake parts I needed. Sweet. Thanks again!

Awesome thread! Did you mean the OEM 10 spoke OW1402 alloy rims and the OEM 5 spoke OW1512 alloy rims? https://www.originalwheels.com/jeep-wheels/comanche1990rims.php I am thinking of doing this conversion next weekend and It would be great if the stock 10 spoke rims cleared the disc brake setup. Thanks a ton!

Man this thing is absolutely righteous. That grill and the rear glass louvers pushes it right over the top. Nice job!

Those are all great options, but I do not plan on rock crawling. I plan on daily driving my comanche and it would be nice to minimize vibrations. The brown dog / more / stinky fab / ironman mounts are all the same mcmastercarr cylindrical rubber bushing in a tube mount. I need something that dampens more, which is why I'm after the original style mounts. I'll update this thread when I get the dea mounts in.

Some of the photos of the DEA A2883 mounts on ebay say "made in canada" I will report back on the forum with photos when I get my mounts in, hopefully in a week or so. I'm trying to maintain a spreadsheet of parts names, part location on vehicle, mopar cross ref numbers and purchase locations. You know, in case I end up desperately needing an excuse to grab a short bed to fill out the flock

Thanks for the input! That's good to know. I called a few smaller jeep dealerships and they were more helpful than the large-corp conglomerate jeep dealer. it's a shame that the engine mounts were discontinued. Its a pretty essential item. I think I'm going to buy a set of DEA A2883 mounts and report back on the forum. In the mean time if anyone else has purchased similar looking mounts, feel free to chime in. I'd love to know how they have held up.

I already sent him a message. I'm just curious if anyone purchased the DEA A2883 style mounts and how their experience has been. Maybe it's close to oem? I sure hope so! I'd prefer my bones not to be rattled

Mine is 34 years old. I believe it sat for at least 2 years before I purchased it. The entire cavity below the filter in the air box was stuffed with a mouse nest.

Hey guys, I'm in the middle of finding replacement motor mounts and transmission mounts for my comanche, and it turns out the mopar engine mounts are officially discontinued. https://www.moparpartswebstore.com/p/42361739/52019201AC.html I called some local Jeep parts dealers in new york and they mentioned there are 2 left in stockin new jersey for $114 each. That's frankly insane and I don't feel like handing over my money to a bunch of block heads that refuse to give me mopar part numbers for "company policy" reasons. How does FCA allow this kind of behavior? Not providing OEM mopar part numbers? Insane. Engine mount dampener mopar# 52019201AC 52019201 52019201AB 52040267 Automatic transmission dampener mopar# 52002334 52003065 52003066 I have been looking up mounts for the past week and from my searches, it seems that the reproduction engine mounts, such as the crown automotive 52020018 mount and all of the derivatives on ebay and amazon, are terrible. From reading reviews and finding youtube videos, the rubber shears after about 6-12 months. Maybe the quality of rubber used is terrible or too low of a durometer. https://www.crownautomotive.net/Front-Motor-Mount/52020018.html I discovered something interesting in my searches. A company called DEA products makes a motor mount that looks incredibly identical to the mopar mount. It is called the "DEA A2883." I don't know if this mount shares the same fate as the other cloned mounts but it looks suspiciously similar to the engine mounts listed on mopar parts sites. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dos-a2883 It also looks suspiciously similar to the Omix-Ada 17473.11 Engine Mounts https://www.amazon.com/Omix-Ada-17473-11-Engine-Mount/dp/B000FPY56K Has anyone successfully installed this mount and has it failed on them? I'd love to know. I would really like to not have to reinstall motor mounts for a few years at least Thanks guys!

Update: The video above showed a rear 89 cherokee rear axle. The rectangular bolt pattern on that axle is 2" x 3+9/16". I was under the impression that the XJ rear axle is identical to the MJ of similar generation. Something interesting on the Quadratec website for the teraflex kit mentions: "The years between 1987 and 1991 are the dark years where anything is possible from Jeep, so check the bolt pattern with the drawing before ordering a kit. " Is it possible for my bolt pattern to be different? Even though I definitely have a non-c-clip rear axle, is it possible that my bolt pattern is not rectangular? Here's some photos to explain the differences. I went ahead and measured the rear of the drum brake and it turns out my original hunch was correct. I have the rectangular axle bolt pattern, 2" x 3.35." I wonder why quadratec labeled 87-91 as the dark years? Update 2: This right here is why I jointed this awesome place! @WahooSteeler has already solved my problem, it just took me forever to find the answer. Teraflex actually sells the correct backing plates separately. Thanks a ton guys!

Hi Cruiser! Thanks for the input. Unfortunately, I have found that the backing plate bolt pattern on the ZJ rear disc brakes do not match the backing plate bolt pattern on the non-c-clip rear axles on my comanche. The youtube video above shows it. The rear disc backing plate was from a Zj and needed to be drilled and modified to fit the non-c-clip rear axle. I checked several ways and I am nearly 100% sure that I have non-c-clip rear axles :/ I'm looking into the teraflex disc brake conversion kit, but it seems I would be locked into rotors and pads from teraflex for the life of the vehicle. They don't list any other alternative source of pads for when they wear out. seems kinda silly. Thanks for any input!

Hi. I've been itching to do a rear disc brake conversion on my 1988 Jeep comanche, but I have held out until I have completed my research on brake conversions. My comanche has a rear dana 35 non-c-clip style axle. Mine has the bolt access hole in the brake drum axle flange, and I can see the retainer plate and bolts behind it. Its definitely a c-clip axle. My use case: My comanche is my work truck. I plan on picking up building supplies, towing and various other truck activities. Not planning to rock crawl with it. I'm trying to improve brake response and reliability and to me it makes sense to switch over to disc brakes. At this point, the vehicle is 34 years old and still has the original rear corrugated brake lines, stock drums, stock front disc brakes, dana 30 front axle, dana 35 rear axle and the stock brake booster. It's at the point where it makes more sense to replace components than to refurbish. I plan on making my braking system reliable because I would like to make this my daily driver. You just don't see any of these on the roads anymore by me and I would like to change that. However, the non-c-clip axle is throwing me a curve ball. There are not many bolt-on disc brake options for the trapezoidal bolt pattern on the retainer plate that is used on the XJ and MJ from '84-90. The only one I could find is from teraflex, the Teraflex 4354410: https://teraflex.com/1987-90-yj-1984-90-xj-rear-disc-brake-conversion-kit.html My question to you guys is this: is it easier to remove the entire rear axle from my MJ and install a ZJ rear axle? The ZJ has a standard trapezoidal hole pattern on the retainer plate and it opens up a lot of disc brake upgrade options. I have seen nickintime's guide on 84-90 xj rear brake adaptions here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5IDOZz3fo4&t=9m36s and its a bit more how-you-doing than I'd like. Are there any other axle swaps I should look out for? Sure, I'd love to swap for a larger axle like a dana 44, but I don't know how lucky I will be at the junkyards. luckily a few local junk yards still have some Zj's and Xj's which is great. Any input would be great! Thanks!

Thanks! I forgot to check there For clarification, the 84-86 gauge cluster features a metal stepped smaller diameter concentric extrusion on the rear of the speedometer. This extrusion has a c-clip style mating which the later 87-90 gauges don't have. The later 87-90 gauges has a flush extruded speedometer mount which is geometrically simpler. Since mine is an '88 comanche, I am looking for the 87-90 gauge cluster. Excellent. Thanks. The image below shows the 84-86 cluster

My apologies, I meant speedometer. The speedometer is the one with the physical cable on the rear of the gauge cluster. Got ya. This is the specific gauge I am looking to buy. I just want to make sure I get the right cluster so I can diagnose my potential overheating issues. Does this one have the correct speedometer connector that would mate with an 88 Comanche speedometer cable? Thanks!

So If I get a full gauge off of ebay, Do I need to make sure the rear of the speedometer has a plastic fitting on it? Thanks.

Thanks. My PRND31-2 indicator is missing the red arrow. I have yet to remove the gauge cluster, so I'm hoping either the spring just came loose or the red lever fell off, but it could be anything at this point. Is there anyway to tell if the gauge in an MJ has the plastic or metal retaining cap on the speedometer without removing the gauge cluster from the dash? Is there a way to tell or is it just luck of the draw? I want to order one from ebay but I don't want to end up having to buy a different speedometer cable. Thanks!