Spinnakerblue89

Appreciate it, though I managed to obtain one from SMS Headliners a few days ago.

The metal tabs may need to be refashioned and attached, I might add. I'm sure it may not be a difficult task for those who can fab up whatever they need.

I wanted to put this out there for the world: Back in September, I came across a gray Pioneer at a scrapyard and I had the sense to snag the panel as I knew they weren't always easy to obtain. I still have it, and as far as I can tell, it is in tact. Point being, if a panel with its carpet is desired as a donor for reproduction by an able craftsman on this forum, or who runs a business and is interested in a donor piece strictly for reproduction, I am willing to donate it for a higher cause. Because restoring these old things isn't getting any easier.

Appreciate it!

Although I cannot be sure to the condition of mine; are these normally made from rubber/poly and are these known to break down and need replaced over time?

Haven't had the opp to try it out yet. I figure removing the carpet first-- it's all mangled in too many spots anyway, no use in me trying to save it-- and then if I have to, cut or drill the bolt out. 'Cuz it's more frozen than the permafrost of Hoth. It's gonna be my '93 ZJ all over again.

if -25° is warm to you, then it must blazing hot at 17° here in not-Hoth.

Boy oh boy, talk about reviving a dead topic? I thought I'd reply here as I never could find a detailed explanation on how to remove the seatbelts from the bench seat. "Remove sear belts" is pretty much it. Well it's actually not so bad but I want to expand for others who might have the same question as I did. Here's how I removed the seatbelts from the bench seat. The seat belts need to be pushed backwards through the cushion. But they won't fit because there is a plastic sleeve/escutcheon in the way. 1. Carefully pry up on the plastic sleeve by its edges. It took some force for me to pry on the driver side sleeve. They pop out and you may have to work at different sides of it. 2. Once popped, you can freely manipulate the seatbelt ends and the sleeve. 3. There may be a black plastic piece on the other side of the opening in the cushion. So reach underneath it pull down on it, move it out of the way, as it will make the task more difficult. Tugging on the seat belt near the floor may help. 4. Now free the seatbelt ends through the opening. Start with the sleeve: I had to pull them up a little and work a corner of the sleeve into the opening first. You'll get a feel for it, just be patient and push it all through as a unit. Tugging down at the bottom side of the seat belt will help you get it through. Bonus. Hope that the Torx bolt on the trans tunnel isn't frozen. I busted a T50 bit on one.

Hoth, that's funny! It's interesting seeing a sunroof in a Comanche. I personally wouldn't want one but I'm seldom disappointed with the craftsmanship that goes into the mods. My late father added one to his 1990 Ranger-- and incidentally, I used the cut out steel to repair floor boards in my ZJ. I noticed there was a posting by SMS headliners late the year last. I'll go back to it before I make any decisions.

I am finally getting around to ripping the interior out of the truck to replace the floorboards- so while I'm in there, I'm going to put in a headliner of sorts. When I bought my '89, there was no headliner at all, not even the board. I've scoured the internetz looking for replacement ideas. I'm left with one end goal in mind, but multiple ways to reach it. What's the consensus on using material such as cork board for the headliner board? Is there another alternative? I don't have access to a used Cherokee or another Comanche headliner either. Essentially I'll be using denim from worn out pairs of jeans of mine as material, and the back pockets would be used for map or document storage above. Since my truck is Spinnaker blue and the interior golden tan, I figured using denim for the material would look just fine and save on material cost, but the rigid back piece...? Unfortunately I don't have any Levi's, so I can't say this will be the unicorn Jeep Comanche Pioneer Levi's Edition.

It seems Chrysler decided to simplify the design when they reduced the total from 7 to 3 pieces then.

That must be a unicorn of sorts.

Thank you, Eaglescout, that summed it up very clearly. In what time period does the 21-slot fit in? early 80's Cherokee? Wagoneer? Fiatslug, I deeply appreciate the references. I'm wanting to swap in the black/argent grille you have on CMNCHE 2- I currently have CMNCHE 1's grill and it's past its prime to say the least.

So the front end of my '89 Pioneer truck is in need of a refresh. Panels and some light assemblies are so faded, worn, chipped, and even cracked that I think it's a good time while parked to replace it all. I've been searching online and comparing offerings- have noticed that some grills are reputed to only fit (for example) '84-'87, then '88-'89, '91-'96... Etc. I get the Cherokee grills should be fully compatible, I merely want to know if I can swap out my '89's cracked black grill with a black/argent one reputed to not be compatible with my my model year. I understand if I were to try a '97+ grill I may run into fitment issues, but won't all pre-'97 grills fit the same? On a related note, I'd like to add that I recently did the headlight harness upgrade, added Sylvania Silverstar Ultras, and replaced the awful Sunpie LED headlights from a PO with glass ones made by IPF (non sealed-beam, of course). So far, they are brighter than the Xenon headlights I had in my Escape! Wow what a massive diff! I included pics of the headlights at night so that if there is anyone wondering how the IPFs turned out, or any newcomers stumble upon this they can see for themselves. I do on occasion have people flash at me in the dark only to for them to realize it was only my low beams they were seeing. They may be aimed a bit too high, I concede, but with redoing the front end, it would be the ideal time to adjust them. Thanks, all. EDIT: Apparently the images show up messy, so unless anyone has suggestions as to why they would show up as vertical lines, I removed them for now...

So I just returned from vacation- thanks to everyone who provided input. It sounds to me like what I have put in will work okay, is that a correct assessment? I took the time to refresh the grounds diligently. Scraped paint, cleaned surfaces, I even replaced the eyelets on the ends of the grounds as the previous were getting oxidized and I know the grounds are not to be taken lightly on these suckers. I mean everything works fine, I suppose I'm just used to different outputs from the light assemblies on other vehicles. Heh? My ZJ and MJ are both similar now that I've compared the two. My Discovery 2 is also different as is my Ranger. The more ya know.

Update: So I went through my assortment of exterior light bulbs and just for the heck of it, I had some Zevo LED reds that I put in the brake light sockets, and now when I have them inserted, the turn signals across funky. Both the turn signals bulb and brake light bulbs illuminate on that side, happens for either turn signals. Is this a ground issue? Polarity-related? I had these in another vehicle that I took out before selling it and I don't recall there being any issues at all- but said truck was much newer. I'm not committed to the Zevos but hey since I had them, why not try it out.

Something to note: Their site claims that '84-'97 led kits are sold out, yet they still have '84-'01 kits? Either case, the most I would need is for the instrument cluster. Will those LEDs fit into the plastic adaptors on the back of the gauge cluster just fine? Edit: Spelling

Whaaaa!!! Replacement OEM style taillights? Color me intrigued! I'd much rather do that if they are of good fit and finish. My concerns with the Oracle setup was that they would leave something to be desired! Liking the green in your instrument cluster! That was done to my '88 Ranger and it is dim as all get out. I'll be digging into that one some other time.

I will have time to look all of these recommendations over. I have a few things I wish to do before diving into this, such as replacing mirrors and B-pillar lights— for which I have searched on here extensively and pretty much know where I'm going with it. I do agree overall that LEDs can be too white/blue for this vehicle. A natural/warm white is idea to me for at least the interior because it fits the time, and I have a honey tan interior and that being drowned in cool white/blue sounds like a nightmare on my eyes. Speaking of which, I have a follow up as this thread has given me another thing to consider. The original tail light lenses have seen better days, and I believe a hairline fracture has developed in one of them. I'm a huge fan of preserving original equipment but there's nothing I can do about lenses that so far as I know haven't been reproduced to original spec in what... 30 years? Suffice it to say, I'm cool with removing the tail light assemblies, cleaning them up, and boxing them up for safe storage until a day comes where they may be reproduced. My understanding is that Oracle has made a reproduction, albeit different-looking, with LEDS. The asking price doesn't bother me, would it be worth swapping out just to spare the originals from further deterioration? Cost is not an issue, again.

Htchevyii, My very limited understanding of LEPs is that the brightness is certainly more focused and intense, but also... More focused than even an LED. From your experience, would these be suitable for front end lights and interior use? Or would they fall under the too-direct/too-bright category? I'm glad that you brought them up, by the way. I'd darn near forgotten about them!

All, thank your for your suggestions.

Not referring to headlamps, I'm sticking with Halogens for that. So I have a number of bulbs both interior and exterior that have burned out. I will be replacing them soon, as I have now parked the Pioneer for the winter for work to be done on it. My main question is: Being as old as this truck is ('89), should I stick with standard incandescent bulbs or swap with LEDs? Yes I'm aware of the energy savings which really don't matter much since I'm not going to load the truck up with a sound system and a thousand other electronic gadgets. I don't exactly buy the claim that LEDs last longer, either. But they are brighter... I guess at the core of my question is: Do these older electrical systems have any issues running a bunch of LEDs? Not exactly apples to apples but my 2015 Escape actually had an issue running all LEDs and I've heard older vehicle electrical systems can run into issues with this, specifically because many LEDs continue to draw a little bit of power for a short moment after shutting off. I'd love to hear feedback on this. :)

Hey I have the same year, trim, engine, and tranny MJ as you do! So I haven't actually replaced the sensor for my MJ yet but I have for my 1993 ZJ. I don't know if they are the same as what is used in the MJ but I used an NTK EH0245 from RockAuto. If there is one thing I have always practiced with sensors and electronic components; never go cheap. You get what you pay for, and getting lucky is never a good bet to be placed. NTK is a very reputable brand, and I believe they are a sub brand of NGK (think sparkplugs). I use NTK when I can't get official Mopar branded items, which is increasingly common. I'd go with them. As to the more technical aspect of your question, I would rather let a more knowledgeable person answer to it.

Yeah I can do that if I return. A part of me wants to purchase the entire truck outright as it still has many usable parts, but my wallet doesn't like the sound of that currently, holiday season is right around the corner.

Just wanted to share this with everyone. Unfortunately I didn't think to take more than one picture as I was focused on grabbing a few parts from this and some for my '93 ZJ but... Dark Gray (Dover Gray?) '89 Pioneer 4.0 2wd Automatic column shift Short bed It still has most of its parts but I removed the instrument cluster, tps, speedometer 34 tooth gear, and I grabbed the carpeted panel from the rear of the cab+ the hardware that attached to it and the gray panel above it as I know those are difficult to find. When I got to it, the front fascia, headlights, IAC, radio, and steering column were taken. Anywho, this was found in Fort Wayne at Shafer's pick-your-part. There is still plenty of it to be picked apart.