chance_p

Fuel system was buttoned up today. I also swapped my steering box, motor mounts, charcoal canister, and vac lines. Tomorrow I'm heading to an all jeep junkyard to (hopefully) pick up some items. Some necessary, some upgrades I would like to make. Cluster with a tach for example. I'll report back with what I'm able to get.

Any way you could snag a photo of the clearance you have now between the motor/firewall? The only photos I can find here are ones where people went way over board with the hammer. I don't know why I feel like I should save the XJ, I doubt it will be of use to anyone in the future..

Unfortunately I am going to have to modify my firewall as it's the old style. My original plan was to cut out the firewall from the Cherokee and graft it into the Comanche but the Cherokee is so clean that I do not want to hack up the firewall. I was able to rebend the fuel lines from the XJ to work with the comanche. It would have been easier to retain the Comanche fuel lines, but that would have required me to splice the lines at the motor. This way I can retain the factory connections at the motor and do my splicing at the fuel tank where it's less likely to burn if it leaks. Here's a picture of the new sending unit and the old sending unit. I'm waiting on my fuel pump to get delivered today because I don't trust the airtex pump that came with the sending unit. I paid $35 for the sending unit on Amazon.

I finished removing the dash from the XJ. Also got the engine bay harness swapped over. Next up is pulling the big black HVAC box from both and swapping them over. I'll modify the firewall while those are out. Then swap the steering boxes, figure out what to do with the fuel lines, and then I can stick the motor in it! I'm hoping to be to that point by the weekend.

Hey thanks! What a coincidence, two very niche forums. I really hate to scrap this XJ shell, the only rust is a little behind the rear tires. Look at these floor boards. The pinch welds are even 100% clean.

Got the 4.0/aw4/231 pulled from the XJ today. Took about 5 hours to disconnect everything, label it all, and get it pulled. I also pulled the interior and wiring harness with exception of the dash.

I bought an 89 xj 4.0/aw4/231. 160k miles, no rust, 2 owners $700. I spent the day today removing the 2.8 from the MJ as well as all of the interior and wiring. I'm swapping over as much as possible from the XJ, and I'll splice the wiring for the fuel and tail lights into the factory MJ harness. Sending unit, carter pump, and new motor mounts are in route. Tomorrow I'm pulling the drivetrain from the XJ.

Firewall is good to know thank you. Happen to have a link to the modifications that are potentially required? Search yields a lot of talk but no photos. I'm planning on removing all of the Comanche wiring and then installing the XJ harness, gauge cluster, radiator, etc etc. I bought the truck knowing that the clutch has issues, and I'd prefer an automatic anyways so the 4.0 swap seems like the way to go for me personally.

The 2.8 that came in the truck is no good. I think I have settled on a 4.0/aw4 swap/231/30 swap. I found a 93 XJ that was in an accident but still runs and drives. Am I correct that all I should need to fabricate is a cross member, and then source a rear driveshaft?

Thanks for the link @eaglescout526 Intake gasket job is done. Had to redo the job because the rtv I used on the intake did not set up so I had to apply the stuff that came with the gaskets. Now it cranks but won't start (it did start for a few seconds the first time I cranked it, then sputtered and died). I may have screwed up the timing when I removed the distributor. Borrowing a timing light from a friend so I can verify all is well there. Carb is supplying fuel. Battery is on the charger. It is a little old, and cranking the motor for the compression test may have finished it off.

That is some great advice. I also regret letting go of some firearms in the past and won't do it again. Can someone share a link to the discussion about the black wheel? I can't find it in search.

No, unfortunately nothing was glaringly obvious. I could tell that the motor had had the gaskets replaced before, and that they were positioned perfectly, but nothing beyond that. I was really hoping to see something between a coolant passage and an intake port.

Very interesting.. maybe I'll be able to trade it for a non black wheel that is in better condition than mine haha. Lower intake gasket has been replaced. I stopped after reinstalling the valve covers. I'll finish up the job tomorrow and fingers crossed that was the problem!

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Regarding the black wheel, was that joke or is it actually a rare item? I put new plugs and fresh fuel in the truck and it fired up right away.. but there is a lot of white smoke coming out of the tail pipe. I ran a compression test on the motor cold (and dry). Numbers as follows. 2-111 4-103 6-109 1-105 3-115 5-119 Oil is not contaminated. Rear most plug on either side was wet after sitting for 20 hrs (seemed like coolant). I'm going to try replacing the lower intake gasket and see if that fixes things. If not, Ill have to decide on what to swap in asap.

Thank you. I started a thread with more photos here. https://comancheclub.com/topic/71047-1986-comanche-x/

Just bought this one.

More photos

Finally! I found myself a nice MJ. I have been browsing Facebook and craigslist for years (often daily) for a nice clean MJ with a long bed. 2 weeks ago I noticed one parked next to a barn down the road. I didn't have time to stop so I made a mental note to go back. Well a couple of days ago I stopped by and inquired. Long story short the PO pulled it out of his barn to install a new clutch and get it on the road to sell. After the clutch install, the pedal just goes to the floor. He got discouraged and let it sit... Until I showed up! I'm currently charging the battery and topping off fluids as I type this. Hoping to get it running before I diagnose the clutch issue. I plan to leave the exterior alone (other than some turbines and new tires), strip down the interior and give it a good cleaning. Then replace whatever is missing inside and use it as a daily to keep miles off of my JL wrangler. In the mean time I'll likely be looking for an xj with less than 150k on it to use as a 4.0 donor. For anyone wondering, I gave 1k for it as is.