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Well, that makes sense, and a clean tank won't hurt anything either.

I'd do all that before I worry about something more complicated. Pulling the tank seems like a bigger to-do than a tune-up, unless you are absolutely sure the tank needs a cleaning.

Get better, my man. Glad to hear you're not dead. We'll be prayin' for ya.

Another option if a D44 is hard to find is a Chrysler 8.25. It's not quite a D44, but it's heftier than a D35, and loads of XJ's came with them.

When was the last time a basic tune-up was done? Plugs/wires/cap/rotor, air filter, etc.

1986 Jeep Comanche 2.8 5-speed 2wd D35 Longbed The build date sticker is long worn off - can't read a thing. It will meet its end here in Phoenix AZ, but who knows where it started life. It looks reasonably clean, but every panel has rot. Bed, fenders, gate, floors - it's all bad. It's probably all fixable, but given the in-pieces state of the drivetrain, I don't really think it's worth it. It came with a cargo light, but the light fixture was gone. The cargo switch, tail lights, buckets, dome lights, dash bezel, radiator brackets, and the grille/associated hardware will live on in my Comanche and others on the board. Most everything else was bad though, and my connection at the junkyard will pay better if it's reasonably complete, so I left a few things on it for other Phoenix-area scavengers. Current owner: Ecology Auto Parts, in Phoenix AZ.

I briefly entertained visions of a black interior swap, but I don't see too many blue ones and I rather like it, so I think I'll keep it.

Sorry, but I just can't get behind the Waggy. Actually, behind it is where I'd like to be, so I don't have to see it. :D I like 10-slots and 97+ fronts better.

Someday I'll repaint my MJ white, but I'm planning on doing the old "Rustoleum and a roller" job.

Well, I'm now the proud owner of a Comanche with (admittedly, non-matching) bucket seats! The old bench fabric was in pretty decent shape... Until you get up to the top. Not to mention, the driver's side cushion was rather severely uneven, resulting in a pretty uncomfortable drive. Now, feast your eyes on the garish combination of blue and "spice" interiors! My next project will be fully pulling the carpets up and taking care of the rust on the floors. That was supposed to happen today, but I needed the truck put back together for work tomorrow. It will have to wait until I have a good full day off, instead of a short afternoon. Here's a couple of preview shots. Are you Northerners jealous much? :D

Aha, I seem to have found a DIY guide for exactly what I'm trying to do. Link, in case anyone is searching. http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/view ... f=9&t=8093

So, I'm working on putting the buckets from my '86 parts truck into my '89 that currently has a bench. The front bracket on the driver's bucket is pretty rusty, but probably salvageable with enough grinding. The brackets on my bench are pristine, and the rest of the brackets on the buckets will clean up easy. Two questions. 1) Will the brackets from the bench fit on the buckets? They look the same to me, and it seems unlikely that Jeep would bother making two different sets of brackets. 2) It looks like the brackets are held to the slide rails by a set of studs - can I just grind these out, then get some good bolts and bolt the good brackets onto the bucket? I'd sure hate to introduce rust onto my so-far rust-free truck if I can avoid it.

Thanks Pete. It has a few dings and dents, but I've dodged the dreaded rust bullet, so that's a major plus.

Yeah, it's apparently an auto trans. Thanks for the info - you guys are so full of knowledge. :bowdown: It's tempting to try and pick up a set like this, or this 8.25 http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/pts/2161602833.html for future upgrading, but how hard is it really to find all this stuff at once? Part of me says it would be a lot easier to find a wrecked XJ and pull everything at once, rather than putting it together piecemeal. I'm not a wheeler so off-road durability isn't a huge concern, but I also see no reason to replace junk with more junk. For a DD, what kind of real differences would I see going from my 3.08 D35 to a 3.55 Chrysler 8.25? I know that prices vary widely based on location and condition, but for an 8.25 and whatever would have come with it as a front axle, what would be a fair price? I assume that the read XJ driveshaft would be of no use, but would the front one fit?

Found a set of axles on the local CL that I may try and pick up. The seller is not a man of many words, and all I've been able to get out of him is that they are "off of a 1996 Cherokee and they are Dana 408.69010-6." He's also selling an automatic transmission, presumably from the same truck. So, my guess is that he's selling a D35/D30 combo with 4.08 axles. How close am I, and what's a reasonable offer for those axles, if they have ~70k miles?

This is the rig I got back in September. Our camera was broken until recently, so I don't have a lot of pictures of things I've done so far. It's a 4.0/Peugeot/2wd, so basically nothing exciting, but it runs and drives ok and gets decent mileage, so I can't complain. Things I've done: -Replaced clutch master cylinder -Replaced rear main seal and oil pan gasket -Did a general tune-up: distributor cap/rotor, new plugs/wires, new air filter, etc. -Jerry-rigged an old cd player into the cut-up wiring. The tires (Falken Landairs) were almost new when I got it, which was nice, but the spare was all dry rotted, so I swapped it out with the one brand-new tire that came on my parts truck. Today, I swapped the 7-slot for the 10-slot from my '86 parts truck. I think I like how it looks, but we'll see. I'll probably swap all the chrome stuff over, and then paint all the faded gray stuff from the '89 black. Here's some pics of the old girl. Right after I brought it home: Old 7-slot grille: New 10-slot grille: For the future, I've got a set of buckets from the '86 to drop in there, once I'm done grinding the rust off the brackets: Other future plans include a bedliner, cleaned up interior, and hopefully a 4x4 swap. 2wd is not a huge drawback here in AZ, but my wife has designs on moving us back up to Washington State, so I might make a 4wd donor Cherokee a priority once we get settled in up there.

I swapped the 10-slot chrome grille on my '86 parts rig to my '89 DD. Still pondering whether I like the chrome look enough to swap everything else over. Before: After:

An expert troll, if I've ever seen one.

I found it under the dash on my parts truck, but I have no idea what it's for.

I thought that was the whole idea of jackstands? Just use the jack to get it up and down, and let the stands hold it? Or am I doing it wrong? :hmm: I use a little goofball of a 2.5 ton jack I got from Checker in a pinch. It doesn't lift especially high, but I've had it almost 2 years, casual usage, and for the ~$30 I paid, I have no complaints. It didn't like lifting the rear end of the parts truck, with the motor in the bed, but you can't expect too much when you only have two feet of leverage.

Ok, so I'm a complete newb at anything electrical. Do any of y'all have recommended reading to familiarize oneself with electrical diagnosis and use of a meter? The manual that came with my meter reads like the manufacturer just plugged the Chinese into Google Translate and printed the results, so it's no help.

I'd poke fun for putting a sub in a Hyundai, but I rolled with a 10" sub and a huge amp in my '95 Caravan in college.

Glad the lights worked out for you. I've seen several tutorials on painting the trim black - that would look especially sharp if you painted that lower section black as well. And that bedliner... man that really cleans the truck up nice. :cheers:

I called the dealership, and the guy said that the CMC is no longer available from the factory. I got one that was $30 from AutoZone, with lifetime warranty. It's working fine so far.

Aha. Thanks for the clarification.