Naterenfo1

When I bought the truck, the owner had these reverse flood lights installed on it. Basically it had one of those stupid clips on the end of it, that attached directly to the reverse light wire on the tail light. And the base of the light was the ground, through the vehicles bumper. (so basically, one wire came out of the light) if you are going to splice into the reverse light, I suggest doing it the right way. Either make a hard mount that branches off into the two lights (one for the reverse tail light power, one for the flood light) or just use some good ol fashion heat shrink tubing with the two cables. the connecter the owner put on caused my reverse light wires to rust out and fall apart. good luck!

Thanks ComancheCounty- good info and answered all of my questions! thanks for your time!

Alexandria Technical College. I am in first year Diesel Mechanics. That might also be a good idea- I did like the 3.4L camaro swap though. That seemed like alot less work haha. I don't exactly have a decent shop to use... I basically have a drive way at my place. Thinking about renting a space from a rent a center or something like that so I can work on it in the winter, and store like a jack and stands

That is a pretty good bracket design! I will probably download that, print it and test it out with some cardboard to get a decent shape. I am basically planning on using a rectangular tubular piece of 5/16" 2"x4" piece with some welded on clevis shackle mounts that would be 1\2" thick. I drew up a prototype at work today, and am going to see if I can put it into an adobe illustrator file. Basically I need a bumper I can hook a tow-bar to, and pull to school to fix random things. seeing as that's where the majority of my tools are. I will see If I can get this idea to fly with Brad or Chris for doing some cutting and welding in the diesel shop. I also ordered an auto darkening welding mask today! :banana: -Nate

Just read the entire thread. EXCELLENT WORK! way better than my poser rattle can camo paint job for sure! I have many many questions for you. You also have to show me how you fabbed those bumpers! they look very, very nice. Also: How did you make those mounts for the light bar? Looks like some custom bracket was put on after the original grand cherokee rack was added. I just decided to pick up a cherokee sport rack, and cut it down a bit so I can mount it down on the roof and have an "adjustable" light bar. What kind of fitment issues did you have with the addition of the 4.6? what about the tranny? obviously the rear end was replaced, and what about the driveshaft? any mods needed for that? once again, great work! -Nate

That looks really really difficult! do you have a posting on how you removed all of that? I pretty much have to do this as well because I have some wires that have been eaten away by mice. Looks good! -Nate

Well, seems as though the electrical issue is a fairly serious rat/mouse infestation problem. I found 4 rats nest's hanging out behind the left rear tail light, and behind the radio. They have been chewing at the wires for what seems like quite some time. I removed the nests, and am now trying to figure out why basically nothing works at all. All fuses are good. and the right rear brake light works, and the heater works too (well, turns on anyways) the left rear has new bulbs in all but the reverse light, which has no bulb. and the right rear has all good bulbs except the reverse light bulb which is also missing. I think the wires have been munched away in the steering column? I am also getting power to the fuse block, i used my multimeter and checked every last fuse. 24/26 of them have 12.75 volts coming to them, and the other 2 have 5.89 volts. Anyway, here's some pics! And finally, after nearly completing its new paintjob..... Taa daaa! Anyway, also began dropping the oil pan today, and realized how hard it is to do without Jackstands. So my next project will be to weld up a front bumper, for which I can use to tow this to my school to get work done to it. Also wiring up a special harness which will be a female 4 pin trailer hookup to the front, connecting to the blinker/brake light relay so I have working tow lights! So if anyone has an awesome front bumper build write up, or knows of a favorite, any links or forwards would be very helpful! I know I have seen a couple write ups for rear bumpers, but I need a Front! -Nate

Bump.

Hello Everybody! :wavey: My name is Nate, and I am the new proud owner of an 86 4wd 2.8L manual 5 speed Comanche. I have always wanted a jeep, found one on craigslist for $450 and bought it. it has plenty of problems, But I am currently a Diesel Mechanic student and was looking for a decent project offroad truck. Anyway, I have several problems that I could use some help on, and some questions that hopefully the compiled minds of Comanche Club can figure out. Here's the things I would like to do to the Comanche within a 2 year period 1. 4" lift kit (junkyard lift) 2. Roof mounted Light bar 3. Bull bar/ Brush guard (not the one with the pieces that protect the headlights) 4. Engine Swap So I know theres a way where you can get most of this stuff from a junk yard, like the lift kit, but I wasn't too sure how? I heard installing f-150 coils in the front, with f-150 shocks gives you a pretty decent lift, but what about the rear? and the steering stabilizer? what year f-150? Is there a junk yard sport rack type thing that could be used to make a roof mounted light bar? anything that anyone has tried? Good place to pick up a Brush Guard? (reasonably priced?) Good engine swap recommendations that should bolt up alright with my Tranny, and work well with the other drive train components?, or what type of drive train swap would be involved? I Heard a 4.3L from a Sonoma works well, but wasn't sure if that information was valid. And also, I have a pretty good list of problems, that came with my purchase. 1. any aftermarket floor pans? Mine are almost completely gone and rusted through. 2. How hard is an oil pan gasket to replace? mine blew just yesterday driving down the road. 3. Play in steering, a good couple inches of steering wheel travel for sure! Any good recommendations on how to eliminate this? 4. LOTS of problems with electrical blinkers, tail lights, headlights, instrument cluster, basically nothing works. That should be just about everything, besides all this nonsense, the jeep has been absolutely wonderful besides that! the day I bought it, I took it down some VERY low maintenance roads and had an absolute blast. Jeeps are everything I thought they would be and more! (especially comanches! ;) ) Any and all help is appreciated! Also, I was told there was a way to cut out the "kick panels?" and weld in some steel rectangular tubing to use as rock sliders? can someone point me towards that post? Thanks alot guys!! -Nate