Doc Payne

How does one go about making that conversion?

Do you have a link or picture of this cover? I’d love to do the same. Rewiring that whole panel was not fun and I’d rather not ever do it again.

Clutch job has been complete for a few weeks, forgot to post an update. The flywheel was definitely due for a resurface. A local trans shop got that looking good as new. Since getting the slave replaced, I noticed some fine black debris suspended in my clutch fluid in the master cylinder. I’m also getting some intermittent loss of clutch pedal action range. Those two things together make me think the rubber portion of the fluid line going from the master to the slave may be failing. I’m going to get a new one on order. While the exhaust was apart I took some time to replace the muffler and some straight sections that were falling apart, sounds much more quiet now! And most recently, the radiator has sprung a leak where the plastic tank is clamped on at the passenger side. So I’ll be replacing that soon too.

I may end up trying to do this as well.

Yep, already went through this and rewired the entire fuse panel. So I’m keeping a very close eye on it.

This week’s Comanche update: clutch pedal went flat coming off the interstate on the way to work. Clutch master is empty so I’m guessing the slave cylinder gave up. The master is new and lines are dry going to the bell housing. I’ve ordered a new LUK clutch kit and slave cylinder. I’ll have a local shop resurface the flywheel.

Oh no way! That’s awesome. Yeah Ian is a cool dude and did a killer job with the bumper. Need to get it back into him once I get the rear stiffeners done so we can add a couple more supports.

If anyone cares to see my other rig, the LS XJ, here it is. It’s a 2001 with an LQ4 6.0, 4L80 trans, NP241C t-case, ford 8.8 rear factory LSD, Dana 30 front with spartan helical LSD & WJ knuckle swap with Stinky Fab Aluminum steering, 4.10 gears, ~5.5” lift, frame stiffeners, icon rebound pro beadlocks, 35” BFG KO2s.

Mitigated some fire hazards this week with the battery cables. Since I plan to keep this truck stock, I just went with 4AWG welding cable. Added in a mega fuse off the alternator cable. Before: After:

When I purchased this truck it was a non-runner. The previous owner had claimed that fuel pressure before the filter was 3-4psi. So as soon as I got it home I pulled the pump and found this disaster. Replaced the pump with a Delphi FE0054 from Amazon which came with the hose, O-rings, and new wires as well. Installed it and the truck fired right up!

I was having some electrical gremlins inside the cab and went searching. Found a leaking clutch master and very corroded fuse panel. Replaced the clutch master to solve the leak. For the fuse panel, I pulled a replacement from an 88 Cherokee from the junkyard. I ordered a bunch of bus bars and single connectors from connectorkits.com and went to work refreshing every single wire. I found a broken wire going into the dome fuse and repaired that while I was there. I also had the C100 connector apart, thoroughly cleaned out all the black tar stuff and replaced the firewall gasket with one from Casper Electronics here in CO. These repairs fixed my brake light and turn signal issues, as well as my dash lights. The headlight switch still needs replaced as it has to be turned all the way counter clockwise for the dash lights to work. My interior courtesy lights are still not working, and neither is the radio. So I’ve still got more work to do.

Same! I’ll probably keep them.

Well for now, leave it stock and use it to haul my dirt bikes around. I’ve already LS swapped my Cherokee and not sure I wanna go down that road with this one or not. A TDI swap has crossed my mind, I like the idea of having the excellent fuel economy. May just end up putting a 4.0 in. Who knows, that’s a ways down the road. Highly likely to at least get it to be 4WD. I can’t even get it up my driveway when it snows with its current 2WD state . Eventually would love to get the paint redone. I love the retro look.

Will do! Keep forgetting to get that done while I’m at home so I can get the numbers off the truck.

Here’s the start of the blog that I’ll be using to track everything that happens to this little truck. I picked it up in Fort Collins, CO on January 24, 2026. It was not running and the PO told me it was likely the fuel pump. Loaded it up, headed back towards home. About an hour away from home the snow picked up, making for a sketchy drive, but made it safely.

Oh I’m quite used to it after LS swapping my Cherokee. It’s just part of the game. It’s all about the reward when you finally figure it out!

Thank you! Only took about 3 weeks to track down the problem .

Wanted to update this as I’ve found the issue, and have yet to come across a similar post with it. Here is the injector I pulled out. Someone had unscrewed the center post screw and this was allowing excess fuel flow. I screwed it back in and the rich smell was gone, and the O2 sensor started fluctuating between 0-1v as it should. I ended up replacing the injector since I wasn’t sure on the calibration anymore. I went with a GM TBI injector from a 1990 s10 Blazer 4.3L V6. All seems to be well now! I did also have a faulty MAT sensor. The wires had started to fail where they enter the sensor and when I wiggled them a bit, the resistance went to open. So I drilled out the intake manifold hole to 9/16” and tapped with a 3/8 NPT. Used a GM air charge temp sensor (Standard motor products AX1) and it functions perfectly. Other notes for the next guy to come through. The 2.5l does not have a 5v reference at the O2 sensor connector output wire (gray on the 1989) like the 4.0 does. The 2.5 sensor only puts out a 0-1v signal when running.

Hi all. I’m working on a new to me 1989 Comanche, 2.5L TBI, AX5, 2WD. It starts right up every time, runs fairly smooth after replacing all vacuum lines, but is running very rich. Strong fuel fumes will burn your eyes with it running. Black sooty spark plugs. My situation seems to be the same as this previous post here. Oxygen sensor heater has battery voltage on yellow wire, 6 ohms between heater supply and ground, 0 ohms to battery to connector ground, and 0V on signal wire with sensor unplugged. My understanding is there should be 5V. The gray sensor wire has 0 ohms to ECU connector pin 35. When running, the oxygen sensor signal starts about 0.70v and increases to 0.94v and stays there (digital multimeter). Things I’ve checked per the 1989 FSM (have the full set) - grounds per cruiser’s tips - EVERY engine bay connector cleaned - Thermostat is new Motorad 195: previous had failed and wasn’t allowing engine to reach operating temp - MAP sensor function appropriate - CTS function appropriate - MAT: ~1600 ohms at operating temp when running and sensor unplugged. Pulled and used a heat gun directly on sensor element and it immediately responded by dropping below 100 ohm. So I believe the sensor works but it’s getting cooled by the excess fuel. - TPS: this one also might be a problem, adjusted WOT voltage to 3.65v but at idle it’s 1.2v which seems high. Am I correct in my thoughts on the ECU oxygen sensor circuit being faulty? I don’t have a spare to swap in, I’ll have to purchase one.