sledmerchant

its going to be a daily driver for a while, eventually once I've gathered all the parts It'll be pulled off the road, converted to 4x4 and a built 4.0. Just need to keep it on road till then. Really appreciate all the input and advice

sounds like what I'm doing/did on mine. My Old jeeps an 89 4x4 xj I was running 235/75/15s on. I got a pair of MOOG Heavy Duty Coil springs at Oreilly's and put them on. They were noticeably taller than stock springs, I think about 1-1.5". I'm stripping all the front end parts out of the 89 now for my 2wd MJ.

actually not sure why, lol. Factory ones cracked, figured I might get more power & economy out of a less restrictive exhaust. With Gas prices going up I'm not in as big a hurry to build up a 6 to put in. Mostly just getting info at this point.

thanks, I've been thinking Pacesetter myself, mostly because of price..

Thanks, more info than I had... lol. Oreilly's down here shows the same part # on O.E manifolds for 86 as 91. I'm not worried about making the cat or exhaust pipes work, I'll probably cut the cat out anyway. I just don't wanna drop the coin for a header then wind up having to cut and patch it.

Ok, I've got an 86 2.5. 2wd. My original plan was to just do minimum to get it driveable while I gather parts to swap in a late model 4.0 and 4x4. The better I get the 2.5 running the more I like it and with current gas prices I'm thinking I'll just stick with it for a while. Anyway, I've got a cracked exhaust manifold. So far everything I'm finding as far as aftermarket Headers go are for 91 up. But Parts store shows same part #'s for 91 O.E Manifold as for my 86. Anyone have any "insider" knowledge that might help?

I've had the crud and works been crazy busy so I havent had time to play with the beast. But I've been checking her out a little here and there. Tinkered a little this past sunday. Seafoams some awesome stuff, lol. Put some in when I changed oil right after I got her and the more she runs the smoother she gets. Put a new air valve on and she's not blowing oil out of filler cap any more. Still got a lot of lifter noise back by the #3 cylinder so I'm pretty sure thats my problem. Front End is loose as heck, so I started stripping the Parts off my donor XJ. I'd just replaced everything not too long before I Parked it. I'm curious how much lift I'll get out of the Moog heavy duty coils its getting. Iirc they raised the XJ about two inches when I put them on. Pretty sure the slave cylinder is shot. Clutch is virtually non existent, Tranny and underside are coated in oil. My original plan was to put my ax15 and np231 in once I found a Dakota bell housing. But I eventually plan to put a 4.0 in and I don't want to shorten the driveshaft twice. Guess I'll drop the 4spd and see whats wrong. Need to get her running right so I can haul parts, lol.

I've been sick and crazy busy at work so havent gotten to play with it much. I repalced the Air Valve on back of valve cover and its quit blowing oil out of the Oil filler cap and dipstick tube. When I first got it and changed the oil/filter etc I put some seafoam in it. Now it seems like the more I run it the quieter it gets. I'm really thinking its a stuck valve/lifter. Got a Purty new Craftsman Torque wrench last nite. Guess I'll pull the valve cover and see how its lookin inside as soon as I get the time.

Its graphite, Duplicor wheel paint. Been a pain stripping the wheels they were beat.

as soon as I get it running right I'm headed to pull a part looking for axles thinking maybe a d44 or a chrysler just gotta decide what gears i want. i wanted more power but i liked the mpgs i got with the 3.07s in my xj. The 4 will be a dog with them but i'm gonna build a strong 6 for it so I'm not sure. Depends what I find.

thanks! :thumbsup:

sorry if this is a stupid question, but I can't find an answer. tag reads 1st line: 3 54 5316 - 2D ... 2nd line: 8953004517 I went to dana site but it wouldnt pull up there either. I'm thinking its a D35 with 3.54 gears?

Havent run a compression test, just pulled all the wires one by one till i hit the one that didnt cause it to run worse. I'ts pushing oil out where dipstick tube goes into block and around oil cap. pcv looks like it was just changed, i just got a new air valve? (the big valve thing that sits at back of valve cover). its not smoking only oil use seems to be whats being forced out at cap and dipstick tube. As far as i can tell exhaust leak is by the weak cylinder. On a positive note, gives me an excuse to buy a compression tester and more tools. 113k mi. looks like its been seeping oil out those places for awhile, probably why it was parked so long. as i said manifolds cracked and the cat's been replaced with aftermarket, mickey mouse install. Mostly just thinking and learning about what I have now, I've got an 89 XJ 4.0 and I know what fits and swaps in the 6, but no idea what years and models interchange on the 2.5, much less its quirks.

Just picked up an 86 long bed 4 cyl 4 spd. Its been sitting for a few years but low miles one owner. I've done the usual changed out plugs wires, cap rotor etc but it still has a miss. Fire going to all plugs (shoulda used my in line spark tester instead of my hand) woke me up! One cylinders dead. And I have a problem with blowby as well as a cracked exhaust manifold. Instincts tell me Ive got a valve problem. I'll get around to figuring it out this weekend. Which brings me to my question, how interchangeable are the Heads and manifolds on the 2.5's. I have no experience with them. trying to keep this fix as cheap as possible since I'm going to stuff a 4.0 in it eventually. Thanks

continued....... plan was/is to use these wheels with 235/75 15's until i get the front axle swapped and lift dialed in the way I want. I took advantage of the nice weather to crawl under and all over the truck to get a good idea what I'm working with. Looks like I've got a d35 rear with 3.54 gears, which means I may need to re-plan my 4x4 swap. The XJ donor has a 3.07 front axle if I remember correctly. The MJ's front end needs a lot of work, but I'd had a nasty case of death wobble in the XJ and had completely gone thru the front end so I was planning to just unbolt the control arms shocks etc and swap the entire assembly. Guess I'll be looking for the Explorer axle and a matching high pinion d30 a lot sooner than I'd hoped. After my experience with the XJ, I'm just amazed at how clean and relatively rust free the frame and underside of this truck are. This weekend I'll focus on figuring out why its missing.

well I didnt get much accomplished today, got 3 of the beat up wheels off the XJ painted before I ran out of Paint, lol.

I've got an old 89 XJ I bought for $600 years ago that got me hooked on Jeeps. Drove the wheels off it for a while and started fixing it up but got sidetracked and its been sitting for years. Anyway with what I wanted to do I'd decided to find a newer HO XJ or Grand to Re-start the project. I stumbled across this 86 Comanche on Craigs List, went by looked at it, it started ran, and very little rust so after a little haggling and $800 later I drove it away. Its an 86 Custom long bed, 4 cyl 4 spd 2wd. 113k on the odo. Body's straight and complete, very little rust (still havent pulled the rubber "carpet") Its supposed to be a "one owner", older gentleman bought it new, and its been sitting for a few years, after he passed away son inherited it and now I have it, lol. First step of course is to get the 4 cyl running right, got some nasty blowby and a miss. Not sure yet what it is. One cylinder is dead, fire going to it and all new plugs etc so either a valve or rings I guess. I'm not wanting to re-build the 4 cyl as I plan to stuff a 6cyl in it as soon as I find a 97+ XJ donor. Ultimately its getting converted to a 4x4 with the 97 up front end and HO 6cyl with the newer electronics. That leads me to my first question, I'm somewhat knowledgeable about the jeep 6 cyl's. However I know very little about the 4's. how interchangeable are the cyl heads on the 4's? I need to make a trip to the local Pull-a-Part for an exhaust manifold and may just pick up a head while I'm there. The cracked manifold and mickey mouse after market catalytic converter installation lead me to believe my problem is likely a cracked head or burned valve. Once its running right I'm pulling the front axle assembly, Ax15 and NP231 out of my 89 XJ, need to find a Dakota Bell housing at the Pull-a-part. I want to keep it driveable as long as possible while I rebuild and redo everything I plan on putting into it.