LobsterThief

Here's a much needed update! Had some bad luck with the tranny; was definitely shot. Have since replaced it with another AW4. Now I've just gotta troubleshoot a bit of a power loss issue and I'll be golden :) All signs point to the cat; gonna check it tomorrow. Also decided to trade my buckets back for a bench -- they were a bit too high for me. Still to do: Find some rear fender flares that aren't insanely expensive Line the bed Fix some spots where the buffing wheel slipped off :fs2: My roommate helping me out with some painting Hard to these were the same rims at one point Before putting on the rear center caps and bumper corners Trans went out on the highway. Missed class and a date :mad: New calipers and brake lines Sydney approves Went to swap my buckets with Brandon for his bench seat. Hmm.. perhaps a lift is in order These pics are all a month old -- I'll post some new ones including the back (painted the pipe bumper and fabbed a license plate bracket) so I can do a side-by-side before and after shot. Also the interior :cheers:

Ended up swapping the tranny out. Was a mechanical problem.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/cto/2918676999.html

Gotcha. I live in Florida anyways, no snow here

I showed my Comanche to an older guy at my work. When I bought my MJ the previous owner had welded a nice solid pipe bumper to the frame in place of the stock bumper, which I presume was damaged. Anyways, the guy said that when he was younger people who put those bumpers on would fill them with concrete to put some extra weight on the (usually) empty bed to provide for better traction and control. There's a 99.9% chance I will not do this either way, but I thought it was an interesting concept. Does anyone see any value in doing this? Or is it just a myth? :cheers:

Bump! :wrench:

Ended up swapping the tranny out. Please delete, thanks

Some good info here! It's a 91 4.0 HO -- I bought it last year but just started using it as a DD. So far I've replaced all the filters, oil, trans fluid (auto), coolant, radiator, trans. cooling lines (had holes in em), CCV hose (to airbox), TPS and cleaned the throttle body. I'll put the rest of this stuff on my list!

Turns out the aux electric fan had a hairline crack in it, so once I hit 45mph or so the wind would push it into the power steering pulley -- which damaged the fan, cranked up the amps and fried the relays. They really should've put a bigger clearance between the fan and power steering pump. I had to jumper it to relay to get it home without overheating (I live in Florida) so I hope I didn't damage my ECU :( I got the fan problem fixed by replacing the fan but the Jeep's had a severe loss of power (and shifting problems) since that whole fiasco. Expensive lesson learned!

Is there a good way to test it with my multimeter? What's the acceptable range?

Every time I put a new relay in the fan runs for about 10 seconds (when engine is hot) and then there are burn marks on two of the relay pins. If I jumper the relay port (the ones going directly to the fan) the fan runs fine. I checked the connections inside the electrical panel and they seem good. I have a '91 4.0 HO. Any other spots to check? Thanks!!

I just started using my Comanche as my daily driver -- but I'm looking for a list of recommended stuff to do maintenance-wise after buying it (fuel filter, vacuum line inspection, etc.) Obviously I inspected it before buying it :)

Hey guys, My Comanche (6cyl automatic) is slow to shift to second until I drive for a few minutes and the engine warms up. When I bought it, I immediately had to replace the trans cooler line so I did drain out the old fluid and put new fluid in. The idle is kinda funky as well -- not very smooth. I was told it might be the TPS (the 4-wire one on the throttle body) so I tried to test it using the following procedure: 1. Turn the key to on 2. Disconnect the TPS connector 3. Read the voltage between A and D (the reference voltage) 4. Reconnect the TPS connector. 5. Back-probe read the voltage between B and D to see if it's 83-85% of the reference voltage. The problem is, I cannot back-probe the connector after reconnecting it since my leads are just smushing the connector's rubber and not making contact. I tried but the voltage I read through back-probing is 0 (I don't know if this is possible). I'm afraid of re-checking it and destroying the connector. My fluid level at hot, idling in Park is just above the FILL line on the dipstick (it's right at the curvy part of the dipstick) so I don't think the fluid is too full. Long story short, what are some good places to start checking? I've heard solenoids, TPS, fluid level, etc. I really don't want to throw random parts at it. Thanks!

Looking for REAR unpainted (grey) fender flares in good condition. Brackets not necessary. Thanks!

Hey guys, I recently painted my project MJ (almost done and I'll post pics in my build thread!) Anywho, there are some major dents at the bottom of the B-pillar that I simply could not get out.. now that the dent is de-rusted and painted I thought I'd install some full-length rocker panel guards to cover up the few dents that remain. To clarify, this is what I'm looking to do on my MJ (the rubber guard, not the steel rocker panels this guy installed): This guy used a rubberized spray but obviously that won't work for me -- I've found some rocker guards online but the whole set will end up costing me $120+. I'd rather make my own. Does anyone have any suggestions on materials and where to get them? Thanks! Zach

I did the same thing :D couldn't find any tube steel tall enough so I used bars and angle. By the way, good score on the seats -- I've got the same ones and they're super comfortable.

I already returned it and swapped it for an AW-4 :) thinking about putting it up on Craigslist and the classifieds to finance an AX5 swap

I know.. I'd used them before and they never wronged me, so I thought it was alright. Plus it was super cheap ($190 with a 100-day warranty). Anywho, I just spoke with them and they said to bring it by and they'll swap it for the correct one or give me my money back :D Thanks guys. Zach

After some more research, I'm positive it's the A500 (42RE).. Does anybody know if this will work in our Comanches? :\

Picked this up at the junkyard -- was told it would fit my 91 MJ. Anywho, I ended up fixing my old tranny (it was just an overheating problem) but now that I'm looking at this thing, all of the connections are on the opposite side as mine. Anybody know the model of this automatic transmission? I've Googled all of the visible markings already. Will this work on my MJ? If so, I'll probably save it ;) Thanks! Zach

Sorry it took a while to get back; I've been busy. Turns out it was the seal on the bottom of the windshield -- the metal strip that runs around the windshield. Put a good silicone seal on it and it fixed it right up. Thanks everyone for the replies!

For now.. not much offroading to do in my part of Florida, but after the tranny goes or I move up north (whichever comes first), I'm definitely gonna do the swap.

Actually, there is a small crack I can see in the passenger gutter with a bit of rust -- was gonna seal it with some bondo. I assumed it wasn't that because the headliner (before I removed it anyway) didn't show any signs of water damage. But maybe it did and I don't remember (I have since ripped the cloth off it). The meetup sounds like fun, but I've got a bunch of school stuff to do -- I'll have to join you guys for the next one after the comanche is done and painted :D Looks like the hobo special right now (here's the build thread btw).

Here's an update: - Herculined the interior (got lucky and there was barely any rust on the floor). - Grabbed some buckets from a comanche in the junkyard and fabbed my own brackets to reuse the Comanche bench brackets for about $40 (see pics). The seats are solid and sturdy. - Put in new speakers, about to put in new head unit. - Sanded and primed the entire truck -- have to bondo a few small spots and do another coat or 2 of primer. - Got new(ish) fender flares from the junkyard to replace my crap ones -- will put it on after painting it. - Got nicer grille, side mirrors, etc. -- all off in the photos since I'm painting it. - Added a compass mirror from a Suburban -- $10 at jy. Gonna find the temp sensor next time and hook it up as well. Gonna paint it Jeep silver like this cherokee 8) will post pics after. Still tons to do, but I'm getting there! :cheers: Ripped the carpet out, looked pretty gnarly underneath. Cleaned and rhino-lined. Looks nice -- only cost $70 too (vs. $100+ for new carpet) Rhino-lined the back too for that extra-durable feel. Put new radiator in, but realized I forgot the o-ring on the transmission cooler line :doh: expensive mistake in terms of fluid loss. Nearly done painting and priming (I'm further along now).. still a bit of priming and bondoing left (see rust spots I temporarily primed over). Here are the seat brackets I made. Using box tube would've been much easier than the angle and angle brackets I used, but I couldn't find 1.5" box tube.Seat sits about 1.5" higher than the stock one (I'm 6'5" and this still is not a problem). I could've made it sit lower but I wanted to keep its sliding capability for storing crap behind the seat. Here's the passenger's seat mounted (I got it a bit greasy during the fab but it cleans up nicely).

I found some seals off an 01 in the junkyard (the seals were in amazingly good condition). I'd rather not drop any more money on better seals. I'll check the windshield corner; I do seem to remember that it has a gap in it on that side (didn't check the driver's side for comparison though). The hood also has a ton of leaves and crap jammed in the gaps near it, so maybe water is pooling there and soaking in faster. Now that the rain is gone, I'll be sure to post back here. Also, I live in Tampa ;) Thanks everyone for the good suggestions! I'll check this stuff and use some baby powder and a hose.