DirtyComanche

For front leaf springs, you'll have to do some beefing. At the very least you'll need to build a new front crossmemeber for the shackles. And you'd have to run some plate along the uniframe up near the front to attach the crossmember too. The steering box area would need to be beefed up too, otherwise it'll get torn off; but that's regardless of whether you're running leafs. The LCA pockets can be used as leaf pockets, but I wouldn't. They aren't ment to take the stress. I'd either cut them off and build new ones, or cut them up and do some reinforcing. XJ/MJ fronts are pretty much identical suspension wise. The LCA pockets got extra reinforcing, and there might be a few other differences. What type of lift is this if it's a 12"? There's not much out there that's that big, as generally people build there own at that point... What size tires are you planning? With 12" of lift, I have no idea what would actually fit... Not to mention that the front D30 is only really good for about 34s (people will debate this to no end) and the rear D35 is good for about 31s, and the D44 rear is only really good for about 37s. Not to mention you'll have a major width/stability issue with 12" of lift and 60"ish wide axle. Oh, you've probably got a BA10/5 too, so watch it blow the first time you dump the clutch. And to answer one of the first questions, just doing the math in my head, at 12" of lift the front driveshaft is going to have barely any spline engagement on level ground. One final thing: Sawzall > Lift Live by it.

You can adapt a VW TDI engine to the AX-15 using a conversion kit for a suzuki(I think...) and the bellhousing from the toyota 5spd (it's an AX-15, just it has a different name and bellhousing). As far as I know, nobody has ever actually done this, but in theory it would work. You'd have to do a lot of research though and a fairly large amount of fab work. Just for a TDI engine, which doesn't seem ideal to me, at least not in comparison with the 4.0. Oh, you could always swap in a chevy 350 diesel. It would be just as hard as a 350 swap. That's baring that you can find one, and keep it running. And for flipping the axles, you'll have 5 reverse gears and one foreward. But if you mount the engine in the bed facing the wrong direction, it would go the right way... But then you've still got really screwed up driveshaft angles and a huge amount of fab work. Not to mention that the oiling on the axles will be screwed with them flipped. And the whole steering thing, and caster... If you were building a tube buggy, it's a reasonable thing to do (with the right axles) but for anything else, no.

Oh, depending on what year, the 4.0 and 5spd is a great combo. However, if you got the imfamous BA10/5 peugeot (mid 89 and earlier) it WILL break. The 4.0 in itself is pretty bulletproof, just keep changing the oil unless it doesn't work. The later 5sp (AX-15) is quite strong. Wait, you say it's an 87. It's got peugeot. Unless it got swapped (it happens)

The front D44s are GM? Unless you run the GM tcase or dig up a D300 or such, the pumpkin is on the wrong side. If you're at 10" the 14B rear would be a good idea... And the 6.2 desiel will never fit. I'd suggest long arms too... Oh, jeep diesel engines are quriky and rare. Beyond that I don't know anything about them.

RWD 3.4

According to this, they're for 5" of lift: http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/re_db.html Enjoy.

The tranny will be a Torqueflight 904, I guess they're okay... And I figure that the majoy issue with these things is rust. Put it on a lift if possible, and inspect the unibody/floors. Or, take a flashlight and crawl around some.

It's like a 10mm or 12mm or something... The only time that the tranny oil has been changed since I owned it, I didn't do. The mechanic had to file down a peice of bar stock in order to get the plug out...

The torque converter slips to make up for that. To the point you can actually run higher gears than with a 5spd, apparently. I'd a advise a tranny cooler. But I'm a fan of the 3-footed dance, and would only run a slushbox if I had no other (decent) options.

Are they keeping the front 5-link? If it's not inconvenient, take pics, I always like looking at things. And what the heck is the land of Fruits and Nuts? :?:

A toyota 8" would also work. It would match the bolt pattern and width, at least. And you can get disk brake ones, and factory e-lockers, I think. But, FSJ AMC 20's had one peice shafts, and apparently are fairly strong other than the light tubes, and the keyward or plugs that hold them to the center section. At least, that's what I hear.

You can do it... but if you have to ask, you're in over your head! Bascially, you're going to have to set the front up with the same bracketry as the 5-link. There's some crappy kit out there that includes all the stuff you'll need to weld on. I think it's RE. There's diagrams on pirate4x4 somewhere on how to locate everything. Either that or run front leaf springs, which are a topic of their own. The rear will be easy enough, as it's just spring perches. Then there's brake lines, and new driveshafts. Unless the old ones are close enough, in which case all you'll need (probably) is adapter ujoints. Oh, you'll have to mess with the waggy steering a bit, but I think it's actually pretty similar to the stock stuff. And shock mounts, forgot those. Yeah, can be done. Your engine really doesn't matter. Although, I'd be asking myself "Why? It's a bloody 2.8" Edit: My only real advise would be 'get reading' Front leaf springs, waggy D44, MJ http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthre ... did=232083 Half way down the page, Waggy D44 with RE brackets http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthre ... =waggy+d44

It's for the better... This way you can focus your wallet on one.

Since we're telling stories: Back with one of my ex's (before she was an ex), I was taking her over to her place in the 'manche. Low and behold, run into a stock but clean 88 Pioneer about 1/2 block from her place, and I follow.... and... it pulls in to the house next door! Now, I figure "hey, maybe I could score a cheap 'manche here, as this neighbourhood is upscale! Decent folk don't drive these things." But, here's the clincher... Who gets out of the truck? My elementry school Principal! Now, to understand, this woman was a total b*@$£ then, and the 10+ years since I'd even seen her hadn't helped! And it was obvious too... So I basically shoved that idea. It was freaky at the time...

Wanna get hardcore into the interior stuff...? www.layitlow.com Look in the forums.... No, I'm not a member of that site. I hate gaudy stuff. But they know bodywork and interiors. Which my cutlass needs both of.

Where's the Chrysler museum? Detroit? I need to check that out sometime.

AFIK, the difference in clocking is with the tranny, as Pete said.

I pretty much finished off all the suspension part that I'll write. I don't really feel like getting into true 4 and 3 links, or even 1/4 elliptical. I figure if you've gotten that far you shouldn't be reading a FAQ.

Some of them have huge paragraphs, yet still only scatch the surface. I tried to make sure it was clear that it was not a be all, end all. Besides, nobody reads FAQs anyways. I'm sure it won't limit anything. And I'm not going to get into manufacterers. It's not worth the effort.

I didn't want to get into the auto trannies, but I guess I could put it down. It is asked. I think I mentioned that the 86 Metric Tonne got the AMC20, maybe not... (Okay, I inserted these ones, somewhere back up a ways) I didn't cover all the manuals, just the Ba10/5 and Ax-15. I don't think I'll bother. And the whole suspenion thing I just ran out of gas on. I'll get back to work on it tonight I think. I might have to make my own diagrams for some of it.

I'm not really happy with how this came out. Obviously I kinda 'ran out of gas' by the time I got to the long arm kits. I'll try to find some pictures and write a bit more on them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Overview of the different types of lift kits that are avaliable. The Comanche has only limited aftermarket support. This means that we have a choice of only a few complete kits from different manufacterers. I feel that it is better to peice together your own lift than to buy any of the avaliable complete kits. However, for somebody new to the world of the Comanche, the amount of information required to peice together your own lift is somewhat overwhelming. I will attempt to demystify things as best as I am able to. I will first emphasis that the front of the MJ and Xj are for the most part identical. The rears are different though. I will explain how this will affect things in greater detail farther on. Relevent Terms: Suspesnion Link: Any suspenion component that 'links' a solid axle to the unibody. The factory front setup uses 5. Control Arm: Suspension arms that link the front axle to the unibody. Factory peices are made out of sheetmetal that is bent into a channel shape, and have a non-greaseable rubber bushing in each end. In the stock 5-link, there is 4 control arms; making up 4 of the 5 'links'. As lift height increases, longer links are needed. Track Bar: The 5th of the 5 links, it prevents the axle from moving back and forth. The length of it will determine if the axle is centered or not. This is important, as if a stock track bar is used in a lifted application above 3", the axle will be noticeably pulled to one side. Spring Rate: Amount of 'weight' (pressure) that is required to make a spring compress a given amount. The higher the rate, the stiffer the spring. UCA: Upper Control Arm. Stock 5-link utilizes two. LCA: Lower Control Arm. Stock 5-link utilizes two. Firstly, basic types of lifts: (In order of complexity and 'price') Budget Boost: A budget boost is a simple, inexpensive lift that generally is somewhere between 1-2.5". Normally they are just coil spacers for the front, and AALs or longer shackles for the rear. Coil spacers are, as the name implies, a spacer that goes between the coil and the top coil bucket. Shackles are the 'hinged' portion at the rear of the leaf springs. IMPORTANT: XJ stock shackles are much shorter than MJ ones, if you buy lift shackles for a XJ, they will not provide the advertised amount of lift. AALs are another matter completely. An AAL is in simplest terms, a often short, high rate (thick) leaf spring that is added to a leaf pack to give it more static arch. AALs ride harsh, don't flex well, and will kill your leaf springs. Usually, budget boosts do not include new shocks; as the factory ones can extend the extra distance without bottoming out. They also retain all the stock control arms, and track bar. Budget boosts can often be added to larger lifts, or used to level an uneven vehicle. Typical Coil spacers: (pair) Image Not Found Typical Lift Shackle: (RE greaseable model shown) Image Not Found Long and short AALs: (Rusty's offroad) Image Not Found A few hints if you want to make your own budget boost: Drop shackles for fullsize chevys will act as lift shackles. V8 Grand Cherokee coil springs are slightly taller, and a bit higher of spring rate, meaning they'll give you about 1.5" of lift. Stock coil isolators can be stacked to make your own coil spacer. Short Arm Lift: The short arm lift gets its name from the fact that you retain the factory 5-link style front suspension, which is regarded as using 'short arms'. As lift height is increased the short control arms need to be lengthened somewhat to maintain correct caster and keep the tires centered in the wheel well. In an ideal world: A proper short arm lift will include new upper and lower control arms, along with a new track bar. It will use new coil springs to provide the actual lift for the front, and either new leaf packs for the rear, or a spring over conversion (SOA). New shocks will be included, along with longer brake lines. Reality: It'll be a total tossup as to of what is actually included. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW! There's 4.5" lift kits out there that don't include new control arms, but simply just a track bar, coils, and AALs. Some kits will offer 'adjustable control arms.' These are a good idea if you intend to change your lift height at a later date, but still use a short arm setup. They also allow you to play with your caster/pinon angle a bit more. Typical Aftermarket LCA: (Rusty's, bent for clearance. Stock arm for comparison below) Image Not Found Adjustable UCAs and LCAs: (Rusty's) Image Not Found Image Not Found Adjustable Track Bar: (Currie, I think) Image Not Found Typical Lift Coil Spring: (Rusty's, 3") Image Not Found Long Arm Lift: Typically, a long arm lift does away with most of the factory 5-link setup. It will still use a track bar, but instread of having LCAs and UCAs it will just have really long lower links that mount somewhere near the transmission crossmember. The long lower links will have short upper arms coming off them, which connect to the old UCA mounts on the axle. This allows for control of caster/pinon angle. This setup is also known as a radius arm setup. However, there is long arm lifts that are not radius arm setups. The Teraflex kit is such. It retains the (stock-style) short UCAs, but uses long LCAs. It also has a track bar. A long arm setup is a near must-have for anything over 6" of lift, as otherwise your ride quality will be far from nice. You can use drop brackets instead, though (covered later). The quick synopsis of why ride quality will suffer without long arms or drop brackets, is that control angles are affected by ride height. As the control arm angle becomes steeper, the axle has to move forewards as it moves up. This means that when you hit a bump, the suspension resists moving up as it needs to move foreward at the same time, which it can't do as it is being driven back by what you're hitting. They also puts greater stress on your suspenion componenets. Typical Long (radius) Arm setup: (Rusty's, I DO NOT ADVISE BUYING THIS KIT) Image Not Found Teraflex Long Arm Kit: (AS you can see, it only includes the longer lower arms, and the short upper arms do not attach to them) Image Not Found

Overview of differnt types of lift kits is in the works. This one might take me a while. Pete, you're going to have to sort this thing out. Stick it all together into a single post and put it in the Tech section, perhaps?

Q. I hear talk about leaf springs in the front. Why, and what will be involved? A. Leaf springs have been successfully used in the front of MJ/XJs before. But first, why would you want them? Well, there's simplicity for one thing; you can eliminate all of the factory 5-link suspension. It's easier to set up an axle for leaf springs; if you're swapping the front axle. Leafs also offer greater stability in the front; which is helpful on a vehicle with a poor weight ratio between the the front and rear. They are also tunable in both spring rate and lift height by swapping leafs in and out. For one to properly convert to leaf springs in the front, a new front crossmember should be built for the front shackles to attach to. It would have to be tied in well enough, or the poor unibody will fail. The old LCA pockets can be used for the other end of the leafs to mount in, but it is strongly advised that you don't. They are not built to take the side to side forces that the leaf springs will put on them. Ideally, they should be cut off and new pockets made out of plate. More on the subject: http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavist ... /leafs.htm http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.p ... af+springs http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthre ... did=232083 Q. I have an auto transmisson. Which one is it? A. If you have the 4.0L engine, you have an AW4. This is a strong and reliable tranny, but it will benefit from a tranny cooler. If you have the 2.8 V6, 2.5 I4, or 2.8 Turbo Desiel, you have a Torqueflight 904. Q. I have a Metric Tonne Comanche. What rear end do I get? A. The 86 Metric Tonnes got the AMC 20 rear, with one peice axle shafts. All other years got the D44.

Q. Rear Brake Porportioning Valve. What to do with it? A. Ahh, a true engineering marvel. Essentially, it was designed to increase brake pressure on the rear brakes when the bed has a load. This is good in theory, and probably even in practice. However, I've actually never seen (in person) a Comanche that still had the linkage for it intact and working. If you still have the linkage and valve, lift will affect its operation. Now, what to do with it? Well, providing it still works, you can extend the linkage. The lever arm on the valve should be roughly about level with no load. More popularily, it can just be removed. Ideally, one should pick up a XJ combination valve (Also called a distribution block, up front by the brake booster/master cylinder) and replace the MJ one with that. Then run a new single line to the rear, and a new hose off it to the axle. I'd also throw a adjustable porportioning valve in there somewhere, so you can tune brake pressure until the rear locks up slightly before the front. A simple search on this topic will yield more information than you'll ever need! Q. I blew up my D35 rear end. Now what? A. No huge suprise there. The good news is you have options, and that rear end swaps aren't that hard. The most common swaps are either a D44 (out of a XJ, metric tonne MJ, or certain YJs sold in Canada) or a Ford 8.8 out of a Explorer. Both are the correct bolt pattern (5X4.5). The 8.8 is slightly narrower than the D44/D35 that came stock, but if it is a problem it can be remedied with spacers. Another advantage of the 8.8 is that 96+(?) ones came with disk brakes. Other possible candidates include the Izusu Rodeo 12 Bolt (wrong bolt pattern), V6 Toyota truck rears (wrong bolt pattern), older Ford car 9" rears (some are the right width, and 5X4.5), and custom axles. If you get a MJ D44, it will be a direct bolt in. The XJ D44 will require new perches. No, you can NOT use the perches on the XJ axle to go SOA. Brake lines for either D44 will simply bolt right up. New Ubolts will need to be purchased, and new spring plates will need to be made, as the D44 axle tubes are wider. Actually swapping the axles is as easy as undoing the brake lines, shocks, any surviving brake porptioning valve linkage, ebrake linkage, and undoing the ubolts. A heat source (torch) and lots of penetrating oil will speed this up. The Ford Explorer 8.8 is a slightly different matter. Tube diameter is 3.25" which allows the use of D60 spring perches, avaliable at any decent auto parts store. You can also make your own out of some square tube, using an angle grinder. All the stock bracketry will have to be removed from the axle, a grinder will work for this. The new perches will have to be welded on, and new brake lines run. If you have a disk brake axle, you can use two left (driver's) side brake hoses, and run new lines between them. This will allow you to use the stock style hose that runs from the frame to the axle. Longer versions of these are easier to find than ford explorer lines. New Ubolts will need to be bought, although you may be able to reuse ones that came with the axle. New spring plates may need to be made, although I reused the stock Ford ones. New shock mounts will need to be welded to the axle. Actual installation is a breeze, if you measured correctly it'll all just bolt up. A new driveshaft will probably need to be made for this axle, as it uses a flanged adapter on the pinon. If possible nab the adapter when you get your axle, they cost lots of money! As a rule, try to get this axle as complete as possible, the rotors are expensive and will save you a bundle if they can be machined. The ford ebrake linkage won't exactly bolt up to the jeep stuff, but a little creativity will make it work. On the subject of the 8.8 swap, also see: http://members.cox.net/rough-riders....8/ford8_8.html http://www.bc4x4.com/tech/2003/xj88/ http://www.4x4wire.com/jeep/tech/axle/ford8_8/ http://xjfanatic.com/ford88.php http://www.jedi.com/obiwan/jeep/ford88.html Q. Can I swap in a XJ axle to go SOA? A. Yes, but you'll need new perches welded on. The perche widths are slightly wrong. So, no, not a direct bolt in.

New terms TTB - Twin Traction Beam: Ford's IFS style front suspenion. Very useless for our purposes, and makes a lot of vehicles unsuitable as axle donors. IFS - Independant Front Suspension. Real Jeeps don't have this. Live Axle - (Also called 'Solid Axle') Axle that is 'solid,' meaning any suspension movement on one side has a reaction on the other side. Real Jeeps (Comanche included) use this setup. Pumpkin - Housing for gears in a solid axle. Also sometimes called a 'Diff,' 'Differential,''Center Section,' etc. CAD - Centeral Axle Disconnect (Vacuum Disconnect Axle) Some D30 frontends were CAD, which has a vacuum actuated shifter to engage disengage the axle. Some hair-brained idea to conserve fuel. Q. I don't have tow hooks or a properly braced aftermarket bumper. Is there a safe recovery point? A. Not really, in this scenario I always loop the rope over the center of the front or rear axle. This might require some digging, or strange bodily contortion. This is still somewhat of a risk, as the suspenion wasn't really ment to do this. Make sure the pull is straight on! Also, remove any obstructions that you can before attempting to pull your the truck out. Hooking the rope to anything else is sheer folly though; stock bumpers will pull off very easily, and the thin unibody tears like paper. The lesson? Proper recovery points are worth the cost, see your junkyard for a tow-hook kit off a cherokee. Or build a real bumper. Q. I have a 2wd MJ, and I want to convert it to 4wd. What do I need? A. First, you should identify your goals with the truck. If you wish only to ever have a mild lift and not really do any serious wheeling, stock components will work for you. If you're looking to run 35"+ tires, you should consider getting a parts donor vehicle that has heavy running gear. For a mild truck, it is easiest to pick up a XJ as a parts donor. You will need the front axle, front driveshaft, transfercase, and transmission. You will also need lots of little things, such as the shift linkages and interior peices. If you don't mind making a million trips to a junkyard, and can get the parts cheap, you won't need to buy a parts donor. Normally, it costs less just to find a cherokee that has a beaten body and desirable drivetran. If you don't intend to regear, make sure that the gear ratio in the front differential matches your rear. You can alternatively take both the front and rear axles from the cherokee, but you will need to weld new spring perches onto the cherokee rear axle. This would make sense if you have a 87-89 XJ donor with a D44 rear. You will also need to have a new rear driveshaft made, as they tend to be quite hard to find. Their length is specific to your wheelbase (long or short bed) and transmission and transfercase combination. As a note, be sure to get a tranny/transfercase from a donor with the same engine! 4cyl transmissions will not work with the I6 (4.0L)! Now, if you wish to build big. First, again, identify your goals. Tire size is most critical for axle selection. Then, look for a suitable donor vehicle, or hit the junkyard. Ford front axles (non-TTB ones) are often more desirable than chevy or dodge, as they tend to be high pinon and have the pumpkin on the drivers side. However, with enough creativity and fabrication skills, anything can be made to work. Q. I don't know my axle gear ratio. How can I determine it? A. The easiest method is to look at the pumpkin (front or rear), and hope the factory applied tag is still there. It will either directly state the ratio, or offer a ring and pinon gear combination. To determine ratio from a ring and pinon combination, divide ring teeth (larger number) by pinon teeth (smaller number). IE, 43/13 = 3.31 gearing. Alternatively, you can raise one wheel, and turn it while counting driveshaft revolutions. If you turn the wheel 4ish times for one drivesahft revolution, you have 4.10 gearing. If all else fails, pull the housing cover and count ring and pinon teeth. Indentification tag for a Ford 7.5 rearend: (Thanks XJ Maki) Q. I want to swap in a NP242. What will I need? A. You're on your own! No, not really. Just make sure the input spline count matches your tranny output. The length difference between the NP242 and the NP231 is quite little, so the driveshafts you have should work. If they don't, expect to spend some coin. Be aware that the NP242 is slightly weaker than the NP231, and the aftermarket support is not as great. Q. What is my wheelbase? A. Short bed is 112.9-113.1" and the long bed is 119.4-119.6". Q. I got stuck, put it in 4wd, and my front tires didn't do anything. What's up? A. Most likely the Vacuum Disconnet (also called "CAD") in the front axle has failed, or more likely a vacuum line to operate it. They can get torn, or simply wear out after 14+ years. You can often repairs the lines to fix the issue, but it will eventually break again. Alternatively, you can shim the shift fork to be always engaged, rig up a cable system to engage it, or replace the axle shaft for a non CAD one.