I would change the cps had mine give me all sorts of trouble on my 00 xj then bought a cheap ebay one ran but like crap.. bought one from auto zone been running fine
I am going to guess that the t5 used in 84 85 is stronger then the ax5, the ax5 is not a very strong gearbox . but funny cuz its pretty much like the yota trans..
the trans could have been replaced at some point, I had a 86 4cyl.. and put two trans in it and one time I got one from the junkyard and they gave me a 4 spd but noticed it before I left with it and got the right one
I had a 86 Comanche in 94 and drove it back from ky to cali LA and got 30 mpg was a 5 spd with 4.10 gears bed was loaded with stuff with a tarp over it I had the 22 gal tank and got 600 miles to a fill up. when I got home around town 15mpg was about the best it got..
how came you can see down there between the bed and cab.. when it should be part of the cab.. when you look inside it looks like it is flat not a place to have the bed gap