NewKindOfClown

1988 Comanche Pioneer, LWB, 4.0L, 4WD Hey all, I was in a minor fender bender this week. Long story short: I punched a hole in her Tahoe Hybrid, and it only wrinkled about 2" of my right front frame rail. I just ordered JCR DIY bumpers front and rear, and the plan is to cut off the front of the damaged unibody rail and replace it with a section from a junkyard. Using the insurance check, I also ordered a C-Rok steering spacer and a M.O.R.E. steering box brace. All that said, I have a few questions. First, is this a terrible idea? I feel like the bumper brackets should strengthen it up enough not to worry. Second, could I use the rail from any XJ/MJ as a replacement? I know of many XJs, a 2.5L MJ, and two 2.8L MJs that could all be donors. Would the front 10" or so of the passenger rail be the same across the board? Thanks in advance. I'm going pickin' today.

Okay, Eagle, that makes sense and should be a good enough reason for him to listen to me. That is the way I'd like to have it done, but I needed a reason for him as to why his idea is impracticle. I was also curious if it would function, despite not being the best method. I'll explain and show him the diagram when I talk to him tomorrow. Thanks again, guys.

Eagle, I understand that, and it's what I want to do. He has the MJ, however, and he wants to leave all three and put a coupling on the two lines at the prop valve, then run the soft line to the single line on the driver side. I think that would eliminate my rear brakes UNLESS there is a failure in the main line. I'm asking for confirmation because he isn't inclined to do more work than necessary if he thinks the outcome will be the same.

Thank you! That thread is now bookmarked. Much clearer with a picture. As for what my buddy suggested, I thought that would block off my rear brakes because only the failsafe would be connected. Can anyone confirm?

Hey all, I've been trying to read up on this. I understand the line from the 'nose' is the line to the proportioning valve, the bottom front is the emergency line to the rear brakes in case of failure, and the line at the back is for the front brakes. My mechanic friend took a look at it while it was up on the lift, and he asked why I don't just put the two lines at the prop valve into a coupling and run the rear brake hose straight to the third line that's back there on the driver side of the axle. I didn't have a good answer for him besides, as Eagle has pointed out, that leaves more aging brake line waiting to rust out. Would this work? Also, I've seen a diagram mentioned, but I can't find it. Would someone mind posting that? Thanks, guys. Sorry for posting another one of these.

Ah, good to know. I'll tackle that problem in the next couple days.

I appreciate your smilies, but I'm sadly unable to reciprocate. I didn't take your advice that way at all, and I appreciate the input. As for the gauges, oil pressure works. 40psi cold, 20psi warm idle. Temp only goes to 150° and stays there even after a 30 minute idle. My friend suggested it's due to my lack of a thermostat (which I forgot about), but I would think it would heat up after that much time. I had to stop for the night because I'm getting ready for work, but at least I helped my friend get a customer's YJ running.

I do have my priorities in order, but I am hoping to get it all done. I'm using my tax return and my play money from work to get as much of this done as possible before the trip. Doors will stay on for the drive. Soundbar will also let me hear my CB on the highway (using my radio's AUX input) since it currently isn't loud enough. TPS is adjusted. I've done my homework on the sensors, and I replaced those listed because they were out of tolerance. It didn't fix the issue. By timing, I mean chain and guide. I'm doing the timing because my harmonic balancer does need replaced, and I figure I might as well do it while I'm in there to see if it helps. My D35 isn't broken, but I bought a Comanche D44 a few months ago. I'm rebuilding it and throwing a truss on it because my plan down the line is 35s. I want to get it in before I haul my motorcycle several hundred miles. Partly, this trip is a deadline for me to aim to finish all these projects which I've been putting off. Oh, and I'm typing this while I wait for it to warm up. Just installed new senders for the gauges. Thanks (not sure where the smilies are, and this isn't cooperating well with my phone)

I have family in Gold Hill. I'm hoping to stop at Uwharrie (sp?) and see a couple guys from CherokeeForum while I'm down there. I keep my HiLift and tools in the truck, but I'll be sure to grab my stands and probably a floor jack. Good call on the tire pressure, too. And lots and lots of fluids...

Hey all, At the end of May, I'll be driving my '88 4.0L from Frederick, MD to Cleveland, OH, back to Frederick, then down to North Carolina, and back up to Frederick. Driving distance between the cities is 1,500mi plus the local driving I'll be doing over the 30 day span. I'll be bringing my '78 Kawasaki motorcycle back from Cleveland to Frederick in the bed of my truck. My goal here is to make a list of everything I need to do before the trip. A little background info: - Swapped to open cooling a few months ago with all new parts and hoses. Hasn't overheated since. - The engine is missing and backfiring at a certain throttle range. I've cleaned grounds, cleaned C101, dielectric greased everything, replaced CPS, TPS, plugs, wires, cap, rotor. It hasn't changed. I need to replace my harmonic balancer anyway, so next up is timing, and then exhaust if timing doesn't help. - Driving down the highway a couple days ago, one of my c-clips broke, and my driver side D30 shaft tried to high five my wheel. There's a lot of damage, so I'm swapping in a HP30 axle. With that said, here's my list so far: HP30 with new ball joints Harmonic Balancer + Timing Motor mounts (Brown Dog poly on the way) Trans mount Fix gauges (need senders for full gauges) Finish D44 rebuild (and swap out my D35) Proportioning valve delete New brakes and fluids before trip Rear shocks (mine are factory and worthless) Sound bar (I can hardly hear music with the windows up, let alone with the doors off) Hood vents (Alleviate ambient heat. I know they don't help coolant temps) Bored TB Power distribution block (clean up accessory wiring) Interior light (an LED with a switch is all I need) Squeaky bench (drives me nuts!) D-rings on front bumper (2x4 steel welded to uniframe rails. First owner plowed with it) Cowl intake (to remove air box and help with water crossings) Exhaust (if timing doesn't fix backfire) Long post, I know, but let me know how I'm doing. I'm sure I'm forgetting things.

Mnkyboy: I should have mentioned a friend of mine will be doing the cutting and welds with new metal to close that gap. He used to work at one of the local offroad shops before starting his own business, and his work is excellent. I was more wondering if there was anything in there that I would need to know about before cutting it open. Is the inner bed all empty space? Pete M: And I've taken it offroad several times already. I recently went to Gore, VA for Fall Crawl, and with 30x9.5 street tires, I was doing blues and a black at Rausch Creek, PA. I also play in a lot of mud, but nothing too deep. The 35s and fresh springs should give me about 4" over where I am now, and that would be plenty for what my friends and I do. Furthermore, I have the Pioneer package with skids, and that welding friend will be making me sliders and bumpers. Thanks for the replies. I'm still open to input.

I used to wonder if I was getting DW when I got some bump steer after lifting my XJ. When I actually did get DW, there wasn't an ounce of doubt in my mind. If you know what DW is in concept, it's unmistakable when it happens. For what it's worth, mine was caused by a loose axle-side trackbar bolt.

Howdy, all. I rarely post here since I'm still very active at CherokeeForum, but I love the info from the site. I had an XJ before, lifted 3.5" on 33x12.5x15 Duratracs. I was looking at my LWB MJ's rear wheel wells the other day, and it allows for far more play. So here's my plan: First I want to apologize for the long post. I'm trying to explain it as best as I can, but I can't load or see pictures on my work computer, and I can't access my truck for reference right now. This is also one of the few forums that isn't blocked yet, so I'm hoping someone with more experience can help me out. I want to open up (hack) the front fenders as high as it will benefit me, but not remove them since it's still driven on the road. That's the easy part. In the rear, the bedsides are rusted out above the flares, with the driver side being much worse than the pass side (almost rusted forward to the fuel door). Because of this, I want to open the rear inner fenders so they continue straight outward from their highest point instead of curving back down toward the outside. This will result in a ~90° turn upward where the inner fender meets the outer bedside. I think the trim will net an opening of about 1" forward and aft of the rear wheel well and about 1.5-2" at the top. Coupled with a rear quarter cut, my plan is to fit 35x12.5x15s on a 15x8 wheel with 3.5" BS. Aftermarket LCAs are planned to help alleviate rubbing. Copious amounts of bumpstopping and a Durango steering box are also planned. The truck has the original (non-MT) leaf springs, and was used for plowing and hauling. I plan to replace those with new MT springs from Hell Creek, with new shackles, V8 ZJ coil springs, and new shocks. The plan is to get it back to stock height, closer to level, with a refreshed suspension. It'll ride on a trussed XJ D44 and an Aussie-locked HP30 with chromos with 4.88 gears. I'm open to ideas/suggestions on everything I talked about. What sounds good? What sounds problematic?

A few nights ago, I was yanking my buddy's XJ out of axle-deep mud, and there was a lot of shifting in those 2 hours. The next morning, I realized there was no resistance when pulling the column shift toward me, and I can often change gears without pulling it toward me at all. It suddenly feels cheap, like it's going to break off. Any suggestions on what to look for and/or how to fix it? I think I know of a donor MJ in a JY if I can figure out what I need. Thanks.

Eagle, I think that's what I meant. Still learning the MJ rules. My XJ was an '01, so all this Renix-and-older stuff is new to me. The gear indicator is on the column instead of on the cluster. Shifter shows Park, Reverse, N, D, 2, 1 Could that be made to work with my later model? My indicator is in the gauge cluster. Are others seeing the images? I just want to make sure they work since it's my first post.

Hello, all. I'm new to CC. I spend most of my time on CherokeeForum since I drove an XJ til last month. Anyway, here's my question: My column shift indicator doesn't work on my '88. I tried to do a full gauge swap to get rid of my idiot lights, but I pulled the cluster from a non-column shifted MJ. The other day, I found this beauty at a local junkyard. I'm guessing it's an '84 with a Peugeot? Could it be mated to my '88 with an AW4? If so, what would that entail? Here's the truck: