johnj92131

No issues with you getting exactly what you want. BUT, how about some LED's on the more available non lighted visor? Mount the lenses you want on top of the LED's??

Kept the original 4 cylinder coil springs. Here is what was done to the front end, Quoting what Whitbread emailed me: 1 3/4 inch poly Coil spacers are in. I removed the factory 5/8" thick rubber spring pads since the poly takes the place of them, so the overall front end increase is only ~1 1/4", hardly noticeable but gets us my preferred clearance amounts. I also added a 1" spacer to where the bump stop contacts so overall travel of oem suspension is the same. When the coils were out I pushed the axle tube all the way up and the tube contacted the oil pan and 4 link bracket to ac compressor at same time bump stops touched. So the 1" spacer will let the bump stops compress and no danger of contact anywhere. But to even get that level of compression in the first place, you'd need to take a dukes of Hazzard jump. Your rear leaf packs are in sad shape and really should be replaced. Once they are replaced and crap is out of the bed, the truck should be level.

The rear spring packs on my 86 Comanche TDI are shot. My question is: For ride comfort, which spring pack to go with? Standard 3/1 pack with a 1280 lb rating or the Metric Ton 3/2 pack with a 1700 lb rating? Know "ride comfort" is a bit subjective. But have any of you tried each spring pack? My 91 has the Metric Ton springs PLUS 2 overload springs on each side added by the previous owner. Needles to say, it rides like a truck and does not bottom out even with 3100 lbs in the bed. Thanks for sharing your experience.

More updates today. I will just cut an paste what Matt sent today. Working on the truck now, no way in hell stock vw power steering pump will work. Getting a volvo s40 electric power steering pump from a local wrecking yard tomorrow for $75. It's going to by far the easiest/cheapest way to put power steering on it. For me to make new brackets to mount a pump on the passenger side is going to be far more time than $75 for a electric pump. By fooling the pump controller, it comes on 2.5 seconds after key on and runs continuously instead of varied duty as volvo intended. The motor is brushless so no worries about wearing out. Coil spacers are in. I removed the factory 5/8" thick rubber spring pads since the poly takes the place of them, so the overall front end increase is only ~1 1/4", hardly noticeable but gets us my preferred clearance amounts. I also added a 1" spacer to where the bump stop contacts so overall travel of oem suspension is the same. When the coils were out I pushed the axle tube all the way up and the tube contacted the oil pan and 4 link bracket to ac compressor at same time bump stops touched. So the 1" spacer will let the bump stops compress and no danger of contact anywhere. But to even get that level of compression in the first place, you'd need to take a dukes of Hazzard jump. Your rear leaf packs are in sad shape and really should be replaced. Once they are replaced and crap is out of the bed, the truck should be level. EDIT: My plan has been to replace the springs when I get the truck home with a new stock factory type spring pack from General Spring. Just need to make up my mind if I want the Metric Ton pack or the Standard leaf pack. Think it will be the Standard leaf pack and eventually some Air Lift springs to add capacity.

Yes, it can and is being clocked.

Bed side is worth what a willing buyer and a willing seller agree on for a price. So it is worth what you paid for it to you. Freight is the biggest issue/expense on items like that.

Welcome back!!!

A-man930 Earlier in this thread you asked about a high mounted turbo. Well turns out that is exactly what we have now with the 1.6/1.9TD manifold. Here is the turbo being mounted on the manifold. Notice the electronic actuator on top of the turbo? Well it will be removed because it will hit the hood. No issue because we are not using the electronic actuator. Close up of the turbo to manifold adapter in process. Finished driver side motor mount with gusset added. But we will need to do a remote oil filter. More progress pictures in a couple of days. All for now.

Same question here. Although I want to say it's a common aftermarket "high torque" starter for sbc or something. Stumbled upon this today. Hmmm... Yes, I "think" that is very close to the starter Gas2Diesel uses for all their conversion kits. I will have to hunt for his post, but recall it was a common starter.

Very nice condition. I think it is a keeper, very close to stock. I would keep it that way.

Recall trying to use my old Sony ICF-2010 portable all band radio in the car - too much ignition noise to make it useful. The built in whip antenna was also not very sensitive in the car.

Thanks Cruiser!

1.75 inch Poly coil spacers ordered this a.m. should do the job. Thanks Frank!

Cruiser, I just discovered this thread. Unfortunately you pictures have been "affected" by PhotoBucket ransom demands. IF you have a new photo host - can you please fix the pictures in this thread? Thanks for documenting this fix.

AMan, you had asked earlier about oil pan clearance. I did not forget about you! Now that the motor mounts are fabricated and in....Here are some pictures for you. Distance from the bottom of the pan to the top of the front axle = 2 5/8 inches. This is with the original 2.1 TD factory springs from 1986 Picture 1 Whitbread suggests I want to have more room here - so maybe a 1 to 2 inch lift? Perhaps with 4.0 front coils? EDIT: Ordered 1 3//4 inch poly coil spacers Thursday morning to add more room under the pan. Picture #2 shows I am going to need a remote filter: Picture #3 Top of the engine to the hood level.

Thanks Pete. You are correct about "body Lift". What i we are trying to do is get a bit more clearance between the bottom of the oil pan and the front axle. With the TDI engine, the oil pump is located right above the front axle, so much of a ding in the oil pan will hit the oil pump. A potentially engine ending failure. The NOS front springs I have are for a 91-92 4 x 4 4.0 Metric Ton/Big Ton package The assumption is the thicker springs will keep the oil pan away from the axle an extra inch or two. But is there some kind of spacer that will do the same thing?

Gentlemen,. I got my Comanche about 10 years ago to use as a Home Depot truck around the house. It has long ago paid for itself and been my spare driver for years. Along the way, it has grown on me. Suggest that may be the best use for a clean old Comanche.

I have 2.5 inches between the front axle and the oil pan on my Comanche TDI. Whitbread suggested I might want an inch or two body lift, just for safety. It is an 86 4 cylinder 2x4. What's the quickest, easy way to get an inch or two front lift?? I have NOS front metric Ton coils in my garage. Any guess how much they will litf the 4 cylinder front end?

Test fitting of 1.6/1.9TD manifold looks much better. Also mounts the turbo a bit higher. Still to do some plumbing work to keep all the pipes nice and smooth. Also, reduced size of all pictures in the thread. Hope this helps.

Here is the thread: http://comancheclub.com/topic/53488-driveshaft/?hl=driveshaft Second post says 2 x 4 Comanche driveshaft has a rubber insert. New driveshaft will be about $265 and that should solve the problem quickly. Eclipse is Monday August 21. So I get to kill 2 birds with one stone on this trip (I hope anyway).

Krusty, Can not tell you why. Didn't even ask. Time on this is getting short if I am going to be able to pick it up when I am in the mid west for the Solar Eclipse.

Just another thought: Take a look at hand held wakie-talkies. They have the advantage of being able to use when you are not in the car and some of them have good range.

Got word today the driveshaft can not be shortened. So we have to get a new one build for the custom length. Should be done by Friday. Other issue: The wires on the #3 injector I sent in for rebuilding is close to breaking, so I found another #3 injector in my parts stash. This one looks good. Sent it off priority mail today for rebuilding. The 1.6/1.9TD manifold should be delivered on Tuesday.

I am constantly amazed by how much good information is collectively here. I don't do much regular towing. But, since I got rid of the Isuzu Rodeo, towing duties have fallen to the Comanche. Must say the Rodeo never had a towing issue in more than 15 years. Think I am going to see if I can mount an under hood temperature probe to see what my "normal" temps are before the hood spacers arrive and get installed. Think I have an oven temperature probe that may work out reasonably well. Question is, where to mount the probe to get realistic under hood ambiant temps?? Any thoughts?

Recall reading a quote from and old and well known French lady of the night: The magic in the magicians wand does not come from the wand's size, rather the magic comes from the way the wand is waived. Seems much the same to me if the wand is Renix or H.O.