johnj92131

Found this on the GM load leveling system: It also uses a 10 second delay to adjust the suspension. http://www.underhoodservice.com/servicing-gm-autoride-rear-air-suspension/

Very interesting! Are there any part numbers on any of the components you have? I see some kind of a label on the compressor. Can you post what it says? What other parts of the system do you have? Is there a controller or switch inside the XJ? Can you tell us what year/model you got it off of? Or perhaps you purchased it from someone who took it off the XJ? Any information you can provide would be useful. I frequent a number of salvage yards and would be happy to look out for something like this. Thanks

I've been at this for well over 50 years and this is the first time I've ever heard of a switch to control air shock ride height. If you did find a mechanical switch to turn the compressor off and on, how would you keep it from turning the compressor on ever time you hit a bump? Something to think about. Eagle, how to cars with air suspension turn on and off their air systems? The old GMC motorhome had air bags for springs and to level the coach. Remember them? Electro Level I think they were called.

Here is a link to a 318 in a Comanche project: http://comancheclub.com/topic/3219-project-black-betty/ Nine pages and lots of good information for you to read!

The seller must have given you an Idea of how much cash he wants. And you must have some idea of what your Jeep actually sells for - NOT what people ask. The real selling price. My guess is that he wants to sell his 4 door Comanche because he is sick of all the work it will take to fix the truck. Not to mention all the $$ it will take to properly finish the truck. My advise? If you don't know what to look for on this truck - STAY AWAY from it. But do get a real Comanche! Have fun with it, learn from it. Then when you have an extra $10/15K you can start to think about converting YOUR truck into a 4 door. You will at least know what you are starting with.

Best and quickest thing to answer the question is just to give it a try. Just unbolt your existing bench seat, put the other bench seat in. You don't even have to bolt it in, just place it in and see how it fits. Then post some pictures! That way others will know when this question comes up in another year or so. Not sure how much will be gained because the gear shift will still be in the way for the middle seat passenger. Unless the middle seat is being used for a baby seat.

All the best wishes for you next week.

If things are getting a little scary after 75 mph on the truck, then there are some things wrong with your tires/suspension that your really need to fix on your truck. I have had to do quite a bit of work on the front end over the years. Still a bit more work needed. My rational is that the truck is mostly used for Home Depot type runs (except for now, because my other car is in the paint shop). The best MJ I have ever driven was an 88 that a fellow was selling. He had gone completely thru the front suspension and rebuilt everything. It was amazingly tight and drove very well.

Don, I use a GPS app on my phone to check speed and distance calibration of the speedometers on all my cars. During a short period between the rain yesterday, I checked the Comanche speedometer. It was between 2 and 3 mph high at 70/75. My tires are stock 225/75 x 15 Kumho Solis SR21. The phone app is so easy to use, I have not bothered to install the calibrated speedometer I pick up in Las Vegas 3 or 4 years ago.

I have used parts of this write up several times for pulling parts from the Pick-N-Pull. Very complete.

Both the Renix and the H.O. share the same cam from what I can find. Difference is in the H.O. engine the cam is advanced about 8 degrees from the Renix. This means the Renix engine is tuned for more low end torque, while the H.O. engine is tuned for more horsepower at the higher rpm range. The smaller Renix throttle is also tuned for low end torque as is the Renix head. Don't forget that the real drivers were: 1) Emissions requirements. 2) Common parts source requirements (Chrysler in house vs imported Renault). One more indicator of the better low end torque with the Renix? The factory also changed the 4th gear in the AW4 transmission from .705 to .75 when it moved from Renix to H.O. That is about the same as changing the final drive from 3.55 to 3.73 Interestingly, Toyota continued to use the same .705 4th gear in its version of the AW4 till the end of the transmissions production life.

I have done 85+ a few time, but not for long on the freeway. I am not afraid to drive the Comanche at 75 on the freeway. My tires are good/excellent, front end is also OK. Steering could be tighter, more than just a bit of free play in the steering

Had a bit of a pain trying to get the Electric Life power window regulators. Summit web site says no delivery till February. Found a Electric Life dealer in L.A. He tells me he "thinks" they have been discontinued by Electric Life. Offers me Chinese parts that are more reliable than Electric Life has been recently (Chinese Auto Replacement Parts = C.R.A.P.) Just called Electric Life office in Chicago - They have the replacement kit in stock. Price? $150 for both sides. So I ordered. Both regulators will be shipped UPS ground tomorrow. Anyone else looking for this kit for their Comanche - call 800 548-2168 Kit is JE-01-K. $150 is a bargain for both sides.

Where is it held? Sounds not too far away if you are towing your Comanche. Google is my friend: Found it! Means Dry Lake in Landers, Ca. About 3 hours north and east from me. 189 miles per Google Map. Problem for me is the date, I will just be returning from Central America the day it starts, So taking the extra day or two may be an issue. We will see.

Do go back and grab the power window and power door lock stuff form that XJ. Get the door wiring harness also, all the way into the interior of the car. The more the better. You will need MJ seat brackets to mount the XJ seats. You scored good with the 2 door XJ seats.

not what I was getting to, I was talking about for a 4 door chassis, use a 4 door front door (mj factory door) and a 2 door for a rear door minus the front vent window. as that would theoretically solve the awkward rear door body line and stationary 1/4 window Got it. But I do have to ask what the wheelbase would be on a 4 door version of the Comanche? Something over 140 inches? What would the turning circle be? 60 feet or more? And how much real weight could the unibody structure support?

P.M. sent

94 and earlier XJ and MJ bucket seat rails are 5.75 inches a part. May be of by an eighth of an inch. 95+ XJ and Grand Cherokee seat rails are 11 inches a part. May be of by an eight of an inch. Here is what I did: Cut 2 pieces of flat stock to 22.5 inches long. Stock is .25 thick and 1.5 inches wide. Use these pieces to connect front and rear Comanche bucket seat brackets. At the front bracket, just use a .25 bolt and nut in the same hole where the front MJ seat rail was located. On the rear bracket, get 1" square tube and cut 2 spacers about 3 inches long. Drill a 1/4 inch hole in each spacer. Use a 2 inch long 1/4 bolt and the spacer to bolt the 22.5 inch long stock to the rear bucket seat mount. The 1" square tube spacer brings the 22.5 inch stock up to just about level from the front mount to the rear mount. On my truck I had a half bubble incline up to the front mount. When I checked with the level from side to side, I was just about perfect. Next, on the Grand Cherokee seats (and the 95+ XJ seats, cut of the "legs" that were used to mount the seats. Drill out the "old" fastners that kept the "legs" on the seat adjuster rails. This leaves the seat adjusting rails nice and flat. You are going to use the old holes on the seat adjusting rails to mount a piece of flat stock between the left and right seat adjuster rails. So cut 2 pieces from the 1/4 x 1.5 flat stock about 16 inches long (yes that is too long) but we will trim these pieces later. Next we are going to drill 2 holes in the 16 inch flat stock so we can connect the 2 slide rails on the new seats. Center the 16 inch flat stock between the 2 adjusting rails. Leave about 2.5 inches extra on each side. Mark and drill .25 inch holes. Bolt these two pieces on to the adjuster rails. A word here about the bolts you will need. The head needs to be thin or it will stop the seat adjuster rails from moving. I used Hex key bolts with a shallow head, Same .25 inch diameter. Next, I test fitted the seat in the truck. First I moved the seat full back and placed it just about against the cab. I used 2 clamps to hold the hold the seat in place while I checked the fit from side to side (Yes, Had to move it a few times to find the best location.) Also had to trim the 16 inch flat stock several times to get the seat close enough to the transmission tunnel. When I finally had the seat where I wanted it, I marked the positions where the 4 pieces of flat stock had to be bolted together. This was checked and rechecked a couple of times before I finally marked where each piece of flat stock met the other flat stock. The I took the seat out the truck to drill the holes for the 4 bolts to locate the seat. This time I used a 5/16 drill bit, just so I would have some "wiggle room" when I did my final bolt in with 1/4 bolts. Eventually got the whole thing properly bolted and now, I have 2 matching Grand Cherokee seats. The old XJ buckets gave me a pain in the left side of my back. The Grand Cherokee seat is much better on my back. One other thing I noticed with several sets of MJ buckets. I was never able to get the seat back angle properly adjusted. The seat backs never seemed to "tightly" lock into position. There was always quite a bit of "slop" in the MJ seat backs (grab at the top, then pull fore and aft). With the 95+ XJ seats and the Grand Cherokee seats, the seat back "locks" in to position and stays there. Tilt it back a little, it stays in the new position with no "slop". As I mentioned earlier, I also modified the seats with shelbyluvv's modification using the 95 and later tilt forward mechanism for the Grand Cherokee seats. So I am a happy camper, till I can find a set of great condition, light gray, leather seats from a Grand Cherokee Limited. IF I find those, then we will convert the seats yet again. There it is, no welding. Just bolt in new seats.

That right there might be the winner!Yeah I had a little bit of an forhead slap moment and thought to my self "doh why has nobody thought of this" Did you read Doc's first post that started this thread? Doc wants to cut the Comanche in half. Extend it just enough to use the doors from a 2 door XJ. Bingo!! 2 door extended cab Comanche. Keep stock bed, either 6 ft or 7 ft.

I put a Grand Cherokee drivers seat in my Comanche about a year ago without doing any welding. I used the stock MJ bucket seat brackets. Today I am in the process of mounting the passenger seat. For me, the key was to start with proper MJ bucket seat brackets. That way, no welding, or any sheet metal work required. Seat rails on the 95+ XJ seat and the Grand Cherokee seats are the same width. So what I have done with the drivers seat will work with the 95+ XJ seat. I also installed the tilt forward mechanism from the 2 door XJ seats on the Grand Cherokee seats per the how to article on the Comanche Club DIY section. Send me a p.m. with your email and I will send you pictures.

Think this one has been on Craigslist several times before. Price may be a bit lower this time. Seem to recall a 5 figure asking price the last time. No good reason to buy it for me. Maybe at half the asking price, but with 276K miles on it - I would have to think real hard.about why.

Still waiting on the new parts to arrive. Had some time, so I made a very quick run to the local Pick a Part yard and got both the window retainer and the nut. After putting it in properly, there is no change to the window function.. Next looked for a way to adjust the window tracks to see if I could reduce any friction. Managed to move the wing window track a little bit, but no change in the window operation. It goes down fast enough. But it starts up very, very slowly. Light pressure with my hand can on the bottom of the window speeds it up dramatically. After raising the window about 4 inches, the speed picks up a little bit. The fact that the window goes down quite fast with no visible slow down or binding indicates to be I have a second bad motor. Really did not want to spend a couple of hundred dollars for a new power window motor. But at this point, I have wasted money on a used motor and a whole bunch of time, with no real progress. Noticed in my parts search that the 97+ XJ window motor is a different part number. My question is: Are the 97+ Cherokee power windows any more realiable than the earlier versions? If so, it might make some sense to just do the late door conversion on the truck. Rather than sink a couple of hundred dollars in to the old style doors. Any thoughts?

Confession: I did not read the very last paragraph (you could tell). Go with Option #3 if you get the late Cherokee to swap. More work, but in the end you would know everything was up to your good standards. Also likely the most expensive. The electrical issues you have will bite you at the most unfortunate times. Just bite the bullet and be done with it properly. Don't forget you will need the power steering pump bracket to go with the 2001 manifold and the 2001 ecu may not be happy if it doesn't see the 2001 exhaust system in place. But you can get the ecu retuned to eliminate that issue (just more $$).

Yes, it is a front hitch just like the Drawtite I have on the front of my Comanche.

Know you are just thinking out loud. But I do have to ask a question. What is it you are trying to accomplish? What's the goal/purpose? Sounds like you have a good running Renix stroker right now. Right? If so, Cruiser might say just keep it running. It is a great engine. Everything else is just a money pit. I do understand a money pit. That is why I have a Hesco head, a 4.095 stroker crank, a 3.895 stock 258 crank, 2 stock 4.0 cranks, a couple of spare blocks, 3 different sets of rods, (includes a set for the 4.095 stroker crank. And a bunch of other parts in the garage. All waiting to be put in some magic engine. Now, if you current engine is near the end of it's life, that is another story. I can understand planning for the future. But just to "update" a good running stroker Renix? Low return on your investment of both time and money. Now, if the answer is "Just Because", that is OK. Go with the 2001 conversion, buy an Edelbrock aluminum head, fresh pistons with the dish match to the Edelbrock combustion chamber, run compression of 10.5:1 with regular gas.