Knucklehead97

once my brother who is borrowing my extra car get's his own car I will be taking the Jeep to a paint shop to get these panels painted to the blue. I kind of fell in love with it haha

A little progress collage. Got all the body work done. Had to drill a bunch of new holes in the header panel to mount the side marker lights and the top and bottom metal trim, not sure why they werent there? It all worked out perfectly though. Everything is straight! Then I ripped it right back off to start removing the radiator. First off I would like to give Hornbrod a HUGE thanks for providing the idea of going ahead and changing the radiator. It started leaking from the middle as I was pulling it out. I ended up cutting the bottom transmission line and will be hose clamping it back on because the disconnect wasn't the two plastic clip type and I didn't feel like dealing with it. Thursday I will be swapping it all in and filling it back up! I also have decided when I fix the AC I will be replacing everything other than the box in the dash and maybe the compressor. My lines are shot and I messed up the condenser pretty bad prying it from the radiator so I'm just going to replace everything for good riddance.

managed to find a local guy selling a perfect bumper and 10 slot grill for 50$. He's going to get in contact with me in a few days when he's in town. Sadly I prefer a 7 slot grill so the 10 slot won't be on there for long.

I do believe the PO had the transmission lines changed with the rest of the cooling system. I'll check out the lines and go from there :D one last question for everyone... will a 97+ front bumper work with the older bumper end caps and mount correctly to the truck? The last part I need is the bumper but I can't find a good pre-97 one but I have found plenty of 97+ ones.

TJ Canyons are what I have on this MJ. Personally my favorite rim style. Luckily I also have all four WJ arms waiting to be put on. After installing this fender today repairing the body damage from the deer I see now why spacers on the front would cause a bunch of trouble. So the 1.25" ones are going straight to the rear and I'll go from there! Thanks as usual guys :D

Definitely. Including the 2 hole rubber piece which is in the throttle body because both of my Jeeps had dryrotted ones. Seen this? http://cruiser54.com/?p=280 no, no I had not! I have to do that now. That's how it should have been from factory.

you wouldn't happen to have a part number for the clip and orings, would you? Oreillys full of idiots and had never heard of it before. I'm not home, so I can't check for sure. But they're GM disconnects, don't ask for AMC/Jeep because the parts guys don't know they used them. But I believe the clip you want is a Dorman 800-006, they come in a package of 5. The 800-013 o-ring pack should work, but I don't know much about automotive o-rings and normally use aircraft ones. There is a few different styles of disconnects though, so it can be hard to match them up. http://www.dormanproducts.com/documents4rb/135-145QuickDisconnectBuyersGuide.pdf But I'm serious when I say I would replace it with bulk hose and clamps. They're not actually quick disconnects, rather they're quick connects, so the factory could put things together faster/easier. If you take them apart without replacing the clips and o-rings, more often than not they will leak or come undone and blow the line off, so there's nothing quick or good about them. I cut the hard line off where they crimped the hose onto it under the engine, clean it, put a flare on it, and then use 3/8 transmission cooler line. The nipple for the quick connecter to go on at the cooler is conveniently already flared perfectly for use with regular hose. I think I'm going to look into just deleting the quick connect like you're talking about as it does sound easier and cheaper. Just a regular flare on the part I cut off will work? Any specific way I should go about cutting it? Could probably get a small metal ribbed hose-hose connector and cut the rubber instead of the metal... hmm.

Definitely. Including the 2 hole rubber piece which is in the throttle body because both of my Jeeps had dryrotted ones.

you wouldn't happen to have a part number for the clip and orings, would you? Oreillys full of idiots and had never heard of it before.

that MJ's stance is EXACTLY how I want mine to look. That's 31's on stock 4wd height? It looks kind of lifted to me honestly haha. And if I was to get over a 2" lift I would do it right instead of cheaping out. Trac bar, arms, full leaf packs, ect. No sense in having to redo it all!

I currently have 2 brand new rugged ridge XJ 2" lifts that I picked up for extremely cheap. I was going to try one of them out to hopefully achieve 1" of lift considering the XJ shackles only lift MJ's about 1" and this MJ is 2wd so hopefully it will level the front out to looking like a 1" lift would on the front. If I go with 31's that would be what I would keep. 32's I would go with a full 3" lift with adjustable TB and longer LCA's. And Hornbrod your MJ is the main influence upon wanting 31's, spacers, and 4.10's! :D and a roof visor!

then it looks like I will eventually be swapping axles either way. Kind of best in the long run, I guess, since I want to pull a trailer with it and even though I don't plan for it to be a heavy one I would rather have an overly strong axle over a weaker one. Gears are just a plus side. I'm guessing for the spacers a safe compromise would be to buy one set of 1.25" and see how I like the way they look on the front and then slap em on the rear and order some for the front if I liked how they look?

and other people say you'll be just fine. :thumbsup: oh how I hate mixed opinions haha. After reading more I'm considering going with 4.10's and 32's instead of 31's. Everywhere I've read has said that 32's and 4.10's is a nice combination and I do enjoy a more filled wheel well...

1.25" on the rear of the Comanche puts the rear wheels at the fender flare line like the front tires are from factory. Makes the Jeep look like its rear isn't bigger than the front even though it is. And good to know on the gears! Thankfully this one is 2wd so I only have to change the rear axle if I was to regear and 8.8's are often found with 4.10's. I just was reading and some people were saying that 4.10's with 31's weren't good for interstate driving.

Hey guys! I know I have been posting a few topics lately but this new Jeep has brought up a bunch of new questions which I have searched and haven't gotten a great answer on. I prefer to be positive on things before I buy them haha. First off is wheel spacers. I want the Jeep to be stanced out a little more. It has 235/75/15's on TJ Canyon wheels. The tires are brand new so I want to run them for awhile longer. The easy option would be just buy 31's but like I said the 235's are brand new. So for stancing I want to use wheel spacers. I will at least be using 1.25's in the rear to make the rear even with the front but I really would like for the front to stick out more as well. Originally I planned to use 2" on the rear and 1.25" on the front but I realized that Spidertrax doesn't make 2" spacers (is this because they're too much of a spacer?) The USA maker of spacers by the brand name of Trail Sport makes a 2" but I'm not sure if I would trust a 2" since Spidertrax doesn't make one (correct me if that's dumb, please) so what would you guys do? Just get the 1.25" for the rear and live with it till I get 31's? Now for the second question... gears! I know exactly what I'm doing on my stickshift one but the auto is a new world for me! I want to eventually get 31's obviously. Do I need to go down to 4.10's or are the 3.55's good with 31's? Not going to be wheeling. It's a daily driver/light trailer puller. I drive the interstate every day to get to work. How much of a power/gas mileage change would I get from going to 31's on 3.55's? I'm sure it's been answered a million times before, so I apoligize in advance. I just never can find the answer to my exact question so I would prefer to ask in my own words. Thanks!

Great! Sadly all the junkyards around here crushed their cherokees last week. Checking the pull a part in B-ham tomorrow morning. If none of them have it then I guess I'm going to Atmore sometime next week for my buddies parts.

How much ATF will I need? I'm guessing not a whole lot is going to pour out. I ordered the Spectra Premium one I have in my other Jeep because it was less now than it was before and I've heard nothing but good things from other people as well. Amazon prime will have it here on the fifth!

Two votes for changing radiator... soooooooooo.... going to change the radiator! Probably won't be before it's back on the road because I need it for a camping trip next weekend. But I will be ordering a new one tomorrow. Either a spectra premium like my other Jeep has or a full-two core aluminum off of Ebay. I plan to own the Jeep for awhile so I might as well change the parts either way. But what all is included in changing a radiator with an automatic transmission? Never done it before. Never messed with an auto tranny at all, really...

see, the radiator is brand new from what the PO told me. Jeep dealer changed it when they were trying to fix his overheating problem. Otherwise I wouldn't even question it. I shall look at prices on the one I got for my other Comanche and see if I want to go ahead and do it! Could I just take out the AC condenser and leave it off until I redo my air-conditioning or would that be bad?

Already beat the unibody/frame straight! Just waiting on ya'lls opinions of the radiator and then I should get the body panels tomorrow or Saturday!

Tore apart the front of the Comanche to figure out what I'm in for. I found both good and bad... I think. The good is that basically everything I thought was damaged, is damaged. The bad is the same as the good! Really though I think I got lucky on the damage. Picture time! Where the front of the fender mounts to the unibody is bent pretty bad, had to pound on it to get to the bolts. Where the bumper mounts to the frame is bent back and pushed in a little. Upon pounding on it with a hammer and bolting a new bumper in I think it will be find. Now for a question... is this radiator alright? It's pushed in about a half inch I think. No leaks so far. And I have cranked up the engine and the fan does not hit at all. There are chunks missing where the fan shroud contacted the clutch fan when the deer hit, but it gets nowhere close now. I think the condenser is done for, though. opinions please? I need to get the parts list downpat and get to work!

http://comancheclub.com/topic/50731-project-sweet-cherry-blue/?do=findComment&comment=516650 Got the build page up for anyone who wants to watch the progress and voice their opinion on the slight lift/tires/possible regearing!

I'm not sure if I want to space the rear AND the front or just the rear. The front would probably be less than the rear, of course. And are Ebay spacers bad? I would of course get hub centric.

Finally making a build thread for the new one! '89 short bed 4.0/AW4/2wd. Clean as a whistle with 108k original miles. Bought it for 1000$ due to it overheating. Converted it to an open system and all is well! First thing I did was put my brand new tires off the other Comanche and my Canyon wheels on it. Then added 350$ worth of sound system. Kicker door speakers, Pioneer stereo, and a Kicker 10" with a Boss amp. And all was awesome Thursday afternoon when I got the system installed. Sounded great, the 10" was the perfect amount of bass for this truck. But then Friday morning on my way to work.... Hit a deer going about 50. Not even a mile from my house. I was super upset but Geico took VERY good care of me and now I have the truck and 1800$ :D so I am now in the process of getting the parts to fix it and also ordering some other stuff. I ordered an upgraded headlight harness and clear marker lights since I needed a new one anyways. Luckily all of the damage was cosmetic and the AC condenser got bent real bad but I believe the radiator was untouched, we'll see. Total plans are: Krusty hitch Front hitch 1-3" lift (already have a 1" to install) Either 31's or 32's. Probably 31's due to gearing (opinions are very appreciated) Wheel spacers (opinions on them are also very appreciated!) Basically this truck is going to be my around town trailer puller/kind of daily driver. Nothing heavy, just a single axle 6×12 at most. But it's so clean that I want to stance it perfectly with slightly bigger tires and a small lift. More to come!

A friend of mine has all the parts I need and is willing to cut me a deal on a regular header panel like the one I have now. So I will be keeping the regular style and adding clear corner light casings! Also ordered an upgraded headlight harness. Only bad thing about my friend is he lives 5 hours away in Atmore Alabama. Will probably be road tripping Saturday. Going to try and start a build thread tomorrow when I take my lunch since so much has already happened with the Jeep!