JeepcoMJ

I think a 4x4 trailer is a good idea, but the problem is that ya can't control it's left to right motion. up and down motion don't necessarily be controlled, but I want the trailer to turn as I need it at the flip of a switch...or a slaved hydraulic system to the steering column that controls 2 hydraulic rams positioned between the rear bumper and the front of the bed they'd act like a steering system. to me that would maybe make backing up etc. going over rocks easier.

don't attempt to rebuild the 2.8 stock carb. it is far too complicated to even begin with, I refuse to touch one as does my father, and we do carb. rebuilds on many different things on a regular basis. if you must do something, run carb. cleaner through your fuel and spray carb cleaner into the carb.

Alright, you can do large performance mods to the 2.8 to make it better. the best in tangem would be an overbore to a 3.5, new advanced cams and lifters, 4 barrel edelbrock intake for a holley 4bbl 390cfm carb, and a better oil pickup tube. I just sold my old 2.8 out of my MJ3800 for $25. the guy did all of these mods and it is performing at 170 horse now and drives like a bat out of hell according to him. Personally, I liked the idea of the 3.8 swap. the wiring isn't all that hard, it does require a VATS bypass module from bakerelectronics.com ($30) to bypass the antitheft fuel rail shutoff. the engine can be run seperate of the truck harness with the only wires tieing into the actual truck harness being your tachometer output (green and white/yellow wire coming from ign coil on the 2.8), and your oil pressure (green wire that goes to oil filter), and temperature sending unit (pink wire that goes to the front left head). other than that, it's about 7 wires when combined...battery power, ground, electric fan power, fuel pump relay output, IGN on and cranking power, and that's about it. wire crimpers, cutters/strippers, some 2 end line crimps, and shrink tube/lighter will make it all work. The 3.4 has to come out of a 1991 to 1994 or 95 camaro/firebird 3.4, as it's a RWD engine and bolt-in. change to 2.8 exhaust manifolds, oil pan (if desired), and motor mounts and you are all set. other than needing to neutrally balance the flywheel or flexplate from the 2.8 to mount it to the 3.4. suggestion...if you have a stick, get a stickshift camaro for parts, no need to swap flywheels then. I did a 3800 camaro swap into my 86 2.8 and it's more involved but same basic principle regarding wiring, but requres custom motor mounts and exhaust manifolds. here's that swap. I'd do it again in a heartbeat...I'd just replace the rear main seal when i did it, and also either remove the a/c or move the right motor mount backwards farther. http://comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3582

factory bumper = not good enough. tow straps = not enough for 3.5 hours away. flat towing = terrible on your brakes and tires, I'd be surprised if either last the trip with no problems. find a car dolly, go to Uhaul and rent one.

If he has one on his 96 (XJ?) it is probably an after market one. Like i said before, Jeep discontinued the power/comfort switch in models newer than 91 :brows: . ha! he has one, that doesn't mean it necessarily is actually for the trans...when you flip it it lights up but god knows what the military did to the wiring...for all i know it could light up Ft. Lauderdale edit: explanation is that it was a military base 2 door xj with some special heavy duty 2" higher than normal suspension and air ride rear shocks. some things are funny on it

My memory decieved me. I agree. either way though, reinforcement is a bright idea when making that into one of your mount points for a leaf setup. doesn't take long and can't hurt...it would really suck to wreck it on the trail because you didn't take the precautions beforehand.

YES, you need new perches for SOA. and ya need longer and thicker gauge ones to boot. the stock ones create axle wrap.

At $70 per spray can of the undercoating here, you will spend at least 45-50 bucks on undercoating. it should be laid on thick in several coats $70 bucks for a can of undercoating. :nuts: it is made of gold. i only paid around $8 per can. 7 bucks is what I meant.

my friend has a 96 with one...

At $70 per spray can of the undercoating here, you will spend at least 45-50 bucks on undercoating. it should be laid on thick in several coats

hey JB, how is the project coming along? I wish to see updates!

don't do it with your good tires on the rims, it is very potentially corrosive to rubbers and is not worth the risk to do it.

that makes ZERO sense. MJ's are identical to XJ's from the front seats forwards with the exception of the rear wire harness and some trim panels. fyi, this is info for everyone a fact about comanches is that the limited production of them is brought on by two facts. A the dodge dakota was pushed to sell more by chrysler, and B comanches were produced on cherokee assembly lines in tangem to cherokees. there was some retooling required, but the production of xj's was so high and so was demand, that the comanche was put on the back burner. I sure wish there were more MJ parts out there, BUT I am perfectly happy with the limited quantity of them...that's part of what adds the character and intrigue.

wow wade, you're lazy... :P

and you will need to reinforce the rear locating spot...bolting it into the LCA bracket isn't gonna cut it, not without beefing it up.

agreed, but remove rust first...wire brushing with a powered tool is preferred for that, then spray it with rust converting/preventative spray can paint, or just the spray and no wire brushing. then wait a day or two and then undercoat it. the undercoat will stay better, and your truck will thank you

Mitch, why didn't ya let me know there was a problem with the gauges? they were off of a 4.0 and worked on both my brother's 4.0 and my 2.8/3.8

extra length is both front and back. of the wheel well

yea but he's got a longbed and he'd need the entire panel, not just small sections of it (btw, a shortbed one will fill in most of the longbed one, but it will effectively move the gas filler door and cap)

hehe, i know all about the pto drive setup. to make it functional for offroad you'd basically have to have 2 hydraulic cylinders attatched between your rear bumper and trailer, either side of the A-frame (trailer hitch piece). they'd have to be mounted on universal joints on each end, but basically that would keep the trailer going where you want it to. well, right and left. up and down...well, that's something it needs to be free to do. yeah, wheeling would be harder with that. alot harder.

I'd chop it at the top of the windshield and put the back of an MJ cab on it with the sliding window on it. like this except longer. then the front doors would be cut down and welded inand I would have acrylic windows made to fit the smaller opening. rear doors would still open..actually, it would make sense to just weld shut one side permenently, and make the other side into one large door that opens upwards. It would have it's own generator and nice electric air compressor as well as water tank and as this guy plans, the top would unfold into a hanging tent. the thing is that this can only really be a pure-camping item as ya wouldn't be able to pull it behind you on the trail in most scenarios. then you run into the problem of it being a trailer and the fact that someone could just walk off with it if they had a bolt cutter.

the "smog" stuff on the 2.8 is the carb as a whole. the carb is a series of vacuum-actuated crap that was designed for better emissions. needless to say, it's choked the life out of the 2.8. just a plain 2 barrel carb will liven up a 2.8 like you wouldn't believe. sadly, I don't know of one that will bolt straight on. keep in mind that the 2.8 carb. motor is the same motor as the s10 2.8. sooo if you were to go to the jy for less than $100 at a u-pull-it jy you'd get a tbi setup and the necessary wiring for that setup. that also gives you a better scenario as the porting on the tbi intake manifold is more extreme and better than the jeep 2.8 carb. manifold. basically, there's no way around it being a boat anchor without investing money in a new carb. or TBI-ing it. (beaterjeep and I are gonna TBI his 86 2.8) the TBI requires new valve cover gaskets (and the s10 valve covers), intake gaskets, and that's about it. lay the s10 harness in and remove the lighting wires and other extra wires, run a battery power, ignition (key on AND engine crank position IGN feed), and a ground. it requires also the s10 rotor assembly next-best upgrade after the TBI is a 3.4 camaro engine. simple, you swap the 2.8 exhaust manifolds and oil pan/oil pickup onto the 3.4, and basically drop it in then run the wiring just as with the 2.8 TBI except the computer can stay in the engine bay. you need a VATS antitheft bypas module for this conversion...$30 from bakerelectronix. either way, a stock 2.8 is not gonna cut it offroad, and will kill you with today's prices in gas.

it's possible but requires either your own retaining clip (duct tape works well), or swapping the cables. if it's not retained somehow, you experience a "wobbly" speedo.

So what am I, chopped liver? I still have five MJs in the fleet, even after passing three of them on to other people. Eagle, we're competing for a close second to you...:D hey, fyi I have seen no FACTUAL evidence of a firewall difference between 86 and 87 years. matter of fact, out of the 2 86's with 2.8's I have, i've found the firewalls are identical to the 87 4.0 that my brother drives...we had engines out of all of them. the 86 2.5 we had was the same as well, and my dad's 86 renault has the SAME firewall as well the only diffrences would be an inch or so here or there around the bellhousing area, but a big hammer cures that. no cutting necessary. so for swap purposes, I'd say either is good. the 87 is better so buy it, drivetrain in an mj is completely replaceable, it's the body that's hard to find in good shape.

them floors are perty. haha, actually they're not all that bad...the frame is still there :P