1989 Eliminator

I'm not sure what year but I have seen before that a 5.0L from a mustang will fit in a Comanche

So I was attempting to do a simple brake job on a 2009 town and country for a friend and I could not believe how hard the back brakes were. The issue I was having was not being able to push the piston back in the caliper. I tried a C-clamp, prying it, loosening the bleeder screw then trying both again. Nothing. That piston was not moving. I was scratching my head on this one. So I thought Id do a little research.... Comes to find out that modern technology has changed a few things. The back brakes are disc brakes on this van but for a safety feature when the hydraulic system fails, the mechanical emergency brakes still work. How the mechanical brakes works is when the emergency brakes are applied, the pedal pulls the cable which then TURNS and PUSHES the piston outward to compress the brakes. So to re-compress the piston, you need a special calpier piston tool you can get from the auto part store that turns and pushes the piston back in. I have NEVER heard of this before and thought id share with you guys.

There is a o-ring but I don't think that it seals for vaccum. I thought it was more of a seal to keep oil/dust/etc. out of the master and booster.

http://comancheclub.com/topic/39437-1996-xj-dual-diaphragm-brake-booster-conversion/?do=findComment&comment=396974 There ya go!

That is correct. My picture just shows the switch. There are wires that hook up to the prongs that are shown in the picture. If there were no wires the switch would be pointless...

Most of these no--start issues are from a bad CPS sensor

I have the same system. That pressure cap could be possibly bad on the pressure bottle. You really have to bleed out the system to get it right. I say drive for awhile till it gets warm. Let it cool. Fill it up. Repeat.

Definatly check all the fuses first of all. Then check the relays and see if the prongs are all still good. I would also HIGHLY recommend upgrading your grounds. http://comancheclub.com/topic/36311-updated-renix-grounds/?do=findComment&comment=363512. This will solve/prevent a lot of electrical problems. The brake light problem could be either of the above, but could also be due to the brake like switch. If it is the same as my 89 MJ, that could be the issue. If this is what it looks like, try rotating this and press the brake until you get a brake light. How this switch works is when that spring is compressed, it activates the brake lights. When is not compressed, the lights are off. So, to fix this, place a spacer of some sort (bushing,washer,ducktape) It has to be really small and rectangular shape. So modify what you can. TOO MUCH space will be bad since this will be activating the brake lights all the time. (this connects to the end of the brake booster rod and to the pedal assembly)

Make sure you bleed in the order: Right Rear, Left Rear, Right Front, Left Front. Make sure your vaccum hose is on the booster good.

Same here!!

I highly recommend the dual diaphragm brake booster and MC conversion. Well worth $180 and you get double the braking power. Search 1996 dual diaphram brake booster conversion

My horn was being touchy but the issue was the the three screws that hold the bushing plate inside were loose. All I had to do was pull of the horn button straight off and then tighten the screws and made sure the horn contact was still good. Then pushed the horn button back on. Not sure if this is your issue zack or ftpeircecracker1 but I thought id share.

I'm thinking about doing the same but 2" in both the front and back. For the back, I am using adjustable shackles. It may be tough to get the full 3" but longer shackles will do the trick.

I cannot see your image so I am not clear of what the positive cable is connected to. Try saving your image onto a google account or photobucket and copy the image url, then use the image button in the reply options on top, underneath the similes.

Sounds like a lot of shorting! But my biggest suggestion for you to do is to upgrade your grounds. Crusier54 has written a topic on this. Check it out and this should help you out. http://comancheclub.com/topic/36311-updated-renix-grounds/?do=findComment&comment=363512

My 89' Eliminator compared to the other models had: Aluminium wheels (and spare), Eagle GT 2 tires, two front fog lights with "Jeep" covers, the sport steering wheel, Eliminator decal and side stripe stickers, three part sliding back window. I think that was about it. It also has A/C and cruise control which is not common.

My guess it is something electrical and that is linked to the "power and comfort" mode switch on the dash. That switch is what determines how the shift points will act. I say upgrade your body and engine grounds for a start.

Thats awesome! I need to get some nice professional pics like that

I believe it is just the connecter that connects to the ICV (Idle Control Valve). And the seafoam process I was talking about was actully putting it in the intake manifold. Here is the process: Buy one can of the liquid seafoam not the spary can. The objective is to get seafom into your intake manifold and valves to loosen up all the carbon deposits. First, measure out about 9 ounces of seafoam in a container or whatever you like. Now, start your truck and let it warm up to normal operating temperature then shut off the truck. Take off either the brake booster vaccum line from booster, or take off the pcv line from the cam cover. ONE of these two lines are needed because they are vacuum lines and will suck the seafoam into your intake manifold. So, i recommend the brake booster hose. Make sure you take it off the booster side and keep the end on the intake manifold attached. Start the truck again (NOTE: the truck will idle high since there is a vacuum leak, the brake booster hose). Take a small funnel and place it in the brake booster hose. Now the key here is to slowly pour about 2/3 of the seafoam into the funnel. Your truck will sputter and the RPM will lower but that is OK. Do not let your truck stale though. After about 2/3 of the 9 ounces is gone, pour the rest of the 1/3 of seafoam into the funnel at once. This will probably make the struck stale which is okay. If it does not stale, shut the truck off quickly. Nothing will hurt it. You just want the seafoam to soak in the intake manifold and if you don't quickly then it will just get burnt up. After the truck stales or gets shut off, wait about 15-20 minutes for the seafoam to do its magic. Hook-up your vacuum line during this time. After that waiting, start your truck up and like it idle for 10-15 minutes. Your truck will smoke A LOT. White smoke. But that is normal. (Do this outside........)This will get rid of the loose carbon in the intake. But after the idle process, take your truck out on the road and drive it like you stole it. You want to get in the RPMs and let the seafoam get into every passage. Blue smoke will proably come out which means carbon is being burnt. Then your good to go! Also, seafoam deepcreep is a very good cleaner that gets all the small areas and works great for TB cleaning.

RustysOffroad.com... They have both the TB spacer and have a variety of different TBs.

If I remember correctly when I cleaned my Idle Control Valve, when I re-installed it I put a VERY small amount of di-electric grease. Not a lot because it would clog both the air passage and control unit for the pin.

If your booster diaphragm on the inside is bad and has a hole, this will cause a huge vacuum leak. So that is quite possible.

I say upgrade your grounds on the truck. This topic is from Cruiser54's page that he wrote up. Renix Ground Refreshing The Renix era XJs and MJs were built with an under-engineered grounding system for the engine/transmission electronics. One problem in particular involves the multiple ground connection at the engine dipstick tube stud. A poor ground here can cause a multitude of driveabililty issues, wasted time, and wasted money replacing unnecessary components. The components grounding at the dipstick tube stud are: Distributor Sync Sensor, TCU main ground, TCU “Shift Point Logic”, Ignition control Module, Injectors, ECU main ground which other engine sensors ground through, Oxygen sensor, Knock Sensor, Cruise Control, and Transmission Sync signal. All extremely important stuff. The factory was aware of the issues with this ground point and addressed it by suggesting the following: Remove the nut holding the wire terminals to the stud. Verify that the stud is indeed tightened securely into the block. Scrape any and all paint from the stud’s mounting surface where the wires will attach. Must be clean, shiny and free of any oil, grease, or paint. Inspect the wire terminals. Check to see that none of the terminals are crimped over wire insulation instead of bare wire. Be sure the crimps are tight. It wouldn’t hurt to re-crimp them just as a matter of course. Sand and polish the wire terminals until clean and shiny on both sides. Reinstall all the wires to the stud and tighten the nut down securely. While you’re in that general area, locate the battery negative cable which is fastened to the engine block just forward of the dipstick stud. Remove the bolt, scrape the block to bare metal, clean and polish the cable terminal, and reattach securely. Another area where the grounding system on Renix era Jeeps was lacking is the engine to chassis ground. There is a braided cable from the back of the cylinder head that also attaches to the driver’s side of the firewall. This cable is undersized for it’s intended use and subject to corrosion and poor connections at each end. First off, remove the cable end from the firewall using a 15mm wrench or socket. Scrape the paint off down to bare metal and clean the wire terminal. Reattach securely. Remove the other end of the cable from the rear of the head using a 3’4” socket. Clean all the oil, paint and crud from the stud. Clean the wire terminal of the cable and reattach securely. A suggestion regarding the braided cable: I prefer to add a #4 Gauge cable from the firewall to a bolt on the rear of the intake manifold, either to a heat shield bolt or fuel rail bolt. A cable about 18” long with a 3/8” lug on each end works great and you can get one at any parts store already made up. Napa has them as part number 781116. A further improvement to the grounding system can be made using a #4 cable, about 10” long with 3/8” terminals at each end. Attach one end of this cable to the negative battery bolt and the other end under the closest 10mm headed bolt on the radiator support just forward of the battery. Napa part number 781115. For those of us with Comanches, it’s very important to remove the driver’s side taillamp assembly to access the ground for the fuel pump. Remove the screw holding the black ground wire. Scrape the paint from the body and corrosion from the wire terminal. Reattach securely. If you want to upgrade your grounds and battery cables in general, contact Jon at www.kelleyswip.com. He makes an incredible cable upgrade for a very reasonable price. Revised 12-04-2012 I added to this so it would include a ground connection specific to the Comanche.

Things that I did to kinda help idle. There is a idle control valve on the front (if you are standing at front on the truck) and I believe has two torx bolts. Take this out CAREFULLY! You do not want to scratch or damage the pin. After you have it out, clean the pin with carb cleaner and a rag. To get the whole pin, slowly pull it out but not too much. If you pull the pin out all the way you will not be able to put it back in. I wold also clean the inside of the body where the pin goes in. I also cleaned the throttle plate on the inside and got all the carbon off. I do not know how many miles you have on your truck but using some seafoam wouldnt hurt to clean out your throttle body and intake manifold. Upgrading the grounds is also a very good thing to do. It will help prevent future electrical problems. I know there is a throttle body spacer that Rusty Offroad makes. It basically is a spacer that lengthens the flow path and creates a turbulence in the air going into the intake manifold. Some say it helps a little... I havent done this myself. In my opinion, rebuilding the whole throttle body would be pointless. Cleaning the essential parts and areas would be best.

Thats really interesting. I always thought burping the cooling system was a big deal on the renix's.