Crash_AF

So I finally got to get some more work done on the Comanche. Got the front springs and upper control arms on, along with the new track bar. Also sanded on the rust and hit it with some black rust eater stuff to temporarily cover it up. Found out the guy I bought the lift stuff from didn’t include the lower arms, so I’m on the hunt for a good used pair or I’m going to pull the trigger on some new ones by the end of the week. Got it the coil plates off the rear axle, need to get more of that done soon so I can make the rear match. And now, pictures.

Been busy at work which has cut into my Jeep time, but still gathering parts. Managed to score a good pair of the carpeted Jeep floor mats from an 88 baby Wagoneer that was being parted at the local Jeep place. Also got a good passenger fender for $40. My pull-n-pay run netted me a 97 booster and master, complete 05 Liberty 8.25 with discs and 3.73s, a pair of 97+ mirrors, door window rubber, and a 97+ fan for $170. And finally, my tires came in from Amazon, so I had to mount them up and take a motivational pic... LOL Hopefully soon this won’t be a ‘cheater pic’

I -almost- pulled the trigger on these since they were right here in town. Funny seeing them show up on CC

First order of business was to straighten out the mess under the hood that the previous owner made of the CCV system. He had run a piece of heater hose from an aftermarket elbow shoved into the front hole to the back of the air cleaner, and completely ignored the rear line and fitting. In addition, the valve cover was a mess, half the bolts were less than finger tight, and it leaked oil from the back of the motor like a sieve. I picked up the NAPA emissions hose sets and a new rubber valve cover gasket, along with the o-rings for the oil filter adapter. When I pulled off the valve cover, I found that evidently it was a quaker state engine, because it looked like someone had dipped it in Hershey's syrup. Scrubbed out the inside and outside, did Cruiser's mod to the tubes and put it all back together. Completely spaced getting a 'before' pic, but I'm sure you've seen what I'm describing... Painted and installed the valve cover, 'torqued' it down in the head pattern to the value of 'snugged plus half a turn'. Next step is the oil filter adapter. I'm debating the HO adapter swap to get the standard oil filter threads since I'm pulling it off anyway, but not sure I want to wrestle one off in the junkyard. So far, the puddle went from about 3" around after parking to a puddle the size of a quarter, so I think I'm on the right track. Anyway, here's the progress thus far.

So, I managed to stumble across an 89 Comanche for $600, so I decided to pick it up and build it into a daily driver. My last Comanche started much the same, but peer pressure after an axle swap got it onto 35s and way beyond daily status. The goal for this one is for it to be on 31s, running 3.73 gears, and basically set up for mild wheeling if I decide I want to go out somewhere with it. The base truck is a base model 4.0, 5 speed, 2wd with AC as basically the only option. It was originally from Michigan (or at least, the Great Lakes area, and migrated to Colorado back in the 90s with the original owner. I got it from the second owner, who picked it up for a song about 13 years ago from the original owner's family when he passed away and nobody wanted it because it was 2wd. Upon inspection, the truck has some surface rust in the belt line, but the underside looks good with no rot-through. This is probably due to the fact that it was Ziebarted, I've found the plugs throughout the truck, and it even has a pair of Ziebart running boards. The biggest problem for me is the aftermarket sunroof that has been added, I'm not sure whether I want to get it welded closed, or replace it with another one that doesn't leak. First priority will be to pull the carpet and find out if the floors are rotted on the inside. As far as the CUCV part, for those that don't know, they are the military Blazers and Pickups that the Army used throughout the 80s. My plan is to make a mini version, painting this one desert sand, adding a Tomken Machine brush guard (since they look similar to the CUCV unit) and some stencils to look like a military truck. Might even get one of those canvas tops for the back from Softopper. One of the amusing things is that this truck has the Cordovan interior, which the CUCVs in the military have a maroon interior as well, so it should go well. So, the planned recipe is as follows: 4wd conversion 30 front with 3.73 gears from a parts TJ I have (Yes, it's low pinion, it's not a big deal right now and is 'free') RE 4.5 coils in the front along with some short arms. Probably going to get an Iron Rock track bar Dual diaphragm booster with master from a later XJ, WJ dual piston caliper swap with knuckles and steering from a parts WJ I have Chrysler 8.25 from a Liberty with matching gears and disc brakes, maybe a limited slip. Spring-over. Might use some Cherokee shackles to drop the rear if it's too high, we'll have to see how sagged the stock springs are NP242 transfer case with a SYE (Craigslist find) AX15 with external slave (from same parts TJ) Bucket seat swap from my parts bin. A friend built an MJ about 10 years ago and put suspension seats in it, tossing the stock buckets with tracks, so I snagged them. They're even the right color. Full gauge swap Rubicon Moab wheels from a TJ. Managed to score them from CL for cheap in good shape. Going to wrap them with 265/75 Yokohama ATs Anyway, hope people enjoy it. We'll see how it turns out in the end.

1989 Comanche Base SWB 4.0 / 5 Speed / 2WD 211,XXX miles Black with Cordovan Interior, cloth bench, A/C Current Location : Colorado Status : Daily driver condition

Look into the 97+ conversion threads. If you can fabricate the mounting points on the floor, you can use the ZJ seat tracks to mount them after welding in the cross-brace/mount from the late model XJ or some similar piece of metal and I think adding one bolt to the rear.

I would go talk to the parents and the kids at the same time. Explain the situation, say you're concerned about the kids getting hurt, and just thought they should know so that the parents can take care of it. Don't make it a confrontation, but show them the pic(s) of the shoe-prints and thank them for their time. Respect gets respect, and by not making it a negative focused conversation and more about keeping Little Johnny safe, the parents should be more receptive. Later, Joe

Here's a site where you can purchase full scale blueprints for various different home-built campers. http://www.glen-l.com/campers/glenlrv.html Good luck with your project. Joe

I happen to be headed to MN in May and could haul one of those with me for a reasonable fee to help cover fuel. Drop me a line if you're interested.

Nice... I'd really like to see what you did with the tank sometime as I think that will be the second biggest hurdle for me to get over.

Wow, read all that and then you said you sold it. I was wondering who the lucky fool was that got it until I read that you bought it. Good for you though, can't wait to see it complete. But you are an evil, evil man for breaking so many keyboards from dropped jaws with the joke.

What did you end up doing for the fuel tank? Oh, and how did you total the Integra at 5MPH? Inquiring minds just gotta know...

Damn that sucks. Steering out of whack may be the rear axle shifted, probably sheared a leaf spring pin when you drove over her hood. I want to do a 97+ conversion to a Comanche, how hard did you find it? I can do everything but the sheetmetal work to the firewall myself. Want to help? LOL Good luck with the insurance company, just remember that their client hit you, so you are not obligated to take a settlement you aren't satisfied with. It just depends on how much patience you have in dealing with them. Later, Joe

I have been playing with ZJs lately and have found a few things that might be helpful to other people: A bad shifting 4.0 42RE may be a worn out TPS. If you crack the throttle and it tries to die, that's a good indication Same with a no-OD condition Flashing headlights, flashing Auto-lights, fog lights that won't stay on, and/or dash lights that stay dim or flash are probably bad solder joints in the headlight switch Heat them up with a good soldering iron and remelt the solder around the pins to fix Coolant temp sensor error on the VIC is the same problem, and same fix Sunroof control problem is also bad solder Rear hatch open sensor is probably a micro-switch in the rear latch assembly. Flipper glass not working is probably the microswitch on the handle. I personally like the cloth 96-98 Laredo seats better than the standard Limited seats of the same years. I feel like I'm sitting on top of the seat instead of in the seat in my Limited. And 5.9 Grands are like Thoroughbreds, they are high-strung and temperamental. Great trucks, but take lots of special parts and seem to like attention so they act up a lot. LOL

I think the column itself is physically the same, so you may be able to move the newer switches over to the old column. I believe the only difference is the key lock itself.

I have seen two 86 Comanches that were used at one of the Navy bases on the east coast and 1 88 or 89 over in Saudi back in 99. There was nothing special about them though. All were base models, the 86s were 4 cyl 4 speeds and the 88/9 was a 4.0 auto. Later, Joe

There have been times where I've missed it, but those times have not outweighed the number of times I hated being sent to the desert or the fact that Power Pro was being outsourced so that the only options left were remotes and mobs. Later, Joe

No, I was enlisted for 9.5 years in CE (Power Pro). Got out in 04 to pursue a career in law enforcement. Later, Joe

Hey all, My GF's 1991 Grand Caravan AWD has broken a part that I'm having an extremely difficult time finding. It's the L-bracket that holds the 'transfer case' to the transmission. It's an aluminum piece on the left (driver's) side. I need both the bracket and bolts, and the two bolts on the right side (between the case and tranny) if you can find one in a u-pull-it. If anyone can check around the 'yards in your area to see if you can find one, I would greatly appreciate it. I've searched car-part.com and haven't had any luck yet (called all the ones in Colorado, moving outside the state tomorrow). Please PM if you can help. Thanks, Joe

Which wiring diagram? I have an 89 and 99 FSM and here are the headlight harness colors: 1999 Connector C106 driver's side main harness to headlight harness looking at the back of the headlight side connector with the tab on top Pin 1 is on the right top pin 8 is on the right bottom: 1 empty 2 red - Left headlight low beam power 3 light green - Left turn signal power 4 black - Right headlight park/turn light ground 5 empty 6 red/orange - Right headlight low beam power 7 brown - Left parking light power 8 light blue (w/ fog lights only) - Fog light power (to bulb) 9 violet - Left headlight high beam power 10 tan - Right parking light power 11 black - Left headlight park/turn light ground 12 red (w/ fog lights only) - Fog light power out (to relay) 13 violet/red - Right headlight high beam power 14 dark green/yellow - Right turn signal power 1989 headlight wiring. Main harness to headlight harness connector on driver's side. Looking at the back of the connector on the headlight harness side with the 'ears' on the bottom, Pin 1 is left top and pin 6 is right top. 1 empty 2 white - headlight high beam power 3 grey - left turn signal power 4 dark blue - parking light power 5 black - ground 6 red (w/ fog lights only) - fog lamp relay power in 7 light green - headlight low beam power 8 brown - right turn signal power 9 empty 10 light green - (w/ fog lights only) to fog light relay signal power Hope this helps. Later, Joe

If it's 82+ it'll be a D60 front with kingpins. Only 1980-81 had the IFS D50 front and the 99-01 had the D50 solid front. The rear will either be a D60 (semi or full float) D80 or 10.25 Engine will be either a 351 Windsor, 460 or 6.9 diesel. Could have the 7.3 IDI diesel but that's if it's a 92+ or the 351M/400M motor if it's 80-83. Trans will either be a ZF 5 speed, NP435 4 speed or C6 Auto. Could be the E4OD if it's 92+. Transfer will be the BW1335 (I think) Nothing is interchangeable/replaceable with the MJ. I'd take the whole thing and make it a tow rig, those OBS Fords are hard to kill. Later, Joe

Been through this exact swap with a 242... You need a 242 from a later XJ with 23 spline input to bolt to the AX-15, any from after 91 I believe will work. There are three non-disco axles: Most 84-86 Selec-trac had CV joint style front axleshafts 87-91 Selec-trac had high pinion and 260 u-joint axleshafts all 91-99 had high pinion non disco and around 93 upgraded to the stronger 297 axleshaft ujoint 00-01 used TJ low pinion non disconnect axles with the stronger 297 ujoints Disconnect axles were pretty much the same throughout their use. The only modification to the above is that ALL ABS equipped D30s had the 297 axleshaft joints Shafts for non-disco axles will interchange, so if you get an earlier axle, you can pick up a set of later shafts to swap for the 297 joints In addition to the above list, you will also have to get the shift linkage for the transfer case from a donor and make sure you get all the pivots from a manual transmission truck, automatic pivots won't work (Ask me how I know :D ). You need the transmission pivot, bellcrank linkage assembly and the transmission tunnel pivot. Your rear driveshaft will also have to be custom made or from a 4wd MJ. The 242 is a great transfer case and will hold up to everything you want to do. I have a 242 in the MJ in my sig behind a AX-15 and it has held up with no reliability problems at all. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to explain details better. Later, Joe

To help sort out the confusion, here is a list of corrections from what I have been able to determine over the years. Please correct me if I'm wrong. MJ's are the same from the firewall forward as the same year XJ. Hoods have different latches 84-86 and 87+. The AW4 is the same as the Cherokee's. Power/Comfort switch is on all AW4s in the MJ vintage. Text is confusing, but all towing package or off road package MJ's have an additional transmission cooler. Command-Trac front axles are vacuum disconnect, Selec-Trac are not. 91-92 are all non-disco. Later, Joe

Just did a search on that site and they list the box for $1345. Not sure whether or not this is the entire box or just the center part, but that doesn't seem to be TOO awful bad of a price (it's high, don't get me wrong) if you're going for a stock look. Later, Joe