summerinmaine

So I've been engaged in a deferred maintenance effort on my truck. I've sourced a number of Comanche-specific used parts from Kody, who is great to work with and always gives me sound advice. But I'm almost at the stage where I'm going to look for wear parts like door interior parts (locks, door checks, possibly electric window motors and door-lock actuators, etc.), and likely other areas, where replacing worn/broken parts with used parts wouldn't be desirable unless the new parts were unobtanium. Anyone have recommendations for the best sources they've used for similar acquisitions? I'm familiar with a number of names, like PartsGeek, RockAuto, CarParts, Morris4X4, eBay (which I refuse to use ... long story), among others, but IDK who to trust for good quality parts and accurate fitment information (which I found in a few places to be either sketchy or downright wrong), So I'd appreciate hearing the good, bad, and/or ugly about other folks experiences. Obviously decent prices would be nice, but I'm not looking to cheap out particularly when replacing a simple inexpensive part requires e.g. dismantling a door. I want to do that sort of thing only the once, do it right, and be sure the repair will last.

Thanks for this. Looks like it would be very rare to find 17-18" rims that fit the Comanche 5/4.5 lug bolt pattern. So that should simplify my search. And for some other comments, I have tried our one local salvage yard that allegedly might have some XJ/MJ rimes and tires, but they no longer sell directly nor appear to be interested in selling anything less than a major drive train or vehicle body.

Thanks for the replies!

I'm looking to replace the rims and tires on my truck, but this is just an interim issue so I'm looking for the cheapest solution (i.e. used) that will get me on the road for the next phase of my reconstruction project. However, I'm having no luck in sourcing 15" rims/tires and am only finding 17-18" sets at reasonable prices. What issues would I face if trying to fit something like this? My truck has what was originally a 3.5" lift, but this might have "settled" a bit since it was fitted ~15 years ago.

Just to close out this post, I sourced a pair of fixed wings from Kody, and they worked great. I gave it some thought and realized that in the 15 years I've owned my MJ I only ever opened the passenger side smoker wing to run the cable for my GPS radome (that I mount to the roof of my camper), so looking for unobtanium smoker style wings in good shape wasn't a high priority for me. I did save the old frames, and figured I'd see if it was worth trying to rebuild them with replacement glass.

Wow! Thanks for the info and images! I had already found that a fixed-window replacement was a fallback option if my search here was unavailing, but it was nice to see what the replacement pieces would look like.

Due to a vandalism/theft event, I'm in need of replacement wing windows for my 1987 Pioneer model truck. These are the ones that will open out on pivots (called "smoker-style" by some) and apparently need a small frame as part of the unit. The existing "frames" in my truck look pretty rusty (a common problem as I understand it) so I'm hoping to find complete units, but if it's just the glass I can try to make it work. As an alternative, does anyone know if a fixed side wing would fit into the door frame?

Just gotta report that I've just ordered and received parts from him, and he's a righteous dude! Everything was well-described and fairly-priced, and I couldn't have been happier with his entire service. I'll be ordering again soon!

Just had one of the connectors in the fuse block break on me. It had been weak, causing a loose connection and some arcing/melting of the plastic fuse "housing." So I tried to shim it with a wooden toothpick, and it just broke completely. I know I could replace the entire block, but has anyone ever tried to replace the individual connectors without the hassle of wiring in an entire replacement block? If so, how did you do it and where could I get the replacement connectors? ps. The master cylinder hasn't leaked all over it, so I'd like not to replace the entire thing if I don't have to.

Anyone have experience withe the accuracy of the speedo/odo in standard configuration? In mine, with the 31/10.5s on 8"rims, the odo is pretty much spot on, but the speedo reads @ 8-10% low. My SWAG is that with stock tires/rims, the speedo would have been close and the odo reading high.

My security screen freaked and said your link is buggy with malware. Is that another possible source for parts? If so, I appreciate it but I'm satisfied with the RockAuto source.

I've been following this thread as I'll be in the same boats pretty soon. I'll be spending the month of March down in Baja, and it's likely that will be the end of my ProComp M/Ts. I liked the sound of some of the Treadwright deals, but it seems that their 15" tires are all pretty much out of stock. Is this the wave of the future; that 15" rims/tires are approaching obsolescence? It happened to me before with all the cars I owned having 13" rims. Should I start thinking about sourcing some 16" rims? My MJ has been lifted, and if I buy 31/10.5/16s it shouldn't matter anyway, cause 31" OD and 10.5" section width are the same no matter what the rim diameter, right?

Arcata? I went to college there in 1972 to 1973. Cool. My daughter's here as a grad student. And thanks for the compatibility confirmation. Online guides in ads can do more harm than good sometimes.

For some strange reason the compatibility guides for the part nos. (Dorman 46003 & 46004) say they fit the 1988-1990 4.0L. So what's the 1987, chopped liver? I can't imagine that there was a major change from 1987 to 1988. Was there? :dunno:

Thanks all! I tried searching for the topic, as I knew it must have come up before, but I should have spelled it "vaccuum" or "vacume" I guess. ;)

I'm trying to squeeze some more life out of my engine while I design/implement a running gear project, then do the stroker to satisfy my lusts. But I have persistent running problems that always seem to involve finding vacuum leaks here and there. Looking under the hood, all my hoses/lines seem to consist of a mare's nest of patches/kludges that connect the right-angle bends in the lines, or the size A to size B orifice step up/down mess that is the emissions system Is there a "kit" or the like available to replace all the oddball rubber emissions and vacuum hoses/lines, so that I don't have to go nuts sourcing one weird hose/line after another? I see various "looms" advertised on eBay, tho not for my specific year MJ. So I'm getting really confused. :???:

I'm a bit over 311,000 now, and still very few problems. Love the 4.0L six!

Got 'em on order. If they don't arrive this week, I can always install them later. Thanks for all the advice!

Thanks!!!

Thanks so much for all the great advice. It'll take me a while to digest it all, but I'm going down to Baja for a few weeks, and I'll lay in the hammock and think about all this as a winter project (while drinking Turtle Beers and having sun-darkened topless maidens in short shorts bring me shots of the finest tequilas through-out the day)! Y'all enjoy winter now! Changes of seasons and all that. :brows: Appreciate all the suggestions!!

BTW got a source?

And I guess the follow-on question is are there any other Jeep models during the 1985-2000 era that used identical axles, and thus could serve as drop-in donors?

Thanks for the info If I'm reading it right, thereis no single truck tyhat would give me both axles with all the features I desirfe.

As seen in my sig, my truck has the dreaded 3.07s and rather than sink bux into the engine, which runs well despite its age, I want to regear. However, out here on the Left Coast pick-a-part axles are thin on the ground and pretty pricey to boot, and I want to do this on the cheap. I'd like to keep a D44 in the rear, as I carry camper weight, so I guess my question is there an XJ (or MJ or other model) that would give me an HP D30 Fr./D44 Rr with 4.10 or lower (4.56, 4.88) ratios that would have the proper WMS so that, other than repositioning spring perches, the swap would essentially be drop in and bolt up. Extra points if it'd have a D44 rear (or something sturdier than the D35, eliminate the CAD and have 297 joints. Extra extra credit if it had disks on the rear. I suspect that with those ratios, the engine would be a four banger, but I'd be looking to part out the remains anyway. One other query: I've heard that the front gears on XJ spin opposite from MJ. True? And if so, does it matter and how to fix if it does. One final query: Anything else I should be specifying in looking for Holy Grail axles, like lockers? Don't want much, do I? :brows:

Can't seem to find any here locally, or I wouldn't worry about it. I may just order them from somewhere, and if they arrive in time, great. If not, they would be easy to replace later as a separate job.